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Two years ago while teaching at the Toronto Bead Society Bennet explained the phrase “matchy-matchy” to me: “If a woman is wearing a turquoise dress, turquoise hat, turquoise earrings, turquoise necklace and everything is the same shade of turquoise, it’s very… matchy-matchy.” She frowned. (You have to frown or scowl when using the phrase.) Urban Dictionary explains it as “Often used in fashion blogs. Used to describe an outfit that is too co-ordinated and consists of too many of the same types of colours, patterns, fabrics, accessories, designer pieces, thematic elements, etc.” The term is a distinctly negative.
Today’s question(s): What are your thoughts about a set of jewelry (earrings, necklace, bracelets) that closely? As a jewelry designer, how much do you want your earrings to match your necklace and bracelet? As a jewelry wearer, how much do you want your earrings to match your necklace and bracelet? If you steer away from matchy-matchy, how much do you vary the design of each piece?
Thanks, Co-authors, for helping me write “The Beader’s Guide to Jewelry Design.”
Today’s question is:
What unusual JEWELRY DESIGN requests have you received?
Thanks, Co-authors, for helping me write “The Beader’s Guide to Jewelry Design.”
So I can give you what you need in the pages of The Beader’s Guide to Jewelry Design, I’d like to hear your experiences in designing custom jewelry.
I will ask 1 question at a time (per newsletter or Facebook post).
Today’s question is: What are the most typical requests you receive when asked to design jewelry for others?
Please keep your answers brief. You can respond to me on Facebook (my preference): http://www.facebook.com/margiedeebpage
or eMail your answers to: design@margiedeeb.com
Check this out beaders: Lark is giving away 6 signed Beadweaving Master Class books, including books by
Diane Fitzgerald, Marcia DeCoster,Laura McCabe, Sherry Serafini, Maggie Meister, and Rachel Nelson-Smith:
http://bit.ly/qWhrQh
Their post also includes links to lots of free project PDFs from the books and interviews with some of the authors.
I’m working on my 5th book and I want you to be my co-author, so that The Beader’s Guide to Jewelry Design gives you exactly what you want and need.
The Plan
From now through June 2012 I’ll be asking you questions, seeking your advice and feedback, and requesting examples from you. I’ll be chronicling our progress. If you respond, you, your words, or your jewelry may be in the pages of the book (with your permission). You will be acknowledged for your contribution.
I’ll do this through this my Facebook Artist Page: http://www.facebook.com/margiedeebpage
If you want to be a part of this adventure, please subscribe so you won’t miss any of my requests.
About The Book
The Beader’s Guide to Jewelry Design is not a technique, construction, or project book. Rather, it will teach both seasoned professionals and beginners how to design, or improve their design. It will demonstrate design concepts and principles and show you how to apply them. It will explain the aesthetics of function, form, and wearability. Ultimately, it will inspire you to create, grow, and creatively express more of yourself.
OK, Here’s Where You Come In
The First Question: What problems do you face when designing jewelry?
To get your mind working, here are more leading questions:
Are you challenged by shape or composition?
Does color baffle you?
Is making focal points within a piece difficult?
Do you know how to lead the viewer’s eyes around and within a piece?
Do you have trouble making a piece look unified?
Do you have problems with your work looking boring or lifeless?
Not sure where to begin when trying to design?
Stumped as to how to take your design skills from solid to spectacular?
Please keep your answers brief. You can respond at http://www.facebook.com/margiedeebpage, or Email your answers to: design@margiedeeb.com
Thank you! I’m so excited about our journey together!
It happens to many bead artists, especially seed bead weavers. They feel insecure choosing colors for a new project. They begin to doubt themselves and their color instincts. And then, like grasping for an aspirin, they head straight for the dark metallic iris beads they think will cure every color ailment. They cross their fingers for good luck, hoping those dark metallic iris beads will pinch hit for a strong, memorable palette.
They will not.
Time and again the cover of our beloved bead magazines display the featured project in dark metallic iris beads; sometimes several variations at a time. The side-by-side weaving of 3 kinds of dark metallic iris beads looks less like a well-planned color scheme and more like a dark, reflective mass of indistinguishable tones reminiscent of the skin of that wet reptilian creature that burst from the astronaut’s chest in the movie “Alien.” If I want to discern the design, I have to squint to visually separate it from the confusing, murky color palette. It’s difficult to comprehend exceptional design when it’s palette is boring, or worse, mediocre. And the dark, metallic iris palette is exactly that: mediocre.
I’ve seen many a good piece of beaded jewelry (and many a good artist) hiding behind the dark metallic iris palette. Sure the beads themselves tempt us with their shiny colors (as do most beads), but they don’t make the most appealing palettes. They are at best, OK. And who wants to settle for “OK”?
6 Escape Tips
1. Become aware of the trap itself. If you’ve read this article, you’ve handled this.
2. If you have the slightest hesitation about choosing colors (who doesn’t?) grab a color wheel! Pick ONE color, then spin the wheel and read the different combos it shows you. Use one of them.
3. Borrow palette ideas from everything that appeals to you: fabric, clothing, linen catalogues, etc.
4. Educate yourself. The archives of my monthly “Margie’s Muse” column will provide you with more valuable color training than you have time for. FREE! Or read my color books (available on my website). Or take my online color classes.
5. Consciously look at color combinations that excite you. Take the time to determine what makes them work. Chances are the variations of light and dark are a major reason (a feature the dark, metallic iris palette lacks).
6. Take risks! Shut your eyes and grab handfuls of beads, tubes, or hanks. Commit to making a color palette using 3 of them.
If you must create jewelry in the dark metallic iris palette, don’t do so out of self-doubt, insecurity, or ignorance. Do it because it speaks to your soul and makes your spirit sing. Or because your customer will pay you for it.
Life is too short and too delicious for boring beadwork and mediocre palettes.
Excerpt from The Beader’s Guide to Color
Something happens when you pair the enchantment of adjacent colors with the gusto of complements… something rousing and vigorous, coursing with life. This “something” is technically called the analogous complementary scheme. But what really happens is magic.
"Waning Crescent” by Margie Deeb exemplifies the analogous complementary scheme. Tranquil blues play the dominant role, emphasizing the meditative reverie of the night drenched dreamer. One complementary accent–moonlight yellow–commands our attention. Tapestry created by Frieda Bates in peyote stitch.
Analogous-complementary scheme of "Waning Crescent"
Begin this magic by choosing an analogous group of two or three colors adjacent to each other on the wheel—okay, four if you must! This group becomes the dominant color force.
For the complementary part of this alchemy, select the color directly across from the middle of the analogous group. This direct complement becomes the accent color. Or, choose a near-complement (one on either side of the direct complement).
You have now created a dominant color grouping of three similar colors accented with the direct complement (or the near-complement) of one of them. See the color wheel for “Waning Crescent.”
A show-stopping combination of brilliant, irresistible colors comprise this startling analogous complementary scheme. Necklace by Margie Deeb based on a technique by Diane Fitzgerald.
Analogous-complementary scheme for the blue and orange dichroic necklace in photo
Got it? Good! That was “Analogous Complementary Magic 101.”
To graduate to “202,” switch the dominant color to feature its complement rather than one of the analogous members. Mingle accents of the analogous colors into the dominant background made of the complementary color.
In the necklace and accompanying color wheel for the blue/orange necklace, the blue sits directly across the wheel from the orange of the yellow-orange analogous group. It could have been used as an accent color, with startling results. But instead, blue was used as the main color. The results are equally stunning.
To practice “Analogous Complementary Magic 303,” extend the palette. Rather than using just one complementary color, put two or three to work. See “Chanin Study” (below).
An extended, complex interpretation of the analogous complementary scheme. “Chanin Study” by Margie Deeb (created by Frieda Bates) was inspired by the abstract Art Deco ornamentation on the Chanin Building in New York.
Analogous-complementary scheme for "Chanin Study"
Avoid a random mish-mash of colors, logical relationships have been established. The analogous members are grouped together: violet, purple and red serve as a background, greens and yellows swirl and flow in front.
An extended analogous complementary scheme is as complex to work with as it is to say aloud. Juggling these many colors, especially complements, requires planning.
But it is worth every effort. What happens when you harmonize and balance this lively array of color? Pure magic!
Download and read the full article in PDF format at my website:
http://margiedeeb.com/cc/pdf/muse/2011/MargieDeeb_Muse_2011_7.pdf
I’ve teamed up with Beverly Ash Gilbert (author of Beaded Colorways and designer of the Eye for Color system) so we can offer color lovers everywhere just what they want: even more color in their lives.
We have a lot of goodies in the works for color lovers, including a quarterly PDF downloadable “Ask the Color Queens” Color Journal. We’ll be sharing all kinds of fun, valuable color info. And we’ll be answering your color questions. Not just bead related, either. Beverly and I both have a lifetime’s experience working with color in other areas such as graphic design, photography, interior decorating, painting, and more. So I ask of you…PLEASE SEND ME YOUR COLOR QUESTIONS! Any and all of them! Email them to:
Maybe your question will get answered in the summer issue.
To sign up for the journal, either leave a comment here, or email me at color@margiedeeb.com and type “SUBSCRIBE” in the subject field.
excerpt from the May 2011 Margie’s Muse column
I’m going to focus on design this month.
I want to explore what I call “intangible weight,” which is so important in jewelry design. This concept plays a critical role in the balance and proportion of your designs. I refer to this weight as “intangible” because you can’t measure it. Intangible weight does include what you can measure. And it also includes what you see, feel, and most important, what you sense. Rev up your intuition for this, folks!
I was pleased with the earring to the right. I liked the width-to-height ratio. The colors were perfect. The pair looked lovely on my work table, so I finished them.
When I tried them on, they didn’t work.
They looked clunky. Since most women don’t do “clunky,” and I intended to sell these, they needed to be a bit more elegant. “Longer” was the first solution that came to mind. But not just longer…I knew the fringe needed to be both longer and more substantial to balance the bulk of the earring itself. But whoa… these were already large, dramatic statements. Dare I make them longer?
.
After measuring, comparing proportions, and trying various fringe variations, here is the final pair (on the left). They look beautiful hanging from ears. They were purchased before the show began, by a black-haired beauty with dark eyes, whose fashion style flows effortlessly from dramatic to elegant, and always makes a bold statement.
Let’s examine the width-to-height ratio to see what we can learn.
Note: In my measurement of total width I’ve not included the width of the fringe because when the earrings hang, the fringe width will narrow to match the width of the top.
The initial earring width-to-height ratio is 1:2.25.
In looking at the purple rectangle, I find that ratio very pleasing and elegant. It’s very close to 1:2, which is a standard, commonly agreed upon as harmonious ratio. But given the intangible weight of the top of the earring, which includes the visual density, weight, texture, color, and substance, the earring needs to be somewhat longer to be just right.
The final width-to-height ratio is 1:2.6
In addition to making the fringe longer and wider, I made it more substantial by adding more beads to thicken each strand. If I’d not taken into account the intangible weight and made the earring longer – not more substantial – the outcome would have been unbalanced. The fringe required more substance to balance the intangible weight of the top.
Interestingly, the first earring I made, the one that looked so clunky when worn, does not look as clunky when presented by itself. Even now as I look at it on the page I really like it. But believe me, it looked bad when worn. The imbalance was so much more obvious when in context, i.e.: on a person.
Lessons Learned
- Always look at the piece in context before finishing
- Take into account the intangible weight: how heavy (or light) you sense the piece (or part of the piece) is. Color accounts for part of this intangible weight. So does texture.
- A standard harmonious proportion (like 1:2) is only going to work if the intangible weight is taken into account
Accents of fuchsia ignite the yellow greens, creating an electric color scheme.
Complementary contrasts are the most dynamic contrasts available. If a strict complementary scheme is too bold for you (like the one on the right), thinksmall. Used strategically, a hint of the dominant color’s complement can turn an ordinary palette into an extraordinary delight.
Complementary colors sit directly opposite one another on the color wheel. Their harmony provides the most dynamic contrast in hue possible.
Successful combinations depend on getting the proportions right. A tiny accent of a complementary can suscitate the weakest color scheme. Too much of one or both complements can collide and pulsate uncomfortably. Balance the contrast by quantity, value and intensity.
