Category Archive

I’m teaching at Bella Beads in Huntville, Alabama October 1 – 4th. Please join us for any of 3 classes/workshops:

Thur-Fri, Oct. 1-2

A Passion for Color

Saturday, Oct 3

Toning Your Color Voice

Sunday, Oct. 4

Sparkling Draped Loop Collar

Karen at CreativeJewelryMaking.com caught up with me after class at BeadFest… check it out:

BeadFest Philadelphia 2009 was wonderful. Excitement buzzed and hummed through the hotels and convention center the entire time. Being in the the exhibitor’s hall felt like what I imagine being on the floor of the NYSE must feel: electric. As with all bead shows, one of the delights is oogling our jewelry and accessories as we walk by. Everyone is warm, open, ready and willing to share tips, vendor information, or show their latest treasures.

Speaking of treasures, I know you want to see what I came home with. Can’t show it all, but here’s a sampling. (Click images to see full-size.)

My most colorful loot I acquired from Betcey & Mark (and Starr, Dustin, and Rachel) at BeyondBeadery. There isn’t enough bandwidth on the internet to contain photos of it all, but here are some of my more intriguing finds (I was shocked to learn that a permanent silver-lined bead existed!)

www.yorkbeads.com sells the most beautiful dagger beads ever made. Here is the specific link on their site (so you don’t have to drill and dig):

http://www.czechbeadsdirect.cz/arrivals/polozky.asp?st=112_69_014&str=1&sh=202

From A Grain of Sand came beautiful, unusual silver, vermeil, copper, vintage, and brass toggle clasps that are reasonably priced:

http://www.agrainofsand.com/

Oh how I love my low-priced waaaay cool fold-over magnetic clasps from Mobile-Boutique.com

The most fun I had was teaching. I learn so much when I teach, and I love the enthusiastic participation of everyone in my classes (these two classes were particularly lively). One of my greatest joys is witnessing the impact I’ve had on people in how they view color (and the world), and express themselves artistically. It means everything to me to know I’ve inspired just one person to be more of who they are and to find more joy in color and their artistic expression. That’s what I came here to do. I thank you for letting me share and give to you in this way.

PS: Stop by my website and get a set of free scoops with your purchase of a kit through September ’09.

Excerpt from September 2006 Margie’s Muse:

C-M-Y Color Wheel (front & back)

I encourage artists to learn and use the C-M-Y wheel, in which cyan stands in for what we’ve always known to be primary blue, and magenta fills in for red.

Yellow, red and blue have long been considered primaries ­­because they are pure; they have no other colors in them, and in theory, all other colors can be created by mixing combinations of yellow, red and blue. (I write about this at length in The Beader’s Guide to Color, and include some gorgeous beaded examples of the color schemes in the CMY primaries.)

However, use cyan and magenta in place of blue and red, and the mixing of these primaries creates a broader and more luminous range of colors than the traditional yellow-red-blue primaries of the artists’ wheel. It is difficult, if not impossible, to mix vibrant purples and red-violets using a true blue and red pigment. Because magenta is more luminous than red, using it as a primary rather than red greatly expands the red-pink-purple range.

“But Margie,” you say, “we’re not mixing colors! We’re using beads, a pre-mixed medium!” (I took the words right out of your mouth, didn’t I?)

I have a few answers for that:
When I work directly with the wheel, I use a C-M-Y wheel, because I want that fuller range of colors. And I am particularly drawn to cyan and magenta and the colors they can create. When I look at the traditional artist’s wheel, I immediately sense the lack of luminosity and vibrancy, and find it leaves me visually unfulfilled. The wheel I use, a C-M-Y wheel (available for free with purchase, see left, or in the “Books, Patterns, & More” section, under “Bead Accessories”).
Also, the CMY wheel is more contemporary, accounting for the wide range of chemical dyes available to us.

This is especially important to bead artists who work with a wide range of colors, yet cannot mix their colors as painters do. If you’re an artist working with a wide range of purples, pinks, teals and blue-greens, the colors of cyan and magenta are critical to your palette.

Read the full Margie’s Muse September 2006 PDF article

Get a FREE C-M-Y Color Wheel with the purchase of any kit and The Beader’s Color Palette through the end of August 2009 at www.MargieDeeb.com

The August 2009 Margie’s Muse column is an excerpt from The Beader’s Guide to Color by Margie Deeb [Watson-Guptill, 2004]

A passion for color and movement is the driving force in all my creations. In “That Silver Ribbon of Road,” three independent panels of color represent the past, present, and future, as well as the subconscious, unconscious, and conscious mind. That silver ribbon of road connects them all. Design by Margie Deeb; loomwork by Margie Deeb and Frieda Bates

Add passion to your artistry and mastery. Take all three into the realm of imagination. Let them brew and steep and rumble. From that place you’ll emerge with new vision, and your colors will be uniquely yours, singing your unique voice.

For centuries, the Aurora Borealis has astounded observers. This breathtaking phenomenon of color has inspired those who opened their hearts, minds, and senses. Rather than mentally noting the shades of color, they lingered in the mystery of it all.

When colors set your imagination on fire, allow yourself to do more than note them for later use. Linger in the reverie and mystery of your inspiration. If it is the Aurora that inspires you consider how the colors move: are they quick and pulsating, or sweeping and majestic? What is the quality of their light: luminous and sparkling, or dense and opaque? What are the nuances of color fluctuation? Do they change in intensity, value, or luminosity?

Allow your experience of color to move beyond your senses, into the realm of the imagination. If you could hear them sing, what would they sound like? What of their texture? What would it feel like to trace your fingertips across them? If you could taste them, what would you taste? And how would they smell? How far into the colors can you go? What is it about these colors, their movement and life that cause your soul to stir? What sparks your passion?

Imagination can infuse your color choices so that they become more than a mere record colors, or a pretty combination of hues. With imagination, your color becomes uniquely expressive of you.

On the path of imaginative artistry, the journey is as valuable as the work that arises from it. A passion for living life in all its colors is an exhilarating one, and may just turn out to be your path.

That Silver Ribbon of Road

Here’s my latest painting, “The Dreaming.” I wanted to share it because of the odd muted tones: a raw umber and a low-intensity sage green. Even though these wander far from my preferred palette, notice the high value contrast I lean towards in most everything I do: the dark darks and light lights. I love high contrast. So even when I work with muted, quiet colors (as opposed to outrageously bright schemes) I go for high contrast somewhere (usually value). It gives me immense satisfaction and pleasure to see such a dynamic range of dark and light. That’s part of my voice.

The Beader's Color Palette

I am delighted to read Beth Livesay’s review of The Beader’s Color Palette in the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Belle Armoire magazine. Here are excerpts. The link to the entire review is at the end:

“Margie Deeb, bestselling author of The Beader’s Guide to Color, proves that she is in fact a color expert with her newest offering. Even if you are not a beader, this book is bound to convert. With lush illustrations, difficult levels, excellent photography and detailed instruction, this book begs to be looked at and cherished with the eyes…
…
Whether it’s a landscape, a rare animal, flower, or Spanish architecture, Deeb proves that inspirational color can be found anywhere in nature, the world, and in history.

If that doesn’t whet your appetite, consider her historical chapter, where Deeb takes cues from timeless works of art…”

Read the entire review