RUG HOOKING AND SALVAGE: THE WEEK IN PICTURES

A new project was started this week from an original drawing done when the idea of working with abstract figures began.

Monday:  Colors to be dyed were decided upon.  I went with analogous groupings.

  This is the same wool after dyeing.  A marbleized method was used.

Tuesday:  The idea behind this piece is to be yourself and show your individuality.  The figures are completed and some background has started.

 Wednesday:  Background is completed on the blue figure and washers have been stitched into the circle areas.

Thursday:  Background has been started on another figure.  The rest of the background will be a dark brown and green mix so the blue figure with a light ivory pastel background will stand out.

Friday:  We stopped at Architectural Salvage of Greensboro as I was running out of salvaged pieces to work with and need some for this piece.  This is a great place to find all kinds of pieces to fit into artwork and the people there are really friendly.

Here is a box full of old locks.  I love the variety of colors.  Rust, white peeling paint, silver, brown etc.  

This wall of old door plates is one of my favorites.  There are a large variety of styles to fit all sorts of projects.

So often we feel as if we have not accomplished enough.  Take photos of your daily efforts, surprise yourself while viewing all you have done in one simple week and have a great day.

TWO MIXED-MEDIA PIECES COMPLETED

"Locked Into My Quiet Time"   Lori LaBerge  2012

"Locked Into My Quiet Time", shown in progress in last week's blog, has been completed. I added upholstery tacks on the sides and two corner brackets at the bottom with twine stretched between them.

Last week, I had mentioned possibly adding some stones. When I spotted the two corner brackets in my box of salvage parts, it gave me the idea to place a section of twine between them to represent a barrier against outside interruptions. Sometimes we just need to block out others and take time for ourselves. I would still like to use stones in the future, but they would not have worked well with this piece.

The salvaged handle and latch, shown above, before being permanently set into a new work  surprised me as they were not meant to go together, yet fit perfectly. When I grabbed them from my salvage box and noticed this, I knew they would be going into my next piece, "Freedom to Come and Go".  The latch was set in place so it can be displayed placed into the handle or left open.

"Freedom to Come and Go"  Lori LaBerge  2012 framed with latch closed

"Freedom to Come and Go"  Lori LaBerge 2012 framed with latch open

The washers and upholstery tacks were placed in a curve to give a sense of whimsy and spontaneity, two types of behavior that fit well with the idea of freedom.

Enjoy your freedom, kick up your heels, try something on a whim and have a great day.

THE NEW AND THE OLD

"The Rain Will End"  15" X 20 3/4"  Lori LaBerge  2012

New this past week is the completion of the hooking of "The Rain Will End", above.   I still need to finish the whipping, mounting and framing.

This piece includes the last of the Victorian doorknob plates I have. Time to head out and find another architectural salvage store. The piece refers to how we all have times when the rain never seems to end and we are waiting for the sun to shine upon our lives. The photo in the doorknob hole shows water pipes referring to how we each have the ability to turn off the rain in our lives.

The old in this week's news is an older hooked rug I found at the Antique Tobacco Barn in Asheville on last week's trek. If you get the chance, this is a must see. I went back to look at this rug at least five times while walking throughout the building. (The walk is actually more like a long hike as the building is 77,000 square feet.)

What drew me to the rug was the geometric pattern and how bright some of the colors still were. There was no information that came with the rug, so I have no idea how old it is. What is interesting is how worn the center of the rug is. We usually think of the edges of a rug wearing out faster and go the extra mile to protect those edges with whipping, rug tape or other methods. It most likely was used in an entry way to wipe feet.

new and old patches on back of rug

There appear to be both old and new repairs throughout the back of the rug. One, above, appears to have been done fairly recently, perhaps before putting the rug up for sale.

T.C. (Tough Cookie) at work

I'd like to introduce you to my "assistant", above, this week.  He keeps me up on the ins and outs of the business side of the art world like nobody's business.   I don't know what I would do without him. If you have an "assistant" at home, give him or her a big hug and have a great day.

MIXED-MEDIA "FREE PASSAGE" IN PROGRESS

The past week was spent designing and hooking a new piece. Mixed-media is always interesting as construction issues have to be taken into account. In this piece, I plan on putting a metal plate in the center with an item screwed to the top of the plate. This led to planning the center of the piece so the plate will fit properly after the hooking is done. Since fiber is rarely perfect, the plate had to constantly be placed onto the empty center of the piece for fitting purposes. I want a tight fit with no backing fabric showing through on the edges of the metal plate. This piece was worked on monk's cloth rather than linen to allow for some stretching to fit the plate. 

An alternative to this method could have been to adhere the plate to the backing fabric before the hooking process and hook around it. In a few experiments with this method it seemed the backing fabric showed on the edges and I did not get the tight fit I was looking for. The size of the plate did not always match up to the holes in the backing fabric. I'll experiment more with this at a later date. Here are photos of the work so far: 

Hooking and whipped edging done with center awaiting completion.

Artboard primed, painted, and glazed with patina.

Work table with items for finishing work.

A great old lock found at an architectural salvage company.  This will be used for the centerpiece.  I have not decided whether to leave as is or paint it, but I really like the old feel so am veering toward as is.

This is my old piece of cardboard and the metal pieces I am spray painting for the piece.  It looks like a work of art all by itself.

Experiment with news things, try alternatives when things aren't going the way you planned and have a great day!