SHELBURNE, VT.- Shelburne Museum’s exhibition, Hooked on Patty Yoder, is on view in the Pizzagalli Center for Arts and Education’s Colgate Gallery from September 30, 2017 until January 21, 2018.

Bringing together the artist’s first and last works, alongside preparatory sketches and other ephemera, Hooked on Patty Yoder surveys the 13-year career of American rug hooker Patty Yoder (1943-2005). Best known for her beguiling Alphabet of Sheep (2003), Yoder conceived of her designs as “paintings with wool to be hung and enjoyed as art.”

Exacting attention to color, composition, and technique, paired with Yoder’s penchant for high visual standards and whimsical designs, truly sets her work as a new standard within the field of American textile arts.

Raised in Nebraska and Ohio and trained in fine arts at Indiana’s DePauw University in the 1960s, Yoder was never short for inspiration. The 44 mats she completed between 1992 and 2005 are notable for their engaging subjects, eye-catching colors, and meticulous execution.

In addition to Yoder’s technical prowess, these objects convey an undeniable sense of place and community. Captured in the tight, rainbow-colored woolen loops of the rugs in this gallery are the names, faces, and stories of the people and animals that cycled through the Yoder family’s farm in Tinmouth, Vermont. Known as Black House Farm, Patty’s home ultimately served as a laboratory for learning and experimentation, allowing space and time for Yoder to refine her compositions as well as her dyeing and hooking techniques.

Visitors who take the time to look closely will be rewarded by Yoder’s rigorous design sense, attention to detail, and unfailing sense of humor.

Hooked on Patty Yoder is curated by Katie Wood Kirchoff.