Color Theory for the Crafter

Color can make or break any artistic project. It doesn't matter if you're painting your house, knitting a scarf, or beading a bracelet-- color is the first thing most people notice, and if the colors you choose "work" for the project, the effect is profoundly positive. If, however, you choose colors that don't "work"-- either they don't work together, or they don't match the project-- they can get in the way of the artistic statement you are trying to make.

I'm not trying to say that every color needs to harmonize perfectly-- trust me, I'm all about using bright and unexpected color combinations-- but I think it's important to understand the way that color works (and, more importantly, the way colors work together) if you want to make the most out of crafting.

Spheroids; Cuboids

My new geometric creations in their completed forms. The interiors use dagger beads or reasonably-sized seed beads; the exteriors, size 11 seed beads and small Japanese drops. The red one is about 1.5 cm in diameter.

Of these four, three are the same design, but the gray one's slightly different.

I find these things strangely compelling.

The Makings of an Army: Beaded Beads

The Japanese know their Right Angle Weave. What's problematic for me is that they do most of it with two needles. I'm relatively steady of hand and eye, but the idea of having pointy things in both hands at once for any length of time sounds like an emergency room visit waiting to happen.

So I've been admiring their tradition of Right-Angle-Weave spheroids for a while (this is a good tutorial!) but I've been hoping for a way to do things with only one needle.

The good news? I've derived one. All the kusudama that I've made really helped me understand the construction of a cube. The bad news? It's more star-like than spherical. I ended up filling in the spaces with 11s, which works... and I've ended up pretty happy with some of the dealies that I've designed and constructed.

Now the question is: what do I do with them?

For inspiration, or just for staring: these are my 'favorited' pictures on Flickr. Pretty, aren't they? You can also get a general sense of my color sense and aesthetic by noting general trends.