Thursday, June 23, 2011

Seasonal colors, or how I love all colors!

I'm a person who is greatly influenced by the seasons.  My clothes, my jewelry, my cooking, my home decor, my creative life, and the colors that all those things entail are dictated by the seasons.    So, when I read about Michelle Ward's newest crusade I had to join in. It's all about changing colors with the season. Well, I couldn't let this one pass by without being a part of the fun!

I love all colors and I always have. I certainly have my favorites.  Lime green and aqua/tuquoise are always popping up in my knitting and beading.  But I also love bright colors like red and orange, bright pink and yellow.  I noticed several years ago that I tend to change color palettes with the seasons.  In Spring and Summer I love to wear light, bright colors.  I can't wait for the day it's warm enough to paint my toenails and put on my sandals.  In Spring I tend to work with beautiful spring greens and lavendars, I call it my lavendar fields period. 



As summer comes on I move to the brighter colors.  Salmon, coral, yellows and brighter greens start showing up, along with a healthy dose of lime and turquoise!



and these...



But, by mid-August I can sense myself moving to the wonderful, warm colors of Fall.  The pumpkins, burgundies, olive greens, and golds of nature start to show up in my projects. 



I have an antique dough bowl that I fill with silk leaves, flowers, pumpkins and gourds come October 1st.  I start to work in these colors and I love making decorations and jewelry for Halloween.  I love the orange and black, but I'm beginning to use purple and lime green too. 


These are witch's hat earrings I made for my daughter and I, and two dear friends.  Because I like great presentations I made tags to go with them, just for fun!!  And, then there is this detail from a jacket I made which really epitomizes my idea of Fall colors.


With the coming of winter I start thinking in terms of icy, cool palettes.  Lately, a lot of gray and pewter has been showing up, often combined with my green and turquoise/aqua palette. 
















I think we tend to gravitate toward the same colors, but the seasons cause us to lighten, brighten, darken, or mute the values of those colors.  At least, I think that's how I tend to use color.  Once in a while I'll use a palette of colors that aren't usually ones that I use.  That's fun and stretches me a little.  Blue is a color that I rarely use, but when I do I find I'm really happy with the results.
 
Whew!  What a long post, but this is one of my favorite topics.  Which is why I couldn't let this crusade go by without joining in.  Go on over to Michelle's blog and see all the entries.  The people who participate are all fantastic paper artists or mixed media artists.  Even though my chosen medium is fiber and beads, a love of color and changing palettes with the season transends the materials you use to  create with.  Enjoy the art and maybe you'll be inspired to join in one of Michelle's crusades.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great day.

9 comments:

  1. Maryanne - so glad you came to play! Fun to hear your observations of color, and that you segue into seasonal palettes for art and home. Love seeing examples of your beadwork and jewelry making, as well as your fiber and paper art. That first crochet piece is stunning!! Love to hear your enthusiasm for color - like you said, doesn't matter what artform we practice, the influence of the season just happens to some of us. By the way - your blog background is very inspiring. Makes me want to work with pink, orange and yellow today!
    Thanks for sharing your perspective and your work with the team! (Mother and daughter playing in this crusade - hcit?)

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  2. i love what you did with this month's Crusade'
    it seems that we also on using seasonal variants of the colors we like!

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  3. Great post! I love how you explained Fall and the colours changing and how that fits with Halloween. Being in Australia, our seasons are all back-to-front and those colours never really made sense to me, but your photos of the bowl with flowers and vegetables, and the tags underneath have given me a new appreciation ~ thanks!

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  4. I love your spring colours - what a stunning combination. I tend not to think about fall (autumn) colours here - I guess because I am surreounded by green dairy cow paddocks all year round. Thanks for sharing with us.

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  5. A little late to the party, I guess, but yay! I'm glad you finally jumped in!

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  6. Love your color combinations and how they reflect the seasons. Great examples - love all your artful creations!

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  7. Omigosh, I love the blues and greens! Gorgeous! Reminds me of Spring, the springs I used to see as a child. Although I love our Springs in Alaska, the first thing you see is gray/white...although they are pretty colors, they are not the colors of robins eggs, of morning sky! Oh how I love the bracelet, beautiful! And the scarf is just too die for!

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  8. You really know how to use color in a very effective way! I can see how this challenge is perfect for you -- such a lovely, wide range of hues in your work.

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