BREAKING DOWN THE DESIGN PROCESS

As yet untitled design 63" X 48",  Lori LaBerge  2018

My favorite part of textile work is the design process. I love grabbing a new pencil and sketchbook or the camera and heading out into the world. There is nothing like an afternoon spent taking those sketches or photos, working through ideas and coming up with new designs. Some ideas come easily while others take time. 

Here is a bit of the process involved in the development of the work above:

While exploring the local area a few years ago we came across this structure in a low lying area near a railroad track. We walked down to take a close look at it as we had no idea what it was for. The locals say it was a drainage system for water runoff from the mountains to keep the tracks from being washed out. The windows are at varying heights (side-stepped, seen on second photo) so if one gets clogged by debris the water will go into the next one. 

The first photo was used for frontal view of tower while the side stepped windows in the second photo provided the idea of using various height buildings around it. I tend to use random colors during the design process and change them later.

A half circle was added for a focal point

The tower was changed to red to show better with the background colors

The half circle was changed to blue as the pink did not show well against the red. Lines were added bringing diagonals into the work on the top and horizontals on the bottom. The top line through the gold color was extended into the beige to break up the large block of color

Colors were changed again. The beige becomes more of a salmon color, the green yellower , and the red turned toward pink. The diagonal lines brought a roof type feel to a section of the red and that section was changed to white while the upper "window" was removed and the lower "window" extended to an elongated rectangle. A white half circle was added to balance the blue one, break up the expanse of salmon and carry the white color to the lower left of the work.

The whole work was changed to a square format

The edges will be whipped in a thin line of rust color with small sections of black, dusty rose and pink added into the edges. A section of wire fencing will be attached to two painted boards and be placed on the side of the hooked work. 

While I have my own story of finding the structure in the woods that led to the development of the work, it will be up to the viewer to create their own thoughts on the final piece.

FINISHING, DESIGNING, READING

"Construction Quad"  63" X 48"  Lori LaBerge  2018

The yarn order arrived and now all that is left for "Construction Quad" is stitching the label to the back and pouring a glass of wine to relax with. While hanging the work to photograph, I looked closer at the various shapes and contemplated creating sculptural works.

Some ideas for painted textile works were printed out and the designs for underlayers of the hooked portions will be drawn out soon.

A pre-ordered copy of Ninth Street Women was received this week and given a place in the home library. The book, by Mary Gabriel, chronicles five women painters working in abstract expressionism. The author looks at Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell and Helen Frankenthaler as they work in the male-dominated field of art. Hoping to start this one tomorrow.

SHAPES IN ART

Untitled work in design process,  14" X 11"  Lori LaBerge  2018

Shape is an important part of the design process. The shape of a work has to be decided on as well as how shapes will be formed within the work.

Start of design idea for overlay, Lori LaBerge  2018

My current work is developed in three layers. An underlayer, an overlayer and a blueprint layer.

Shapes we see are defined by other shapes around them. The shape of the turquoise rectangle above is a rectangle due to the way the shapes around it are placed. If one or more other shapes had been overlapped onto the rectangle the shape could easily change. If one shape changes due to the shape of another the decision has to be made as to whether the new shape works with the artist's intention or not.

The intention of the overlayer shown above is to show an aerial view of a city section. Things begin to change again when the blueprint layer (in white lines) is added to the work. 

Shapes in the work become divided, forming other shapes. For example, the red on the left is now divided into three shapes, an L and two rectangles. The only diagonal line is added to the bottom right which forms a triangle in a section of the dark gray. The blueprint section is an open shape which can be entered near the diagonal line. The variety is added by the background being composed of closed shapes.

Related designs in progress

Changes in shape led to the related ideas above. The large circle overlapped by turquoise vs. the small circle. The horizontal rectangular turquoise vs. the mint green vertical rectangle. The vertical ivory line not touching the top of the work vs. touching the top. The royal blue rectangle extended beyond the turquoise vs. the light blue being shorter and held within the green. 

Shapes can also add simplicity or complexity. A few large shapes vs. numerous small shapes or squares and rectangles vs. angled and organic shapes are two examples of this. 

Art Exercise-

Look at the shapes in abstract artwork and how they were formed by shapes around them and think about why the artist may have wanted a certain shape.

A LOOK IN THE SKETCHBOOK

Design and color plan of overlay for "Enter Aqua", 14" x 11"   Lori LaBerge  2018

This design brings back memories of neighborhoods I have entered. The surprise of what is around the corner and what will be discovered. The joy of finding a building that stands out from others due to shape or color. The invitation to explore and feel welcome in a new place.

This idea developed from a stairway. It was like jumping off the stairs into an imaginary world. It is planned as the overlay for a painted textile.

The left edge of this stairway struck me as a rooftop. I took to sketching.

Here the various shapes from the photo are sketched out. 

The triangle on the left is enlarged to eliminate some odd angles.

 The bottom shape on the right side is elongated to start working on balance and add a bit of depth leading to the center of the piece. The architectural aspects are coming into play.

 Some of the upper lines were eliminated and a rectangular shape started the focus of the piece.

 The bottom diagonal line is straightened while the center diagonal lines are moved so they do not meet the triangle tip and top of new straightened line. This adds a more interesting shape to the center rectangle. The smaller rectangle's top is given a horizontal edge.

 Details are added in. The half circle, a smaller rectangle on the left to break up a larger shape and lines on top of sections of two diagonals and one horizontal.

A 2-value plan is sketched up to know where lights and darks will be placed. The darks surround and enclose the lighter areas.

The final decision for color use.

All that is left is the decision as to what the hooked underlayer will look like before being painted over.

PAINTED ARCHITECTURAL TEXTILE ART

"Blueprint 2",  14" X 11"   Lori LaBerge  2018

Last week the thought of using a closeup section of one piece to create another took root. "Blueprint 2" uses a sketch of the layout of city buildings and overlaps them with lines that depict interior spaces. Here is how the studio process worked:

This is the closeup section used as the basis of "Blueprint 2". It shows how you can start with a section of one work and develop something totally different in a finished artwork.

This work was hooked as the foundation to be painted over. Values and hue were taken into account to fit with the completed work and how the paint would affect the colors. If you look closely at the finished work you can see this structure as the underlayer.

The paint starts to be applied. A division of a gray and blue section was decided upon representing both the city and the idea of a blueprint.

Various blues and grays continue to be applied.

The cityscape is finished and it is time for the blueprint lines to be painted over the top.

The finished work to be matted and framed.

CREATING BY SPEAKING WITH YOUR WORK

  "Orange Mint"  11" X 14"  Lori LaBerge  2018

We've been on the road the last couple of weeks, but I have been working. This piece uses repetition. Three curves (2 partial circles and the upper left) and multiple diagonal lines. There are two whites, blacks, greens and oranges. A bit of shadow play uses the dark orange and dark green. The cityscape is implied but avoids realism.

New sketches were created with the idea for "Orange Mint" on the middle right.

I am reading "You Say to Brick", a biography of architect Louis Kahn written by Wendy Lesser.

"You Say to Brick: The Life of Louis Kahn"  by Wendy Lesser

The title is Kahn's reference to his method of talking to materials and asking them what they want to become. I am finding myself attempting to apply this method by looking at a design sketch and saying "Okay sketch, what colors would you like to have? What would you like to convey?" It is a bit odd at first, almost as if you are giving up control. It is not necessarily what you want the sketch to be when turned into a textile work (after all, as artists we can be a bit self involved), but what it wants to be. 

I like Kahn's way of thinking about what a material or design wants rather than what it needs.

"Industrial Park" in progress  Lori LaBerge  2018

Another work titled "Industrial Park" (in progress) was developed from the sketches made. The original vertical rectangle was changed to a half circle. The design basically said "I want to be an industrial park (this developed the title) and I want a half circle with a curve like the top of the blue and yellow sections have. Because industrial parks can have dull colors, make my half circle bright red."

Without using Kahn's method, I may have made the yellow door like section the focus by using a brighter color or more contrast against the blue. This may have worked, but I look forward to seeing how that red works when the piece is completed. Well, with Kahn's method I know who's boss and it seems to be the art itself.

TEXTILE ART IN PROGRESS, FURTHER DESIGN WORK

 

Partial section of work in progress,  Lori LaBerge  2018

The majority of the week was spent continuing work on a larger piece. The size is 48" X 48" and it is being hooked in a #6 cut. Here are a few close-ups of various sections:

On Thursday, I took a break from the larger work to sketch up some new ideas to work further with. Here's a peek inside the sketchbook:

This was developed from an industrial park that we passed by while traveling. The erasure lines can be seen on the drawing, showing the many variations of ideas used until one came together.

This work did not really come together until I decided to use a half circle. That led to a pathway toward it. I'm looking at orange, grays, turquoise, bright blue, gold, white and black for the color plan.

TWO-VALUE STUDIES CAN HELP WITH COLOR PLANNING

Untitled design,  Lori LaBerge  2018

This week included work on design and color planning. This has led to plans to create a grouping of black and white works from 2-value studies.

Here is how thoughts developed for two designs using sketchbook and Photoshop:

A design was drawn from a previous sketch. A half circle was added to the left hand side which can be seen in the photo at the top of the post. This balances out the work and detracts a bit from the large section of white. If you put your finger over the half circle you can see how the eye first focuses on the yellow rectangle and is then pulled to the left by the white. If you view the work with the yellow half circle, you can see how it brings the eye down from the white, so the eye is not stranded at the top of the work.

As color planning was developed, I began by separating the design into 2 values so I could clearly separate the light areas from the dark areas. It helps to think about shapes when working with these studies.

I decided on a calm, relaxing feel to the work. The light areas consist of white and sage green while the darker areas were filled with turquoise, navy and yellow. The darker colors were broken down into light dark, medium dark and dark. A black line was added to the rectangle to emphasize the focal point.

Untitled design,  Lori LaBerge  2018

Here a light center is surrounded by dark sides. It can be seen how the design also changed a bit  with the black rectangle enlarged, the right side being extended all the way to the top and a horizontal rectangle added on the right.

The eye is clearly drawn to the lighter center of the work with the bright pink rectangle the focus.