"ROUNDABOUT" COMPLETED, "COASTAL ROUTE" STARTED

"Roundabout"  20 X 20,  Lori LaBerge  2013

Metal parts were added to "Roundabout" this week.  I used clear thread, but may change this as I tend to like the made by hand feel that comes from seeing yarn attaching the metal to the fiber.  Not being patient enough to wait for the 3" washer I ordered to show up at the door, I trotted over to Lowe's again to search for something new.  

It is always interesting to see reactions when you are in the plumbing or electrical aisle, are asked if you need any help, and tell the salesperson you are just looking for items to use in an art piece.

I found the perfect 3" circular item hanging on a rack.  It is a rigid conduit locknut.  I also picked up a 3" galvanized steel floor flange because who knows when a piece may just cry out for one.  The locknut called for "Roundabout" to have a design change as it is quite a bit slimmer than the 3" washer.  The center area was filled with some nuts and a washer representing the common plants and center statue seen in many roundabouts.  The washers to the right side depict vehicles traveling the roadway and balance out the piece nicely.

Another work was started this week:

   "Coastal Route",  20 X 20, rough sketch

The wavy roadway lines sketched through the piece were changed when the design was transferred to linen as I was not happy with the presentation.  Care had to be taken where the wavy lines themselves intersect as well as where they cross with straight lines.  The wider horizontal stripe will be hooked with various shades of blue which have yet to be dyed. 

"Coastal Route" hooking started

I decided to hook randomly in each two inch square.  This is time consuming as the squares need to be kept as straight as possible.  I find myself hooking looser than I normally do to give each square a place to rest and to prevent bulging.

Placing colors in order from light to dark sounds easy.  I had some difficulty as a few of the grays I dyed were very similar.  Look at the far right column in the above photo.  Which is darker, the first or third section?  They are both blue grays, but the lower one is darker than the top one.  This led me to search for a site where you can practice this.  The site is x-rite and you can take their color challenge.  Have fun!

Look closely at the color values of objects around you, decide whether they are light, medium or dark, look at them in relation to similar colors and have a great day.

  

"ROUNDABOUT' IN PROGRESS, WRITING AN ARTIST STATEMENT

It felt good to get home and have wool strips flowing through my fingers.  I am continuing work on the road series which is officially named "The Roads We Travel". 

 "Roundabout"  in progress,  20 X 20 Lori LaBerge  2013

The hooking is done on "Roundabout" and I am looking forward to the embellishment phase where I will be adding washers to the piece.  A trip to the local hardware stores to find a 3" washer to be placed in the center of the "roundabout" led to disappointment. 

Reverting to the internet, I found one at McMaster-Carr.  I have used this site before as it is a great source of odd materials such as heavyweight felt, screws, rivets, bolts, pipes, mesh, foam etc.  Just looking at the various items gives me ideas for projects.  When my washer arrives I will be back to working on this piece and remembering the many experiences my husband and I had driving through the multi-lane roundabouts in Great Britain.

I will be applying to an exhibit soon and found that my artist statement needed to be revamped.  This became my journal activity for the week.

An old artist statement that, quite frankly, needs to be redone.

Taking the time to write an artist statement allows for a review of where you are and where you are going with your work.  I would recommend it for all artists, whether professional or hobbyist.  When creating works there are sometimes things happening with your thoughts you do not realize until you write things down.  It can help you to find if you are focused or still experimenting with your work.

A statement takes time.  Do you want a general statement on your work or do you want to focus the statement on a particular series?  Does it flow easily?  That is, does it jump around or does one paragraph lead into the other? Is it clear and understandable to those who do not know "art speak"?

  Take the time to develop your thoughts for your statement.

Do not try to include your life story in a statement.  Personally, when writing one for myself or reading someone else's I prefer it be kept on the shorter side unless otherwise requested. Try to include how your work is done (technique, medium), how the work came about, why you are creating it, and what you hope this work accomplishes. 

Here is the 3rd pass of the statement I am working on:

Texture is a large part of my life. As a child I loved wrapping myself in the silken comforter given to me by my grandmother. Today, I revel in curling up in a warm, soft blanket and enjoying a relaxing evening. When in the studio I am surrounded by bolts of wool, rug hooks, hooking frames, packets of dye and the freedom to create.

"The Roads We Travel" series began with an exploration of everyday travel routes. This thought evolved into exploring my feelings about travel and how it affects me. Some days I spend a majority of my time on the road, other days I find myself making quick trips here and there. I drive on little traveled country roads and high-traffic city roads.

Many of the experiences I have on the road relate to my life in general. I have hit speed bumps on the roadway as well as on the road of life. I find myself making u-turns, yielding to others and, some days, traveling in circles trying to find my own personal direction.

My hope is for individuals to not just think of getting from point A to point B, but to explore how their travels pertain to their life. 

The statement should encourage others to explore your work, but not tell them how to feel about the work.  Each person may experience the work in a different way and that is what art is all about.

Explore how you feel about art you create or view, read various artist statements (everyone's idea of how one is done will vary) and have a great day.

SHELBURNE MUSEUM -- PATTY YODER GALLERY

This continues last week's post on my visit to the Shelburne Museum. There is always something wonderful in the Textile Building and it was there that a portion of the Patty Yoder Alphabet Sheep Rugs were on exhibit. 

A fun part of this exhibit was watching children as they tried to find the alphabet letter placed in the design of each rug.  I'm sure Patty would love knowing the joy her rugs give others.

I did not write down the whole title of each when I viewed them. so I will label them by their letter. Enjoy!

"Q" by Patty Yoder

 "D" by Patty Yoder

 "G" by Patty Yoder

"O" by Patty Yoder

 "T" by Patty Yoder

"K" by Patty Yoder

"

"P" by Patty Yoder

"A" by Patty Yoder

"E" by Patty Yoder

"M" by Patty Yoder

"S" by Patty Yoder

"U" by Patty Yoder

Creative and artistic, these works show the strength of working in a series.  Think about what type of series you would like to see or create and have a great day.

SHELBURNE MUSEUM QUILT EXHIBIT

I am enjoying the wonderful state of Vermont. Green mountains, maple cree-mees and locally renowned Bove's spaghetti are bringing back memories from childhood.

Yesterday my husband and I hit the road and traveled over to the Shelburne Museum. On exhibit in the textiles building was "Larger Than Life", a stunning group of quilts by Velda Newman. Here is a peek at the burst of color that greeted us as we entered the exhibit.

"Zinnia" by Velda Newman

How can you not feel happiness when viewing this work. The colors, the texture and the composition combined with the size of the piece, 8' by 18', are awe-inspiring.

"Wings" by Velda Newman

Butterflies of various colors flutter along their way. I enjoy the way the bottom butterfly escapes from the frame a bit.

"Sun Kissed" by Velda Newman

Loved the texture in this one. The feeling of depth was created with paints on the fabric. 

 Close-up of "Sun Kissed" by Velda Newman.

Regretfully, I did not get the title of this piece.  By Velda Newman.

Painting was used to create the depth and roundness of the pears. The black and white upper and lower section add great drama.

"Seashells" by Velda Newman

Wonderful variety of shells in a beautiful composition. This brought back summer vacation memories of walking the beach and combing the shoreline for shells.

"Baskets" and "Catch of the Day" by Velda Newman

Beautiful use of curves and as the bottom butterfly in "Wings" escaped from the bottom frame so does one of these baskets.

The fish quilts (one more is shown below) were my absolute favorite. My dad would love this catch! They draw me right in with their eyes.

"Bass: In Your Dreams" by Velda Newman

I love the serenity of the water and the colors used in this. The fish are each going their own way and appear to be in deep water or traveling at night.

Close-up of "Bass: In Your Dreams" by Velda Newman

I hope you enjoyed sharing part of my day. I will share more from the museum next week. Enjoy all of the wonderful art in the world and have a great day.

INTERNATIONAL TAPESTRY PROJECT AND VIEWS FROM THE ROAD

I recently participated in the" International Tapestry Project: Fate, Destiny and Self-Determination".  This collaborative project is headed by Line Dufour, a tapestry weaver residing in Canada.  The project has three sections.  Line herself will be weaving a tapestry, a tapestry will be worked on by various individuals, and various shapes will be woven by individuals to be put into a larger installation piece.  

The project brings together a variety of fiber artists who will contribute to the installation work.  What a wonderful way to bring people together.  Below is the shape I worked on.

Created for Fate, Destiny and Self-Determination Tapestry Project,  Lori LaBerge  2013

The instructions for this piece were to work only in pure hues from the color wheel. There were also measurements included.  There is a Facebook page here where you can see other creations for this project.    

Once again, my husband and I are headed up to Vermont for a couple of weeks.   I am notorious for taking roadside photos everywhere we travel, even on local trips. There are always some memorable sights.

Humpty Dumpty was spotted in Colchester, Vermont.  It was created by my husband's cousin, Ann LaBerge.  She is an amazing artist working in a variety of materials.  We had a wonderful time talking about art when she visited us in North Carolina and I am hoping to have time to stop by and see her Vermont studio.

A dog made of hay bales lounging on the side of a long stretch of road. Such fun!

Further down the road, a companion for the first dog.  He looks a little worried. Perhaps he did something he shouldn't have.

I love architecture and upper section of this old barn has an interesting roof line with a slight outward curve at the bottom edge.

How often do you see a turquoise barn?  Love it and going to hook it soon.

Graffiti on an abandoned building.  Hooked graffiti would be great.

A cow made of moss greets visitors to the Stowe Craft Gallery in Stowe, Vermont.

Creativity is everywhere!  Take a ride, enjoy the sights along the way and have a great day.

"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.

KEEPING AN ART JOURNAL FOSTERS CREATIVITY

I have been keeping an art journal and working on related side projects since January. With six months of work in the journal, I decided it was time to start referring back to it.  Flipping through the pages, I stopped at the section where I had written down words referring to roads (the subject of this years series of work). These were some of the words that had been written:

pavement     lines          lanes     curves      intersection     dirt          cobblestone 
shoulders     signs          GPS       scenery    winding          speed     street lights     
city               country       blocks    grids         one-way        route       highway          
rest stop      direction      map       traffic        cars              byways    trip                 
travel           street          exit         tolls          parking          parkway  viaduct           
rural            distance      merge    passage   interstate       urban      dead end
lights           skid marks  circle

Looking through these words led to this design:

as yet untitled, Lori LaBerge  2013

The process:

1.  The words city, country, urban and rural piqued my interest in the above grouping.  The urban city and rural country are opposites, yet I love the aspects of each of them and thought it would be interesting to combine them in one piece.

2.   I looked at photos of roadways:

One of many winding, hilly roads in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.  This is a view from Mt. Mitchell.

The streets of Boston viewed from the top of the Prudential building.  Roads form blocks for ease of transportation.

  

It is easy to distinguish the center city block in Edinburgh, Scotland.  The buildings, as in the Boston photo, are situated inside the rectangular road layout.  This photo was taken from Edinburgh Castle, which overlooks the city.

3.  The decision was made to create the city block of the rug hooked piece in rectangular block form.  Since the country and city sections are opposites, I did not want them both flat on the piece.  The city block section will be layered on top of the country road section when it is completed.

4.  The small dot was added as a "you are here" representation, commonly seen on maps.  The larger dots will even this out and the stripes are meant to be larger sections of road.

5.  Color was decided upon using freehand Photoshop Elements:

as yet untitled, color plan, Lori LaBerge  2013

It took me a while to learn, but I truly love Photoshop.  This step could also be done using colored pencils, marker or paints (which I still do quite frequently).  Photoshop allows the convenience of being able to quickly change colors for viewing, while hands-on just has a special feel to it you don't get from a computer.

6.  Wool was dyed or found in studio stash:

7.  Hooking was completed and whipping started on the city block section:

The roads were done in white while there is a faint grid done in light blue in the background as is used for reference on maps.  The rest of the piece will be hooked this coming week.

Rug Hooking Magazine has an article on hooking maps in the June/July/August 2013 issue.

Start a journal, go back to it every once and a while for ideas, design a new piece and have a great day.