BACK TO LARGER ARCHITECTURAL ABSTRACT WORK

Layout of in progress work on "Construction Quad",  63" X 48"

After completing quite a few smaller works, it was time to return to "Construction Quad".  The hooking (in a 6-cut) was completed and finishing started. Yarns were chosen for the whipped edge. A dark gray will be interrupted on three sides by sections of rust, pink and light green. 

The piece has a reference to oceanside homes built as an escape, yet close to the roadways leading one to them. The shapes were derived and pieced together from viewing boats and houses on last year's vacation by the water.

The side piece brings more of the construction process to the work. While other options were designed for this purpose, some were simply too complex and distracted from the main hooked work. They could become works on their own. This is a much simpler, cleaner design. Plumb bobs hang from a painted board with the string brought through drilled holes in the board and coupling nuts resting on top of the board. The strings will be tied off. 

Plumb bobs will be allowed to sway freely. The board holding them will be hung with hardware that will show on top, adding to the construction process idea.

"ENTER AQUA" TEXTILE PAINTING, BOOKS ABOUT HOUSES FOR SUMMER READING

"Enter Aqua"  14" X 11", Lori LaBerge  2018

Last week's post was about the design of this work. This week bright colors, houses and water are going through my mind as summer moves along. "Enter Aqua" contains all three of these. Bright colors of green, turquoise, pink and white dominate the central area. The turquoise building becomes reminiscent of water with a combination of vertical and horizontal lines through it. Houses surround the center welcoming one into the scene. 

Angles are everywhere in the underlayer of this work with more created from the painting on the top layer. The juxtaposition of straight lines against a few wavy or jagged lines lend an imperfect feel. The white lines were done by hand and left as they are for the same reason. 

Close-up of "Enter Aqua"

As summer moves along vacation is approaching. Our destination will be Maine and I started stacking a variety of books I can relax with (it is vacation after all) that contain houses as an important element. Here's the list (fiction and non-fiction):

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen-  a parody of the Gothic novels I read as a teenager and still love

The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne- the story of the Pyncheon family and how a cursed house affects them

Death in the Castle by Pearl S. Buck-a story of a couple obsessed with their castle and their reluctance to let a buyer move it piece by piece to its new location

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle- a mystery is contained in the inheritance of a family home

The Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie- Guest are invited to Sittaford House and before they know it they are involved in a murder case

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James- a governess is hired to tend to two children at a country home as supernatural events begin to plague her

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton- A woman is not happy in her new home and received a miniature replica which she proceeds to furnish with the help of a miniaturist. Secrets become revealed.

A Mansion in the Mountains by Phillip T. Noblitt- Moses and Bertha Cone create a mansion off the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. (We have visited Blowing Rock Manor numerous times, the family made their fortune in denim in the textile industry.)

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett- A monk decides to build a great cathedral. Set in 12th century England.

The Glitter and the Gold by Consuelo Vanderbilt Balsan- Consuelo Vanderbilt writes of life in aristocratic times, including Blenheim Palace where Churchill was born. (I picked this up on our first trip to the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC)

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Anne Radcliffe- A classic early Gothic written in 1794. A woman's parents die, she is kept prisoner in a castle as her abductor looks for her to marry into money he can then possess. Lots of description and a tour de force of the psychological state of the characters.

Rebecca by Daphne de Maurier- A woman marries a man whose first wife drowned. The truth of her death evolves throughout the story. Mrs. Danvers is one of the best characters in fiction.

The Gormenghast Novels by Mervyn Peake- An odd assortment of characters live in Gormenghast Castle. This was a PBS series and the author is said to rival Tolkien though he never became as popular.

The Fate of the English Country House by David Littlejohn- The author covers a variety of country houses throughout England and discusses their downfall, use as tourist attractions and the importance of Britain protecting these homes along with their place in art history.

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.

A WEEK OF HOOKED ART AND PAINTING

"Monolith"  11" x 14"  Lori LaBerge  2018

My natural inclination is toward strong colors. In this work I decided to have just the one bold area. The dark blue/gray with black half circle stands out among the pastel shades surrounding it. There is a relaxing softness to the work. The use of irregular lines rather than hard edge adds to the soft feel.

  

 "Monolith" in progress on frame

                                                                   

Color selection

Blues, pinks and greens seem to be my colors this week as they appeared in both painted and hooked works.

"Gallery View"  11 X 14 acrylic on canvas,  Lori LaBerge  2018

I've been spending time walking downtown noticing all the building angles and alleyways. Various shapes were sketched out for use in this and future works and studies. Numerous diagonal lines approach from both the left and the right leading to the focal point of a square filled with color against a bright white. It gives me the feeling of wanting to be in the work itself with the lime green and royal blue adding a bit of excitement.

NEW ARCHITECTURAL PAINTED TEXTILE, SPRING STUDIO CLEANING

"Local Color"  24 1/2" X 30"   Lori LaBerge  2018

Paint was added to a larger work this week. It is interesting to see how the resulting paint color is affected by the wool color underneath. This has to be allowed for so the overall piece works. Mixing the right amount of paint for the larger areas to be covered proved challenging at first as I have only used this technique on smaller works. Mixing too much paint leaves waste, while mixing too little means having to match the exact color again.

Close-up "Local Color"  Lori LaBerge

Part of the week was devoted to yearly spring clean-up:

I like to change it up a bit once in a while so a large table was brought in and placed by the front window. Now I can work with a view. Organization, with more recent work displayed, started on the right wall and will continue tomorrow.

 A second bookcase was brought in to help organize and materials were cleaned up on the larger shelves. It is amazing how much is accumulated over time.The dye table will be cleaned up the beginning of the week.

Wall patching began and since I have no leftover paint I have decided to go with a color rather than redo the white for this wall. Painting starts tomorrow morning and my son and his girlfriend arrive Wednesday for a one week visit.

"SUNRISE" TEXTILE ART

"Sunrise"  63" X 11"  Lori LaBerge  2018

The hooked sections of this work were done a while back. Rather than rush into a project, I set them aside to decide how they would be used. This week was spent stitching various hardware and embellishments onto them. The hooked sections were then stitched to industrial felt.

When walking by construction sites, I think about the long day those workers have. They are often up at sunrise and continue until the sun sets. The works are shadows of sections of buildings and were developed through both sketches and photographs. 

All of the hardware and embellishments are meant to relate to the construction process. They include: sleeve swivels to represent plumb lines, washers, nuts, threaded connectors. A large washer and oval jewelry parts, representing the start of the day, are on the second section.

Here is photo shown in a previous post of the design idea:

The second row will be called "Sunset".

A thank you to Linda Rae Coughlin and Rug Hooking Magazine. An article on my work is in the current March/April/May issue. If you have an interest in rug hooking, this is the best magazine to subscribe to with informative information for beginners to advanced rug hookers and wool dyers. (The last square in the above photo was created separately as "Silhouette 1" and is pictured in the magazine article, another square with the same design will be hooked to be used as the last section of "Sunset".)

COMPOSITION IN "EVENING MINT" TEXTILE ART

"Evening Mint"  11 X 14,  Lori LaBerge  2018

There is a sense of soft and hard within this piece. Sharp angular shapes contrast with softer curves. The composition works well. The top angled line of the black and mint on the left leads to the left upper corner of the second black shape while the bottom angled line leads up to the highest point of the white section where the gold cuts it off bringing the eye down. This, in addition to the white and black contrast being so close to the mint, all leads to a focus on the small bright mint rectangle.

This can be seen below:

"Evening Mint" with compositional line study,  Lori LaBerge  2018

Yesterday was spent sifting through piles of wood to see what will work for a mixed-media piece. The wood will be cut into various geometric shapes. I have a general idea and will be sketching it out this week or next.

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.

LARGE ARCHITECTURAL TEXTILE: IN PROGRESS SHOTS

 As yet untitled work in progress  48" x 48",  Lori LaBerge   2017

Work on the first square continued and a second was started. The color planning allows for squares located diagonally from each other to be in the same color scheme. This was work completed as of Wednesday. The majority of colors are fairly bold and the light green adds some softness.

The mixtures of wool add more interest as the viewer gets closer to the work. The rust contains a bright, a texture and a dark yarn. A main color (the texture in this case) is usually chosen and then leftover strips from previous projects are used to add variety. In rare cases, there may be some dyeing needed when the right color strips are unavailable.

For the turquoise, a mottled light, a plainer medium, and a textured dull gray-turquoise were used.

Small black circles were hooked with the purple. These smaller circles will appear on three of the four squares, with the upper left square containing a redder purple meandering throughout rather than having the black involved. This adds a bit of a surprise as the expected similarity to the other squares is not there.

Straight hooking is being used for the black and white sections. Black and white together is bold. The straight hooking adds to the boldness, showing stability (horizontal) and strength (vertical) while framing the center areas.

While I find myself delving more and more into the reasons for my choices, I don't get bogged down with it. Sometimes a choice is simply: "I just liked those colors together." or "I felt like hooking straight after hooking meandering patterns for so long." Not everything is complex. It is important to keep in mind the effect of your choices, but it is also important to enjoy the process and just let go once in a while.

INDUSTRIAL SITE ABSTRACT TEXTILE ART "SKYBRIDGE"

"Skybridge",   14" X 11"   Lori LaBerge  2017

This work was developed to be shown alongside the two paintings done last week  Unlike the paintings worked from memory and notes (due to it being night when we stopped by), the textile work was done from parts of two photos taken during the day.

When working from photos, I avoid a direct copy of the photograph. Artwork allows for imagination which is the part of it I most enjoy. Here are the photos used:

I stuck with the angled shapes of the building. The rooftop stairway was converted to a skybridge to be the focus of the work.

The factory silo was in front of a section of one of the buildings. I used this on the right hand side of the work as I wanted to add some curves to the piece. Colors were chosen to work with the two paintings.

A good idea of how the works look together before framing.

RESIDENTIAL TEXTILE, INDUSTRIAL PAINTING

"Residential Curve"  14" X 11",  Lori LaBerge  2017

Diagonal lines are on the right while a curved line counters them, extending from the far left of the work to past center. There are also straight black lines, one vertical and one horizontal on the left. Two areas balance this: the black diagonal between navy and turquoise and the vertical edge of the white section.

The vertical black line keeps the two dark colors, magenta and navy, from causing a bottom heavy effect. The black lines were added to reference the underlying structure of architecture.

"Industrial Section" and "Industrial Night"  18" X 18" each,  Lori LaBerge  2017, acrylic and graphite on canvas

A deserted warehouse was used as reference for two paintings. The glow of the moon cast a golden hue onto the building and the liberty was taken to place white in the window areas in the first work. The moon was captured in the negative space between a section of building and a smokestack in the second work. I like the interesting shape of the lighter colors against the black in the second piece.

A 14" x 11" textile work to compliment the paintings has been drawn on linen and will be hooked next week. It will be interesting to see how they work (or don't) together. 

"CUT AND DYED" FIBER EXHIBITION AT CVA GALLERY

 

"The Climb" and "Detour".  Two of five of my works on display at CVA Gallery

Last night was the opening of and reception for "Cut and Dyed: a fiber arts exhibition". The exhibit is on display at the CVA Gallery in Greensboro, NC until November 10. CVA is located in the Greensboro Cultural Center building.  It promotes the arts, provides education and reaches out to the community in addition to holding exhibitions. 

This is the first time I have shown work in the Greensboro area and I could not have asked for a better experience. Do stop by if you are in the area. Enjoy some views from the show:

A view into the gallery

Art greets all from the entry.  "Side Streets 2" is on the far wall.

"Hambridge Meadow" by Joyce Watkins King

"My Hank Shook (after Rockwell) by Ellen Kelly-Bryan

"Ain't that some shit!" by Ann Tilley

"Geometric" by Jerry O'Donnell

"Hammered Enamored" by Ann Tilley

"Shirtwaist Waste: Landfill Slice" by Joyce Watkins King