By the end of the month, I have to come up with a small quilt that showcases the colour periwinkle. Or is it lavender? This assignment is one of the quarterly challenges of the on-line group
12 by the dozen. Every three months, one of the twelve members chooses a colour, and we all respond with a 8.5 x 11-inch art quilt. This time round, Linda Forey chose a colour from a hibiscus in her garden.
Linda Bilsborrow analyzed the photo of this flower by using some on-line software to help us understand the colour a little better. How much blue? How much violet? Warm or cool?
Because I didn't have any fabric like this on hand, I tried several different MX dyes on cotton, but nothing was quite right. I even sent the photo of the flower to
PRO Chemical & Dye company, seeking their advice about which dye or combination of dyes I might use. Their suggestion was Blue-Violet, which you can see below. Others have advised, "Start with turquoise and add magenta", or "Start with boysenberry and add a dash of this and a drop of that".
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| Gradation dyeing: Blue-Violet |
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| Gradation dyeing: 1 part Blue-Violet, 1 part Indigo |
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| Gradation Dyeing: Eggplant |
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| Gradation Dyeing: 2 parts Ultra-Violet, 1 part Indigo |
The result of all this fretting is that I now have all these lovely colours to work with, but I'm still not convinced I've matched the challenge colour. And then I have to decide on the other colours for the piece. A monochromatic range of lights and darks? A buttery-yellow as a complementary?
Until November 12, there's a show at
Galerie de Bellefeuille that I hope to see. Montreal artist
Jennifer Hornyak is known for her sophisticated palette and her fresh and loose handling of oil paint. Maybe I can borrow some of her inspired sense of colour to help me rise to this Challenge. Have a look at some of her still lifes, below, to see what she does with periwinkle. (Or is it lavender?)
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| Patchwork with Orange, Jennifer Hornyak, 2013 |
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| White Cadence I, Jennifer Hornyak, 2012 |
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| Flowers with Ice Blue Stripe, Jennifer Hornyak, 2012 |
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| White Flowers with Lavender, Jennifer Hornyak, 2013 |
1 comment:
Wow--that really is a tough color! So nuanced! At least all your dyeing has paid off with other lovely shades. And the work of Hornyak certainly does provide some inspiration!
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