ROSEMARY STRUBE

Bul Guk Sa Temple, Kyong-ju, Korea
Hooked by Rosemary Reed Strube
Designed by Rosemary Reed Strube
I love to hook! When my oldest son "hinted" that he'd like me to make him a rug, after I'd hooked his brother an eagle rug, I was flattered and excited to do just that. But...then he showed me a photograph from a library book of two carved and painted guards standing in front of a temple in Korea.

Oh, Greg, wouldn't you rather have a rug of an animal, maybe a lion since you are a Leo? No, mom, I really like this photo. So for several weeks we visited the library and I diligently tried to persuade him to pick a simpler design. But to no avail. He had spent 3 years in Korea and absolutely loved the design.

Well, being the terrific mom that I am, admittedly not much humility here, I agreed to hook this intricate design. The guards are estimated, (not documented) at being three thousand years old and are carved. They stand to the entrance of the Bul Guk Sa Temple in Kyong-ju, South Korea. The English pronunciation is Bool Gook Sa.

What fun this was to hook, in spite of my reluctance. Some of the wool I had to dye, the turquoise in the guard on the right but the rest of the wool was leftovers from other hookings I have done. This project really was a great color study and I never looked at the overall photo, just a small part at a time. I statred with the guard on the right and would just hooka sleeve, trying to match colors and not even look at the whole garment. I found this method freed up my eyes and I didn't feel so confused.

The only part I found challenging was the ironwork in the front, forming a fence. I hooked it three or four times and finally decided to hook it higher and sculpture it. Viola! That was the secret. The beams overhead were also fun for me, and I liked leaving the upper left more impressionistic, that way the guards remained the focal point.

Most of the time I just had a pile of wool on the table in all colors and picked from the pile; this method worked great as there are so many colors in the piece. This piece was hooked in #3 and #4 cut and the background is a navy/black wool which was overdyed with purple.

Rosemary Reed Strube
E-mail: [email protected]
April 1997

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