Hi, I'm Erin Peacock!

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Here's the story...

I was born and raised in the green mountain state of New England (Vermont, USA). I have always been an artist, going back as far as I can remember. I loved coloring books, playdough, puzzles, drawing, playing outside, and... just playing, really. My memories of Kindergarten are: singing "Farmer In The Dell", finger painting with pudding, playing at the water and rice tables, and painting at an easel with a large men's button up shirt that we put on backwards as a smock. My favorite classes were art, gym, recess, snow days, and skip days. ha!

Growing up in the woods of Vermont, I was always outside, rain or shine.. or snow (and there was lots of it!). I played A LOT outside and it was the best. When I was inside, I'd be creative with my crafty things and oh so happy and content. 

In high school my mom let me paint on my walls and I made colorful, funky, abstract designs. I got creative with hairstyles, accessories, folding notes to friends, and a bit with my clothing style too. I took as many art classes as possible and an independent study in the art room. I wish it could have been all day art, but I was happy at least to be there most of my senior year days. 

Then college came and I studied art because, what else would I do?! I actually didn't have a legit portfolio and was afraid I wouldn't get into the studio art program, so I applied to art history, got in, and then changed majors. ;) I had to take art history classes and found them to be far too facts based and quite a drag because of that, but my studio classes were stellar and I lived in the studios as much as possible. The art building was like my second home. It was a place where I felt at home, like myself, free, calm, excited, imaginative, super creative, and like the possibilities were endless. It felt soooo easy, like my cocoon of me in my element.

After I graduated, I started my adventure into international travel and living abroad (that lasted for over a decade). Because I was living out of a backpack going here and there and moving a lot, I had a somewhat startling shock pretty quickly of me as an artist, but feeling so limited as to what I could do with it. I felt a big cloud of confusion - if I make a bunch of stuff, what will I do with it? If I spend the money on supplies, I need to make the money back and how the heck can I sell my stuff? Is it even worth it or profitable with my time to make things and sell them on the street for $2 each?.... 

Because I was so confused and didn't see a clear path to the logic and sensibility of me as a working artist backpacker, I put my art making to the side and didn't give it much attention.. for a loooong time. 

The nudging voice of my soul was always telling me to make art, but I didn't act on it so much. Well, I for sure kept doing random crafty things - whatever piqued my interest or inspired me at the time - and drew on a small sketchpads that easily traveled. I got colored pencils and sat at coffee shops. I did bits of things here and there to soothe my artistic soul and if I "landed" in a place for more than a couple months, I stocked up more on my art supplies and my art making. 

But I always felt a nudge to do A LOT more and commit to myself A LOT more. I had so many ideas brewing and stewing for series of works and classes I wanted to teach someday, but for whatever reason, I hadn't figured that out for myself quite yet.. the "but how?!" question took a strong hold and kept me stuck for over a decade!

I continued on traveling and then stayed put in a place for a while. This allowed me to save up and stock up on a variety of crafty things and getting into a groove where I was arting (as I like to say) pretty daily. 

Early 2020 I was on YouTube binging on some craft videos and I saw a video of something I had never seen before - it was absolutely captivating. It was one of those things I KNEW was for me and I HAD to get it. It was a punch needle. Fast forward to 8 months later when I got a set of needles, then punch needled 'til my heart was content, taught a few classes locally, then took a class to be a certified punch needle instructor in 2022.

I moved back to the states to settle into life here on the southern east coast. Shortly after, in late 2023, I took a class to be a certified mindful craft instructor and that got me all jazzed and the wheels spinning to get making art here and get teaching!

Since 2014, when I found out about Thich Nhat Hanh and his mindfulness teachings (which resonated so deeply with me), I have had a desire to teach mindfulness and then a desire to combine mindfulness with art. It seems like such a natural and obvious thing for who I am, how I live, and what I enjoy sharing with others. 

I'll tell you more about my mindfulness journeys in my blog posts, so for now, let's get back to the art...

In both the certification classes I did, they also included learning the technique of rug hooking, which, for me, was an absolute no. I didn't like it at all! I was learning traditional / primitive rug hooking using strips of wool which needed to all be the exact same height and very precisely hooked. I had absolutely no interest in it because it felt too rigid and not playful at all. So I set my hook aside and kept on punching. 

The punching was going well, but then I started to feel like it needed another element. So I went back to YouTube for more creative inspiration and came across Deanne Fitzpatrick and from that moment on, EVERYTHING CHANGED! My eyes went wide with curiosity, my excitement went through the roof, I was intrigued, captivated, in awe, and wanted nothing but to learn more and practice rug hooking right away. It was the contemporary twist on a traditional craft that really spoke to me. It was that sense of freedom and liberty with the use of materials and technique that felt like a resounding YES! - this feels so much like me! It was revolutionary and the thing that really set me on my path. 

Rug hooking feels like home. That feeling that I had as a playful kid and that feeling I had in the art studio in college. It's an art that makes my soul sing, brings me the deepest sense of contentment and joy. Rug hooking fills my heart with delight and giddiness. It's a refuge when I need it. It gives me the opportunity to connect with ancestors through the knowledge and wisdom of handcrafting and creating and feel a deep sense of appreciation for that wisdom and knowledge. Rug hooking is everything I ever wanted and more.

And with that, I say thank you so much for being here. Thank you for reading my story and for being a part of the Meditate To inspire community. 

I'm super excited to share rug hooking with you, to inspire each other, and to uplift one another through our craft and in life. 

As I always say, let's celebrate life and the gifts we've been given and create beautiful art that shines from the soul! 

With love, 

💖Erin😊

I’m inspired by creators, crafters, artisans, and people who care for and tend to their things with a deep sense of presence and attention. 

I am inspired by tradition and the knowledge, wisdom, skill, talent, workmanship, dedication, commitment, insistence, necessity, and resourcefulness of ancestors throughout time who have passed down these gifts to us. 

I am inspired by those moments where time doesn’t exist because of the required unconditional awareness and focus on creating what is.

I am inspired by the simplest, most devine things and experiences in my day to day life that spark joy and a deep sense of contentment. 

And I am inspired by my soul, the existence of life, love, connection, and the celebratory opportunities that exist for so many things in each moment.

All of these things create who I am and who I am is carried within each loop I make on a rug, each stitch I make into cloth, and each mark that I make on the paper.

The three things I feel are the most captivating, both for my personal art and art that I admire are:

Color

Texture

Movement

My whole life I've mostly created abstract art, with some realism sprinkled in here and there. My rug hooking journey has been abstract, but I recently got inspired to play with landscapes, which I'm finding to be somewhat challenging because it's such a new realm for me, but also deeply gratifying and fun.    

I love color! Rich, deep, dark tones and also super bright, cheery, fun colors. I use whatever speaks to me in the moment - whatever I'm inspired to or drawn to use for that piece. 

I also love texture and rug hooking is perfect for that because it's fluffy and puffy and squishy! Some of my rugs incorporate rug hooking and punch needle techniques, which give a varied dimensional look and feel. 

Movement is something I find that naturally comes out in my rugs without me thinking about it. Movement comes in the forms of color choices or composition elements and shapes.

2025 (April-May) - Mindful Crafting: Connecting to Creativity and Reducing Stress through Fiber Crafts - Mindfulness Based Crafts Course - Mindful Crafters Institute

2024 (Feb) - Certified Mindful Crafts Teacher - Mindful Crafters Institute

2023 (Apr) - Certified Oxford Punch Needle Instructor - Oxford School of Rug Hooking

2023 (Apr) - Afternoon of mindfulness with Plum Village Monastics - Ecuador

2016 (Dec)- 1 week practice - Plum Village, France

2016 (Oct) - 10 day silent meditation retreat - Vipassana Center, USA

2015 (May) - 2 week practice - Plum Village Nhap Luu, Australia

2015 (Feb-May) - 9 week practice - Dharma Gaia Mindfulness Center, New Zealand

2015 (Feb) - 1 week practice - Chandrakirti Meditation Center, New Zealand

2014 (Dec) - 1 week practice - Plum Village, France

2010 (May) - BA in Geography and Studio Art - University of Vermont, USA

I'm fluent in Spanish. 

I have lived in / visited 15 countries.

My favorite book is The Way of the Peaceful Warrior. 

I love glittery, super bright colored things with embellishments of stars, hearts, and fun patterns.

I enjoy making art as gifts for all occasions. I love gifting my own handmade goods. 

I could watch tiny house videos for days. 

My favorite season is summer with those blue sky sun shiny warm days.

If you would like to interview me for your channel, podcast, show, etc. 

Or if you'd like to collaborate on a workshop, retreat, or project. 

Please use the contact form below or send me an email.

I'd love to talk about the possibilities!

MeditateToInspire@gmail.com