At the annual August Art in the Park show in South Portland, Maine, I was enjoying a sunny Saturday and the offerings of artists working in every medium imaginable when I came across a booth with the intriguing banner: “Rope Art.”

Rope as an artist’s medium!

I had to take a closer look.

Artist Amy Wagner

At first glance the art works inside looked like they might have been painted in acrylics, but they were actually composed with lengths of colored rope, giving them a three dimensional look, and a bold graphic feel. Artist Amy Wagner explained that her work was composed using lengths of three-strand hemp rope. She buys rolls of uncolored rope and then dyes batches of the rope a variety of colors. She said hemp was superior to other rope materials because it retains its structure and takes the dye well. “Cotton rope untwists when it gets wet,” Wagner explained. “And you end up with kind of a mush.”

“Fox” image courtesy Amy Wagner

She got into using rope for her art when she saw another type of artwork done using rope and was instantly intrigued. She sketches out her scene and then dyes the rope based on the color palette for the subject and then carefully cuts and assembles her pieces. Favorite subjects include wildlife, butterflies and flowers she sees in the marsh near where she lives in Scarborough, Maine. She says the work sells so well she is kept busy staying in stock. The image here doesn’t do the work justice, go to her website for more info and a gallery of Wagner’s unique rope art.