6 Tricks in Choosing Great Color Combinations

So you've decided to mosaic a piece and you either go on-line or to your local store to buy tiles. Suddenly, you realise that you're confronted with hundreds of colour choices and the colour options and combinations are endless. It's a little bit daunting, isn't it?

Great artists are experts at colour. Colour reflects mood, energy and maturity. This article is going to take you through 6 tricks that professionals designers use when choosing colour combinations.

Please note that when you are dealing with computer monitors, the colour breakdown is made up of RGB (which is red, green and blue). When dealing with paint and physical objects, the colour breakdown is Red, Blue and Yellow.

When you mix white with a pure colour, you produce a tint and when you mix black with a pure colour you produce a tone.

Firstly, lets understand the colour wheel and how it works:

Red, yellow and blue are your primary colours and cannot be made by mixing 2 colours together.

Your secondary colours are created by mixing primary colours together, i.e.:
Blue+Yellow=Green
Yellow+Red=Orange
Blue+Red=Purple

The rest of the colour wheel is created by mixing differing quantities of colour to produce the next colour, e.g. yellow-green.

Creating colour harmony can be achieved in 6 different ways:

1. The first is using complimentary colours. Every colour has it's opposite, and if you use the 2 colours together, they will “vibrate” next to one another and create a dynamic colour effect.

Basic complimentary colours are:
Yellow and Purple
Green and Red
Orange and Blue




2. Analogous colours are colours that sit close together on the colour wheel. E.g orange, red and violet, this produces a unified yet dynamic composition.


















3. Monochromatic Colours are tints and tones of 1 colour. E.g. bright blue, pale blue and dark blue. This produces a very soothing or balanced effect.






4. Split Complementary Colours are made up of a colour and the colour next to its direct complimentary. This is a far more subtle way of producing contrasting and dynamic effects.


















5. Triadic Colours are colours that form an equilateral triangle on the colour wheel. These then form triadic colour harmonies. The harmonies are vibrant but balanced and extremely pleasing to the eye.










6. Tetradic Colours are a set of colours that form a rectangle on the colour wheel. This harmony is the richest of all colour schemes and provides the greatest variety in colour schemes. The tetradic colour harmony is made up of 2 sets of complimentary colours so it can become quite difficult to work with.











So when designing your next project and you're confronted with so many colour choices, narrow it down to the kind of feeling you want to convey, then use one of the colour harmonies above to convey your message!

More resources
www.colormatters.com
www.wikipedia.org
www.tigercolor.com
www.colorcube.com

I'm busy working on a large mural at the moment. This pattern is taking a while, but I do promise it's a fantastic project.

If anyone would like to send me some pictures for the gallery, has any questions or would like to unsubscribe, please e-mail me at kirsty@mosaicpatternsonline.com

Have a great week-end
Kirsty Fletcher

www.mosaicpatternsonline.com

Hi everyone,

I have to apologise for those receiving this mail twice - but I realised that more than half of the newsgroup have not been getting the mails. For those of you who did not receive this, enjoy and for those of you who have received this, my sincere apologies, it won't happen again.

4 Ways to Improve Your Creativity

A lot of people have asked me where I get my ideas from for mosaic projects, so I decided to write about it.

I’ve always taken the fact that I’m creative for granted and it was only when I became an adult and started working that I realised many people see it as a talent, something that not everyone possesses. This is simply not true. Everyone is creative; the difference lies in whether you have developed the appropriate skills to tap into your creativity.

1 – Still your mind: The first point in being creative is that your mind needs to be still. Practising meditation in any of its forms which could be yoga, running or gardening (something you can do where you don’t have endless chatter in your brain).

You could also find a place (such as the bed, bath or bus) where you’re physically still or forced to be inactive and start daydreaming. My most creative moments are when I’m just about to fall asleep; I ask myself “What will be my next project?” My brain then kindly provides me with a whole multitude of mosaic ideas that I can make. I’ve trained myself to remember these images and to draw them the next day. This is the key element of creativity. Note down your ideas. They often spawn a host of other ideas, some of which you will make immediately and others that will be shelved for another time.

2 - Make lateral connections: When you’re sitting still, ask yourself a question that you don’t know the answer to. E.g. “How do you stop all the accidents related to speeding?

We were driving on a highway toll road and as I was daydreaming and watching the signs go by, I realised that there was an easy way to stop people speeding on the highways. You simply place a camera on the on-ramp and it takes a photograph with a time-stamp of the car as it goes onto the highway. The next camera is placed by the toll booth or off-ramp and if the car has been speeding, the difference in time-stamps will prove it. Ironically, this concept is now being implemented, so someone had the same idea. But the concept is to let your mind idle and occasionally ask it odd questions where you don’t necessarily have the answer to. You will be surprised how your brain will suddenly provide you with an answer when you least expect it. (This is the basis of Zen Koans, questions that have no right or wrong answer, but make you think differently)

3 – Make a change to your life: Change is good; it forces you to grow, think and be creative. Learn to step out of your comfort zone and do something new. You will learn new skills and your brain will integrate this into your creativity. Two of my best mosaics last year were inspired by fabric design. This came about when I stepped out of my comfort zone, attended a talk organised by a magazine, where a fabric company displayed their new wallpaper and fabrics for the season. I was so blown away by the beauty of the fabrics that it immediately gave me a ton of ideas for mosaic projects.

4 - Learn how to doodle. If you always approach a drawing or piece of paper with the expectation that it has to amount to something, you stop having fun with it. Doodling while you’re on the phone is a great way to release ideas without the pressure of having to produce an award winning piece of work; the fact that you’re on the phone and not concentrating that hard on the doodle allows your brain to express your creativity and great concepts will arise.

More reading:

http://www.gapingvoid.com/. Hugh MacLeod has written a brilliant e-book on “How to be creative”

http://psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto-19960701-000034&page=3

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/01/7-rules-for-maximizing-your-creative-output/

If anyone has problems downloading a pattern, would like to un-subscribe or would like to submit a mosaic picture for the gallery, send me a mail at Kirsty@mosaicpatternsonline.com

Remember, there are a lot of free patterns at the moment, just go to the website and start downloading!

For those of you on the list who live in Jo’burg and would like to attend a course, send me a mail or go to www.ukwenzamosaics.co.za and join up for a Saturday of fun!

Have a fantastic week everyone :-),
Kirsty Fletcher
www.mosaicpatternsonline.com

Hi All,

Another insect pattern for you to mosaic! Courtesy of Monster Mosaics, they sent me a dragonfly and I've created a pattern for everyone who is new to mosaicking. This pattern is easy to mosaic and would be great fun if you mosaic 3 of them and line them up on a wall. This would be great for a covered patio or outside area.
I've used opalescent tiles and miniature glass tiles which are so easy to cut, it only took a day to make. Monster Mosaics have kindly offered everyone on this newsletter a 20% discount on this base, so if you want to make this dragonfly - go to the Monster Mosaics site and use the following discount code MPZX8 when buying the base.

The bases are really thick and there won't be any issue of warping. The dragonfly measures 12x18inches, so it's a nice size to work with.

The artist under review this month is, Enzo Aiello who is a master mosaicist. He trained at the Vatican and today gives courses in the traditional methods of mosaicking. He is also a master in the art of Micromosaic in Smalti Filati. I've looked at the methodology, and I have to admit, I don't think that I could work that small - it takes extraordinary patience and skill. His work is beautifully executed and it's really incredible that he achieves such expression with the faces using such a limited palette.

If you want inspiration, go have a look at his gallery and if you want an amazing holiday :-) book a ticket for Rome and do a course with this artist.

I've had some great pictures sent to me of mosaic projects that people have completed. Don't be shy! If you've done a piece and you're proud of it, send it to me and I'll put it up on the gallery!

If anyone has problems downloading a pattern, send me a mail at kirsty@mosaicpatternsonline.com and I'll e-mail the pattern to you.

If anyone wants to unsubscribe, please send me a mail. I manage this list myself, so I can promise you that you will be taken off immediately.

Have a great month!
Kirsty Fletcher
www.mosaicpatternsonline.com

Hello everyone!
I'd like to say welcome to all the new members - we've had a lot of people join in the last month :-)

Just in time for spring for those in the northern hemisphere, the free mosaic pattern this month is a butterfly. The good news is that Monster Mosaics has offered a 15% discount on all butterfly bases that are bought if you use the following discount code: MP87H. You will simply need to enter the code when prompted during checkout and the butterfly surfaces in your shopping cart will automatically be discounted! If you look under "Mosaic Plaques" you'll find the Monarch Butterfly base that I used. I have to say these bases are fantastic. The shapes are so professionally cut, there are no rough edges and they use thick board so your mosaic will never warp.

The butterfly measures 11x20 inches, so it's big enough to be a feature on a wall. I used a range of tiles for this project; glass, iridescent glass, vitreous tiles, millefiori and mirror. The project will take a while, but it will be well worth the effort! This is the first time that I have managed to get my hands on some millefiori (wow, it's well worth it to have some in your tile stockpile.) For this project, I would recommend working with glass as you can cut it into eighths quite easily whereas ceramic tiles may develop an issue by crumbling.

I've been surfing the web quite a lot and have decided to also review artist's work that I come across. Kate Kerrigan is a great mosaic artist who seems to work only in stained glass. I really love the way she cuts her glass and how her grout lines flow. If you're looking for inspiration, this site is well worth the visit.

If anyone would like to unsubscribe, please just send me an e-mail: kirsty@mosaicpatternsonline.com

If you have a problem downloading a particular pattern, mail me and I'll send you one asap!

Have a wonderful week-end!
Regards,
Kirsty Fletcher
www.mosaicpatternsonline.com

Well hello again everyone!

Welcome to all the new subscribers, I hope that you'll find this newsletter / blog interesting and helpful:-)

I've just finished a new mosaic pattern, and yes it's for free. It's another mirror (I was given the substrate by Monster Mosaics, thanks guys!)

The base is the 10 inch daisy mirror from Monster Mosaics and I got hold of some mini glass tiles that work really well (I've used them on the border of the mirror). I really just had fun with this project, using as many colours as possible. (You may have noted that I am quite reserved with my selection in colours.) I've put it up in my daughter's bedroom and it really has become a bright focal point.

For those of you who have pictures of projects finished, send me a mail, please! I would love to put it up on the gallery section of the site. I've had some fantastic pictures sent through and I've loaded them up into the gallery section of the site.

If anyone wants to unsubscribe, please just send me a mail - kirsty@mosaicpatternsonline.com, I will do it immediately, and if anyone has a problem downloading a pattern, I'd be more than happy to e-mail it to you.

Have a wonderful week and I will mail again soon with more patterns.

kind regards,
Kirsty Fletcher
Mosaic Patterns Online

Hello everyone!

I've got a new free pattern for you, a book that you can buy and a picture of another gecko clock just to give you an idea of how versatile this pattern is!

I've uploaded another free pattern (it's under new patterns on the site). It is another lazy susan. I've based it on naartjie segments. It's a type of fruit we get in South Africa. It's a great pattern to try your cutting skills out on. It took me about 2 full days to complete, and it's really quite easy to do.

Barbara Keith sent me a mail. She's just finished designing a beautiful children's book and all the illustrations are done in mosaics. If you're looking for a special gift for a little one, go check this out. I'm still trying to figure out how she did the faces, it's spectacular. www.barbarakeithdesigns.com/Nurseryrhymes.htm The book is being sold through www.brownianbee.com.

For those of you who live in Johannesburg, I've started giving full day courses every Saturday. If you would like a day of making mosaics, a big lunch by the pool and good conversation, give me a shout at kirsty@mosaicpatternsonline.com. I'll send you a pamphlet and some pics of what some of the students have done.

Lastly, another picture of the gecko clock since we've had over 700 people downloading the pattern. Remember these designs can be translated into so many ways!

If anyone would like to send me a mail with any questions, please feel free and if you would like to be unsubscribed, also send me a mail, I'll take you off the list immediately. Mail me at kirsty@mosaicpatternsonline.com

Have a wonderful week and I'll have another pattern for you soon!

Kindest regards,

Kirsty Fletcher

www.mosaicpatternsonline.com

Happy New Year everyone! I know it's a bit late, but it's good to be back.

Good news, Monster Mosaics sent me some of their substrates, and in return I will make patterns on them for free. So you can buy your tiles and substrates from them. The first piece is a Gecko clock. I used on mirror and glass tiles so it's easy to source the tiles. This piece should take you about 2 days to make and it's great for learning how to cut accurately.

For those in South Africa, I've found a stockist of substrates. It's "Hearth & Home" on Peter Road in Ruimsig, Johannesburg. They have lazy susans, clocks, frames and different types of keepsake boxes.

I've also taken a stall at the Bryanston Organic Market, so if you're in the area, come say hello :-)

If anyone would like to unsubscribe or have problems downloading a pattern, just send me a mail: kirsty@mosaicpatternsonline.com and I'll deal with it within 24hours.

Thanks and have a great week-end!

Kirsty Fletcher
www.mosaicpatternsonline.com