Thinking about colour

Why the rose? No real reason - it's just beautiful. It's a really old variety of moss rose, sadly it only flowers once in a season. There's none of this coaxing it to perform twice by chopping its heads off. So, we just have to enjoy it when it graces us with its prescence. Beautiful perfume too - but you'll have to imagine that for yourself.

I'm romping wading working my way through an activity for the City and Guilds Patchwork course I'm studying. (I can't say that without smiling. If you've ever read any Terry Pratchett books you know what I mean. Brilliant!)

I started off this acitivity thinking 'Yep, I know exactly what this means!' but I've been surprised. Basically, I'm supposed to be collecting pictures of 'items' with analogous colour schemes, making a collage using just the colours and writing a few words about how you respond to the colours. So, is it warm or fresh or energetic, you know the kind of thing.

I've not found it that easy to find pictures like this - always the way isn't when you really start looking for something - there aren't any. Of the ones I have found, making collages of just the colours involved was fun (think ripping up paper, bits of fabric and glue and generally making a mess) and then I noticed something.

When I was happily describing the colours as fresh, spring like etc I realised just how uninteresting bits of flat colour are when compared with the picture of the actual thing. I'm not sure I'm explaining myself very well. It's as if it's the shape, the form is as much part of the response you make to a colour scheme as the colour. Therefore, (big deductive leap, for me) it must follow that the quilting lines, patterns that you sew onto quilts must be at least or even more important as an element of any quilted article as the colour.

I've spared you my descriptions!

You already knew that didn't you? Why didn't you tell me? You know it always takes time for things to sink in. I know I get there in the end but even so!

And then.... there was the difference it made when a colour was neighbours with another colour. I'm thinking yellow with greens and then the same yellow with reds and oranges. I think I always did know this but it was quite startling to see it quite like this.

I'm feeling a bit like a child with new toy.

I think I need a new sewing project to experiment with ... ummh.

I wonder what my tutor will think! (ooh!) I hate that waiting bit between submitting work and getting it back. (She's very quick.) Too much like school, except no one throws anything at you.

I'm dyeing a colour wheel next..... can't wait.

Comments

[Andrea]

Hi,
We are not allowed to trow anything since the 1980's but the students are damn good shots if you are not paying attention! I studied a City Guilds in Embroidery and Design. It is blooming hard work. So keep going and good luck.
Thanks for visitng my blog, I like to 'meet' new people and find new blogs. I am adding to my blog list this week. I like the tutorials.
Best wishes
XX