BACK TO HOOKING, PLEIN AIR AND JOURNALING EMOTION

It feels good to be back home.  We had a great time in Vermont where we celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary in Stowe.  Now, it's back to work.

"Road Movie"  abstract in progress  20 X 20  Lori LaBerge  2013

Progress is being made on "Road Movie". Two lighter grays were used to depict the silver screen, though close in value they are working out well so far. The black filmstrip area adds the right amount of variety and interest.  I should be finishing up the hooking work and adding embellishments this coming week.

There has been minimal interest in the plein air group I would like to start.  Plein air painters are a hearty breed, dealing with heat, cold, wind and the other hazards of working outdoors.  I know rug hookers are just as tough as painters and it is a great way to study light and nature.

 Colors chosen for this weeks plein air work.

"Along the Drive"  4 X 6  Lori LaBerge  2013  Plein Air Hooking

I will be working the next few weeks setting up a website for Plein Air Hooking Artists. Here is a list of what is planned so far:

--there is no membership fee
--site will display hooked works which are actually hooked in the outdoors.
--artists may not use photos for reference while hooking
-- each artist will send photos of their work to me when they wish and  I will put them up on the site.  Work should be well photographed.
--photos of artists working outdoors are encouraged.
--artists will send a short bio to be placed on the site. This may be edited with final approval by the artist.
--there will be links available to artists websites or blogs.
--artists must be serious about their work and plan on contributing work to the site.
--promotion of rug hooking as art and enjoyment of the talents of others.  (Have fun!)

E-mail me at lorilaberge@gmail.com if you would like to be included.  There are some who have shown interest but left me with no way to contact them.  Please use the e-mail above and leave your e-mail for contact (a no-reply e-mail will not allow me to contact you).

A great resource on plein air is this special issue put out by American Artist magazine.

There are many different ways to display emotion in artwork.  For the journal activity this week a list of words dealing with feelings was made, one of these was chosen, and photos were cut from magazines which displayed this emotion.

Emotions could include:  peacefulness, happiness, anger, serenity, calmness, laziness, energy, sadness, hope, relief, love, abandonment, innocence, etc

I chose serenity and energy and created these two pages in my journal.

It was interesting to see how important color was in my determination of serenity and energy with cool colors being serene and warm colors depicting energy.  It made me wonder if red could be made serene or a soft blue be made energetic.

Think about the feeling you want to portray through your work, work toward that end and have a great day.