Current issue | Letters Online | What's on | Webwatch | About us | Previous issues | Contact us | Subscribe/renew | Index | Terms & conditions | Your basket
A tiny piece of warm colour in a sea of cools provides relief for the eye. Red and yellow pigments mixed together make orange; red and yellow next to each other can also be seen as orange. Cool colours recede; warm colours come forward; therefore one can 'shade' by changing hues as well as intensity.
These were among the colour principles important to me in my early training in art. I was working in mosaic, placing one tile next to another, enjoying the effect of colour next to colour, texture next to texture, light next to dark. I pored over photos of Byzantine mosaics, tracing with my eye the colour patterns and the rhythms created by arrangements of tiny bits of tessera. I thrilled at the idea that the eye could mix colour, creating an impact unobtainable with traditional painting techniques.
I still do. After many years, many techniques, I continue to thrill at the effect achieved by placing one colour next to another. Only my medium has changed. I now prefer expressing my art through machine embroidery. I relate to the softness of the threads and the warmth of the material. And, continually, I respond to the challenge of blending colours with the eye.
Click the image to see a bigger version
Manufacturers of machine embroidery threads have lured us with an enticing array of colours. At first glance it would seem that every conceivable hue is available, oceans of blues to explosions of reds. At the last count, most manufacturers of rayon machine embroidery threads - the threads I prefer because of their sheen - are offering at least 350 solid hues. Additionally, there are metallic threads, variegated, neon-like colours; the selection seems endless. I like to wallow in those threads, enjoying the rainbow of hues and absorbing the effects of the brights, the dulls, the warms, the cools. I display the threads on my studio wall, not only to make colour selection easier, but to provide visual stimulation. At first glance, it would seem that I have every conceivable colour. Once I begin an embroidery, however, I realise I'm having to mix my own palette.
I recommend that embroiderers study the work of the Impressionists to realise the possibilities that exist when working with light and colour. Cezanne showed us that blue might be used to give oranges depth, for example. Van Gogh used a wild palette of colours to denote skies, or grasses. The numerous hues in Monet's haystacks allow the viewer to realise that plain, mundane hay can become exciting in the right light. The pointillists took the use of colour much further, enhancing planes with dots of complementary colours to neutralise fields of colour, or to provide shading from one value to another. Always, the eye does the colour-mixing.
Click the image to see a bigger version
When working on my embroideries I employ the use of colour as set out by many of the Impressionists. As an exercise I would suggest embroidering a fruit arrangement à la Cézanne, for example. Do a simple drawing of fruit, pears, or oranges and apples, perhaps. Select the threads that would seem appropriate: oranges, reds, yellows. Don't stop with one yellow. Lay out the entire range in your collection, then eliminate the disagreeable ones. Lay the threads on your work surface to study as you prepare your machine for this exercise. Consider adding a few complementary colours to give your eye a break.
Most of my embroideries are stitched on water-soluble fabric. The reasons are two-fold. First, by washing away the background, I allow the bobbin threads to become an integral part of the colour scheme and second, I can take advantage of negative spaces in the composition. There are numerous water-soluble materials available in today's market, some dissolving readily at any temperature, others requiring hot water. I prefer the woven organza-like fabric which dissolves in hot water, as this fabric will endure heavy stitching without tearing. Place the fabric in an embroidery hoop which is compatible in size for use with a sewing machine, draw the image with a soft pencil directly onto the fabric, and have numerous bobbins wound with the colours selected for the project.
Click the image to see a bigger version
And the fun begins.
First, with the sewing machine set for free movement, that is, a darning foot in place and the teeth lowered, I guide the hooped fabric beneath the needle, stitching first an outline, then filling the space with a grid which will hold the sewing together physically once the background is dissolved. I usually begin with the dark areas, then switch colours and do the lightest lights. From there, it seems mostly a matter of filling in remaining areas, but there is much more to consider.
For example:
In moving from dark to light within one colour, rather than using the progression of colour changes in the colour charts, try being more creative. Use frequent bobbin changes with the same top thread to produce subtle changes. Then try the opposite: same bobbin colour with varying top threads. Keep in mind that big contrasts in value ('light' and 'dark') in top and bobbin threads will create a spotty appearance, whereas close values but different hues will give a muted look. Try numerous combinations and observe for yourself the effects. Yes - let your eye blend the colors.
As an experiment, eliminate the use of darks and greys to create depth; instead, use cool colours, blues, or lavenders, for example, to make an area recede, warm colours to bring an area forward.
Add an element of 'surprise', a tiny bit of bright orange in a sea of blues will give a piece spark.
Let colour value become your greatest friend. Remember that the eye is attracted to strong value contrasts, so use those contrasts to highlight your main point of interest in a composition.
The best way of learning to use colour in embroidery is to emulate the masters, and there are no better colour masters than the Impressionists. As an exercise, try to recreate in machine embroidery your own interpretation of an Impressionist's style, a fruit arrangement as Cezanne would have painted, for example, or a self-portrait in the style of Van Gogh, skin tones as Gauguin might have coloured them or a simple scene as Seurat would have done.
The Byzantine tile-setters mixed their colours by placing colourful bits of tile side by side. The Impressionists created the same effect by placing dots of pigment next to each other. We embroiderers can mix colours by laying tiny stitches alongside each other. The challenge is to relax, to experiment, to allow oneself to let colour happen.
This article is from The World of Embroidery, Volume 52 No.2, © Cindy Hickok.