"RURAL/URBAN COMPATIBILITY" HOOKED, COLOR INSPIRATION, STUDIO UPDATE

"Rural/Urban Compatibility"  9 3/4"  X  21 1/2",  Lori LaBerge  2013

We have always lived just outside of a city.  In Vermont, we were near Burlington; in Cary near Raleigh; and in Spruce Pine near Asheville.  I love both the quiet and beauty of the countryside and the vibrancy and activity of the city.  This piece melds the two.

The city section was hooked and whipped separately and placed on top of the gray background creating depth.  It is the best of both worlds.  The piece will be attached to an art board and placed in a floater frame.

My journal work tends to be moving more and more toward small side projects.  An urge came upon me this week to work in yarn. What colors to use?  During the week I saw blue, green, gold and white ... 

in a vintage serape I had found in my parent's basement.

in my son's closet.

on the bookshelf.

and, yes, even in the shower.

After the above photos were pasted into my journal, I decided to attempt weaving again, leading to this:

striped weaving, Lori LaBerge 2013

I love the texture in the white yarn.  It might be fun to hook with some of the wild, novelty yarns that are out there.  I tend to pick up thick yarns for hooking, but have not hooked as often as I would like to with eyelash or similar yarns.  I also would like to hook around a woven piece, thus combining the two.

Speaking of yarn, I was told by a friend of Melina White that she now has New Zealand yarns for sale at Seal Harbor Rug Company located in Manchester Center, Vermont.  There is a beautiful color selection on the site.  Makes me want to take out the old rug punch.  The company also offers hooked rug cleaning and repair, which is getting harder and harder to find.  Since I was born and raised in Vermont, I may just have to order some yarn to support Vermont business.

And look what I found at the newsstand after making the weaving:

Blue, green, white and gold.  I guess I am up to date on my colors.  Elle Decor is a great magazine for both color and decor ideas.  Love their modern angle.

Become aware of the colors in your surroundings, use them in other aspects of your life (art, clothing, dishes, decor, etc.) and have a great day.

STUDIO UPDATE:

We now have doors!

and a weather vane on the roof of the studio porch.  Yes, that is a turkey up there as our home is called Wild Turkey Lodge.

START ON NEW NOMADIC WORK

This week I started on a new piece in the nomadic series. This series explores nomadic travels and nomadic textile patterns. The finishing work on last week's piece will be completed at the same time I finish this piece.  That way I only have to get out the tools to cut and drill the metal being used once.

In progress, as yet untitled,  Lori LaBerge, 2012

Yarn was used around the center medallion to add texture. If you are interested in hooking with yarn, you can check out "The Joy of Hooking with Yarn" by Judy Taylor.

In progress, close-up of yarn combined with wool hooking

The shape for the work came from viewing various textiles nomads have created or used in the past, specifically an Anatolian medallion.

Photo above from book "Tribal and Village Rugs" published by Thames and Hudson. My favorite book for reference on motifs.  Common in these designs is a central motif surrounded by four other motifs. I used the two designs to the left for ideas.  In my design I have used the idea of four full-size diamonds up front and center, but used one of the four as the main focus, thus varying from the basics of the Anatolian design.  A flat-edge bottom with the point only at the top were placed into the design.

Gold at upper left dyed this week with extras from scrap box added for variety.  The bottom left colors are more rose than show up in this photo.  I like to add one color that is a little mismatched when I combine various shades.  The same idea is done with the blues below.

Colors based on, but not the same as the palette of Anatolian village rugs were used. I dyed a gold veering toward orange, a bright blue (dark blue would be more typically used) and the light blue seen in the first photo on this post (more pastel than would be used by Anatolian rug makers). My work tends to use quite a lot of bright colors and I did not want to veer away from that.

On the other end of things, studio construction is coming along nicely. The gravel was poured this week, drainage put in and outer cement blocks placed for the base of the building. Lower walls are due in next week, then framing can begin!

This coming weekend seems to be the time for Christmas and holiday parties and we will be heading to the coast to visit with some dear friends, thus the early posting.  I hope you all enjoy your time with friends and family and have a great day.