"CLIFF BY THE SEA", PREPARATION FOR PENLAND CLASS

"Cliff by the Sea"  13 1/4 X 10 X 2 1/2  Lori LaBerge 2012

One more rock rug was completed before I spend the next two weeks taking a weaving class at Penland. The rock used for "Cliff by the Sea" reminded me of the White Cliffs of Dover.  A photo of the cliffs can be seen here. Since the area of the cliffs has a fence line, I created one for my own "cliff".

 Close-up of fence and rock,  "Cliff by the Sea"  Lori LaBerge  2012

The fence took on a rougher look, weathered a bit by time. Old picture hangers, nails, wire and fishing weights were gathered. The weights were used as buoys hanging from the upright posts of the fence.

I have also been busy ordering supplies for a rug weaving class with Michael Rohde at Penland. It is a two-week course with studios open 24-7.  I will let you know how it is going next week.  The thought of combining weaving and rug hooking has been in the back of my mind for a while and I am hoping I can acquire enough skills to make this happen.

Since I am new to weaving and have not created a design yet, I had a difficult time ordering colors.  How much of each color will I need?  There is red, orange, light purple, dark purple, white and black.  Hopefully, it will all work out.

Some of the typical supplies for classes.  On the back right side, there is  a book on rug techniques by Peter Collingwood.  I'm finding the book fairly technical.  It should be easier to follow when I am actually looking at a loom rather than visualizing one.  I could not find a site of the late Peter Collingwood's work, but his son Jason has a great site here.  Lots of geometric eye candy under the gallery heading.

Here are items I am totally unfamiliar with.  On top are a heddle hook, for threading and a rug beater for packing down each row of weaving.  The second row is a temple for keeping the edges of the rug straight.  The bottom two are stick shuttles for holding the yarn as weaving is done.  Do I sound like I know what I'm talking about?  I'm so much more comfortable with rug hooking tools.

Yesterday, I started creating an art journal with photos of colors, textures, and ideas for the class. It is great to feel like a kid again, cutting and pasting photos from magazines. 

Here is my journal page on texture.  Bumpy, rough, furry, I love them all!  Most of the photos I cut out are from one of my favorite magazines, Interior Design.  

Next up were design and color.  You can really learn a lot about yourself by doing this exercise.   There was no surprise that I veer toward contemporary designs.  The surprise came with the circles, not a shape I find myself using much.  I love all color combinations, but analogous ruled with a bit of complementary.  The simple act of pasting one picture over another gave me some great ideas for future pieces.

Grab yourself an art journal (you don't need anything fancy), reach for your inner child and have a great day.