RUG HOOKING ON THE ROAD

Since I am not in the studio for at least three weeks, hooking projects have proven to be a challenge. Most will get started in Vermont, but not be completed until I am back home with all supplies available.

"Ice Ahead"  abstract in progress,  9" X 13", Lori LaBerge  2014

The hooking aspect of "Ice Roads" was finished this week.  I still need to add the metal parts.  As I did not have the correct color chain with me while traveling, I will wait to add it to the piece when I arrive back at the studio.  

The piece came out much softer than the original design plan.  While on the road, I will need to work with the colors I have with me.  The blues available were not as bright as planned and the purple not as red.  The softness of the piece adds more to the cooler feel, which works well to abstractly depict ice and winter, so the piece is working out well so far.  The chain, when added, will bring more attention to the purple section.

There are advantages and disadvantages to working away from the studio with limited materials at hand.

Some tips while on the road:

--Plan out designs ahead of time if possible.

--Try to decide on some color schemes beforehand.  You may not have the exact colors you need, but this can often lead to new ideas while hooking. 

Plenty of grey wool packed for my Road Series designs, some metal parts, yarn and cording.  Unfortunately, I have no access to a sewing machine, so I will only be able to finish off the piece that was pre-sewn when we left. 

--You may be forced to make decisions you would not have had to make in the studio.  Be flexible.  

--Don't forget necessities such as scissors, hook, frame or hoop, wool, linen, and cutter.

--Use the sites around you on your trip for ideas if you did not plan ahead.  This is a great time to work on ideas for new designs.

"Bridging the Gap"  designed on the road,  10" X 28",  Lori LaBerge  2014

The piece above came about as I viewed the many bridges along our trip north.  It gave me the idea to combine two works with a "bridge" between them.  The bridge will be made up of two metal bars.  The whole construction has not been worked out yet, but the main idea is there.

--My computer goes everywhere with me.  If yours is available, go through your digital photo albums for ideas.  Use Photoshop to design.  Cropping is one of my favorite features as it allows one to focus on certain aspects of a photo for design purposes.

--This is also a good time for finishing work.  I tend to hook about four or five pieces before starting finishes.  If you stitch around edges before leaving home, whipping edges becomes a perfect activity while on the road.

--As I am a caregiver during my time in Vermont, I cannot leave the house easily.  If you are vacationing, however, think about stopping by art venues, enjoying public art or practicing your drawing skills by doing some sketches of places you are visiting. 

Though I am most interested in creating art, there are many other aspects of life which lead to ideas for my artwork.  Take a break from the studio, hit the road and have a great day.

"TIMELESS TRAVELS" COMPLETE, HOW MUCH DO WE REALLY SEE?

"Timeless Travels"  18 X 18  Lori LaBerge  2013

This week was spent completing "Timeless Travels".  It will most likely be the last piece completed for the exhibit at the PAF Gallery March 15th.  I have spent years working in bright colors and the more I worked on this piece the more I appreciated the calmness of neutral tones.  

This piece depicts the various roads we travel.  The diagonal lines are the back roads of our lives, exploring things few others may have seen or noticed, and the wider gray lines represent the highways which at times can seem never-ending. The circles are reminiscent of how we head off in a new direction and often return to where we started from, which is usually home.

This week has also led me to think about how we really see things.  Abstract work is like that.  Some people see one thing, others something else.  But what about the everyday things we view?  How do we answer the question "What do you see?"  This was my journal activity for this week.

 What do you see?    A bird's nest.

or

What do you see?  Brown, light blue, small branches, broken eggshells, grasses, curves, yellows, sharp edges, shadows, lights, darks, fragility yet sturdiness, compactness, a home, comfort, safety.

Seeing can lead us to emotions.  Seeing how sturdy this little home is can have us feeling admiration at the ability of a bird to create it or sadness at it's desertion.  My husband and I once spent part of an afternoon watching a mouse create a home in the side hill in front of our house.  It was a fiercely hot day and that mouse actually built an awning in front of the hole he dug in the side of the hill.  I kid you not, we watched that mouse run from the hole to a long grassy area, carry the grass back to the hole and place it on the upper area of the hole an uncountable number of times. I could actually picture him (or her) sipping a mini margarita in a mini lounge chair under that thing after a hard day's work.  Never lose your wonder or emotion in your life or in your art.

 What do you see?  A moth.

or

What do you see?  Dots, fuzz, rust, white, black, gray, legs, wings, eyes, light under wings and darker top wings, long antennae, veins, segmented body, fragility.

Seeing can lead us to questions.  Why are the underside of wings light and the top dark?  To protect them as they blend into their surroundings.  Why the long antennae?  To help with the stability of flight.  Never lose your curiosity in your life or in your art.

 What do you see?  A broken down home.

or 

What do you see?  Stone, steps, doorway, windows, a section where a fireplace once was, weather-worn edges, collapsed stone, fence, overgrown grass, moss, isolation.

Seeing can lead us to history.  Who once lived here?  Why did they live in such a lonely area?  What did they do with the land?  Why was this home deserted?  We saw this and many other places like it on our rides through Scotland.  I just love thinking about what once happened at these places.  Never lose your sense of history in your life or in your art.

Take a week to really see the things around you, write down your observations, use these observations for future creations and have a great day.    

NEW NOMADIC WORK, EXPERIMENTING WITH DARNING

"Mountain Trails" 10 X 10   Lori LaBerge  2013

The Nomadic Series continued this week with the creation of "Mountain Trails".  I have really become interested in continuing this series with various types of travel routes.  Paths, trails, roads, shipping routes, air routes, etc. all interest me.  We seem to spend our lives going from one place to another, whether near or far.  We travel for vacations, work, visits and other reasons.  Where would we be without roadways, railways, and other "paths" from here to there?

I'm also enjoying working with the 10 X 10 format with these pieces and am finding them quite addictive.  The idea of working with various shapes within this size constraint is also something I've been playing with.

"River's Path"  10 X 10  Lori LaBerge  2013

The hooking on "River's Path", above,  was finished a couple of weeks ago and is now mounted and framed.  All of the finishing work can take longer than the hooking process, but is well worth the time and effort.  Whether edging or mounting or framing, it is important to show respect to the work you put into the hooking and display work professionally.

I found a website that shows various fiber art techniques and decided to use this to experiment with this week rather than a journal project.  The site is Workshop on the Web:  Textile Innovation On-Line.  The site puts out a publication which I just subscribed to, but also has what they call a web taster, where you can view samples of their publication in the form of how-to articles.  I really enjoyed the articles as I love the idea of combining various fiber techniques with rug hooking. Embellishment, trapunto, canvas work, collage and interviews with textile artists are all samples of the types of information you can receive. 

I worked on the article explaining darning technique.  Middle school home economics (yes, I'm that old), was the first time I was introduced to darning and I don't remember it having much of an impact on me.  This article had me thinking about all the patterns one could create with the technique and the idea of rug hooking around a section of darning.  

Some leftover yarns were rounded up along with a leftover scrap of linen and I started getting down to business.  I will need some time to experiment with more contemporary design ideas, but here is the result of Friday's playtime:

"Field and Woods"  2" X 7 1/2"  Lori LaBerge  2013

The colors I had on hand lended themselves to a landscape type scene.  Both straight horizontal and vertical stitching were used along with a weaving of the two in the lighter section representing treetops.  A fuzzier yarn was used in this area for a variation of texture.  This is a very relaxing technique and made me think that I would most likely enjoy tapestry weaving.  For now, I will leave that to another day.

There is so much to enjoy with fiber work.  You never know when a new idea may come to you from your experimentation.  Choose something you haven't tried, give it a go and have a great day.

Snow is in the air and the update on the studio is that it is on hold for a short while. My husband and I are both experienced do-it-yourselfers and we are discussing what we would like to work on rather than have done.  Pete is applying sealing tape in the above photo.  The excitement this week was the arrival of the stove and washer/dryer for the dye kitchen!