"ROAD MOVIE' HOOKING COMPLETED, BEING INNOVATIVE, PLEIN AIR

The hooking was completed on "Road Movie" this morning.  

"Road Movie"  20 X 20  Lori LaBerge  2013

I love this!  I seem to be obsessed with the color blue lately.  The urge for a coastal trip, perhaps?  Some areas still to be worked on are tweaking the hooking, attaching the metal pieces, clipping loose wool threads and whipping the edges.    

A smaller washer, which I painted, was placed on top of a larger one.  It gives some depth and adds color on top of the larger washer.  I get the feeling of tires rolling along on the roadway from these.  It is hard to see from the photo, but the dark tweed wool on the bottom has the same shade of blue that is in the darker portion of the stripe running through it.

This weeks journal activity will be the beginning of a project.  I will be working on creating an "innovative piece" to enter into a juried show.  I see innovative as being something different (a new idea), something I haven't seen before ( a new way of working)  and that veers from tradition. 

This week I took my first step of finding a subject.  This can sometimes be overwhelming as there are so many options and the shows only theme is "innovative". 

The subject was arrived at through materials.  I found an old pulley at an antique shop a while back and have been waiting for an idea to use it.  From the pulley came the idea of the working class.  The piece will be titled "Blue Collar".  I pulled blue wool from the studio shelf and while searching through my box of metals found two sizes of chains.  

I know I will use the chain over the pulley somehow.  I will also use a photo of our local quartz plant as inspiration for the work.  The next week will be spent putting this idea together.

The Quartz Company in Spruce Pine, NC

Try some of your own innovations.  Ideas could include choosing an odd subject, using different materials than you would normally see hooked, putting materials together in an unexpected way or adding various embellishments.  You may wish to simply work on the design process in your journal or you may choose to hook a piece.  Be creative!  There are no rules here.

The "Plein Air Hooking Artists" is in the works.  I will be working on planning out the website tomorrow.  I have listed the idea under the group section of the TIGHR (The International Guild of Handhooking Rugmakers) website.  If you are a member of TIGHR please take a look and see if you would be interested in joining.  If you are not a member, think about joining.  It is a great way to keep in contact with other rug hookers, exchange ideas and view some amazing work.

    "Autumn's Start"  4 X 6  Lori LaBerge  2013

Membership is free and will be ongoing.  If you are interested in joining us please contact me at lorilaberge@gmail.com.

Be innovative, whether cooking, singing, dancing or creating,and have a great day.

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.

"ROAD MOVIE" STARTED, THINKING LIKE A SURREALIST, STUDIO UPDATE

This was another busy week.  Monday was spent on jury duty, which was quite an experience.  Tuesday through Friday were spent placing siding on the studio building. There was time, however, to sneak in a bit of hooking.

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

The difference in value between the two lower blues may not be enough.  It is better than the photo shows, but may need to be adjusted.  My thought at this point is to mix a lighter value in with the middle blue, adding interest as well as lightening up that particular section.  As usual, I will wait and see as the piece progresses.

For an art journal exercise this week, I turned to the surrealists.  I have been interested in surreal art since college.  Modern Art History was required for my minor and I was drawn to the work of Rene Magritte.  Where did he get those ideas?  This has been on my mind every since I drew out "The Giant Red Pear Warehouse".   I have decided to work on my off hours (I'll find some somewhere.) beginning a surreal series with each piece including a pear.

"The Giant Red Pear Warehouse"  digital art  Lori LaBerge  2013

A great exercise for thinking in a surreal fashion is to create columns of words consisting of nouns, verbs and prepositional phrases.  This is a game my husband and I used to play with the kids to learn the parts of speech.   Here is an example: 

Nouns                         Verbs                                         Prepostional Phrases

Pears                         singing                                        in a warehouse

Boats                         walking                                        on a pier

Chairs                        swimming                                    in a tub

Boxes                         relaxing                                      on a beach

Books                         strolling                                      with an umbrella

Cat                             jumping                                      from a skyscraper

Vases                        riding                                          on a skateboard

Now mix up the columns. Some examples from above would be "books walking on a beach" or "boxes jumping in a tub".  You can tone it down and just use the nouns and prepositional phrases.  How about a chair on a beach (make it an unexpected chair) or a model sailboat on a skateboard.  I really like that one!  This is a great way to get your mind thinking creatively.

American Art Collector magazine, September 2013

My favorite surreal artist of today is Andrea Kowch, whose work is pictured on the cover of American Art Collector above.  Her work is realistic, surreal, etheral, haunting and beautiful all at the same time.  It just takes me to another place and has me forever wondering what her subjects are thinking about.

If you are interested in painting, American Art Collector magazine is an excellent resource showing the work of some of the most talented painters around today.

Mix things up, think a little differently and have a great day.

STUDIO UPDATE --

  This week's work on the siding.

Do it yourself building takes forever,  I have decided to use the as yet unfinished space whenever I can.  Here is an art frame I was sanding.  You just have to do what makes you happy.

HOOKING CONTINUES ON "COASTAL ROUTE", LINE EXERCISE, STUDIO UPDATE

This was a busy week and I surprised myself by actually getting some hooking done.  I am loving working on this piece.  

"Coastal Route" in progress,  Lori LaBerge  2013.  

I may change the upper left white line as things progress.  For now I will leave as is since it will be an easy fix if needed.  The blues are giving the calm, relaxed feel I am going for.

The grouping of small squares is allowing me to really focus on each section in relation to the others around it.  After each section is completed I ask myself "Are the lines straight?" and " Are the loops packed too tightly to keep the square in proportion once the next square is hooked?" 

Though hooking was started, I decided to put the original sketch into Photoshop and add some color to see how the whole piece will feel.  Here is the Photoshop picture:

Color added to "Coastal Route" design in Photoshop.  I also drew in the metal which will be attached to the piece.

I am torn between using and not using technology to create handmade pieces.  The more I use it, the better I feel about it.  I no longer think that placing color in a hand drawn design with Photoshop is any different than placing the colors with paint or colored pencils. Sometimes I feel like a brush and pencil and sometimes I feel like using the computer.  It is a matter of preference.  

The art journal exercise worked on this week relates to lines.  This is a great exercise for both realistic and abstract artists.  Draw twelve squares on a sheet of paper.  Within each square draw only three lines.  A line ends when you lift your writing utensil or touch the edge of the square.  The lines do not have to be straight. For example, a circle would qualify as one drawn line.  I also limited myself to 10 minutes, but there is no time limit on this exercise.

Art journal page

I seemed to spend most of my 10 minutes deciding which direction to go with this, but once I started on the architectural theme it went fast.  This type of exercise encourages working with limitations.  When limited, how far can you go?  I am now contemplating a series of small architectural works.  You cannot just sit back and wait for inspiration to happen, you have to work at it.

There are no limitations in the art world, but forcing them upon yourself now and then can stretch creativity.  It is similar to working with what you have.  I can't count the times I have grabbed a stash box full of wool and just worked with what was in it.

Try working with some limitations this week, see if it changes your outlook and have a great day.

STUDIO UPDATE--

 Here's where we are now.  Luckily, my husband knows how to do wiring, so I am in training.  When we are done we just have to call the inspector to check it.

 Recessed lighting is being placed up above.

 Picked up this cool faucet for the dye sink.

Went into Asheville to pick up the sink.  Also stopped at Papa's and Beer Mexican Restaurant for a margarita and spinach quesadilla because all work and no play is just not a good thing.

"ROUNDABOUT' IN PROGRESS, WRITING AN ARTIST STATEMENT

It felt good to get home and have wool strips flowing through my fingers.  I am continuing work on the road series which is officially named "The Roads We Travel". 

 "Roundabout"  in progress,  20 X 20 Lori LaBerge  2013

The hooking is done on "Roundabout" and I am looking forward to the embellishment phase where I will be adding washers to the piece.  A trip to the local hardware stores to find a 3" washer to be placed in the center of the "roundabout" led to disappointment. 

Reverting to the internet, I found one at McMaster-Carr.  I have used this site before as it is a great source of odd materials such as heavyweight felt, screws, rivets, bolts, pipes, mesh, foam etc.  Just looking at the various items gives me ideas for projects.  When my washer arrives I will be back to working on this piece and remembering the many experiences my husband and I had driving through the multi-lane roundabouts in Great Britain.

I will be applying to an exhibit soon and found that my artist statement needed to be revamped.  This became my journal activity for the week.

An old artist statement that, quite frankly, needs to be redone.

Taking the time to write an artist statement allows for a review of where you are and where you are going with your work.  I would recommend it for all artists, whether professional or hobbyist.  When creating works there are sometimes things happening with your thoughts you do not realize until you write things down.  It can help you to find if you are focused or still experimenting with your work.

A statement takes time.  Do you want a general statement on your work or do you want to focus the statement on a particular series?  Does it flow easily?  That is, does it jump around or does one paragraph lead into the other? Is it clear and understandable to those who do not know "art speak"?

  Take the time to develop your thoughts for your statement.

Do not try to include your life story in a statement.  Personally, when writing one for myself or reading someone else's I prefer it be kept on the shorter side unless otherwise requested. Try to include how your work is done (technique, medium), how the work came about, why you are creating it, and what you hope this work accomplishes. 

Here is the 3rd pass of the statement I am working on:

Texture is a large part of my life. As a child I loved wrapping myself in the silken comforter given to me by my grandmother. Today, I revel in curling up in a warm, soft blanket and enjoying a relaxing evening. When in the studio I am surrounded by bolts of wool, rug hooks, hooking frames, packets of dye and the freedom to create.

"The Roads We Travel" series began with an exploration of everyday travel routes. This thought evolved into exploring my feelings about travel and how it affects me. Some days I spend a majority of my time on the road, other days I find myself making quick trips here and there. I drive on little traveled country roads and high-traffic city roads.

Many of the experiences I have on the road relate to my life in general. I have hit speed bumps on the roadway as well as on the road of life. I find myself making u-turns, yielding to others and, some days, traveling in circles trying to find my own personal direction.

My hope is for individuals to not just think of getting from point A to point B, but to explore how their travels pertain to their life. 

The statement should encourage others to explore your work, but not tell them how to feel about the work.  Each person may experience the work in a different way and that is what art is all about.

Explore how you feel about art you create or view, read various artist statements (everyone's idea of how one is done will vary) and have a great day.

KEEPING AN ART JOURNAL FOSTERS CREATIVITY

I have been keeping an art journal and working on related side projects since January. With six months of work in the journal, I decided it was time to start referring back to it.  Flipping through the pages, I stopped at the section where I had written down words referring to roads (the subject of this years series of work). These were some of the words that had been written:

pavement     lines          lanes     curves      intersection     dirt          cobblestone 
shoulders     signs          GPS       scenery    winding          speed     street lights     
city               country       blocks    grids         one-way        route       highway          
rest stop      direction      map       traffic        cars              byways    trip                 
travel           street          exit         tolls          parking          parkway  viaduct           
rural            distance      merge    passage   interstate       urban      dead end
lights           skid marks  circle

Looking through these words led to this design:

as yet untitled, Lori LaBerge  2013

The process:

1.  The words city, country, urban and rural piqued my interest in the above grouping.  The urban city and rural country are opposites, yet I love the aspects of each of them and thought it would be interesting to combine them in one piece.

2.   I looked at photos of roadways:

One of many winding, hilly roads in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.  This is a view from Mt. Mitchell.

The streets of Boston viewed from the top of the Prudential building.  Roads form blocks for ease of transportation.

  

It is easy to distinguish the center city block in Edinburgh, Scotland.  The buildings, as in the Boston photo, are situated inside the rectangular road layout.  This photo was taken from Edinburgh Castle, which overlooks the city.

3.  The decision was made to create the city block of the rug hooked piece in rectangular block form.  Since the country and city sections are opposites, I did not want them both flat on the piece.  The city block section will be layered on top of the country road section when it is completed.

4.  The small dot was added as a "you are here" representation, commonly seen on maps.  The larger dots will even this out and the stripes are meant to be larger sections of road.

5.  Color was decided upon using freehand Photoshop Elements:

as yet untitled, color plan, Lori LaBerge  2013

It took me a while to learn, but I truly love Photoshop.  This step could also be done using colored pencils, marker or paints (which I still do quite frequently).  Photoshop allows the convenience of being able to quickly change colors for viewing, while hands-on just has a special feel to it you don't get from a computer.

6.  Wool was dyed or found in studio stash:

7.  Hooking was completed and whipping started on the city block section:

The roads were done in white while there is a faint grid done in light blue in the background as is used for reference on maps.  The rest of the piece will be hooked this coming week.

Rug Hooking Magazine has an article on hooking maps in the June/July/August 2013 issue.

Start a journal, go back to it every once and a while for ideas, design a new piece and have a great day. 

BACK TO RUG HOOKING, RECYCLING JOURNAL ACTIVITY AND STUDIO UPDATE

"Through the Cherry Blossoms", 18" X 60" in progress,  Lori LaBerge  2013

It felt good to get back to having wool and a hook in my hands.  "Through the Cherry Blossoms" is coming along nicely and will make a beautiful wall hanging. The only thing bothering me right now is the white line at the top as it appears to be too close to the top of the dark center vertical line.  I'll wait until the piece is done to see if I should change this or not.

I did run out of one of the grays I was using and spent some time at the dye pot. This is one of my favorite grays.  Green, brown and gray dyes were spotted over natural wool.  It has a rich suede look to it.  I will continue hooking the section with this color on Monday.

The journal activity this week turned into a larger project.  I have been wanting to do a project with recycling ever since eyeing some wood pallets that were used in building the new studio. After sitting down and staring at one of the pallets for a while, an idea finally began. 

Since it was a recycling project I pulled an old copy of "The Sun Also Rises" off the bookshelf and headed to the studio to search through my bins of leftover wool.  The idea was to collage  pages of the book onto the pallet then place strips of wool in yellow and red to depict the idea of a sunrise.

Here is the pallet with painting in progress.  I knew I wanted a white striped area in between the red slats.  If you know me or have been reading the blog for a while, you know there had to be a stripe in this somewhere.  On the top of the pallet you can see the beginning of tacking wool strips to the pallet itself.

A close-up of the wool strips which were glued and tacked to red section of pallet.

Close-up of passages of book cut out and glued to white section of pallet.

"Sunrise",  39 1/2"  X  48", Lori LaBerge  2013

Here is the finished project hanging on the wall.  The only problem with the pallet use is you can see through it, so you have to be careful of the color wall it is hung on.  I learned quite a bit through this project:

I need to study up on types of glue for collage work on wood and get better at having the paper sit completely flat with no wrinkles.  I like a rough look and did not sand the pallet first.  If I had done so I may have had better luck with the paper being flat.

It is difficult to cut wool into a perfect rectangular shape.  I am used to tearing wool for rug hooking and did so with this project.  The wool seemed to stretch slightly as it was glued to the wood.  I tended to like the not so perfect look.

It takes time to come up with a concept.  I wanted to work with more than color and the book was something that gave the piece a theme to work with leading to the sunrise look for the wool sections.

I would like to work on this concept in hooked wool.  Though I enjoyed laying down the strips of wool cloth, I missed the hooking process.

Find what you have around to recycle, veer from your chosen art field to explore others, see how those other fields can be applied to your field and have a great day.

STUDIO UPDATE --

With the wind and rain letting up, some progress was made on the new studio this week.  Below is the work done on the front porch entry area.  If you look closely, you can see my husband working on the roofing.

CONTINUING "CHERRY BLOSSOMS ", REVIEWING PAST WORK

This week I continued some work on the latest road series piece.  As you can see below, very little was accomplished as we traveled up to Vermont and are currently visiting my parents.  The next two weeks Kami LaBerge will be taking over the blog from Los Angeles, CA.  She will show you some of their museums and other things related to the art world.

"Through the Cherry Blossoms"  in progress, Lori LaBerge  2013

For a journal project, I decided to look at some of the rug hookings I've done throughout the years.  I do not have photos of most of my very early work as I had an older camera and was not using the computer back then.  

   2001-- "Spring's Gift" was one of the first large patterns I worked on.  Patterns are a great place for beginners to start.  You can learn from others designs before working on you own.  I completed the floral center first and waited quite a while to attempt the scrolls.  Florals are quite popular and it is a great way to learn shading.

  2002--I did quite a lot of original realistic pieces early on.  This was derived from a photo I took on a trip to England.  Each of the abbey's we visited had a resident cat. The cat and vases were added for interest, but I just loved the angle of the windows.

  2005--This seemed to be a year when I did a variety of pieces and stayed with creating my own designs.  There was a lot of experimenting with where I really wanted to go with my work.  Animals are always a favorite.

  Another 2005.  I had taken a class and was told there was no such thing as a blue leaf.  I did a green leaf in class and came home and designed this, where I did my own blue leaf.  Lesson learned:  Don't let anyone tell you you can't create what you want with your art.

  2005 again.  This is where the stripes began to develop.  As I look at these pieces done in the same year, I wonder if the above tree piece with the tall stripe-like trees, led to the decision to do strictly stripes.

 2007-2010-- These years consisted of quite a few crow pieces.  These developed from a move to Spruce Pine, NC where our front field was full of crows.  They varied from realistic to the start of abstraction in "Tears of the Crow" above.

  2011--  I turned back to stripes during this year and have never looked back.  I seem to see them everywhere.

  2012--  A variation of the stripe is used in the latest road series group.  In this series the stripe varies from straight to curved to cut-off to random and more.  

Look back on your own past work, try finding how you got to where you are today with your pieces and have a great day.

LARGER RUG HOOKING IN PROGRESS, MY TEN FAVORITE ARTISTS

The urge to work a little larger hit me this week.  I will be heading to Vermont on Saturday for a two week period and do not want to bring multiple pieces to work on. An 18" X 60" piece was designed, wool dyed and hooking started.  The design is based on one I had developed during a weaving class at Penland.

  "Through the Cherry Blossoms" in progress  18" X 60"  Lori LaBerge  2013

There will be alternating lilac and pink down the center strip, random white lines through the piece and various grays in light, medium and dark in the background.

hand-dyed wool

When I decided on colors, my son stated they reminded him of a cherry blossom tree.  That idea led to the title "Through the Cherry Blossoms".  The deeper pink is fairly bright, but should be fine once the grays are surrounding it.

I took a break from hooking on Friday to work on a journal activity.  A list was made of my ten favorite artists along with short notes on what I like about their work.  They are in order by time period.  

1.  Vincent van Gogh-  swirling brushstrokes with lots of texture, bold use of color in later works (around 1888) which was a change from his earlier use of duller colors. Love his paintings of buildings and was lucky enough to find a Kindle download at Amazon of 500 works for a mere $3.99.  Now I can look at photos of Van Gogh's work on my Kindle or ipad to relax in the evenings.  Heaven!

2.  Henri Matisse-  wild, happy, pure color.  Used color unrealistically as form of expression.  This had a strong influence on many of the artists who followed him.

3.  Amedeo Modigliani-  simple, elongated portraits.  There is something melancholy and intriguing about his work.  His interest in African masks can be seen in his portraits.  He portrays average people and does not attempt to make them appear regal in any way, though there is an elegance to the longer necks.

4.  Lauren Harris-  simplicity and wonderful use of shadows.  He was one of Canada's Group of Seven artists.

5.  Joseph Albers-  use of the geometric, color relations.  For those interested in how colors interact with each other, this is your guy.  It takes a great deal of dedication and discipline to work on repetitive pieces.  When you see his Homage to the Square series as a grouping, it is a breathtaking wall of color.

6. Aaron Douglas-  a clean style with the ability to create emotion even though he is using flat silhouetted figures.

7. Georgia O'Keeffe-  though known for her flower paintings, I am drawn to her buildings.  They are defined with great geometric lines.  I especially love "New York Street Moon" as, for me, it tricks the eye.  I am drawn to the sharp jagged shape of the sky area before my eyes are drawn to the shape of the buildings.  My eyes go back and forth between negative and positive space.

8.  Frank Stella-  canvases of various shapes, stripes, color, geometrics.  Not sure about his latest works, but I love those geometrics.

9.  Sean Scully-  abstraction ,stripes, stripes, stripes! and areas of color built up through layers.  Like Albers, great dedication and discipline, working with stripes for years.

10.  El Anatsui-  light and shadow created by the draping of attached items such as milk tins and bottle caps.  I can't believe the beauty he has portrayed with found objects.  He also uses wood for some pieces. 

This activity brought back college memories of art history class. Sipping on a Coke and viewing painting after painting on the huge screen in the auditorium. Those were the days! 

The internet is a wonderful source for viewing artwork.  Look up your favorite artists, determine what it is you like about their work and have a great day.

Studio Update:

The windows were finally installed this week.  Now we need to work on more roofing.