The absence of colour

All this year I have been exploring colour, the moods and emotions that are evoked by certain colours and my response to them.  But have you ever thought about the absence of colour? 

I was amazed to learn this week that the riot of colour we are enjoying this Autumn is actually caused by the absence of chlorophyll (the green colour in leaves).  So the lovely pinks and reds in my picture were always present in this little tree but were completely swamped by green.  They only become apparent when the tree moves into its dormant winter state and stops producing chlorophyll. Amazing!

Thank you BBC4 The Great British Year, I have changed my view of colour.

Study in blue

This simple embroidery is a lovely way of using up odd bits of knitting wool and fancy yarns.  I have kept it to just two different stitches, straight and French knots, but by varying the length of stitch and the width of the yarn the effects are quite dramatic.  It's worked on hessian which has the advantage of being a very open weave: the warp and weft move to accommodate huge slubs but then close around finer threads.

It's very therapeutic - not only because it used up so many bits but it doesn't require much thought or planning. I did it as a demonstration piece at Yarndale 2015 and most of it was completed whilst standing up, talking to visitors.