cdb Studios
  • Home
    • Contact
  • Rug Gallery
  • Sculpture
    • Figurative Sculpture
    • Sculpting Classes
    • Yard Art
  • Shop
    • Rugs for Sale
    • Patterns >
      • Animals
      • Florals
      • Landscapes
      • Miscellaneous
      • Primitives
      • Seasons
    • Hand-Dyed Wool
  • Classes and Events
  • Blog
  • Photos
    • Faces Class 2011
    • Pumpkin Class, Florissant, CO 2012
    • McGown Teacher's Workshops >
      • WMTW, Eugene Oregon, 2012
      • SCMTW, Pottsboro, Texas, 2012 >
        • Texas 2011
    • Denver Hook In 2012
  • Links

Stephen and Effie. . . . semi-final

7/24/2013

2 Comments

 
Picture
When I am hooking a mat that has areas that are difficult for me, I will often turn to other hookers for a new perspective on what I am doing. In this particular case I sent photos and discussed this project with another teacher,  and she gave me some great feedback on what she was noticing.  As it turned out - some of the things she saw were things that I had not!  Nothing gives you a new perspective on a project more than another set of eyes! But, do bear in mind that you have to trust the artistic experience of that other person for this to work!  And, you cannot take offense at what is suggested. You have to truly want to put in the effort to make the project the best you can. Nobody wants to be in a position of providing honest feedback to someone who is easily offended. Thank you, Anita!


And so. . . here we are at what I call the Semi-final stage of this mat. Now is the time that I go in to do a final tweaking of things that I want to change. 


I sit down directly across from the rug as it hangs and I make a list. My list for this mat has 13 line items on it. Some are tiny changes and others are, at least I think, pretty significant. One error that I think absolutely hysterical and that I will share with you is the fact that Effie's hooked knees are well below where her legs bend! Now, I am pretty in tune to the human figure, and yet this type of mistake just goes to prove that I (and many others) get into a groove when we are hooking and so much happens serendipitously, seemingly without conscious thought. This is why it is so important to take the time to seriously evaluate what you have done BEFORE you call the rug done! 
Don't be in such a hurry to get on to the next project that you leave out this very important step (self-evaluation). You will be surprised at what you notice! Especially if you leave the rug hanging where you will look at it several times a day in all lighting. 


Now, I promise not to bore you with anymore details about this mat! But, I will post the finished  (maybe not bound, yet, but done with hooking) product in a couple of days.




2 Comments

July 24th, 2013

7/24/2013

20 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
I am still puttering along on the mat of my grandparents. Here you can see the original faded photo of Stephan and Effie on Daytona Beach. I have cropped it in really close for my pattern. Might be fun to do this in sepias. . . . . hmmmm? Another project!

I can look at a rug I am working on all day long — even taking breaks and hanging it across the room and still not notice areas that need work. But, as soon as I take the time to photograph it and project it onto my computer screen there are a ton of little things jumping out at me! Here, I can see that I need to work on Effie's legs! The shading is off and it makes her legs look straighter than they are in the photo. Among other things, that will have to be changed! The process of hooking any portrait is just as tedious/painstaking, so never underestimate the amount of time and effort that goes into rendering those compositions! Do note that I changed the angle of the front tire because it bothered me that I would not be able to see both sides of the handlebars from the original angle. That looked "off" to me so i took artistic license and changed it.


Also, note the lighter sand that defines the underneath part of the motorcycle! Making that small change will make a significant change in the appearance of the mat.  

20 Comments

Stephan and Effie, continued

7/15/2013

0 Comments

 
Picture
Well, here I have completed the sky, using a couple of spot dyes and lots of bits from my worm bag of leftovers from other projects. I love using wool from this bag to accentuate things as I hook — in this case the highlights on the clouds. Most of the water wool came from that bag as well. The strips may not match exactly, but that is what makes the water look more realistic!


It is an amazing adventure to take   photos of any rug as you hook them. By doing this I can see the rug in a different way by putting it on my computer screen and examining it. Here it becomes obvious that I need to adjust the width of the tire and re-draw Stephan's leg. You may also notice that I have decided NOT to include the extra lights on the handlebars of the motorcycle. Editing out some of the detail on a rug  allows the artist to cut to the chase of what is really important. Sometimes all those extra things can clutter up a hooking AND an idea, thereby confusing the viewer — or just lose them in the detail. Deciding what is not important to what you are trying to convey and deleting those things gives the the viewer easier access to your art.

Now, this series of 3 photos shows big changes as I rip out and re-do specific areas in my hooking. As I started hooking the sand I realized that it was too dark immediately behind the motorcycle. The third photo shows the lighter sand and how it makes the wheel and structure of the vehicle stand out more.  Now, take a look at the motorcycle engine! In the first photo you can see that the resource I was using to draw the motorcycle was at a different perspective and did not show the engine from the angle that the photo was taken causing my hooked version to look flat and show no depth. So I added some components to simulate more of a 3 dimensional engine!

Picture
Picture
0 Comments

What I see. . . .

7/15/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
 I dearly loved my grandmother and while I have been working on this rug I have spent hours thinking about her. I obviously never knew her at the age she was in this photo, yet I find myself thinking about that younger person as she might have been in 1928! I do not think that she and Stephan were married at this time and I know very little about him. He died when my mother was only 3 years old, so all I really have heard about him came from stories told by family members.


I have also never tried to execute a vehicle in wool! So this has been a real learning experience for me. As a matter of fact I did not even know the make or model of the motorcycle when I began this project and was lucky enough to find a man who loves old Harleys. He was able to help me identify the make and eventually the model and that is how I dated this photo. I was able to locate lots of resource material in the way of photos of this motorcycle on the internet. As I understand it this is a fairly common color scheme and going from an old black and white photo - it seems right!

Picture
Picture
1 Comment

What I'm working on NOW!

6/24/2013

2 Comments

 
Picture
Well, I have finally gotten back to hooking on the rug that I started with Roslyn Logsdon at the Lancaster Biennial in 2011! This is a rug of my grandparents sitting on a Harley on Daytona Beach in 1928!  (This is only a portion of the rug showing where I am working right now.)

The robin eggs hatched (well, only 1 hatched) and the little one grew up and has moved on already. It is amazing that it only took 1 month and 1 day for those birds to build a nest, go on a honeymoon and raise a family! Wow! The really big events just FLY by when you are a bird!

Picture
Little orange baby newly hatched!
Picture
Picture
Baby robin taken the morning he fledged!
2 Comments

A Magdalena break!

6/6/2013

5 Comments

 
Picture
After spending the better part of March and April on a 3 cut floral, I decided to take a blessed 9 cut break by working on my addaptation of Magdalena's "Domestic Zoo". Just HAD to remove the snakes and put fishes in this adaptation. This is an 87" X 29" runner. Yesterday, I finished stitching down the rug tape on the back of this rug and will add the label today. FINI!

So what is next????? I believe I will go on to a rug I started in Roslyn Logsdon's class at the Lancaster Biennial! It is a rug of my grandparents sitting on a Harley Davidson at Daytona Beach in 1929! A way-cool rug that will be fun to do in a 3, 4 and 5 cut. It is being done in a style that is not as detailed as I normally would want to do a portrait. . . . so should be a challenge to see if I can stay consistently in this style!

Picture
Picture
Picture
5 Comments

Proof of Spring!

6/6/2013

2 Comments

 
Picture
A robin decided to set up housekeeping in one of my hanging baskets right by the front door! She and her mate spent one day frantically building a nest and the next day they chocked it with mud and dried leaves and grasses. Then they took a 3 day honeymoon all over the front yard, the street, in the bird bath. Mercy! Finally got down to the business of laying eggs and now the long hours of setting.
They should hatch any time now. . . . . .


I take advantage of the breaks that mama bird takes to feed. . . . then I keep the plant watered so that she does not lose her cover. She is very tolerant of our use of the front porch and entry way. Watching her has been fascinating!




Picture
Picture
Picture
2 Comments

It's SPRING and STILL snowing!

4/16/2013

9 Comments

 
Picture
Big fluffy flakes are pouring out of the sky on this brrrrrrrchilly white April day! The good news is that the grass is green under this latest layer of white. We will get more today on top of the foot of snow that came yesterday and overnight. Happy hooking weather for sure.

I have been working on a floral for a friend who color planned this rug as she is finishing up her McGown Certification. Now on to the whipping! 

Picture
Picture
Picture
9 Comments

Snowy February

2/22/2013

6 Comments

 
Picture









Well, the snow outside makes for good fun hooking inside! Here is an update on the progress of the 60" long runner that I will turn into a cornice over the picture window in my living room. I wanted to liven things up with color. . . . maybe it is spring fever coming early! In any case the splashes of intense color should liven things up!

Yesterday was a snow day and this morning's sun cast the most amazing shadows on that cold canvass of unmarked white. I love the way the shadows look blue. . . hmm. . .makes me want to stain that fence blue!

Picture
Picture
The way the snow lands on the bare branches of the deciduous trees and shrubs is such wonderful contrast to the greens and blues of the junipers and spruces. This frigid time of year certainly is beautiful to look at and even inspiring. . . but I do love being inside and hooking next to a gently burning fire!
I hope that you are warm and cozy and planning your spring gardens! It won't be long before my yard begins to wake up and provide me with a bounty of color — and Spot the Columbian ground squirrel will be out of hibernation begging for sun flower seeds and peanuts!

Picture
6 Comments

Happy Valentine's Day!

2/14/2013

1 Comment

 
Picture
Even though we are blessed with a very cold, grey day here in Colorado. . . . Oh! and it is snowing. . . . I must have spring fever! My sweet hubby spent the past couple of weekends painting a few rooms in the house just to brighten the place up a bit, and I am hooking a cornice for the living room that will be VERY bright and colorful! This sketch is just a quick idea and the colors I am playing with are red-orange (not the orange in the sketch), gold and a wonderfully bright teal. I have it about 1/3 of the way hooked and will post a photo in a few days!
 
This time of year it is always good to get some direction going as far as my artistic goals for the next year are concerned. I have a really large rug sketched up and ready to put to backing. This will be another figurative challenge that I am itching to get started on!

1 Comment
<<Previous
Forward>>

    Author

    I am a fiber artist and sculptor living in sunny, Tennessee.  I have a home studio where I dye and sell gorgeous wool fabric. 

    Teaching rug hooking, sculpting and how to dye wool are some  of my favorite things to do!

    Archives

    March 2023
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2020
    November 2019
    November 2018
    September 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    March 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    March 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    August 2015
    January 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    April 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    February 2013
    November 2012
    October 2012
    July 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed