A New Textile: "Dangling and Bouncing"

Dangling and Bouncing, hand dyed wool on linen, 15 3/4 x 21 in. 

I like humor in art. Occasionally I do a work that tickles my funny bone, and just in case the viewer doesn't realize I'm trying to be funny, I make it more clear with the title. When I was doing the sketch for this piece I was thinking of those "follow the bouncing ball" cartoons of my childhood, where a circle would bounce along the words of a song, such as "Harvest Moon" in this cartoon, starting at around the 4:40 mark. Thinking formally about the composition, I felt the bouncing circle needed a balancing element so I added a dangling circle. I hooked it separately from the long thin rectangle, and sewed them together afterwards. 

Dangling and Bouncing detail

My color choices are bright and cheery to go along with the theme; even the dark purple rectangle has a vivid intensity. The hooking patterns follow the form: circular or horizontal. The medium of rug hooking is wonderfully versatile, allowing me to make different kinds of shapes and a wide range of compositions. 

Dangling and Bouncing detail