GIVING A TITLE TO ARTWORK

"Metropolitan" body section hooked and ready for pressing,  Lori LaBerge  2016

With a full week of jury duty, work was limited. I found time in the evening to finish hooking on the body section of the latest work. I also decided to name the piece "Metropolitan".

Titles can be important to viewers and it took me a while to name this work. I like a title that people can relate to and perhaps help them to see something in the work. A title should not give a total explanation of the work, but allow the viewer to experience the piece on their own. 

Close-up of "Metropolitan". Photos allow a better sense of where tweaking is needed, there are a few spots I'll correct

We have been on the road extensively this year and the piece shows the city blocks we have maneuvered along with their corresponding highways and overpasses. Many others have had the same experience. I like that people can recall their own memories of travel through the road pieces I've created.

One title of a work that starts a series can lead to many more. Future titles I have in mind refer to roads we have driven. "Neck of the Woods" from our experiences four-wheeling in our Jeep through the back roads of the mountains is one example. "Pacific Coast Highway", and "Rodeo Drive" will derive from visiting our daughter in the L.A. area. I look forward to delving into the colors that surround each of these areas and incorporating them in the work.

 "Louise Nevelson-Light and Shadow"  by Laurie Wilson

I know very little about Louise Nevelson except that I have loved her work forever and who can resist a woman who dresses like the one on that cover.  I really need to spice up my closet. Anyone for a Louise Nevelson party? Nevelson is known for her monochromatic wall pieces made from wood. I have this weekend all to myself, so I plan on settling down and getting a good chunk of reading in. You can see examples of her work at Artsy.

Art Exercise-

Look over titles you have chosen for your works or look at titles on the internet or in museums.  Do they make you think about the piece, bring back memories or relate to your experiences in any way?

LANDSCAPE SILHOUETTES, THE SPOTLIGHT EFFECT

 "Silhouette 1"   11 X 14,  Lori LaBerge  2016

The first of a grouping of landscape silhouettes was worked on this week. These were developed from both plein air work and from sculptural pieces. Plein air has led to the rug hooked sections of light and dark. In the sculptural work I had used industrial felt and loose threads and this is carrying over into wall pieces 

The white threads are on the top sections and the black threads on bottom. While black threads are seen hanging off the bottom of the piece they are more hidden on the piece itself. They are seen clearly when the viewer approaches the work. The plan right now is to create a grouping of 10 to be hung together. 

"Intersection"  design,  Lori LaBerge  2016

While on the ride home from Vermont, we stopped on a bridge which looked down on a crossroad. The lighting was creating a spotlight effect on the roadway and surrounding area.  This piece developed from that scene. The outer areas are darker and progress to lighter with the focus area being the lightest. I also added a metal bar to the left side which balances the work.

Having been a psychology major as well as studying art I find the spotlight effect interesting. In psychology it refers to one thinking they are being noticed more than they actually are. In these pieces something is spotlighted that we usually pass right by and don't give much thought to.

"Watercourse" in design phase,  Lori LaBerge  2016

This piece was developed from a round drain on the road which had light shining on it. The same spotlight effect used on the piece described above was used here. There will be more contrast between light and dark on the actual work to bring out the brightness of the focus area.

Art Exercise-

Try to find areas that are spotlighted, whether by interior lighting or exterior lighting. How does this affect the color of the object and the surrounding areas?

A special thank you to all for the sympathy calls and cards received upon my mother's death.  I have been off my game and a bit unfocused.  I am now finding my way back to where she would want me to be.  

ABSTRACT FIGURE PROGRESS, SKETCHING PLEIN AIR

Work in progress,  Lori LaBerge  2016

Keeping things straight

When working on a piece with a specific shape to it measuring is important. In the photo above the ruler is placed against one of the angled edges to make sure everything is aligned.

Correction needed

When I measured the other side, it was off by about one line of hooking where the light yellow and light blue are seen creating a bowing effect. This was filled in to keep the angle of the side of the piece in alignment. I will keep measuring at certain intervals as the piece is worked on.

Plein Air sketch,  Lori LaBerge  2016

We had some beautiful weather here this week so I decided to sit out on the deck with a glass of our homemade wine (not too bad for our first batch) and do some sketching. The sun was shining brightly leaving some great shadows to work with. I took the liberty of adding the sky to this work.  In reality, the background was filled with pine trees.

About 3/4 of the tree was in dark shadow with the left 1/4 in sunlight. The shadows were lengthy as it was morning. They were also narrower than I would have guessed. I learn something every time I work outside. Some of the best shadows are at sunrise but I'm not a morning person, so I frequently miss that opportunity.

Abstract Plein Air sketch,  Lori LaBerge  2016

This sketch kept to an abstract look. The darkest value is from the shadows that were viewed, the light value is the gravel road and the medium values are the pine trees in the background with certain trees represented by thin lines.

Here I marked off patterns. There is a repetition of sharp zigzag lines throughout the work which give a sense of action and tension in what is in reality a peaceful scene.

We will be talking about realistic vs. abstract, composition, lines, light and value in the Plein Air class I will be teaching at the Green Mountain Rug School next June.

Art exercise:

See how many types of line you can find in an outdoor landscape scene.

IF YOUR STUCK, REMEMBER WHAT YOUR ART IS ABOUT

 

  Work in progress,  Lori LaBerge  2016

Hooking continued on the body of an abstract piece. I went through quite a bit of thinking deciding how to deal with the head of the figure  I tried various ideas and found myself veering away from my usual aesthetic. In the end, I knew I had to go back to my initial vision. 

Design work,  Lori LaBerge  2016

Why did I temporarily veer away? Stress? Fear? Confusion? I had more sketch pad paper in the circular file than I've ever had before.  Enough.

I wrote down on paper what my art is about. Clean strong use of line, geometry and pattern.  I also like a sense of place, how we move along the roads of life. This put me right back on track and led to the use of a triangle shape in the back of the circle. This was opposed to all the frilly designs I had tried to create.  What was I thinking?

Taking time to stop and focus led to a better design.

I also made a trip to the hardware store with some sculptures in mind.

I picked up two types of connectors

This is an idea of how I may use industrial felt with one of the connectors. I am currently playing with ideas using scraps of felt and deciding what other materials will be added.

Another idea with a different style of connector.  

I'm not sure exactly where these ideas will lead, but I am enjoying this stage of creation.

Art Exercise:

Take notes about your work.  What does it mean? What is your focus? What style do you work in? Do you prefer specific themes? etc. This can be done in paragraph form or by simply making a list. Use this to help you create work that shows viewers who you are as an artist.

A VISIT TO THE GREEN MOUNTAIN RUG HOOKING SHOW IN VERMONT

It is good to be back up in Vermont. I was able to view works at the Green Mountain Rug Hooking Show in Essex Junction, VT, the town where I grew up. Old and new friends were there and a dinner out led to discussion about rug hooking and its place in the art world.  

Here are some of the works that attracted me along with why:

I. C. U. by Liz Alpert Fay

The size and content of this piece fit well together. I felt like I could walk right into the woods. The flowers (26), the gun against the tree, the birds and the appearance of eyes in the trees all led to thought about the artist's statement with this work.

"Coriolus" by Anne Cox

I like the way the lichen on the edges of the work appear to be creeping up on the mushroom fungus in the center. The geometric background is in juxtaposition to the organic mushroom and lichen shapes.

"Red Brussel Sprouts" by Anne Cox

The red brussel sprouts seem to be escaping from between the middle and top leaves on the left and marching their way around all of them. The reds, purples and imperfect leaf shapes seem inviting to me and the whites are enough to break up the red/green color scheme yet not detract from it.

"Portuguese Fishing Village" by Francine Even

I like the solid use of geometric lines. Vertical, horizontal and diagonal all work together. I had a clear feel of what the piece was about before reading the title. The bold red is surrounded on top and bottom by the soothing color of the water. Made me want to visit this little fishing village.

"I, Magician" by Mariah Krauss

This piece is all about light.  The blinding glow of the crystal ball lighting the subject's hands and face, placing all else in the darkness of the background. I felt a sense of mystery. What does the magician see in the crystal ball?

A work done for a rug hooking challenge by the Rug Hooking and Fiber Crafts group of Sharon, VT

The sharp angles in the shapes grabbed my eye. While the woman is clearly the subject this is emphasized by the triangle pointing clearly toward her. She looks clearly engaged in her activity. Reminiscent of Picasso's "Jacqueline with Flowers". (Please contact me so I can give credit if you are the artist or know who the artist is).  

"The Tower" by Michele Micarelli

The winding cone shape of the tower, the flames rising, the water splashing, the sky swirling. A clear depiction of the action of destruction. The hand like appearance of the water adds a menacing feel, yet the bright blue in the background seems cheerful behind all this chaos. Is there hope beyond the chaos? 

"Quiet Beauty" by Kris McDermet

A peaceful feeling always envelopes me when viewing a kimono work. I like the shape of this work along with the way the weight of rug hooking and braiding fit together. The curve of the water flowing through the work along with the curves of the florals led my eyes throughout the piece. 

There were many more pieces at the show.  I regret not showing more, but hot spots from the lighting at the show occurred in many photos preventing my placing them on the blog.

I hope those who are unfamiliar with hooked work are inspired to try their hand at this art form.

GEOMETRIC ABSTRACT BLACK AND WHITE STUDIES DEVELOPED

 Hooked geometric developed from plein air value study  5 1/2" X 5 1/2",  Lori LaBerge 2016

This week I hooked the value studies that were sketched for last week's plein air post. My love of geometrics pushed me to use these studies in an actual work. White, ivory and a light blue were used in the white section and five different blacks along with a purple in the black section. 

Geometric from plein air study 5 1/2" X 5 1/2",   Lori LaBerge  2016

I asked myself what would happen if the hooked work was placed on an 11" X 14" piece of industrial felt? What if it was centered on the felt or thread was added?  

 Design mock-up for series of black and white geometrics,  Lori LaBerge  2016

Photoshop was used to give an idea of how the work would look with the felt and threads in place. The threads will continue the lines of their respective colors with white threads following the lines of the white hooking and black threads following the black hooking. Threads will also hang, leaving a looser more flowing look than shown above.

  Design mock-up for series of black and white geometrics,  Lori LaBerge  2016

Other works in this series will include placing white threads against black and black threads against white, placing the hooked piece off center and possibly stitching the threads in curved road patterns around the hooked section. I'm looking forward to seeing how far I can go with this concept.

After all this black and white, here's a splash of the beautiful Vermont color we saw on our ride to Stowe today:

Reminiscent of an abstract painting.

Art Exercise-

Experiment with developing work from a simple concept. A jagged line, a rectangle, a triangle, an organic shape, etc. Do you wish to keep it simple or develop it into more complex forms? How far can you go? Does it end up being more realistic than abstract? Do you end up with something totally different than what you started with?

BACK TO WORK, TWO-VALUE STUDIES TO GUIDE COMPOSITION

Untitled work in progress  39" X 21"  Lori LaBerge   2016

I did not know how much I would miss rug hooking. During our trip up to Vermont, I did not bring any work with me.  A return to hooking this week felt good. We'll be headed back up north tomorrow and the projects will go with me.

This week some more of the yellow was hooked. Rather than finishing all the yellow, I decided to see what the background was going to look like. Some of the blues and grays were added along with red and purple lines.  

I will be visiting some auto salvage yards to find a hubcap to use for the head of the figure. Right now I'm on the easy part. I'm quite sure I have a challenge ahead of me combining rug hooking with a hubcap. I foresee some sleepless nights in my future.

A two-value study of landscape scene

In preparation for teaching Plein Air at Green Mountain Rug School in June, I began working on two value studies to discuss with the class. When working on outdoor landscapes, studies can aid the composition process.

I veer toward geometric studies, but they could just as easily be organic in nature. The idea is to separate out the light and dark sections of the design. Do they balance? Is the shape pleasing? By doing this exercise it is easier to determine if a certain composition will work before moving on to further sketching and the actual hooking process. Spending time on design will pay off later.

Here is a thumbnail sketch of the scene I was viewing when working on the study:

It is easy to see the breakdown of lights and darks. The land in the forefront and the building were drawn as one large mass in the earlier two-value study.

Here is another example:

Two value study

 Thumbnail sketch of scene being viewed.  

The land, tree and background building will be darker than the sky area above. One could also add mountains in the background to add to the piece, even if they were not there in reality. You are creating art, not copying nature.

I know, more books.  We had lunch at Long Trail Brewery in Bridgewater Corners, VT and drove over to Woodstock for dessert.  While there, the Woodstock Library was having a book sale. Could not resist these at two to three dollars a piece.

Art Exercise-

Try creating your own two-value studies.