TOE RIVER STUDIO TOUR CATALOG, BACK TO RUG HOOKING

It certainly feels good to be off the road and back in the studio.  I am enjoying preparing pieces for the upcoming Carolina Designer Craftsmen Show and soon it will be time to clean up the studio for  the Toe River Studio Tour.  It is a busy time for the arts.

Tour Catalog for the Toe River Studio Tour- December 2014

I opened an e-mail recently and was surprised and pleased to see my rug hooked work "Parallel" on the cover of this year's Studio Tour Catalog alongside four other artists' work. The Toe River Studio Tour happens twice a year and the holiday tour will take place from December 5-7. 

It is a great chance to see artists in their studio.  If you are anything like me you enjoy seeing the materials used, how the artists studios are set up and buying art made by an artist's hand. There are some talented and dedicated artists and craftsmen in our area, so if you are around please take a chance to visit.

"The Flight Home"  10 X 21,  Lori LaBerge  2014

I worked on completing "The Flight Home" this week.  Here is some of the process:

On the work table after being hooked.  At this point, various yarns were looked at to add interest to the four rectangular areas.  I decided on a rust/orange/green mixed yarn along with a plain rust to hook into the gold sections and a dark purple to hook into the lilac sections.  One or two loops of color were used to resemble birds flying along migration routes.

Washers and metal beads were painted.  I played around with their placement until it worked visually.  It is a good idea when doing this to take a photo of the decision on final placement to refer to when stitching pieces on.  It can be easy to forget the original placement of each piece as when one piece is being stitched on the others tend to shift and fall out of place. 

Chain was adjusted for length, attached to washers and stitched to the nest area.  Regular readers may notice how this differs from the original plan of a stripe across the section below the nest.  As I was hooking, I felt that the stripe might be more of a distraction, detracting from the nest area.  The idea of chains lent itself to the thought of birds flying from the nest while those unhatched still remained inside the nest.

Close-up of left side of piece.

Look for studio tours or holiday art events coming up in your area and have a great day.

STUDIO TOUR WEEKEND

The Toe River Studio Arts Tour (this link is a download of the tour catalog) is in full force this weekend and a few pieces have found new homes.  I'm working on finishing and framing the latest works while discussing art with those stopping by. Also enjoying talking to people about where they are from and their travels along the tour route.  The tour lasts through Sunday. Here are a few photos of how the studio and gallery are set up for the weekend.

The view upon entering the studio.  It is surprisingly clean as I usually have wool scattered throughout the room when color planning.

Another view with some wool laid out on the work table for an abstract figurative piece and new design plans over the sewing machine area.

I pinned up various 1/2 yards of dyed wool on one wall to add some color to the studio.  I'm planning on leaving it up as it is already inspiring new color plans.

One wall of the gallery area with both studio and plein air work.

Striped series work.

Some of the "Road Series" works.  Others are at the TRAC Gallery.

I wanted to put at least one floor piece on display.  It sits on a platform Pete and I made for it.

The artist reception at the TRAC Gallery in Spruce Pine.  There was quite a crowd and we had the chance to visit with friends old and new while enjoying wine and dessert.  There are very few fiber artists on the tour so it was great to visit with a couple of them.

There is one more day of the tour and the studio awaits more visitors tomorrow.  As you can see, landscaping is not done yet.  Hopefully, soon.

Search out some studio tours locally or relax while searching studio tour images on the internet and have a great day.

TOE RIVER STUDIO TOUR PREVIEW SHOW

With the Toe River Studio Tour coming up from June 6-8, the TRAC Gallery in Spruce Pine has completed the set up for its preview show.  If you are in the area during the tour, you can pick up a tour catalog at the gallery and visit artists in their studios.  Here are some of the pieces on exhibit at the gallery:

TRAC Gallery, Spruce Pine, NC

Selena Glass and Metal,  "Are We There Yet?"

John D. Richards, "Blue Bird"

Kat Turczyn, "After the Storm"

Louise Grennell, "The Hitchhiker"

Jim Waters, "Landscape"

Michael Rutkowsky, "Shallow Bowl"

Marguerite Gusdon, "Appalachia"

Lisa Clague, "Monkey Business"

Billie Ruth Sudduth, "Signature Basket"

Jenny Lou Sherburne, "Mandala Plate"

JJ Brown and Simona Rosasco, "Magnetic Resonance"

Edwina Bringle, scarf and rug

Jeannine Marchand, "Untitled"

Lori LaBerge, (wall pieces), "Time to Go" and "Rural/Urban Compatibility"; Larry Brown, (lamps)

Woody's Chair Shop, Scott Woody

Ross Edwards, "Halo Bowl"

View of gallery

View of gallery

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the works on display.  With the weather getting nicer by the day, take some time to make your way outside to view some of your local galleries and have a great day.

PREPARATION FOR STUDIO TOUR, LARGE FIGURATIVE RUG HOOKING STARTED

Quite a bit of preparation work took place in the studio this week.

  We completed painting the floor of the open area in the garage section of the studio.  This will be the room where I hang pieces and set up pedestals and tables for the studio tour.  Doors lead to storage and workshop areas.  This would be a great space to hold classes and work on larger projects also, though it is not air-conditioned or heated.

Here is the other side of the open area.  Doors lead to storage and working studio areas.  I'll have to rig up something to hide the sink during the tour.

The storage area is still awaiting more shelving for organization.  Next week's project.

The work studio will need some cleaning also.  Framing and design work are on the table now.  I love not having to clean the table after each work day.

Large foam board (32 X 40) arrived for mounting some larger works.

These works will be used with the foam board.  I'm finding the rail for hanging works in the finishing process to be a great help as projects can be kept in order and in view.

I did manage to start work on another 30 X 30 figurative work.  Here the linen is being cut to size.

The work was hand drawn onto the linen.  Yes, those are wine bottles you see being used to hold the linen in place.  They are a reminder of my reward when the work day is done.  I will most likely need to dye wool for this piece, though I'll see what is on the shelves.  The design process for this work was discussed in a past post here.

Enjoy preparing for your various projects and events, organize in a way that works for you and have a great day.

BRICOLAGE RUG HOOKING, STUDIO TOUR PREPARATION

"Accepting Our Imperfections",  7" X 7"  Lori LaBerge  2014

Bricolage in the art world is simply creating art from what you have on hand around you or using whatever materials are available. It is great for those who enjoy recycling and repurposing materials.  I was thinking about this as I was cleaning out part of the garage storage area the other day.  I looked down and saw this:

These were nails picked up after the construction workers finished the framing of the new studio.  I never threw them away as I loved the character created from their imperfection. They had been nailed in incorrectly, pulled out and tossed to the side. This was when bricolage came to mind and I grabbed the nails to start a small work.

A small bin full of left over off-white wool was available.  I decided on the off-whites as white is the color of perfection.  Since the nails were anything but perfect, the scuffed and dirty look of the off-whites as compared to pure white would make a good background to place the nails on.

  
A scrap piece of linen was found.  Jagged areas resembling shards were drawn onto the linen to resemble a shattered appearance. 

A frame was not used for hooking the piece.  The linen was stretched onto an old handmade weaving loom from college that I had in storage. As only two sides of the linen were held in place, it was slightly wobbly to work on. 

The bent nails were placed throughout the piece as if they had fallen there, adding to the feeling of imperfection.  The nails remind me of how we all take our knocks in life, adding to our character and growing through the process.

The Toe River Studio Tour takes place June 6-8.  I've been busy in the studio and at the local gallery volunteering in preparation for the event.  Two works for the gallery show being held before the tour were delivered yesterday.  The exhibit runs from May 17-June 14.

A variety of work including fiber, metal, clay, glass, wood, mixed-media and jewelry will be on display.  If you are in the area you can make a weekend of it.

Here's a photo of the TRAC Gallery in Spruce Pine, NC with some of the artwork delivered in preparation for the tour:

It will be amazing to see how different this space will look with artwork hanging on the walls and displayed on pedestals.  A huge thank you to all the volunteers who make these shows happen.

Look around you to see what items you can use to create your own bricolage work and have a great day. 

MICA ROCK RUG AND TOE RIVER STUDIO TOUR GALLERY SHOW

Mica Rock Rug   Lori Laberge  2012

This will be the last rock rug completed before the Studio Tour. The piece of mica on this rug has black, silver and white hues. The edges of the rock are jagged and form layers. Though this piece looks rugged, it is quite delicate due to the thin layers. The way the silver reflects and shines from different angles is beautiful.

Close-up view 

On another note, the Toe River Studio Artist Show is now open at the Toe River Arts Council Gallery in Spruce Pine, NC. My husband and I took a ride over this week and here are photos of some of the work displayed.

Since I love fiber, this piece really caught my eye. The workmanship and color use are beautiful. Artist Louis Grenell created this woven piece. She also created the rabbit.

Jim Waters does amazing encaustic work. I own one of his pieces and am tempted to purchase another. There is great texture and depth to his work which, again, appeals to the fiber artist in me.

Rolf Holmquist's work includes the use of all sorts of items. It is just plain fun to spend time looking at and identifying them knowing they were used to create one piece of art.

John Richards "Big Blue Dog" is made out of bottle caps. Love it!

I have purchased two of Valerie Schnaufer's works. I can't resist the ways she tucks items into various hollowed out areas in her ceramic pieces.

Here is my piece, "Lakewood". It was one of the pieces made for a show on stripes.

The tour takes place June 8-10 and information can be picked up at the Toe River Arts Galleries in Spruce Pine and Burnsville. If you get the chance, take some time to meet the local artists, view their studios and have a great day out on the town.