TEXTILE SCULPTURE COMPLETED, WORKING WITH INDUSTRIAL FELT

"Mother Nature and Child",  14 1/4" X 10" X 6 3/4"   Lori LaBerge  2016

Working with industrial felt has been proving to be both a joy and a challenge.  I am loving that I can expand the use of metal that has been employed in my rug hooked work.  

Here are a few challenges I ran into working on "Mother Nature and Child":

1.  Flexibility is the key component of most fiber work.  It allows for manipulation.  The weight and thickness of the felt determines how much flexibility will be allowed.  I used an F15 felt that is 3/8" thick.

The work from another angle.  Lori LaBerge  2016

2.  The addition of metal to the work affected the movement of the felt.  Metal has weight which pushes down on the felt.  I let this happen in this work as I was intrigued by the shape it was taking.  A decision will have to be made with future work as to whether to continue allowing the fiber to fall naturally or to add a support system to force it into a particular shape.  This would depend on the design of each piece.

Looking down into the work,  Lori LaBerge  2016

3.  The closer I brought the top screws to each other, the more height could be added to the piece.  How the metal is attached greatly affects shape.

4.  The felt could easily be cut with an exacto knife.  This gave a clean cut, though care had to be taken.  Due to thickness two swipes of the knife were needed.  If the second cut did not meet the first cut, a ridge was left on the edge of the felt.

Bent spade point needle

5.  Solid, sharp needles were needed to bring the thicker yarns through the felt.  I used industrial steel needles.  A bent or straight spade point with wide eyes worked though effort was needed to pull the needle through the felt.  Felt can also be cut with a laser or waterjet.  

6.  I am looking into leather cutting tools and punches to work with shapes in the future.

This piece was planned to include a rug hooked bottom.  I decided this would just be too busy if it was included.  The next work will be tapered down, allowing for a rug hooked section to be attached.

Knowing what not to include is as important as what to include in a piece.  Try editing ideas, perhaps bringing those ideas into two separate works rather than trying to fit them all into one work and have a great day. 

HGA MIXED MEDIA EXHIBIT AND TEXTILE SCULPTURAL WORK

"Sway" ,  34 3/4" X 13 1/4"  Lori LaBerge  2016

"Sway" was juried into the Handweaver's Guild of America's "Mixed Bag: All Media Art Exhibit".  This is an international juried exhibit featuring high quality, contemporary works created in any material using any fiber technique.  The juror was Beverly Gordon, a retired professor in the Design Studies Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of the book below. 

"Textiles: The Whole Story: Uses, Meaning and Significance" by Beverly Gordon

The exhibit corresponds with the HGA annual "Convergence" conference.  The conference will include exhibits, workshops and  textile tours.  This year's conference will be in Milwaukee, Wisconsin July 30-August 6.  Karen Donde and Catherine Ellis, two well known artists in the Asheville area will be holding workshops this year.

Here is what is in progress this week:

Smaller section of "Mother Nature and Child",  5 1/2" X 4" X 4" , 2016.  This will be attached to the larger section.

Larger section of "Mother Nature and Child" being stitched.  24" X 8" flat (the piece will be rounded for the completed work)

Next week, I will go over what I am learning working with industrial felt and why certain decisions are being made as work progresses.

Attend a class or show, experiment with new media and have a great day.

WOODLAND LANDSCAPE, FELT SCULPTURE PREPARATION

" It's the Yellow Building, Can't Miss It", 10" X 13",  Lori LaBerge  2016

Yellow is a color I don't often use in landscape pieces.  It's a difficult color to dye to a specific shade and stands out in a piece.  Though this building found in the woods is gray in reality, it had small spots of yellow.  I decided to make one whole section of the building yellow.  

The work started as a drawing on linen on site in Black Mountain, NC.  I left out quite a bit of shrubbery and branches and simplified the wooded area on the left from how it looked in reality.   All of the branches would have driven attention away from the building and the windows, where I wanted the main focus.  The piece was brought home and hooked in the studio.

I started planning out the next sculptural landscape work for exhibit.  This piece will contain a miniature rug hooked runner using upholstery fabric which the felted work will sit upon.  

Starting to get supplies and tools in order.  I drilled holes in the edges of the felt where metal rods will be placed.  There will be two sections with one inside of the other. 

I also updated my website at www.lorilaberge.com this morning.  I added an exhibition page with photos to give a bit of history and deleted anything distracting on the site.  This means plain photos of artwork with no text unless photo is clicked on and a larger photo on the home page.  I'll take a well deserved day off tomorrow, technology exhausts me!

Look at colors you would not usually use, try using them liberally, have fun and have a great day.

ABSTRACT LINE PLACEMENT AND LANDSCAPE WORK

"Fault Line" in progress, 13 1/2" X 9", Lori LaBerge  2016

A new power adapter for my computer arrived late Thursday.  It was a full 8 day withdrawal with no way to get power to the laptop, which is about 7 years old.  I see a new computer in the near future.  Though some paperwork suffered, I was still able to hook.  In the above photo, the placement of metal parts is being worked on. 

The original plan had been for a red line through the piece.  Even though the red was quite bright it seemed expected and was a bit boring.  Yellow fit the bill with its contrast to both the grays and browns. 

The close-up shows horizontal lines, a diagonal line and vertical lines.  The yellow fault line breaks the two brown sections with the variance in direction relating to that break.

In this first version, above, I noticed when looking at the brown sections my peripheral vision led my eyes away toward the washer in the bottom corner.  

In comparison, the final design at the top of this post shows the white lines added to the light gray section. Since the white and the washer draw the eye equally, they balance each other out.  The eye now flows around the piece through a simple change in line placement.

"Across the Field"   Lori LaBerge  2016

Everything is on schedule for the landscape show.  "Across the Field" was finished early in the week and awaits framing.

View some artwork, notice the importance of line and have a great day.

SCULPTURAL TEXTILE ART "SANCTUARY"

 "Sanctuary" in progress, 15" X 11" X 8"  Lori LaBerge 2016

I had to think about creating sculptural pieces for the July landscape show.  I began to think about my many walks through the woods.  What if during a walk something unexpected appeared in front of me?   Something I could explore in the landscape.  "Sanctuary" is the first result of that thinking process.

The work consists of industrial felt, yarn, thread, beads, copper crimps, a fishing sinker, washers, a bolt and paint.  

 Close-up of upper portion

An opening was created and beads and a sinker were placed inside.  I found that the felt had to be cleaned as it shed heavily when I began work.  I vacuumed and used a lint roller to clean off as much fuzz as possible.  It would be best to use a mask if you attempt this process to prevent breathing in too much felt dust.

 Back portion in progress

As I usually work in 2-D, I finish the back of pieces but don't have to worry about how they are viewed.  3-D presents the added concern of how the piece looks from all angles.  I am in the process of creating a ladder for the backside of the piece.  This will be painted and stitched to the felt.  Fishing lures will be stitched on either side of the top of the ladder.  The above photo gives an idea of how they will be placed.

I have also been enjoying two new books that arrived this week:

"Alberto Burri: The Trauma of Painting" by Emily Braun and others

Burri's work consists of deconstructing in order to reconstruct in a new way.  His work and time spent as a war time doctor are seen in his method of art.  One can see fragments of burlap and clothing with torn edges roughly stitched together.  The rawness of the work is quite startling at some times.  He also worked with wood, steel, tar and plastic.  The use of materials unexpected to the canvas presents a unique approach to collage work. 

"destroy the picture: painting the void 1949-1962" by Paul Schimmel

This book focuses on an exhibition of post-war deconstructivism.  It goes well with the Alberto Burri book mentioned earlier and his work is included in this book also. The effect of wars is brought out in these artists' works as one sees battered canvases representing the feelings of the artists as their world changed. These are works that can have a profound effect on the viewer once the context is understood. 

The question "What if?" is one of the best gifts an artist can give him or herself.  Let this question lead you to new explorations in your work and have a great day.

ABSTRACT TEXTILE ART: SIGN SERIES

"Roundabout Ahead" in progress,  19"X 29"   Lori LaBerge  2016

There is a saying that from 30 feet a piece of art should grab your interest, from 3 feet it should tell a story and from 3 inches there should be interesting details to see. I'm hoping I met the challenge with this work.  The boldness definitely shows well from 30 feet and the arrows along with the white road lines allow the viewer to draw their own story from the piece.  The details can be seen below.

 Sari ribbon was added in the turquoise section for variety in texture.

 Close-up of colors seen in the gray.  Purple, blue and pink show up here.

 Large metal washers being sanded down so paint will adhere.

A hammered copper was chosen for the washers.  They will be stitched to the work when dry.

Try applying the 30-3-3 idea to works you see in museums and other venues and have a great day.

WOODLAND LANDSCAPE, INDUSTRIAL FELT SCULPTURE WORK

                                  "Still Standing"  8 1/2" X 24"  Lori LaBerge  2016

Seven pieces for the July landscape show have now been completed, except for framing, and there are seven more to go.  "Still Standing" is meant to give the viewer the feeling of standing in front of a large tree before entering the woods.  I always love the mystery of where the path will lead me when going for walks.  The work was done partially outdoors and partially from a sketch and notes.

I started planning out one of the three sculptural works yesterday.  Here is how its going:

Supplies were brought out to make a mock-up of the piece.

Foam board was cut and stacked to determine fit and size of the work as the piece will be displayed on a gallery pedestal.

Once the design with foam board was decided on industrial felt was cut the same size as the boards.  I had to do some figuring as the board was 1/4" and the felt was 3/8" (do we ever get away from math?).  The piece will be 15" long X 11" wide X 8" high.  Next, decisions will be made as to how to create the landscape throughout the work.

The weather here is beautiful for a woodland journey.  If yours is the same, enjoy the sights and sounds of nature and have a great day.