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Hooked records the story of how a necessity became a work of art. Visit our virtual exhibit and see how the traditional skill of matmaking became a means to earn a living for women in Placentia West. For as long as anyone remembers, women in Placentia West made mats from scraps of old clothing to help keep their homes clean and warm. They did their best to make them look attractive by creating floral and geometric designs that took advantage of the colourful scraps they had collected. In the mid-1970s, the local development coordinator, Lois Saunders, saw the potential in this skill and suggested they make a few mats using scenic designs inspired by what they saw around them. From this, the Placentia West Matmakers was born. Their mats were soon a high demand item being sold locally, nationally and internationally. For women who had little opportunity to work outside the home, this was an excellent chance to earn their own cash doing something they enjoyed while developing their creative talents at the same time.
As you explore their works of art, you will see our communities as they used to exist. You will peer inside an outport family’s home and discover how they lived. Each mat is in fact a mini museum, displaying artefacts from the lives of fishing families as recalled by these local artists. At the same time they are works of art filled with brilliant colours that disguise the fact that they were made with rags cut from old clothing collected from local families. Enter our exhibit and learn a little about the Newfoundland culture and the ingenuity of a people who created such beauty with so few resources. You will see some of the handiwork of women who pioneered recycling as a way of life, creating from it both a work of art and a source of income.
