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The Elements of Style: Playing with Color by Lynn Dean
Color. It’s all around us. Everywhere we look, we see a rainbow of color. But, when it comes to beads, some of us are stumped. Many of my students often ask, “Does this color go with this one?” or “What colors do you think I should put with this?” It can be overwhelming to see a sea of beads in different colors calling out to you. But with a little color sense and focus, you can learn how to play with color to make your bead creations sing.
Let’s start with the basics. As you probably remember from your early days with a box of crayons, all colors come from three primary ones: red, blue and yellow. Combine red and blue and you have my favorite color, purple. Blue and yellow make green and red and yellow make orange. These are called secondary colors. Tertiary colors are colors created by combining a primary and secondary color. White is, at least theoretically, the absence of all color. Black is, theoretically, the presence of all colors together.
Different hues of each of the primary and secondary color are created by adding more or less of each color component. Let’s take purple as an example. We can create all different shades in the purple family by adding more blue to the “mix” or more red to the mix. We can then mute the purple hues by adding white.
 Luckily, we don’t have to make colors, just learn how to put them together. To do that, we can use a color wheel. This simple tool was developed by, believe it or not, Sir Issac Newton in the 1600's. (He’s also the fellow who discovered that white light could be broken down into all the colors of the rainbow. Ever played with a prism?)
Source: Cornell University
Notice that the wheel is a round rainbow of color. Each secondary color, in various hues, is sandwiched between the primary colors. Theoretically one could create an infinite number of slices of colors between each primary color.
Now let’s talk beads and jewelry. In jewelry, as in fashion, in addition to the hues of color there are “neutrals” that are mixed in. Generally these are the background colors- those that fade away in the overall design or pattern. In jewelry “neutral” bead colors include black, white, ivory and clear. It is important to note that sometimes these neutrals can become central color elements- think of a black and white necklace. The project necklace, Copper Dreams, features both purple and black.In this case, because of its prominence in the design, black is a central element rather than a neutral one.
 Metals also add another color element. Like “neutrals” they can either be a central to the color scheme, or act in more of a neutral element. In the project, copper is added as a feature, or central element, while the silver (See you had to look again, didn’t you?) acts as a neutral one.
When creating jewelry you can plan the theme for your necklace using either analogous colors or complimentary colors. Analogous colors are those that are neighbors on the color wheel. If analogous colors are in the same color quadrant- that is they all sit sandwiched between the same primary colors, then they are monochromatic- or different hues of the same color. Complimentary colors are those that are directly opposite each other. Red-violet, violet, and blue-violet are analogous colors. Violet and yellow are complimentary colors. Now that you know the “formulas” behind color theory, let’s look at it in action.
Nature offers great color cues. The Creator uses both analogous and complimentary color schemes. Notice the green and purple of this chick and hen plant These colors would be opposite each other on the color wheel. Likewise, the purple and yellow of this tulip are opposite each other. [insert tulip picture here] On the other hand, this purple columbine features a monochromatic array of analogous colors in with just a tiny punch of yellow, the complimentary color.
Now, back to beads and jewelry. In a monochromatic necklace, you can add as many hues of the same color as you want without overwhelming the eye. But adding too many complimentary colors or analogous colors that aren’t in the same color quadrant, would be too distracting. Take the orange and blue necklace which I made for my daughter, a die-hard Broncos fan. Adding another color other than the neutral white would make this necklace toooo ugly for words. (I’m not really that fond of this one, as it is, but I’m not the one who wants to marry a Denver Bronco!)
Putting together a necklace color scheme is easy if you start with one color element and then add the next few elements one by one. You might start with a focal bead which usually features analogous or complimentary colors. Then you just add matching or analogous colored beads, perhaps some neutral beads (selected by matching the neutral color of the focal bead) and metal beads to complete the necklace.
You could also start with a favorite strand of beads. Next add a complimentary or analogous color. Then add a neutral, some metal, and pretty soon you have a gorgeous necklace. If you’re still timid, pick a seed bead mix and use that to dictate your color choices. Just don’t go too overboard.
So, the next time you go to your favorite bead store, don’t let the colors overwhelm you. Instead, relax, have a little fun, and play with color!
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