Winter Snow Scene...Choosing Colors for an Assemblage

Here we go... the last glassy post for 2008!

Today I have a photo of my entry for the Winter Challenge.

It's a three bead Winter scene, with a bobble head snow woman and a child with a carrot for her nose and a dog with a tennis ball.  They are on a white glass stand which is a bead also.

Today, I wanted to write about how I made some of my color decisions for this scene.

Of course I knew that the snow chick would be basically white.  I wanted her to look "girly", so decided to have her wear some clothes.  Periwinkle looks so pretty with white and as light blue is associated with winter sometimes, this would be a little stronger color that would show up better.  I added the swirls on her apron for interest and to tone down that amount of color in one place.  Her hat is periwinkle also with band of variegated greens, one is the bright key lime green that you also see on the child.  There is a crow sitting on the side of the hat, and that black is mirrored in the faces of all the characters.

I wanted the child's clothes to complement the snow woman.  I used the bright green on the jacket which would draw the eye in towards the face and make the child the focal of the assemblage.  I added some purple swirly details to the jacket and a small scarf.  Lapis blue is the other main color which although it's bright, still recedes a bit compared to the green.  The child is wearing blue gloves while holding the orange carrot.  They are opposite colors on the color wheel and will frame and bring more attention to the carrot this way.

The little dog adds a touch of detail to the scene.  Often I make white dogs with brown spots.  I knew that I needed a neutral color that would show up against all the white, so I made him from dark ivory glass with silvered ivory stringer spots for fun.  (Just had to try it to see what it would look like.)  He has a bright green tennis ball in his mouth, which helps your eye travel down to notice him.  I had thought to have him turned more to cover more of the snow lady, but liked this angle in the photo, because it looks like he's in motion.

And finally, the base.  I used four rods of white glass for it.  Holy cow, it got a bit heavy.  I had made a "pattern" out of play-doh in advance.  I figured out where each piece would stand and how much room was needed between them to keep them close enough together, but so they would easily fit too.  That play-doh is great stuff for working out logistics.

One of my 2008 New Years Resolutions was to be more "deliberate" in what I made and how I made it.  I still have a long way to go.  But today, I wanted to show you the thought that went behind this particular assemblage regarding one single aspect of it... choosing color.   We tend to talk technique, patterns, shapes and other more technical aspects, but deliberate color choice can be equally important.

Wishing you a happy ending to a crazy year.  I'm sure you can guess...tomorrow I'll write some of my beadmaking and glass resolutions for 2009.  Start thinking of yours, because I'm going to ask you to join in and post them.

Need An "Easy Button"?

Late this fall, I noticed lots of television and print advertisements for a particular office store talking about how complicated it can be when getting simple tasks completed. Their tag line was to use their large, red "Easy Button".

Drawn in, I imagined what life would be like if we actually could make life easier. And I've come to the conclusion that definitely there are times when I'd love one, but sometimes the journey to get where we want to go, is the learning that enriches our lives more than the goal or destination.

I feel that way when I take on custom orders. I love the challenge of figuring out new ways to achieve a desired outcome that I haven't done before. It's like little individual puzzles which stretch and enhance my knowledge of glass.

Making this Easy Button reminded me of a few things.
1. It's hard to write on a very small space
2. I need to case my stringer, to keep some separation between the letters
3. We still don't have a great way to make a shiny silver look and that our silver plum makes a dark pewter no matter what I try.

And to make it "easy" on my customers, I have FREE shipping in my Studio Marcy Etsy shop for orders over $25 through the weekend. Why not?

...and that I still want an "Easy Button" when dealing with phone calls when I have to push a different button 12 times to get to speak with a live person to ask a simple question.