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| Celtic Knotwork Cuff |
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| Southern Marsh Orchid |
How do we decide which colours to use in our crafting? What's the inspiration? Well for me much of my inspiration comes from nature and history. It's as simple as that really.I hear a saying 'Pink and Green should never be seen' or another version, 'Blue and Green should never be seen'. Good thing Nature didn't listen to that, what a dull world we'd live in. No leafy green treetops against a clear blue sky, no beautiful wild orchids standing among the thick blades of green grass, no blue butterflies fluttering around my laurel hedge, no bluebells in the woods in spring.
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| Snettisham Gold, courtesy of www.archaeology.co.uk |
My other inspiration is history, mainly ancient bronze age tribal history. Little is recorded of this time, except from the Roman point of view, which describes our ancient tribes as brutal and barbaric. Stories of Boudica, the Iceni Queen and Cartimandua, Queen of the Brigantes who made her Kingdom a client Kingdom to accommodate the Romans, finds of gold jewellery in and around Norfolk, archaeological finds, all give us clues to the real identity of these ancient peoples, and inspire me in my work.
What happens when I still can't find inspiration from these? I browse through a book I bought a couple of years ago, The Beader's Colour Palette by Margie Deeb. What a treasure this book is, and need not apply to beaders alone, I'm certain that this can also be used for other crafts too. In it Margie Deeb shows us how to build a colour palette from various sources of inspiration, and how to apply those palettes to various styles of jewellery, but it is a must for anyone who uses colour.
If I'm ever lacking in inspiration, and we all get days where nothing quite springs to mind, this book has never failed to bring it back again.
What inspires your colour choices?
What inspires your colour choices?
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