Color for Bead Artists

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…
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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

Read the full article

Excerpts from the July 2009 Margie’s Muse 

Read the complete article.

"Snake Goddess" from Beading Her Image

Minoan culture–especially its art–has fascinated me for decades. What I love about the society is its partnership: the equality of women and men. Even though the society was matriarchal and the Goddess revered, neither gender was elevated above the other: women and men worked in harmony. And nature was sacred and respected. This is evidenced in the joy and exuberance of their art. I show photos of frescoes on pages 40-41 and 66 of  The Beader’s Color Palette…

So when I designed “Snake Goddess,” yet another tribute to this beautiful culture for my book Beading Her Image: Images of Women Portrayed in 15 bead Patterns, I naturally used colors similar to those of Minoan frescoes. I updated them, of course, to appeal to contemporary eyes accustomed to clearer, brighter hues.

At its core this palette is a primary triad based on the red/yellow/blue pigment wheel: red, gold as a substitute for yellow, and three shades of blue. Variations of this primary triad, often muted and darker, are found all through Egyptian murals. The essence of Egyptian color usage is three-to four-color combinations hinged on red or yellow… Add a verde green…and you have the full palette for most Egyptian wall paintings, and the famous Minoan bull mural. Heidi Kummli designed a pendant project (below) for The Beader’s Color Palette based on this 4-color palette.

Heidi Kummli's Minoan Pendant from The Beader's Color Palette

Let’s talk about triads, specifically, the primary triad.

Basic triads are composed of three colors equidistant from each other on the color wheel, or every fourth color on the wheel

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Primary Triad

Triadic combinations exhibit bold, energetic and striking contrasts because the members of the group, spaced as they are on the wheel, are neither analogous nor complementary. Basic triads contrast strongly in both temperature (warm and cool colors) and value (light and dark colors). Because of its bold directness, the primary triad of the traditional pigment wheel—in its purest red-yellow-blue state—is often used in children’s toys and graphic design.

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Challenge yourself to create an innovative scheme based on this powerful trio whose roots reflect a society who celebrated what was most important: joy, nature, partnership, and beauty.

Read the complete article.