The Warmer Side of Gray
October 7, 2014
Inspirational Art
As I briefly mentioned yesterday, the gray you work with may actually be a very faint version of a muted hue of color. You have probably heard the terms warm and cool to describe differences in grays when it comes to things such as matching clothing items for an outfit. What this means is that the gray has a tinge of color to it, either a warm hue (red, yellow or orange) or a cool hue (blue, green or purple) so technically it is no longer gray since gray is not a color. However, in the real world, we’ll call something gray when there is so little color as to be pointless to refer to it by its hue at all. That’s when we get to the warm and cool versions.
Why is this important? Well because warm and cool colors contrast each other so if you have a gray with a touch of blue to it, it will contrast (or clash) with a gray that has a tinge of yellow. If you are creating a piece that has a calm atmosphere, and you’ll be using different grays, you would not want them to contrast or clash. If you want more contrast and energy, you can use both warm and cool grays to emphasize the combination of elements you have to support this livelier look.
You can see the contrast of grays used alongside variations in line and accent elements in this hollow bead necklace by Arden Bardol. This is a little tricky to describe and point out on a computer screen since our screens do not show colors exactly the same way from screen to screen and we are dealing with an extremely subtle difference; in other words, don’t worry if you don’t see exactly what I describe here as it may simply be your computer screen.
What I see is a predominance of warm grays leaning to yellow and several stripes of cool gray on a handful of beads to contrast it along with regular dashes of pure white. Several warm colored accents around the cut-outs and in the spacer beads were added that increase the variation and energy of the necklace. This works well with the widely varied type and direction of lines on the beads but all of it is kept subtle so it has a reserved energy to it. More cool grays would have increased the energy but then more variation in form or accents might have been warranted to match that.
Are you confused by all this? It can be a bit much to see or grasp especially since we are talking about color on such a subtle scale but when you are working with grays, being aware of the possible variations will assist you in developing a piece that has the kind of feel you are after.
For a fairly simple explanation of grays (as well as beige and greige), check out this great little post by an interior designer. For more of Arden’s work, visit her website here.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Graduating Gray
August 29, 2013
Inspirational Art
Grays are not the most popular color choices for jewelry and home decor, and certainly not in polymer. Gray is completely neutral and is actually a shade, not a color. However, people do have gray outfits to coordinate and, honestly, if you’re going for more subdued accent pieces with a black outfit, gray is an excellent choice.
Using a variety of grays in graduating shades, all either cool or warm, is one of the best ways to create strong visual impact. Strong lines and graphical elements also work wonderfully with grays. Here is an assembly by Poland’s Jagna that demonstrates the drama of graduated grays and how well it can highlight a single color, even another rather neutral one. In this piece, Jagna goes from pale silver gray to dark slate, but with a trail of gold peeking out from her mokume pattern. Between the graduated grays, the graphic lines, and the contemporary shape contrast, this whole piece is the kind of adornment that could make a little black outfit really shine.
Here is another piece by Jagna that is just gray. It’s still very dramatic and high impact for a uncomplicated necklace design.
The one thing about working with gray (or any monochromatic palette) is that you are forced to rely heavily on your other design elements, rather than depending on color to carry a piece. In fact, one of the tricks we used in art school to analyze composition, contrast,and overall design was to take a black and white photo of the piece in question. If it didn’t work in gray scale, it was usually pretty weak even in color. Try taking a black and white photo of your work next time you get the feeling it’s not quite right, and see if that doesn’t help you find where the issue is.
As I briefly mentioned yesterday, the gray you work with may actually be a very faint version of a muted hue of color. You have probably heard the terms warm and cool to describe differences in grays when it comes to things such as matching clothing items for an outfit. What this means is that the gray has a tinge of color to it, either a warm hue (red, yellow or orange) or a cool hue (blue, green or purple) so technically it is no longer gray since gray is not a color. However, in the real world, we’ll call something gray when there is so little color as to be pointless to refer to it by its hue at all. That’s when we get to the warm and cool versions.
Why is this important? Well because warm and cool colors contrast each other so if you have a gray with a touch of blue to it, it will contrast (or clash) with a gray that has a tinge of yellow. If you are creating a piece that has a calm atmosphere, and you’ll be using different grays, you would not want them to contrast or clash. If you want more contrast and energy, you can use both warm and cool grays to emphasize the combination of elements you have to support this livelier look.
You can see the contrast of grays used alongside variations in line and accent elements in this hollow bead necklace by Arden Bardol. This is a little tricky to describe and point out on a computer screen since our screens do not show colors exactly the same way from screen to screen and we are dealing with an extremely subtle difference; in other words, don’t worry if you don’t see exactly what I describe here as it may simply be your computer screen.
What I see is a predominance of warm grays leaning to yellow and several stripes of cool gray on a handful of beads to contrast it along with regular dashes of pure white. Several warm colored accents around the cut-outs and in the spacer beads were added that increase the variation and energy of the necklace. This works well with the widely varied type and direction of lines on the beads but all of it is kept subtle so it has a reserved energy to it. More cool grays would have increased the energy but then more variation in form or accents might have been warranted to match that.
Are you confused by all this? It can be a bit much to see or grasp especially since we are talking about color on such a subtle scale but when you are working with grays, being aware of the possible variations will assist you in developing a piece that has the kind of feel you are after.
For a fairly simple explanation of grays (as well as beige and greige), check out this great little post by an interior designer. For more of Arden’s work, visit her website here.
If you like this blog, support The Polymer Arts projects with a subscription or issue of The Polymer Arts magazine as well as supporting our advertising partners.
Grays are not the most popular color choices for jewelry and home decor, and certainly not in polymer. Gray is completely neutral and is actually a shade, not a color. However, people do have gray outfits to coordinate and, honestly, if you’re going for more subdued accent pieces with a black outfit, gray is an excellent choice.
Using a variety of grays in graduating shades, all either cool or warm, is one of the best ways to create strong visual impact. Strong lines and graphical elements also work wonderfully with grays. Here is an assembly by Poland’s Jagna that demonstrates the drama of graduated grays and how well it can highlight a single color, even another rather neutral one. In this piece, Jagna goes from pale silver gray to dark slate, but with a trail of gold peeking out from her mokume pattern. Between the graduated grays, the graphic lines, and the contemporary shape contrast, this whole piece is the kind of adornment that could make a little black outfit really shine.
Here is another piece by Jagna that is just gray. It’s still very dramatic and high impact for a uncomplicated necklace design.
The one thing about working with gray (or any monochromatic palette) is that you are forced to rely heavily on your other design elements, rather than depending on color to carry a piece. In fact, one of the tricks we used in art school to analyze composition, contrast,and overall design was to take a black and white photo of the piece in question. If it didn’t work in gray scale, it was usually pretty weak even in color. Try taking a black and white photo of your work next time you get the feeling it’s not quite right, and see if that doesn’t help you find where the issue is.
