Meet Maggie Bathory | Textile Artist & Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Maggie Bathory and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Maggie, any advice for those thinking about whether to keep going or to give up?
Giving up has never been an option. From a very young age, I was faced with physical challenges that left me with limited use of my right hand and the inability to walk. My two options were: give up and live a life with limited mobility, or work hard to improve the quality of my life. I chose the path that required years of determination, perseverance, and physical rehabilitation. This trait to push through carries into my creative and work life. When faced with a challenge, I know that I need to take action rather than be stifled by the situation. This means evaluating the steps that I need to take to resolve the problem. To push forward, I see myself overcoming the problem successfully knowing the outcome will be beneficial and worth the struggle. As an artist, it’s important for me to continually learn and grow my art, always evolving and honing my skills. Being honest with myself has helped peel back the layers about my skills and forces me to make decisions about what I like and dislike. For years, I hooked rugs in a primitive (traditional) style because I loved historic rugs. Time and time again, people who evaluated my rugs would make comments about how I mixed primitive design with contemporary style. This bothered me because I wanted to be successful at hooking historic looking rugs. It wasn’t until I took some classes on contemporary rug-hooking and tried it, that I realized contemporary design was what came naturally. I needed more education and insight to grow my works, so I spent my days hooking as many abstract landscapes as the hours in a day would allow. With every loop I pulled, and every rug I hooked, my style improved and my rugs began to look like works of art. I now surround myself with like-minded artists and hook lots of rugs depicting landscapes of places I’ve seen or imagine. Sometimes when I get stuck in a creative block, I take the necessary steps to evaluate the colors and the overall feel of the rug. Then I imagine myself sitting in the landscape that I am creating and think about what I would see around me. Meadows with swaying grasses? Wildflowers in abundance during the springtime? Jagged and rugged mountains on a stormy day? From there, I begin sorting through a vast array of wool fabric and yarns thinking about textures and shading. I might even sketch shapes onto paper to try out what shapes would work best. Then back I go to my frame and carry on with hooking my rug. Rather than allowing myself to remain stuck, I take steps to address the creative block and visually see myself completing a beautiful rug.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
An avid nature and art lover, I enjoy combining these two passions to create landscapes using an array of textiles. I have been fortunate to have spent most of my adult life working outside, which has given me plenty of opportunities to observe nature and wildlife. Up close, natural elements look quite different and comprise diverse shapes and colors. Seeing a myriad of colors that can make up a single leaf or flower petal is engaging and humbling. When I hook a rug, it’s important for me to add numerous colors to any one flower or grassy meadow in an attempt to engage the viewer. Using creativity and imagination, I hook colors and textures into different organic shapes, so the end result reflects a natural setting in an abstract and even impressionistic way. My goal is to share these scenes with viewers, so that it spurs a walk through a meadow or remind them of places they’ve seen.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Spending time outside in Colorado is a must for anyone who comes to visit. So getting on the road for a road trip across Colorado is the best way to see the sights and experience local food favorites. Heading along Hwy 24 outside of Colorado Springs, and traveling towards Mt. Antero, we would stop to hike Chalk Cliffs and then sit in the hot springs of Mt. Princeton. Heading west, we would check out Gunnison National Forest for it’s stunning canyons and rock formations. Then stop in High Alpine Brewing Co before checking into Taylor River Lodge for the night. The next morning, we would continue west to Ouray where we would spend the rest of the day hiking local trails and experiencing the rustic main street. We would stay at Beaumont Hotel & Spa and enjoy dinner at Brickhouse 737 across the street. The next day, we would head to Telluride and spend the day enjoying trails, gondola rides, and great food. Our final destination would be Durango where we would spend a couple of days hiking and riding the Alpine slide at Purgatory, spending one day riding the steam locomotive through the mountains.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Nova Scotia artist, Deanne Fitzpatrick, inspires me the most. Her workshops and support help me to grow my skills as an artist and keep me inspired and motivated creatively. She encourages me to keep pushing forward and hook as many rugs as I can because with every rug I make, I learn something new and improve my techniques. Her works are stunning, and she has her own distinctive style. As an avid nature lover, I find great inspiration in her works. Deanne has been hooking rugs since the mid 1980’s, and I have watched her style evolve over the years. She casts aside the rules of traditional rug-hooking techniques and paves her own way by developing her own style. She wants to share her experiences and skills with other textiles artists to keep the tradition of hooking rugs alive for future generations.

Website: https://www.maggiebathory.com/

Instagram: @maggiebathory

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maggie-bathory/

Facebook: Maggie Bathory

Image Credits
Maggie Bathory