PLEIN AIR RUG HOOKING, SAUDER VILLAGE EXHIBIT

"Coleus I"  8" x 8", Lori LaBerge  2015

We saw snow, wind and a couple of beautiful days while up in Vermont.  I took advantage of the nice days to sift through my stash of wool I had brought with me. The coleus were out at the garden center and I couldn't resist.  I always carry plenty of greens for plein air work, browns, black and white for neutrals and, luckily, had some pinks with me.  

The piece was done over a two day period.  I worked about 5 hours each day.  The most time seemed to be spent finding the right colors to use.  This seems to be the most difficult part of plein air.  It is very different from color planning in the studio and being ready to hook away.  It is more a process of having the basics available and color planning as you hook.

"Coleus I" framed , Lori LaBerge  2015

This piece will go to Sauder Village Rug Hooking Week in a special exhibit by the Plein Air Hooking Artists.  Artists represented in the exhibit will include Laura Pierce, Susan Feller, Patricia Winans, Jo Franco, Michele Phillips, Jean Ottosen and myself.  All have been busy exploring the process of plein air as we will each be creating two pieces.  If you are near Sauder Village from August 12-15, please check out our exhibit along with all the other rug work on display.  Our website can be seen here.

Work was started on a second piece which will be done in the studio.  

A plan for the piece was sketched out.  The work will be 8" x 25".

The sketch was placed into Photoshop to be color planned.  The printout of the colors can be seen on the right in the photo above.  I then drew out the sketch on linen.

Some colors were chosen off the shelf.  A stronger pink along with a few other hues will need to be dyed. 

  "Missing Windows" in progress,  36" x 60",  Lori LaBerge  2015

Work is also continuing on "Missing Windows" with more dark green strips of wool being added for more contrast and more light blue hooked in.    

Enjoy the spring weather, try working plein air or sketching out some ideas from nature and have a great day.

WORK WITH COLOR VALUE, SAUDER VILLAGE CLASS

There was quite a bit of activity in the studio this week.

"Missing Glass" in progress,  Lori LaBerge  2015  

Monday:  

A while back I had found a small swatch of green on the shelves that I wanted to use to replace the teal green in "Missing Glass".  The teal green is too close in value to the blue. The swatch was not enough to replace it so I decided to dye some extra this week.  The darker shade, shown above, will provide a better contrast against the blue and give a better overall balance to the piece.

Tuesday:

I decided on a tentative color plan for another design.  You can see the colors above being used in the design below.

"Detour", Lori LaBerge  2015

Wednesday and Thursday morning:

Hand therapy is going well and I can now use a traditional hook for short periods.  I decided to start on a piece I have not yet titled.  It was originally based on orange barrels on the roads, but I did not want to be so literal and changed the barrels to a lilac color. The upper lilac against the light gray will in all likelihood need to be darkened a bit. The bottom half of the piece will be a mix of dark grays. Metal will be added later.

I noticed the use of hit and miss in the last design "Mountain Reflections" did not seem to fit in with the "Road Series" work.  It seemed separated from the other work due to the mix of wool colors.  This has led to a new series called "Parkway". These pieces will all have a hit and miss use of wool in them.  This is a good example of how one thing leads to another and is basically a series within a series.

Thursday afternoon:

A color plan was developed for another "Parkway" work.  The black and white photo shows the variety of mediums, lights and darks chosen.  I'm finding the "Parkway" series pieces more difficult than the "Road" series as I am placing lights on the top and darks on the bottom leading to problems with other colors showing up on both of these. This is leading to a new focus on using various values of the same color on either the light or dark background areas.  I'm interested in seeing where this takes me.

Friday:

I worked on plans for the class "A Creative Approach to Working in a Series" that I will be teaching at Sauder Village in August.  There will be lots of activities and discussion to enhance the understanding of series work. You can find information on the class here.  I encourage everyone to think about joining us or taking another of the many classes that will be offered at Sauder this year.

As mentioned, I am facing the dilemma of values with both a light and dark being used as a background. Think about the dilemmas you face in your art, welcome the challenge of working with them and have a great day.

HOOKING COMPLETED, SAUDER VILLAGE AND MEETING RUG HOOKERS ON THE INTERNET

The hooking on "Coastal Route" was completed this week.  

"Coastal Route"  20 X 20  Lori LaBerge  2013

This piece ended up with the feel I was going for.  Though it may seem like all the lines and squares would make it busy, the color palette of grays and blues give it a calm and serene feel.  It is the feeling I have when we are driving along the ocean, taking in the salty air and watching the waves slowly come upon the shore and fade into the sand beneath.  I find myself longing for a trip to the coast.

I have been trying to tell stories with "The Roads We Travel' series.  It can be a difficult thing to do with geometric abstracts.  During the creation process I wonder "Will viewers understand the work?",  "Will viewers be able to tell their own story through my work?", and "Are these roads the viewer has also traveled, whether literally or emotionally?"  I hope to be able to improve on this aspect as the series progresses.  Every series is full of challenges.

  "Bump and Grind"  18 X 24  Lori LaBerge  2013, created for "The Moods of Color and Value" curated by Susan Feller.

The internet always surprises me.  In January of 2012, I was contacted by Susan Feller after she saw my work in a "Pushing the Limits" exhibit.  We have been in contact ever since.  

Susan is a wonderful friend.  She is one of the most encouraging people I have ever had the pleasure of communicating with and her contemporary pieces show the breadth of her creativity.   Recently, her work was juried into 7Stitch, a show at Morehead State University.  Susan is talented in creating both traditional and contemporary work.

Last August, Susan contacted me to participate in "The Moods of Color and Value", currently on exhibit at Sauder Village, with eight other artists. We each chose a color and created a piece encompassing our emotional reaction to that color.  My choice was orange and my first reaction was movement.  This led to the idea of dancing torsos. I used the lyrics of Nat King Cole's "Orange Colored Sky" to bring in green polka dots and purple stripes.

 An orange colored sky across the field in front of our house.  Gotta love living here!

I've been in contact through the internet just this past week with Jen Lavoie.  There was recently a class reunion site set up for our 35th high school reunion.  I placed a post and Jen contacted me.  35 years!  I could not believe she was a rug hooker! She is show chair for the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild, has won awards for her work,  and has had her rugs photographed for books.    

Jen is a true artist.  Her work is realistic with wonderfully blended colors and depth. She brings an emotion to her works that gives a feeling of being in the scene she has depicted.  Her work has been shown at the Cooley Gallery and more works can be seen here.

Enjoy the wonderful talents of others, connect, let your common interests bring you together and have a great day!