I haven’t had much time to work at this, but here is the progress so far. I am going to our rug hooking group today, so I hope you see a difference tomorrow. I’ll also explain what I am thinking about with the value changes. This is a working piece, a prototype, an experiment–and I am just seeing where it takes me.
I have made a small start on the background. It will be squares of neutral colours working outwards from light to dark. I gathered a pile of strips in the right values and started between the shoes. I hope the colours will create a subdued flickering behind the shoes, interesting but not intrusive. I have always thought that backgrounds, while by definition must of course take a ‘back seat’, should be as interesting as the main motif. Check back to see if my plan works! Also the toffee Delta should be done by the end of the week.
I’ve been fooling around with my paints this morning. This was a challenge to paint and would be even more so to hook.
More adjustments are needed (the stitching on the right shoe seems a little bright for one thing)–but the shoes are essentially hooked. Next step, the background and border. I am thinking of doing smallish squares in a medium tone for the background, kind of like tiles, perhaps getting darker at the edges.
For those of you who have asked, the shoes are made by El Naturalista, a Spanish company. This pair is a few years old and I have certainly worn them in. I have a few pairs from this brand because the quality is tops and the comfort beyond compare. However, I did buy a pair of these yesterday! Now they would be a challenge to hook! (Apologies for the dip into shopping channel mode–shoes do that to me!!!)
I’ll be back with the background soon I hope.
I’ve made a little progress on the red shoes–I am well into hooking the second shoe and have confirmed the base colour. Taking a photo of the piece as you go is very helpful. Errors which you don’t see when you are working on it, jump out. Or a certain part just nags; not glaringly wrong, but not right either. A black and white photo helps even more. The second shoe needs revisiting, but I’m moving forward for the moment. The next decision is the background. I have some choices, so will report later in the week when I have made some progress.
It is sunny today and I got outside to do some work in the yard–the sun and the rake making a good combination for afternoon exercise. Yesterday was a different story–we went to the lake, with the thoughts of sketching. The temperatures were around freezing with blowing snow and punishing winds. I took this photo with my phone of the menacing but spectacular view from the shore. So one phone photo, no sketches. We shivered in the car and watched five guys try, without much luck, to surf the waves.
But back to the shoes…my left shoe is pretty much done, except for some tweaking in the heel area. Those rubber pieces are hard to make look right. I think I am happy with the colour of the mat they are sitting on — and have some ideas for the background. I am soon going away for a week where there should be lots of time for hooking so I want all the decisions made before I leave. I will be packing up the wool and my cutter and, if I am lucky, will come home with it much of it done.
Yesterday I was in Napanee for a meeting about the upcoming OHCG Annual where I am giving a talk. Napanee is one town east of my town–with, as I discovered, a great independent espresso bar. How perfect to find a unique coffee spot with a congenial atmosphere and personal connection and great coffee–in a historic building to boot. It was a cold, windy day–but I had time to begin a quick sketch, mostly in the car (!) and finish it at home.
On another front, I have been hooking my left shoe. Here it is as it stands now. This is an exercise in looking and looking again. It’s a lot like painting–trying to see the shapes and the values. I have been doing a lot of pulling out as I try to make this shoe come alive, but as I said before, the wool and linen are very forgiving.
I have been thinking about a shoe rug for some time, and decided to get down to it. I am envisioning a fairly big rug, but have learned that sampling is essential. So…I am working on a smallish mat with one pair of shoes. A favourite pair of well-worn boots actually. I began by painting them and then photographing them.
And draw them on the linen, a fairly small piece, about 12″x24″. My friend June suggested it is the perfect door mat size–so I thought why not turn the box the shoes are sitting on into a mat and hook a door mat of a door mat? Maybe the big rug will be a door mat with a pile of my shoes on it.
At this point I have given no thought to the background–colour or design. I know this breaks some rules, but it is the only way that works for me. I’ll turn the box the shoes are sitting on into a mat and try hooking the main motif first to see where that takes me. Does the shoe on the left look a bit like a duck’s bill? Yes, I think some adjustment is needed already–but that is the beauty of hooking; it’s way more forgiving than painting. Next step is finding six or seven values of red in my stash and picking up my hook.
I was away on the weekend so I had a chance to sketch more than I usually do. I am thinking of hooking my shoes, so am doing some sketches first. I got the idea in class at Hooked in the Mountains last November where I ended up hooking the red high-heeled pump below.
I went searching for this image from one of David Hockney’s sketch books. Then here are some pics from the Mulberry, which I visited two days in a row. Great architectural details, great coffee, great sketching ambience. I’ve posted more pictures on instagram. Click the button on the right to check them out.
The winner of the Bird with Attitude pouch is Cathy! Congratulations, Cathy, and thank you to everyone who visited the shop and left comments on the blog. It is always encouraging to hear from you. A comment, a connection, makes such a difference.
Yesterday I visited The Textile Museum to see the Marimekko exhibit. What a joy it was to take in the designs, the colours, the photos and, yes, even the clothes (!)
If you get a chance, visit the exhibit to experience the vibrant colours and designs, still with such impact after 50 years. These are the fabrics of my formative years. As I walked around the exhibit I saw dresses I had worn, fabrics I had coveted, and images I had stored. Sometimes, we don’t know where our ideas come from. In Austin Kleon’s book, Steal Like an Artist, (love this book) he writes: “You are a mashup of what you choose to let into your life. You are the sum of your influences…Goethe said, ‘We are shaped and fashioned by what we love.'”
Below are two of my hooked pieces where, now that I look back, I can see the Marimekko influence peaking through–the colours and the sense of play.
