Lately, I’ve had quite a few calls with people asking some good questions and I thought I’d take this chance to answer them on here. Go ahead and ask more. Sometimes I forget how unique these floorcloths are! Read the rest of this entry »

The Celtic Runner floorcloth has been installed! Since I grew up in Nova Scotia, we venture back there every summer for our vacation. This year it worked out that we could bring the floorcloth with us. The house this floorcloth is made for is in Port Maitland, a tiny fishing village along the south-west shore of Nova Scotia. My great grandfather was a sea captain based out of this port. Just recently I discovered that men on ships filled long hours painting floorcloths (made out of damaged sails), so maybe floorcloth painting is in my blood and goes right back to my roots in Port Maitland! Makes you wonder… Check out this link for a cool photo of a floorcloth made in Port Maitland in 1910. Read the rest of this entry »

I just finished one of my most complex floorcloth designs to date. The knots, shading and longer-than-my-table length of this piece made it quite an ordeal.

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One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “How do you paint the middle of a large floorcloth?”

The answer is amazingly simple. If you have already laid out the entire design, Just roll up your floorcloth, painted side in. Unroll the floorcloth at the edge of the table and paint the first 2 to 3 feet, then unroll the next couple of feet and paint that section, and so on. If the floorcloth is bigger than the table, the end can hang over (after it has dried) and you’re still able to work on the table.

This piece is 17 feet long and just wide enough (3 and a half feet) that I can’t reach the far side easily, so I’ve rolled it and work on it by sections. The roll is hung under the table in this photo, so I don’t have to lean over it.

This piece is almost done. I’ll try to post some finished photos soon.

Back in April I mentioned that I had taken a trip down to Deerfield, Mass. for a photo shoot. Well, here’s the result: a cover shot on Early American Life’s Directory of Traditional Crafts edition! Read the rest of this entry »

TThis is a classic floorcloth design. John Carwitham published this design in his series of patterns for inlay floors and floorcloths in 1739.

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Sorry I’ve been a little behind in my posts. Spring has sprung and so have the floorcloth orders! Theresa and I have been painting like crazy; trying to keep up. A while ago I mentioned a mural project which will be done for the new Weathersfield, VT school. Theresa has prepped the canvas and tomorrow we’ll figure out the hem, which needs to accept an iron bar for hanging. This is basically a hanging floorcloth, made on #8 canvas and painted using the same techniques as we incorporate for the floorcloths. We will paint a coat on the back to give the piece a little more stability, but other than that it will be created just as we do the floorcloths.

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Sometimes it doesn’t take much to carry a design from something very basic to something very intriguing. Usually, it all comes down to loosening up and letting the paint do its own thing. Read the rest of this entry »

Your floorcloth should lie very flat to the floor. If it doesn’t people may trip over it and the edges can get bent over and cause cracking in the painted surface. If you are buying a floorcloth, check for the following:

1) That it has a hem- I prefer a sewn hem, but a well-glued hem is good too. At least a 1″ hem will provide enough weight to help keep the edge down to the floor.

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