Know Thyself Hooked Rug
Upon seeing the original skeleton mosaic for the first time in a now-discontinued Latin textbook, I immediately burst out laughing and knew that I had to recreate it. This mosaic had instant appeal to me; from the macabre “memento mori” overtones, to the Greek inscription, and especially the “draw me like one of your French girls” pose of the skeleton itself. Originally found in a Pompeian villa, I felt a connection to the personal style of whoever commissioned it. The actual creation of my project came many years later though, when I had a bit of downtime over a holiday break.
My recreation of the mosaic was made using a technique called Oxford Punch Needle, a less esoteric form of rug hooking. An infamous “hooker” herself, my grandmother is the one who handed down this skill to me. Oxford Punch Needle involves punching yarn through a loosely-woven piece of fabric, called “Monk’s Cloth,” in order to create a design. I started out by tracing the mosaic onto the cloth by draping it over a t.v. on which I projected a reversed image of the original. Then I began the punching process, which took around 4 weeks to complete. Last I whip-stitched the edges and voila! I had my very own coy-looking skeleton that I now proudly flaunt in my apartment.