Acoustic Art: Rags to Richness
Rugs can be easily shipped to any US location, most easily by USPS. PayPal includes a $15 shipping charge; please let me know your carrier of choice. Overnight shipping can be calculated and arranged. All rugs are shown at retail; please contact me through the contact form if you are ordering for a gallery.
Available Rugs
Floating Gold Square Rag Rug, 42" x 33", $960.00.
Floating Gold Square was the first in the series of shaded stripe rugs to have a separate element laid over the background stripes. The stripes themselves shade from tan to dark purple, and the overlaid square has four shades of gold.
Black & White & Red Floating Square Rag Rug, 33" x 33", $750.00.
Black and white stripes fade from light to dark and back again in the background, while a square of red shades dances in the foreground of this lively rug.
Teal & Olive Floating Square Rag Rug, 46" x 45",
$1200.00.
Shades of teal fade from light to dark and back again in the background, while a square of olive and lime shades dances in the foreground of this rug reminiscent of the sea.
Black and White and Gray Spiral Rag Rug, 46",
$990.00.
The most immediately striking spiral, this black and white and gray rug defies its origins of recycled t-shirts to present an eye-catching contemporary accent.
Colors of India, 48" diameter, $1200.00.
Colors on India was inspired by a picture of an Indian spice market. I had to go back to the picture twice after I pulled the first set of colors, knowing I had missed something, before I realized I hadn't added any pink! Apologies, Diana Vreeland.
Teal & Peach Nautilus, 45" x 32", $800.00.
This rug would be a lovely addition to a beach house, and actually, to any house that wishes it were just a little bit closer to the beach!
Red Nautilus Rag Rug, approx. 47" x 38" (max dimension), $960.00.
The Nautilus series of rugs grew from the original spiral concept. They are knit to the same pattern but assembled in a different order and allow for new ways to play with color gradations.
Red & Gold Spiral Rag Rug, 33" diameter, $600.00. I saw a plaid fabric swatch in shades of red and gold and it made me realize I'd never experimented with those two colors in all their clear, powerful richness. I pulled an assortment of strong reds and equally strong golds, and added an accent of black, and this lively smallish rug is the result! It's bright, and just the right size to catch your eye without being overpowering.
Red & Gray Spiral Rag Rug, 24", $190.00.
This is a small little rug, quiet in its shades of red and gray with a black rim. If you love the spiral and don't have room for a full-sized rug, or perhaps need to cover an ottoman, this rug may be exactly what you need.
Blue & Brown Spiral Rag Rug, 36",
$590.00.
Blue & Brown Spiral was the third rug in a series; the first two went to collectors and can be seen on the "Sold" page. Collecting the fabric, and then sorting and knitting the set, was a very useful exercise in the value of strong neutral colors that has enhanced many of the rugs I've made since.
Dancing Triangles Rag Rug, 47" x 33", $990.00.
It's amusing to think that Dancing Triangles and Purple-and-Green-Square-Spiral are, ostensibly, the same colorway--purple and green. How different can you get with the same words? Triangles is alive with lime and royal, with black accents. It's a focal point of a rug--no blending with background for this one!
August Rag Rug, 41x41", $990.00.
August, as its name implies, was conceived on a very hot day one summer. I pulled the hottest colors in my collection and created a rug that wants to live in a beach house, or perhaps in Tampa, or perhaps with someone who would rather be at the beach, or in Tampa!
Red Stripes Rag Rug, 23" x 31", $390.00.
Red Stripes is a more subtle version of an earlier rug knit with brighter and bigger accent color blocks.
Blue & Yellow Tessellation Rag Rug, 26" x 42",
$450.00.
The "Tessellation" series is an exploration of how many ways can a block be colored, then turned, while still maintaining the same pattern.
I cannot remember not knowing how to knit, and when a perfect storm of inspiration in the form of seeing braided and hooked rugs at the State Fair, a rug made from t-shirts in Alterknits, and Mason-Dixon Knitting’s spiral rag rug, a new art form came to life in this studio.
How to Purchase a Rug
My rugs serve two major purposes in your home: as an area rug at the side of a bed or favorite chair, or mounted on the wall, particularly in rooms that have reverberation or echos. The high ceilings and great rooms popular in newer homes have large areas of wall which reflect sound, causing distracting echos and reducing privacy. Functioning similarly to an acoustic wall panel, these rugs will soften the harsh edges of sound waves, making it easier to hear conversations in the room, and harder for your children to hear your private conversation from the next room.
Rugs mounted for wall display do not have a noise reduction coefficient rating; those tests cost several hundred dollars and would need to be repeated for each rug separately. However, the waitstaff at the Carolina Brewery (a restaurant built from concrete block, with almost no upholstered surfaces) in Pittsboro, NC, noticed the difference immediately when I hung a show with Joel Howell, filling the room with his paintings and my rugs displayed in pairs. “You can hear yourself!”
Knitted rugs are made from 100% post-consumer, locally-sourced upcycled fabric (old clothes) which is washed, dried and then sliced. The rugs can be machine washed in cold water and tumble-dried.
How to Buy a Rug
The rugs on this page are available for sale, ideally through a gallery located near you. If you are not located with easy reach of a gallery carrying my work, you may purchase directly through this site.
Sales tax of 6.75% is collected for rugs delivered within North Carolina.
Please feel free to call me during business hours at 919/395-5148 (Eastern time zone = New York City) if you have any questions.