Getting Into (and out of) Color Ruts

Leigh had this very nice thing to say about the fabric I showed in a recent post: "This sample is dark, but it is really, really appealing." Looking at the photo as it appears in the actual blog post, I discovered that the fabric does appear a bit darker than it is in real life.

DARK COLORS PUT ME OFF

Still the fabric is dark and my immediate reaction to that darkness is a bit negative. I really like highly saturated colors that have been toned a bit. But not toned too much.

A CHANGE OF HEART

That evening I watched a DVD of A Year in Provence. By the end, I felt very relaxed. I passed the loom and looked at what I had woven. I discovered that I quite liked the darkness. It could make a gorgeous piece of upholstery. My mind sort of lurched a bit more. A jacket, I thought.

To tell the truth, I really liked even better the slightly darker version the image in that post showed.............

GETTING STUCK IN RUTS

It is easy to get stuck in a rut with colors. My mother always wore navy. I have for a long time now, worn almost exclusively bright T-shirts with my khaki pants. This year that changed. Now I am wearing almost exclusively black and navy T-shirts with those pants.

STRETCHING

I wove the cotton crackle fabric in light colors. It is now finished, by the way. More about that another time. I now see that fabric as my first attempt to get out of my rut of weaving with those saturated and brilliant colors.

I shall probably always really prefer those brilliant colors, using dark colors as a foil for them rather than for their own sake. But it feels good to stretch. It feels good to stretch my body in the morning. And it feels good to stretch my preferences.