We started by choosing an image to work with and then selected 5 main colours from the image that summed the scene up for us. The task was then to make colour patches with water media that would guide us towards blending our fibres. We were advised to choose a light, medium and dark tone from the image and make sure we had these in our final choices. M had made worksheets to enable us to work in a controlled way and to keep a good record of how we had arrived at our blends.
I chose a postcard of a work by artist Peter Graham. I haven't got on well using hand carders before but M, the tutor, loaned me a set and with her help I got some good mixes. I have struggled previously with using carders as they've hurt my hands but M's method was much less stressful. I've done a lot of colour theory work when I was painting so the colour mixing wasn't too difficult, although using wool does make it a little harder. I didn't card a lot of each colour and chose to spin them as one long length rather than separate the colours out. Hopefully you can see the colours I achieved. As usual it's a bit over-spun and corkscrewy but I'm hoping that will even out when I wash it to finish it.
These are a few of the other efforts from the group.
We all started with identical sets of the primary colours plus black and white. M had no confidence in her colour mixing ability but perfectly reflected the colours from her image.
Isn't this blend based on irises beautiful?
Wendy echoed the beautiful colours in her sunset and you can see the original colours we all started with on her worksheet.
We had quite a table full of colour and inspiration by the end of the afternoon.
Best of all were the exuberant blends made by two young children who had come along with their Mum's. They were both less than 10 years of age and were so busy we didn't even know they were there.
Aren't they wonderful? Artists in the making.
