It was a Happy New Year..... for two days

 

 I was feeling optimistic about 2026 but the USA had other plans with their invasion of Venezuela. It isn’t pleasant living next to a super power but what is a hooker to do? 

Well…

I know…hook.

Enchanted at Fog Forest Gallery

 I have some rugs in this lovely show at Fog Forest Gallery in Sackville New Brunswick.

Give a Janet a call if you see something you fancy.

Thanks!

 https://fogforestgallery.ca/exhibitions/en

 

 

Thanks!

 Thanks to all who came out to the opening of Judy's Town at the Marigold Centre in Truro.

When I first started hooking I would post my rugs on social media and the very fine people of Truro were the first ones to buy my rugs. That gave me the support I needed to keep going. This show is for you Truro.

Judy's Town

 I'm doing a show with the very cool Brandt Eisner in Truro...about Truro, NS. Please come. xo

 

 

Judy's Town

 Brandt Eisner and Laura Kenney have something to say about Truro..land of deer and trains, through their multimedia art and rug hookings. Opening Nov. 6, 6-8pm. Show runs till Nov 28th at the MMFI Gallery, Marigold Centre.

 

 

The Reason You're Late In Truro

 

 

 

 

Hook-in

 

Hook-in at Gaspereau Valley Fibres

Oct. 26, 1-3pm

 

We're thrilled to welcome renowned Nova Scotia rug hooker Laura Kenney for a special 'Hook-In' event! Join us for a relaxed and inspiring session where you can work on your own rug hooking projects, meet fellow makers, and have the chance to ask Laura a few questions about her work and process. This is a donation-based event, with proceeds going to support our local animal shelter.

 

Please call Brenda 902-542-2656 if you plan to attend.

 

 

 

 

About Laura... 
Laura Kenney is a contemporary rug hooker known for her witty and socially conscious textile art. Kenney uses her alter ego “Judy”—a red-haired woman in red boots—as the central figure in many of her hand-hooked rugs, tackling everyday life with humour and heart. Her work blends traditional folk craft with modern commentary, earning her a place in the Nova Scotia Art Bank and exhibitions across Canada, including solo shows at major galleries like the Mary E. Black Gallery and Cape Breton University Art Gallery.

 

Talk for NS Folk Art Society

 Giving talks is a real challenge for me but I got up the courage and did one for the NS Folk Art Society.

Thanks to the society for giving me the opportunity and thanks so much to the very kind audience.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyylwrECUXc

 

 

Jordan Tretheway and Blood Honey

 What to Wear? What to Wear?" the newest installment of Judy 4 Justice by Writer-in-Residence Jordan Trethewey

@JTpoetlaureate

and artist Lauren Kenney

@LKenneyrugs

! “Judy are not fashionistas. / Frivolity is not fundamental / to their identity.”

 

https://www.bloodhoneylit.com/jordan-trethewey-wir/judy-for-justice-what-to-wear-what-to-wear 

 

Talk in Lunenburg

 You're invited..please come!

NS FOLK ART Festival 2025

 

The NS Folk Art Festival was very cool as always. So many sweet people. So many fun chats…and sold a bunch of rugs. 

 

Folk Art is alive and well and I’m feeling pretty dang fortunate.

 

 

Finally

 Finally, a rug hooker has been chosen for the cover artist of the NS Folk Art Festival.

This is opening doors.

Bravo to Felicia Zwicker.

And... bravo to the powers that be to take this step.

 

 

Thank you Matthew Ryan Smith

 Great article by Matthew Ryan Smith on "This SeemsPersonal" which was held at the Confederation Centre of the Arts in lovely Charlottetown, PEI.

"Power disparities became more pronounced after the exhibition opened to the public, as Kenney’s rug-hookings seemed to foreshadow President Trump’s escalating threats of tariffs on Canada’s industries and natural resources. The now-prophetic rug Friends (2024), which features the submissive text “WE HAVE TO BE FRIENDS OTHERWISE YOU’LL BEAT US UP,” anticipated Trump’s bullying tactics toward his northern neighbour, the United States’ closest military ally and trading partner. Ironically, this “friend” is now instigating a future economic recession. And this says nothing of his warnings to annex Canada as the “fifty-first state” or to make Prime Minister Trudeau a “Governor”—both unprecedented threats against the sovereignty of a fellow G7 nation. In this new light, Kenney’s US-themed rugs have become a site of protest and an urgent rallying cry for collective resistance against American imperialism."

 

https://visualartsnews.ca/2025/07/this-seems-personal-autobiography-in-search-of-community/

 

 

Craft and Craftivsm

 I am feeling fortunate to have been included in this publication highlighting craft people across Canada. 

Abstract

Contemporary work in ceramics, fibres and glass is commanding unprecedented attention in the visual arts world. Many Canadian artists have gained recognition for their aesthetic proficiency, conceptual relevance, and skill-based expertise in provincial, national, and international public institutions using these materials. The visual arts community in Canada and elsewhere seeks information concerning the historical importance and significance to contemporary Canadian craft artists of these materials and skills. Craft and Craftivism, edited by Loren Lerner, Janice Anderson, Shannon Stride, and Karine Antaki, is a biographical dictionary of artists working in these media, created as a free e-publication to fill this need. The material is readily available for both pedagogical purposes and the general public’s use. It aims to encourage scholarly interest while acknowledging the artists’ contributions to Canadian visual arts, a path currently encouraged in many Canadian post-secondary art education institutions. -- Introduction.

https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/995653/1/VOLUME%20TWO%20CRAFT%20%26%20CRAFTIVISM-FIBRES.2.pdf