Color Confidence
Posted by Jean Wells on Jan 18th 2018
Intuitive Color & Design, Updated 2nd Edition: Adventures in Art Quilting by Jean Wells
As I was setting the table for the holidays, I unpacked my Color Work Table Runner that I love to put out for my holiday decorating. It reminded me of what a fun class it is to teach, as the students quickly discover how well the various colors and patterns they have chosen play together. I have also used the technique to introduce the Rulerless Cutting and Piecing technique of cutting without rulers (on page 82) to students. All of the line work is your very own when rulers are not used, except for squaring up the outer edges.
I had a special project in mind that I wanted to make as a Christmas gift. They love the ocean. In my mind, I started thinking about what it might be about the ocean that would be appealing: the constant movement of the water, the flowing motion, ocean colors, the tranquility. This is the runner I made while trying to access these thoughts. I made it 15” wide and 36” long, so it can easily be a wall hanging if they do not want to use it on the table.
I used the method I described above, and tried to create an ocean flowing feeling.
The fabric selection was the most fun of all! Not only did I choose a variety of blues, cream, and white (sand), and a bit of green, but I thought about texture. I wanted my choices to remind me of a walk along the beach on the Oregon coast.
I kept the quilting lines simple, mimicking the piecing lines and changing the thread color. I did not want to distract from the piecing. I really enjoyed the challenge of choosing a project where I was working for a client, so to speak. The choices I needed to make became more objective.
You could use this experience yourself. Exploration is so important in our journey as artists. It is the opening of new doors into creativity.
--Jean
