BACK TO GEOMETRICS, GREEN MOUNTAIN RUG SCHOOL CLASS

Section 1 of "Directions" unfinished,  10" x 10"   Lori LaBerge  2016

It feels great to get back to my geometric work.  Though I love the landscapes and sculptures I've been working on, my heart belongs to geometrics.  Shape, color and line are my main interests.  

While working on this piece, it suddenly hit me where the design derived from.  It has been a stressful time lately.  Funerals, my mother's Alzheimers, exhibits to ready for, and learning new technology among other things life throws at us.  The piece really signifies not just the physical directions of roadways, but the various directions life pulls us in.

Section 2 of "Directions" unfinished,  10" x 10"  Lori LaBerge  2016

Two of the sections have completed the hooking phase and still need metal added along with edges finished.  The final work will be a quadriptych (four pieces placed together to form one artwork).

One of the last two sections in progress

I am also working on putting a class together for Green Mountain Rug School.  The class will be "The Art of Plein Air" held from June 17-20, 2017.

In class, we will discuss how working outdoors through sketching, note taking and photography can help improve our studio work.  Color, lighting and composition will be looked at through exercises.  We will also learn how to translate what we see outdoors into realistic, abstract and surreal works.  Experimentation will be encouraged.  All styles are welcome. 

 "Surrealism" put out by Phaidon books

Since the term Plein Air was brought to us by the French, we will experience wine, Perrier and French cookies while we begin creating our own works.  I can hardly wait!

I would love to have you join me at this wonderful venue.  You can register for class here.

I also took a ride over to Little Switzerland and stopped at Charlies Quilts and Sew Much More shop.  A warm welcoming atmosphere and great baskets from Ghana.  I loved the bright contemporary colors. Here's mine:

Art exercise:

Search the web for artwork made up of separate pieces (dyptychs, triptychs, quadriptychs, etc) and think about how you might create your own.

TWO NEW RUG HOOKED GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTS

Two new pieces have been added to the Parkway series.  The focus of this series is on striated colorways.  Striation is a geological term for parallel lines or scratches occurring on the surface of rocks.  Striation in art is parallel lines placed together.  

"Detour"  18 x 18 mounted, Lori LaBerge  2015

I am varying color combinations in striated fashion on each of these works.  The series will reference the Blue Ridge Parkway to continue my interest in roadways and celebrate our local parkway.  

"Detour" breaks the rules slightly.  There tends to be a general rule I've heard multiple times in art classes to never divide a work in half.   I like the even placement of the light and dark grays in this piece.  The brighter colors break it up while the lilac color placement and white lines allow one's eye to travel throughout the piece.  

There is nothing like driving along the parkway and suddenly seeing one of the detour or no entry signs on the road ahead, leaving you with one option:  turn around and enjoy the view.

 "Triple Tunnel"  18 x 18 mounted, Lori LaBerge  2015

"Triple Tunnel" developed from the three tunnels located one after the other on the parkway.  This is near Ferrin Knob at mileposts 400.9, 401.3 and 401.5.  We, as a family, have always loved tunnels.  When the kids were young, we would all raise our hands, with the exception of the driver, and scream as we drove through. Great memories.  The triple tunnel was and still is a favorite.

The striated colors were placed horizontal.  The metal "tunnels" provide contrast through both being placed vertically with a chain in the same direction.  As one drives through the actual tunnels, the first two are fairly close together while the third is slightly further away.  I placed the metal tubes to reflect this.

It is interesting that when I first drew out this design it was to be a cityscape.  It took a 180 degree turn and became a parkway piece.  The blues and greens reflect the sky and grass seen along the drive while the reds and orange remind me of the beautiful sunsets on the parkway.

I find that color becomes extremely important in geometric works.  We have choices of neutrals, bolds, pastels, etc. to be used to define geometric areas of a work. Review some of your geometric works or view some on the internet, study color placement and have a great day.

"BLUE ROAD" HOOKED, JOURNAL STARTED, STUDIO UPDATE

"Blue Road" with finishing work in progress,  Lori LaBerge  2013

The hooking on "Blue Road" was completed this week.  Searching through the studio yarn stash, I was lucky enough to find two shades of dark blue to combine for whipping the edges.  The 20" X 20" art board on which the piece will be mounted is on order and will be painted next week if it arrives on schedule.

  Whipping on "Blue Road" in progress, Lori LaBerge  2013

Another part of the week was dedicated to journal work.  The five books I will be using to help me along in my journal project were discussed in the last post.  As I am not known for following directions precisely, (the rebel in me), I often adjust exercises to my interests.  This week's exercise was working with shadows.  I took photos of shadows around the exterior of the house and used a couple of photos I had taken while at Penland last year.

Journal pages with computer printouts of shadow photos I had taken.

My interest in geometrics definitely came out in this exercise.  There were some great shadows on the stairway.  I love the movement in the photo on the far upper left.  It makes me want to dance.  The photo to the right of that one is the shadow of a rail on the gravel below.  It has an abstract tree feel to it.  

While the idea that I took photos of stripes did not surprise me, the zigzag pattern did.  I don't often work with zigzags and due to this exercise,  I already have some ideas going for future projects.  There is a variance in the photos from wide stripes to medium to narrow stripes.  Combining wide and narrow would interest me.  I would also like to see the photo in the upper right cropped into a square.  

The photo on the bottom right journal page was of grass on pavement and reminds me of drawing continuous circles on paper as a kid.  It has more of a sense of freedom to it than the other photos.  I really liked that the black and white aspect of the photos allowed me to focus on design aspects without color interference.  

Experiment with shadows this week, ask yourself what interests you, or if they give you design ideas and have a great week. 

This week's studio/gallery construction update:

More wall framing is up, pipes for plumbing were installed and wood was placed along the flooring so cement can be poured next week.