Color Play

I haven't had much to show lately because even though I have been working, it's that somewhat repetitive phase of getting things ready for our show in Dec. The result is I ran out of my favorite dyed threads and ribbons, so I took a little dyeing break.

I've been using hand-dyed rayon bias tape as the ribbons to join my prayer flags. It's abundant at thrift stores and takes dye beautifully.

My favorites are the variegated dyes.

Here's how I do it. Start by making a hank of the seam binding and put a loose wire twist to hold the two ends. Keep it loose or you will end up with a white spot there. Soak in soda ash solution.

Holding the wires, dip the middle into your first color.

Then dip each of the ends into a different color.

I drape the dyed ribbon over two sticks placed over a plastic bin to catch the drips. After I leave them over night, I rinse out the excess, let them dry and they are ready to go.

I've also been playing with color with the teens in my Art and Design class. I gave them a word prompt and had them cut colors out of magazines to form a palette for that word. Some designed their pages carefully.

Some added explanatory notes:

And some went wild and came up with their own words. I love the exuberance of this one. She filled her whole page to show "the whole world."

Color Inspiration

I can't leave Mexico behind without a final burst of color. It's everywhere!

The doors:

Mosaics:
Chandeliers:
Flowers in store windows:
And on the streets:
Color to eat:
And to drink:
Color Parades:
And their aftermath:
So what did I work on the whole time I was there? These white-on-white bits! These are approximately 2" baubles for a large project I have in mind. I want to do one in color, but it always feels easier to start with a white-on-white version to get my bearings and focus on design instead of color. And it's much easier to grab a small bag of whites for travel.
But as soon as I got home, I decided I needed to jump into color again.
More on these soon.

Color Play

I love thinking about color, learning about color, and just plain playing around with color. Most books on color that I look at are the same old, same old--color wheel, analogous colors, complimentary colors........ This one is refreshingly different.

Most of the exercises in the book have you working with color intuitively. I liked this exercise of making a simple grid, starting by choosing the center square color, and then working out from there quickly with whatever color feels right. I did them with a small, cheap box of crayons, so I didn't get much range of color. They'd be a lot of fun with a nicer set of colored pencils or paint. These are suppose to be the elements fire, water, air, and earth.

She also works with designer color samples, which seemed like they would be great to have until I found out they cost $100. I decided to make my own by cutting up paint chips (yes, I just happened to have that many paint chips lying around--I never can resist a handful when I see them.)

I started ad libbing my own exercises and pulling palettes based on color schemes that surprise or inspire me.

Fallen plums--came from seeing plums on the ground in the alley. The plums were cracked open and sitting on dirt and stones.

Bakery Bar--the decor of a favorite haunt:

Enchiladas--self-explanatory:

I often fall back on favorite color combinations, so it's a fun way to stir things up a bit.