This past weekend there was a huge knitting convention called Stitches West at the Santa Clara Convention Center.  In past years, I've just gone and shopped, but this year I took two classes.   Both classes had to do with color and were taught by the same instructor--Laura Bryant of Prism Yarns.  I already know a lot about color, but I learned some new things and I relearned some concepts in a new way.  Here are a few of the things I picked up.

 

1.  I have to google Joseph Albers.  He was a professor at Yale and Black Mountain College.  And he was a color theorist.

 

2.  The human eye can discern over 3 MILLION distinct colors.

 

3.  Color perception is relative.  A blue-green color placed next to green looks more blue, but the same color next to blue looks more green.

 

4.  There's a gray scale based on the value of a color--light to dark--like a black and white photo.  But there's also a weight scale for color--light to heavy.  Light colors move forward.  Heavy colors recede.

 

5.Mixing all colors of light gives white.  Mixing all colors of pigments gives black.  Optimal mixing of colors is mixing light and gives luminous color.  Mixing colors by mixing pigments gives a muddy color.

 

6.  All colors can go together if they are of similar weight.

 

7.  I must do more to train my eye.

 

8.  Most important rule of thumb when mixing colors in knitting--"To make the pattern show, use colors of different visual weight.  To make color the story, use colors of similar weight."

 

9.  "You don't get WOW! by doing the expected."  Laura's quote.