A NEW YEAR MEANS EXPERIMENTING WITH FIBER

It seems I am always too busy to take time out to experiment with the fiber arts. There are so many ideas I have for what I would like to do with rug hooking.  This will be my year to find some time to play with those ideas.  I will most likely have to do this in the evening as my regular rug hooking schedule takes up a good part of each day.

Yesterday, I went through my studio library and chose five books to focus on. These were all chosen due to the inclusion of exercises or ideas for being more creative.  I will share my experimentation throughout the year along with my regular projects. Here are my choices:

The New Creative Artist is hands-on with a spiral bound interior so you can easily work and see the pages at the same time.  There are activities located throughout including working with designing, drawing and experimenting.  Lots of ideas and great visuals!

How to Be Creative in Textile Art is loaded with lists, which I love.  An example is embellishments, with a list of six categories and over 75 ideas for types of embellishments.  Just reading those lists can keep your ideas flowing for hours.

Creating Sketchbooks for Embroiderers and Textile Artists was chosen as this is something I keep telling myself I will do someday and so far have not accomplished.  No more putting this off.  It will happen this year and I am looking forward to playing with various fabrics, stitches, paint, drawing and book forms.

The Art of Urban Sketching is like taking a trip around the world.  Artists have shared their drawings of places they have visited.  As I love architecture and travel, I chose this to satisfy my yearning to get back to drawing again.  The book includes artist tips, from technique to proper materials.

 I had to have one of the five chosen relate directly to rug hooking.  Design Basics for Rug Hookers by friend Susan Feller was my choice.  Susan has a great way with words, is a great source of encouragement and includes exercises everyone from beginner to experienced rug hooker can benefit from.  Plus, I have this one on my i-pad.

Work on the studio was slowed down by the holidays, rain, sleet and snow this week.  Winds of 50 m.p.h blew through the area and I was pleased to see the far wall still standing.  Below you can see that footers in the front were placed along with the start of the back wall frame.  

My hope is that your new year will be filled with creativity and joy.  Choose your path, check out resources to help you on your way and have a great day.

"COUNTING THE DAYS" AND SKETCHBOOK USE

Spring is here and summer won't be far behind. The birds are making nests in our birdhouses, the dogwoods are in bloom and vacations are being planned. I feel as if I am counting the days toward one thing or another. The piece below is about two points of view. One of counting the days toward going home and the other of counting the time till someone comes home.

"Counting the Days"  18 1/2 X 20  Lori LaBerge  2012

Close-up of photo of old timepiece in doorknob hole.

While working on this piece I referred to my sketchbooks.  People always love to look through them, getting a peek at what goes through an artist's mind. When open studio tours are in progress, I always leave a sketchbook out for people to leaf through. Yes, I leave out the good, the bad and the ugly. When sketching, I am really not concerned about my drawing ability as I am thinking more about the idea or purpose of the piece. The reality is I sketch on any piece of paper near me when an idea strikes, from paper towels to magazine subscription cards (my nightstand is full of these with random sketches on them).

Here is a page containing various ideas using the abstract idea of a figure.  There are notes on color choices, how pieces should be put together and some ideas scribbled out.  These are worked into the more complete ideas below.

Though no changes were made for this particular piece (in the right bottom corner), I have often made many changes from sketch to finished work with other pieces. Never be afraid to deviate from the original plan.

Sketch out a few of your own ideas, see where it leads you and have a great day.