Friday, May 18, 2012

Pantone Summer 2012 Color Matching

Every month I write a post for the Beads of Clay Blog for Cone 6 Glazes.
I go into my studio and pull out my glaze notebook, grab some colors (sometimes planned, sometimes on a whim), and get to work...

Working in a home based studio, I don't have a lot of room for dry material storage (I would rather have a jewelry making area, and not have so much dust in my house from working with bulk dry materials) so I made the decision when setting up shop, that I would use commercial glazes.

Something that I find much pleasure in now that Commercial Cone 6 Glazes are so readily available and have many, many different colors and effects (and safety when properly fired).

The scientific side of my brain loves to try out various color combinations, layering and mixing different glazes to get different effects on various textured surfaces (my pieces).
And watching my little one with these Velvet underglazes - the experimentation of mixing colors is something that is a natural human instinct.

Being part of the bead and fashion industry, it is not only fun to take a look around and see what some of the "trends" are, but it is a little necessary to keep your line of work fresh. 
In this world of bead making - which relates to jewelry making - which relates to fashion...
There is the "Pantone Spring and Fall color palettes" that come out twice a year.

And for someone like me that tends to lean towards earthy tones - having a direction to work in that is outside of my "comfort zone" of colors that I would normally pick is a great way to create work in palettes that other people might be interested in. At the minimum, thinking about something like this is a stepping stone for a lot of potential creativity...

Here is a selection of glaze colors that I quick put into the kiln to see if I could get a decent match (not exact - because every kiln firing can have different results).
Marsha Neal Studio Glaze tests for Pantone Fashion Colors.
A lot of these glazes are glazes I have had for years.
And I have a lot of beads to be glazed in these colors (I keep making earthy, rustic, blue and patina ones because they are my favorite to wear) and will be updating my website with sets that customers can pick out and buy by whatever glaze colors I pick to offer.

So this month, for the Beads of Clay blog, I decided to show some of my glaze tests that work on my clay body that are close - or what I feel "work" for creating in a similar palette of the Spring season's trending color palette.

Hop on over and check it out!

And don't forget about my
TWO $37 GIFT CERTIFICATE DRAWINGS AND SALE
Celebrating my birthday (which happens to be today!)
Sale and giveaway end 5/20/12.

And sign up for my email newsletter if you want a heads up for my progress with these new beads in different colors. Also, my Marsha Neal Studio Face Book page, twitter, and Flickr also get photo insights on what is going on with Marsha Neal Studio usually daily.

8 comments:

  1. Happy birthday! Those colours are yummy. I have a little trouble too working outside my colour comfort zone but just maybe I'll give it a try. Thanks for sharing your tests.

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  2. Thanks LeAnne! It's funny too about color. I love color. I am drawn to it. But when it comes to glazing - I just don't pull them when I have my studio time. It's like exercising your brain (which is a good way to stretch it). I just posted the BOC post live too - so the colors and codes for them are there. Can't wait to see some new colors coming from your studio (& garden)!

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    1. I too love colors... all colors! Yet, I am drawn to working with gem tones, blues, reds, purples... When teaching a class or buying stock for our store, I often have to reach out if my comfort zone color wise.
      I hope you have a fabulous birthday today!

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    2. I too love colors... all colors! Yet, I am drawn to working with gem tones, blues, reds, purples... When teaching a class or buying stock for our store, I often have to reach out if my comfort zone color wise.
      I hope you have a fabulous birthday today!

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  3. HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARSHA. It's such a beautiful day, I hope you can get outside and enjoy. I love the pic showing your pendants in all the different hues, very striking, I want them all!

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  4. Happy Birthday Marsha! Woo hoo I love Friday birthdays, time to party! have a fun and beautiful day whatever you do with your loved ones. As always great post and thank you for all you do for BOC. Xoxoxo

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  5. yes Happy Birthday Marsha, Joan and Lana

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  6. Those are so bright! I love what you did with this year's colors!

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