9.22.2010

Color Lesson No. 1: RED

My goal is to share a little about color with you every Wednesday (or Thursday) for the next couple months. I took some classes on color in college and then again at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo earlier in the month and would like to pass a little on to you.
Let me introduce to you: RED

RED is hot, it's strong and is associated with passion and cupid, warfare, violence and the devil. It is the hottest of the warm colors (red, orange, yellow and all they make up). The color RED can also have an actual physical effect on people and studies show that it can raise blood pressure and increase the rate of respiration (breathing).

In our culture, RED is considered the color of POWER.....wearing a red power tie, the red carpet, Santa Claus' attire, Little Red Riding Hood, red sports cars (or muscle cars....the Chevelle is my dream car), ruby slippers (we're not in Kansas and more!). We also use RED to communicate urgency....flashing red lights on emergency vehicles, stop signs, fire trucks....brake lights.

Artistically, RED is used to draw attention and keeps things from sinking into their surroundings. Keep in mind, a little RED goes a long ways and small doses are often more effective than too much as RED is a very strong color. If you combine shades of PINK and ORANGE with RED, you'll end up with a very attractive, cheerful vibrant palette. Thrown in with BLACK and WHITES, RED becomes very stunning and bodacious.




Here are some quilts currently kitted up at the quilt shop that used RED as an accent:
Here are some of my favorite RED things....and no, it's by no means my favorite color...
I've love my red colander I use all the time....both for draining things and as a decorative bowl
. I also really enjoy my new RED, leather sofa...it just happens to be Fig Tree RED and looks superb in my home. You also can never go wrong with RED Fiesta ware.....like that vase on my fireplace mantel and the pitcher I've paired with the little lamp on the half wall between my kitchen and dining area. I also drive a red Ford Escape and a RED Yamaha Vino scooter in the RED hot summer months....hmmm....why isn't RED my favorite color? I use it enough...
As far as RED goes...I've hoped you enjoyed installment No. 1 of this little series of educational snippets! Be sure to read my next post....I hear you can win a bundle of 10 RED civil war fats!

13 comments:

Elaine Siemsen said...

Katie, my favorite red thing is a distressed country cabinet where we display family photos and pottery. My favorite red fabric comes in the Oriental style prints. Right now I am working with a panel from Timeless Treasures and plotting out how to use red, gold and black to give my bland guest room some pop. I hope that our guests feel the power of the red as our powerful appreciation of them

Shellie said...

Hi, I just realized I don't have enough red around my house! Need to work on that. I am getting ready to make my first spiderweb quilt and decided to use red for my solid accent.

QuiltyCara said...

My bedroom is painted brick red and I love it. I was a off-white, taupe person and just decide what the heck and painted it red. It was a huge leap for me. Something I need to try and do in quilting. I tend to pick the same colors over and over.

Mary Nordeng said...

What? YOu mean I can only coose one favorite? Too bad. I love my deep red leather club chair and ottoman. Also love my red dishes, the quilt on my bed, the red accessories in the master bath, the red walls in my entryway, and the red in both my kids' hair.

Jane said...

Katie: Red is a color I like for two reason. We are ex-military family that lived out in Washington DC. Needless to say I have a lot of RED, white, and blue quilts, wall hangings, and table runners that compliment our military past. Second - We use to live in the state of NE, where GO BIG RED is almost the state song. We still have a lot of RED Nebraska items for memories. Thanks for the tips on color.

Barb Thompson said...

The only thing red in my house were clothes and not many in red. I've never like the color red, it always reminds me of Christmas. I do have red fabric on my self, maybe my next project should include some red.

Unknown said...

Red is one my favorite power colors. I have a wonderful suit that I like to wear to meetings if I need to feel positive and professional.
But I'm also working on the red & white Crabapple Hill quilt since I'm a big fan of redwork (by hand!). It's a fun pattern because it is almost like a block of the month club quilt since it uses different type of blocks and different sizes of blocks.

Shelly S. said...

Since I grew up in Nebraska it is a given that I love Red. I may wear purple on Sunday or Mondays but still on Saturdays it is RED! The first yellow brick road quilt I did should have been the red brick road. It was all reds. I made it for my mom.
Katie, LOVE THE COUCH! Thanks for posting pictures of it. It is great!

Patty Conradt said...

I love my son's Case IH themed room!! It is full of Red walls, tractors and blankets. Nothing says Hello like RED.

Marilyn Teskey said...

Red is the color of all my favorite pieces of clothing. I always feel great wearing a red blouse, sweater, shirt or jacket. Red chairs in the living room make it so homey.

Kaye K. said...

Not much red at my house! My favorite red quilt now lives at my sister's house--it was a tomato red from Fig Tree Designs. When I was working I would wear red socks on Fridays, in honor of one of my favorite coworkers, John Leininger.

Barb Kime said...

Hi Katie,
My favorite red items are the big comfy couch and red accent candles in the TV room.

Diane D. said...

My red room is my favorite. I am from Nebraska and have painted the walls in a room with a Nebraska red. I even have a large red Teddy Bear in the room with a Nebraska bow around his neck. I have covered the walls with pictures of my family and it is where I go when I get a little homesick.

I use to have a boss who thought that when a woman wore red they should be avoided at all costs. One day - all the women in the office wore red. It was a hoot to watch him avoid all of us!

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