Color is Emotion.
We unconsciously choose colors in our projects…often from a subliminal context of curiosity, desire, fear, joy or courage.
How do we extricate ourselves from this veiled context, to chart conscious new paths of color and design?
Taking photos, capturing images that grab your imagination, exposing yourself to art and design…is a daily practice. One version of this is the Artist Date suggested by Julia Cameron in her classic book, The Artist’s Way. But in addition to going out to museums, galleries, etc….we have a limitless resource of images that we can visit online and save for our own inspiration files.
When I started out as a fashion designer, we would prepare a Mood Board for each new seasonal collection. These days we have so much exposure to images, we can develop a digital reference folder with an almost infinite depth of visual stimulation.
I have been saving striking images for decades now, and my screen saver is a random art show through over 10,000 saved images. Do you save images of quilts, art, color and design as well? How do you use these as a tool for creative stimulation?
Paging through magazines is an obvious method of inspiration. We are lucky that we still have so many beautiful magazines and colorful books being published, to fill our eyes and brains with exciting ideas. As much as we love digital images, we as quilters still love the tactile pleasure of glossy full color pages.
When an image grabs you by the heart, what emotion is it touching? When quilt design or a color combination touches you deeply, do you make a conscious note to identify what it is you love? How can you take that piece to your next project? Keep a notebook, or even a sketchbook, where you take notes as you are exposed to all the art, color and design that surrounds us every day.
As you input a constant flow of inspiration, it will blend and ferment, and come out as something that is uniquely YOU. Don’t be afraid of what flows out in unexpected ways. It is often exactly what we need in the moment, in our journey as creative beings.
sharing your love for fabric,
Luana and Paul
Subscribe to my artist blog here.
Travel/Lecture Dates:
June 18-20 – Quilt Canada – Toronto Ontario
July 30 – Aug 6 – Festival of Quilts, Birmingham UK
Visit eQuilter’s Instagram, Pinterest or TikTok pages for Color and Design ideas.
See Luana’s Artist Blog, Flickr Photo Pages for travel images, comment on our blog, or follow us on Facebook.
Check out our Video pages for interviews and show reviews.
