Familiar Shape, New Colour Scheme

I am back working on a triangular piece at the moment whilst I ponder some recent beading experiments.


I love using black but unfortunately it doesn't always photograph too well- it's hard to show detail- but I couldn't resist a lot of black for this piece.

I very rarely use blue in my work- plain blue that is. I use teal, turquoise, aqua etc but rarely plain old "blue" so I thought I would try it in this piece.

Of course I can't cope with just plain old blue so I set out looking for a colour scheme which would incorporate it along with colours I do actually like!

I returned to an old favourite- the Colour Scheme Designer and chose an "analogic" scheme which gave me this (with a bit of tweeking of the boundaries from me of course)

I really liked the scheme and began this bangle back in December but when I returned to it today I felt there was something missing- typical me!

So, back to the scheme designer and this time I chose an "Accented Analogic" scheme and got this. I love the addition of the orange/ ywllow/ mustard (or gold which is what I will mainly use) and began using it right away.


Color by COLOURlovers

Beading In The Dark

Having finished one new version of my Geometric 1-9-1 pendant I was itching to rush on with another one and grabbed another crystal as well as some cylinder beads which all looked as though they worked together and got to beading.

Come the morning and better light it was obvious the combination didn't work too well- but what to do?

The crystal I had chose was black on one side with a blue/ green coating on the back - or so I thought.
The main cylinder beads I chose were almost black with a subtle green sheen- again this was what it looked like to me late at night in the dark.
The other cylinder beads were a gold which I felt would zing out between the dark colours- can you guess where this is going?

Fortunately I stopped beading before I secured the crystal in which meant I got to have a good look at it in the daylight and my errors soon became apparent:
The crystal was indeed black but the back was definitely blue/ silver- no green in sight.
The main cylinder beads were definitely a forest green.
The gold cylinders were definitely a red/ brown.
The combination just did not go!


Well, the black on the front looked ok but the back of the work was all wrong and in a double-sided pendant I wanted to get it right. The beadwork was warm and green with gold and the crystal was cool with blue and silver.

What to do?

Fortunately I had a few other crystals (good job I was so indecisive when buying them and bought all I liked!)

You can see the fronts of the crystals here:

The backs of the crystals here:


As the beadwork wasn't finished I was able to put in the crystals to see what each one would look like:

The green I felt was far too "limey" with a big hint of silver for the forest green in the beadwork.



I liked the amber/ brown but if I had been going to choose this colour from the start I would have swapped the green and brown in the beadwork as I like the outline of the star pattern to really stand out and I was worried it would be lost against the crystal. In real life the crystal look smuch darker and more closely resembles the brown cylinder beads.



The clear had too much of a lilac look to it which just didn't go at all.


So I was still wondering what to do.

In the end I settled for the green and hoped it would work.

But a few rows on I just wasn't happy. The greens didn't work together and I hated it.
Deep down I knew the only combination which would work was the amber crystal and I threw away all my prejudices about wishing I had swapped over the colours in the scheme and out the crystal in and carried on beading.

A few rows on...

I loved it!

The colour scheme works perfectly and I am pleased to say that the star outline still stands out as although the colours of the cylinder beads and the crystal are close the fact that one is so transparent whilst the other is opaque means they look different.

Geometric 1-9-1 version 2

When I first beaded my Geometric 1-9-1 back in early 2009 I used browns and golds as these were the colours of the crystals and small cylinder beads I had access to.

Ever since then I have wanted to bead another one in less sublter colours and finding some great crystals in New York recently as well as teaching it as a class was all the incentive I needed.

This one I beaded using a very light, transparent green cylinder bead combined with a steel-grey/ silver hex bead.

The crystal I chose is clear but has a gold/ green coating on the back which gives it a great light green/ gold AB shine.

As the green cylinder beads were so transparent I used a dark green thread throughout to ensure they would not "lose" any colour as I used them.

On the back of the piece I added extra rows using the contrast bead as I wanted to see it more and also as I wanted to see less of the crystal for an experiment in how that changed the look.

On the finished piece the silver beads look as though they are actually gold/ bronze as they reflect the green and gold of all the surrounding beads so much- no silver in sight!

More Gaudi Colours

After my recent experiments with Gaudi colours on my geometric vessels I have decided to bead some more of them in a different shape but with the same colours.

For these I decided to bead two different ones which are exactly the same size, shape and colours- the only different being that I would reverse the colours scheme.



The first pendant uses a very light, white cream as the main colour with a mix of the oranges, blues, black and yellow that I used for my previous pendants.

The second pendant swaps around the scheme with the mix of colours being much more dominant with the end result that the cream looks a lot whiter and even "harsher" with the lines seems to jump out from the vessel.

Oops...

... it's been a while!
but in my defence none of my recent work has seemed to be very "colour based" so I didn't feel I had much to update you with

But here are some of what I have been working on with some words on the colours I used:


Interlocking Crystals
Usually I try to completely avoid galvanised beads but when I was beading my samples for this project I was just drawn to them.
Fortunately as I beaded it (a good 150-200 hours) none of the coating came off so I hope they stand the test of time for a while longer!

For this piece I knew I wanted an opulent look and olivine is one of my favourite crystal colours so I figured if I was going to spend a lot of time looking at it as I worked it might as well be a colour I loved.
I paired the green with silver rather than gold partly because I prefer it, and the necklace wire I had was silver-coloured, but mainly because I wanted a brighter look and felt silver would give me this.



Interlocking Crystals bangle
Having worked for so long on the necklace using just two colours I was desperate for a change!
So, for this bangle I chose to use a wide range of colours of crystal and resisted the temptation to pair them with silver
Instead I added in black and white (well, a very light grey really- I usually avoid white as I find it too harsh) to use as neutrals.




Work in progress
This crystal and geometric piece is still very much a work in progress.
I chose to pair the "crystal coloured" crystal with silver as it match the "cold" look of the crystal and when it came to the other colour I resisted what would have been my usual choice- green- to instead use a blue which works with the silver but also has a finish with brings in some other colours to add extra interest

Subtle shades

I don't usually use subtle colours so this scheme is a bit of a change for me!

To create this pendant I used cream tiny beads combined with gold/copper/ brown beads and a copper chain.



Color by COLOURlovers

Geometric 3-1-1

I finally finished my new set of beaded beads all done in reds with bright colours to match which I have been working on for a few weeks.

I decided I wanted to make these nice and bright so added in yellow, orange, blue, green, teal and purple.


You can wear them all threaded onto a bangle at once or indivually- or any combination inbetween.

Beginning with reds

I have begun, finally, working in reds and realise that once again it's a colour I rarely use.

I did use it in a analogous scheme with my red embroidered cuff.



Then mixed with black and white for a more monochromatic scheme in Geometric 3-4-1.


I'm now working away on sets of interchangable beaded beads based on work in my Geometric Beadwork series and playing around with red.

I began with a mix of reds and decided that rather than use any colour "rules" I woudl just put in any other colours I felt like.

I wasn't happy at first as it was all a bit random and they didn't seem to go together at all.

But once I looked at what I had beaded it soon became apparent that there were two groups.

The first used darker beads so I took these off and put them onto a metal chain.


The second used brighter colours and it's now this group that I'm working on to make lots more.


I'm hoping that just playing around with reds will teach me a lot about what works with it and what doesn't.
Check back to see if my plan works!

Reverse Chilli Bead

I have now beaded a new version of my Chilli Beaded Bead- but this time swapped around the orange and purple beads and used purple crystals instead of orange.

I was interested to see how different they looked and although it's a simple colour swap it really does make a different.

The bead with more orange looks a lot larger- this is because the lighter colour 'expands' it visually. That's why people tell you to wear black if you want to look slimmer!

A similar effect is apparent in my piece Geometric 3-4-4.
3-4-4a looks a lot larger than 3-4-4b as the use of colour in the 'valleys' makes them visually expand and when the two bracelets are put next to each other it is hard to believe they are exactly the same- just the use of black is swapped.

Another visual difference is that the green on the 'purple' bead looks a lot darker than it does on the 'orange' one. On the orange it is a lot 'springier'.


I am teaching these beaded beads in New York in November.

New photo of Geometric 3-4-6

Geometric 3-4-6 (boat floaters)

Finally!
This bracelet has taken me many months to make as I have been so busy when in reality I could have done it in a week- such is life.

I'm really pleased to have her finished, not only because she looks so nice, but also because she was a successful experiment in both executing the idea of using the larger beads inbetween the beaded triangles, but also in colour.

When I started this colour experiment I said I has never used yellow and hated it- well now I really have used it- and love it!

This bracelet definitelty changed my feelings towards yellow and I have learnt a lot about how to use it in a way I like it and that overcomes the problems I have with it.
Most of this was to do with combining it with the right other colours- so all my seeking out the right palette (and here) paid off.

I'm looking forward to using yellow a lot more in the future as I don't feel so "scared" of it now- so much so that I don't want to move onto orange!

Thank goodness I sneaked some in already so it's not all new to me.

Finishing up geometric piece and yellow

I'm persevering with my latest geometric piece and although I love the look of it and want it finished, I really want to move onto something else!

But I'm determined to get it done over the next few weeks- I think I have around another 10 triangle sections to go and they take around an hour each so not too much longer.

I'm beading this as part of my colour challenge and can't move onto the next colour- orange- until I'm done. Not that I think I want to now- I am loving yellow- never thought I'd say that!

Geometric Beaded Bead all done

I started this geometric beaded bead a little while ago so it was nice to finally finish it.
As I have found with my other yellow experiments I had to add in "fake yellow" so that you could actually distinguish the colours from each other.

I was hoping to get another one done in yellow but seeing as I haven't finish my other geometric piece and I need to think about moving onto orange it may have to wait!

My yellow colour schemes in actual beads

After my post yesterday I thought you might like to see the colour schemes I talk about in actual beads so they make more sense!

Yellow and black
This I rejected right away as it was too bold and too much like a warning sign.


Yellow, black and gold
Still too alarming for my liking.

Yellow, black, gold and lavender
This is more to my liking but want to soften it further as just using the contrasts of yellows and violets is still a bit too strong for me. I want something that will calm down the black.


Yellow, black, gold, lavender, khaki and grey
Just right!
And here is the actual beadwork started

More yellow- plato and archimedes beads

More beading with yellow today and as this isn't a colour I usually use, and think I hate, it was a bit of a struggle at first to get up any enthusiasm for it. But once I had I am really enjoying using it.

The main beading I have done with yellow beads so far is to make some of Laura Shea's Plato and Archimedes beads.

So far I've made 4 of them in preparation for my Valerie Hector class tomorrow.

But again, as I said about using yellow for my geometric beaded bead, I'm struggling with just using yellow and end up adding in some gold and violet beads.

I've also ordered some great crystal beads to mix with yellow Delicas for a new geometric experiment I'm itching to try out. I hope to get them Saturday so I can dive in and get beading.

To add to my chores I also now do a blog for my work on Bead magazine and if you're so inclined you can follow me on my 'day job' twitter.

My first steps with yellow- geometric beaded bead

Yellow is not a colour I have used before and one I think I dislike so I am interested to see if there are any versions of it I do actually like.

I'm beginning using it on one of my geometric beaded beads and immediately I'm running into problems.
I'm finding it really hard to just use yellow. I want to add in purples, oranges blues etc to add some interest. Yellow by itself just doesn't seem right.

But I'm trying to stick just with yellows but it seems to me that there just aren't enough yellows to create contrast and variations so when I use them together they very quickly blend into each other. Any yellow I pick up that gives me variation is actually a shade of gold, orange or even green. Even when something seems to be yellow when I put it next to another yellow it turns out to be green- and whilst I like these colours I'm trying to stick to a true yellow scheme so reject them.


But in the end my all yellow colour palette has had to be stretched to include a gold or I don't think you would actually see that I'm using three different colours.

My research has now shown me that my thoughts about yellow are true- there aren't many true yellows- who knew?!?!
what would in other colours just change the 'shade' i.e. adding black, white or grey completely changes the 'colour' in yellow so it appears green when you add black rather than a darker version of yellow.
I wonder if this is the reason why I feel there isn't enough variation for me to use?
Does anyone have any other experiences using yellow?