Joann Vierkant spends most of her days thinking about rugs. For hours everyday she sits perched on a small footstool in front of a loom strung with her latest rug-in-progress.

Vierkant’s passion, hobby and, she hopes, one day business are wool, handwoven Navajo rugs. Although Vierkant is not of Native American descent herself, she has replicated traditional patterns while also gathering inspiration for her designs from places as unlikely as the rug bin of Building 19.

We sat down (chair, not footstool) with Vierkant at her home in Marion to learn about her craft.

What did you do before weaving?
I was a teacher for 31 years in town. I retired three years ago. Then in September of my first year, instead of going back to school, I saw an ad for lessons in fabric arts and they had weaving, so I signed up.

Being a teacher all those years where you never really see the results of your work made me like this so much. It’s exciting to do something so visual. I always wanted to do art, but as a teacher you’re so busy.

Where do you get the ideas for your patterns?
I got a bunch of books and that was a lot of what I did in the beginning. Wherever I go, I take pictures for inspiration.

What goes into creating a rug?
They take a long time to make. I design for a few days then I draw my designs on graph paper to scale. Putting the warp (the vertical strings that hold the yarn in place) on takes a day. The more careful I make the warp, the better the piece is. If it’s uneven, it comes out wiggly.

I’ve really worked on my technique. It’s all over under, over under. I guess I just have a knack for it.

What makes a Navajo rug a Navajo rug?
For a Navajo rug, you want a very tight warp. They were used for rugs, blankets and saddle blankets. Some of them could even hold water they were so tight.

The edging cord makes them Navajo. There is no fringe, which means for the last several inches of the rug I have to take it off the loom and do it by hand. With some of the bigger pieces, I can work a couple of hours and only do a half-inch. For a two foot by three-foot piece, it took me two months working pretty much every day.

What about this style of rugs appeals to you?
I was always interested in the Southwest, and I have a lot of empathy of Native Americans, the horrible treatment they got.

I always liked math, too.

Also, my mom was always doing knitting or crocheting or needlework, so I guess I fit in. She did a latch hook rug with a Southwestern design, so I guess I come from a family of rugmakers.

Now that you’ve got a lot of pieces made, what do you want to do with them?
I had a booth at Marion’s Arts in the Park this year and I’m looking into another show.

Even smaller pieces take a week. People don’t really understand that so pricing is hard. I’m still looking for an audience and working on a website.

To learn more about Joann Vierkant's work, contact her at 508-748-6916 or joann0708@gmail.com