Color Surrounds Us

I have been mixing and painting many little color samples to put on charts, as I work through Judy Coates Perez’s color theory course. The charts are lined up like tiny cardboard quilts. Or small maps leading me to different destinations in the world of color.

Color surrounds us, and we have certain preferences about the colors we see. However, mixing colors in a systematic way has made me more analytical about the way I interact with color. I look at an object, note its color, and immediately begin mixing it in my mind. Intuition can take you far, but being able to analyze and apply knowledge is also a boon. Intuition and analysis do not have to be at odds: they can learn to take turns quite nicely.

Color is a HUGE topic, but probably the uppermost issue becomes that of choosing from a literal universe of color and using it in a personal way in artwork. Are you less than confident about color theory and its application to your art? There is plenty of assistance available. I’ve already mentioned Katherine Tyrell’s excellent Squidoo lens on a previous post.  Kate Smith’s lens delves into the meaning, symbolism and psychology of color. Among the fascinating facts that Smith dispenses are:

Blue is the overwhelming “favorite color.” Blue is seen as trustworthy, dependable and committed. The color of sky and the ocean, blue is perceived as a constant in our lives.

Orange, a close relative of red, sparks more controversy than any other hue. Fun and flamboyant orange radiates warmth and energy.

Whenever I visit someone, I examine their bookshelves. You can tell quite a bit about a person by the books they have on their shelves. On my next post, I will reveal some of the books on my shelf about color, why I picked them, and a few of the favorite gems I have gleaned from their pages.

Part of our color exploration in Judy Coates Perez' course.

The mysteries of color are accessible to the motivated and interested student. In fact, we remain perpetual students in this area. My liaison with color is like the relationships I have with the significant people in my life: they contain a depth I will never plummet. I am not frustrated by this, but exhilarated. Our connections will retain a freshness, because we appreciate that there is always something new to discover about each other.

Primordial Ideas and Deeper Mysteries

Color Wheel From Wikipedia

Judy Coates Perez has been mentioned in my blog a number of times. I appreciate her creative talents, her energy, and her generous spirit. So I bought one of her DVDs during the Christmas season as a gift to myself, and I enrolled in her Color Theory online class. That class begins today, and already I have declared mysef a Color Devotee. What do I mean by that?

Well, it was a quote by Mark McCauley, from his book COLOR THERAPY AT HOME: real-life solutions for adding color to your life (Rockport Publishers Inc., 2000) that got me started:

Ultimately, we don’t color our home, color is our home. Color impacts every waking second of our lives. (Introduction p.5)

We all know color because, as McCauley said, we live in it, it’s our home. We know it like a fish knows water. Just because we are constantly immersed in something doesn’t mean we are consciously aware of it, however. In fact, we often tune out what is always there, take it for granted.  Johannes Itten, a famous color theorist whose profound insights into color have influenced artists and art schools everywhere, said:

Color affords utility to all, but unveils its deeper mysteries only to its devotees.

I am declaring myself a Color Devotee (that sounds so much better than groupie)! I have spent some time studying it, but I am always open to revelations of its deeper mysteries. I especially love color surprises: when several, or many, transparent color washes produce some hues that would be a tremendous challenge to reproduce!

Itten also said:

Color is life; for a world without color appears to us as dead. Colors are primordial ideas, the children of light.

That is definitely a statement to file under the “deeper mysteries” category. No wonder color moves us so profoundly.

And as a clipping for the Itten trivia file, you can buy a Mondaine Johannes Itten Watch with a color wheel on its face.

By the way, for an EXCELLENT color resource, see Katherine Tyrell’s Colour~Resources for Artists on Squidoo.

Born to Shine

There is a school of thought that believes, and advises, that it is the kiss of death to reveal an artwork before it is finished. Thank goodness  Jude Hill doesn’t subscribe to that view. We are all the fortunate recipients of her musing out loud as she shares her  “personal journey into gift giving and story cloth.”

Nor does Katie Kendrick, who allows free access to what she is “joyously becoming.”

Denise Aumick has plenty of show and tell over at Wild Thread Studio, as do Tammy Vitale, Pam Carriker, Twila Grace, Cyndi Lavin, Susie Monday, Leah Piken Kolidas. I have their URLs on my Google Reader and visit often, because they are engaging and fascinating to follow. I have never been able to resist the workings of an open and creative mind.

I could go on and on and on. The web is literally bursting with the fireworks of inventive minds and hands~of artists who, like the women above, share often and well.

Judy Coates Perez would have to be Ms. Share Extraordinaire. Despite her many accomplishments as an artist, in May 2008 she attributed her success to the fact that blog readers spurred her on:

Through the blog I have learned so much from people. Several years ago people asked me if I taught workshops and I had to tell them no because I really didn’t know what I should teach. When people ask me questions on the blog about how I work and what products or tools I use I realize what people would want to learn from me. I appreciate this kind of feedback so much. This has really helped me move forward with taking the plunge into the world of teaching and WRITING!

So pull out all the stops, and share what you know. Heck, share what you don‘t know! There’s help and encouragement just waiting for you to ask. All of us can find a place to contribute in the big art constellation called the Internet. As Andrea Bocelli sings, “Like stars across the sky, we were born to shine.”

A Thumbs Up from the Universe

I must be turning into a real blogger at last. There was a time when I could go for weeks without posting. Now, I’ve gone 6 days and cannot fully relax until I write. Ideally, I give myself a blog fix every few days.

Today is the last day of my solo show at Greenwood Quiltery. I have to chuckle about the timing, because it has been quite the month, in financial terms, all over the world! However, I sold 2 pieces, so I consider that a thumbs up from the Universe. And today is Halloween: perhaps some exotically costumed art lover will purchase another piece today, to give themselves a treat.  (UPDATE: make that 4 pieces! Blessings on the buyers for supporting artists in general, and this one in particular.)

I am almost finished the last piece I posted about, but most of my time has gone into cleaning and purging my studio. I am certainly not alone in this: I’ve noticed others who have been caught in the grip of this cleansing ritual! Kelli was “drowning in disorder.” Melody is on a “mad rampage of stash reduction.” With her usual hilarious humour, Rayna brags that her studio “has been neat many times – for about five minutes each time.” And Susie, bless her, also made me laugh:

Those of you who have attended one of my workshops may be under the mistaken assumption that I am a neat and well-organized artist.

Oh, how wrong.

One of the unexpected benefits of teaching in my studio is that I am forced to clean, tidy and organize at least once a month. Pride and necessity coalesce to motivate me before the participants arrive. Truth is, I work with piles of stuff, large piles, scary piles. When I am in the art-making mode, I just can’t be neat and tidy.

And Nita talks about her diminishing floor space:

I had to add a folding card table to pile research books, file boxes and such for the book. I’ll be using my long tables to do some of the art work and don’t want to keep moving stuff on and off the tables.

Judy claims it’s “a rare thing to see my table this clear.” But she had great motivation to clean up, and has documented proof “that it was this clean once.”

Then there is Denise, who admits: “I always keep the house neat and clean.” Does that include your studio, Denise?

I’d love to hear about your level of organization, cleanliness, and so on. Perhaps you have a tip or two, a lifesaver for the drowning?

On the other hand, I could just continue with my doodling . . .

I'd rather be doodling.

Paper Quilts! I’m smitten!

Something happened to me at that Fran Skiles workshop while we were cutting, ripping, burning, painting, inking, monoprinting, gluing, crumpling, folding, stitching, and who knows what else to paper: I FELL IN LOVE WITH PAPER, all over again!

How could I forget my childhood sweetheart? The one I cozied up to any chance I got, and produced pictures with my trusty Laurentian Pencil Crayons (I received a new box every September). I have WAY more stuff to use on paper now!

I cannot explain this urge. Yes, I was already adding paper to my art quilts. But I have gone several steps beyond, perhaps several leaps, and am now obsessed with all that I can do with this humble material. Fancy bought papers? Not for me. I have to create the surfaces, just as I have done with cloth. Plain white copy paper, plain white tissue. These are my chosen main materials. I do continue to glue the paper to a plain cotton fabric (with acrylic medium), but it is simply used for strength. I’ll be posting a few pics as soon as they come off the assembly line (ha!ha!).

I’ve noticed that Judy Coates Perez is into the paper quilt thing in a big way, as well. I especially love what she calls Illustrated Document Number 1. She also has a Mixed Media Paper Quilt # 2, and 3.

Teesha Moore has a charming one.

WaterRose shares a very unique paper quilt (hint: Martha Stewart is involved).

As usual, Cyndi has an excellent tutorial.

Deb Silva has a gorgeous paper quilt on her Creatively Amused blog.

I’m intrigued with Dawn Wilson’s work.

Linda M has made a quilt where the top and batting are entirely made of paper (What’s your Fortune?).

Jackie Gardener is doing some wonderful work in paper quilts as well.

OK, I can stop thinking I have to explain, or worry about facing totally incredulous faces, or questions like “Why would you use paper when there is so much gorgeous fabric available?” All I can say is, paper has a different feel, both physically and psychologically. And thanks to acrylic medium, all your manipulations and treatments are preserved . . . for posterity!

Nest

Below is my first paper top quilt. It’s about 30″ long, 24″ wide. I’ve kept the edges a little rougher than I used to: I like the way the threads catch the paint and medium to give a “deckled” edge. I call the piece Nest.

Here is a detail.

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