It is with great excitement that I present to you the book Color Fun---Easy Steps to Imaginative Color in Quilts.

Many years ago I was surprised to discover that nature was a wonderful color reference for creating quilt designs. In 1992 my first color book The Magical Effects of Color introduced many of nature’s color concepts. Its immense popularity proved to me that others were as curious about color as I was. After teaching scores of color workshops during the last two decades, I have come to the conclusion that an easier, more visually powerful color book, which focuses on quilters’ most vexing color issues, would be very desirable and a well-used possession. Thus ideas for Color Play began evolving in my mind.

My mission was to present simple, yet fascinating color concepts with easy instructions and tantalizing colors. In order to accomplish this goal Color Play has been divided into three major areas:

Color Play’s first two chapters present the most important and necessary color concepts we need to know in order to create beautiful quilts. There you can learn how colors are grouped naturally, how colors work together in the most beautiful ways, and how you can create great designs through intensity, value, and temperature changes.

Color Play’s second major color section is presented in the next six chapters. There twenty-four of the world’s most beautiful colors are featured, along with some of their loveliest color companions. Nature photos, computer-made block patterns, paint-chip illustrations, and fabric illustrations are assembled to introduce these colors and present them in some of their greatest color combinations. As well, dozens of stunningly beautiful quilts help illustrate the magnificent diversity of these colors.

Color Play’s last major presentation is similar to having dessert in the color world. In this final chapter the most irresistible illusions are featured. You, too, will be able to create depth, luminosity, luster, shadows, highlights, iridescence, opalescence, and transparency by following the guidelines introduced. Many quilts using color illusions are exhibited throughout this book.

I hope you will find Color Play to be a beautiful color reference that entices, stimulates, clarifies, and informs. Have fun playing with color in both simple and extraordinary ways.

Enjoy!

Joen

BOOK REVIEWS for COLOR PLAY

1. Reviewed by David Coffin, senior editor of THREADS MAGAZINE, May 2001

“In the afterglow of enjoying a virtuoso performance in any medium, it’s not unnatural for the aspiring practitioner to feel renewed enthusiasm for their own efforts, to want to get back in shape, play those scales, or even to seek out some additional training. In the area of color for quilters (or any other fiber art), Joen Wolfrom has for nearly a decade provided superb support and insight with her previous C & T books The Magical Effects of Color (1992), and The Visual Dance (1995). In Color Play, she continues by offering almost the equivalent of a series of scale exercises for the color student. The core of this book is divided into chapters, each featuring three to six closely related hues, such as “yellow, golden, chartreuse,” until she encompassed the entire color wheel. In each chapter, she explores basic schemes within that color family (such as “split-complement,” or “analogous”}, using natural images, paint-chip-like color swatches, color-wheel diagrams, value-scales, and computer-generated traditional quilt blocks, both singly and repeated, to demonstrate a wide range of immediately useable color effects. Of course, there are gallery pages as well, featuring finished quilts in all styles that are great examples of, or can easily be analyzed with, these same basic schemes. In her opening chapters, all these basic schemes are introduced as exemplified in nature, along with crystal-clear examples of all the most useful color terminology, such as value, tint, shade, and so forth. Finally, Wolfrom closes with a chapter demonstrating “Irresistible Illusions,” such as depth, luminosity, and transparency, using, as before, color effects within natural images, real quilts, and computer graphics. Although she occasionally suggests design exercises based on her presentations, Wolfrom’s primary intension is for you to use Color Play as a reference when planning work, analyzing the work of others, and unveiling your appreciation of natural imagery.”

2. As reviewed by Mary Dacres, Editor, of I LOVE QUILTING BOOK CLUB, Issue 39, January 2001

“All work and no play makes quiltmaking not half as fun as it should be. What is a quilt, after all, but color at play? Joen Wolfrom is here to make selecting colors one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of your quiltmaking! You’ll find simple secrets to making colors work together in the most tantalizing ways…foolproof techniques for choosing color schemes…and loads of block illustrations, fabric swatches, hue charts and an incredible gallery of 75 masterfully colored quilts. Simple steps to stunning color! The good news: you don’t need a formal education on color to create beautiful quilts. The even better news: Joen offers an easy-to-understand explanation of the few simple, yet powerful color guidelines you do need to know. You’ll find answers to your most vexing color issues, ways to make color perform some fascinating visual tricks, and more---including how to: create dynamic designs through changes in intensity, value and temperature; select colors that convey a specific mood---from a sophisticated; monochromatic look to a playful triadic color scheme; use nature as your inspiration---from the fragile hues of spring to the warm shades of autumn; and enhance your quilts with depth, luminosity, luster, shadows, highlights and other glorious color illusions that are fun to use and surprisingly easy to create.

Oh, the possibilities! Whether you’re partial to “Blissful Blues,” “Yummy Yellows,” or “Rambunctious Reds,” you’ll find a treasure-trove of ideas and inspirations in Color Play. One by one, Joen explores 24 colors and how to partner them with their loveliest companions, as illustrated in block and whole-quilt illustrations. You’ll find advice on using each color in the five major color schemes---monochromatic, complementary, analogous, split-complementary and triadic. This is just the beginning; apply what you learn in this book to tap into the full spectrum of color-play possibilities.

Be inspired. Be very inspired. Color Play is a timeless reference for any skill level, whether you work with traditional quilt settings, nature scenes, or any other design. Not only will this book help you achieve the exact look and feeling you’re after in your quilts, it will open your eyes to the glory of full=color quilting!”

(ILQBC, PO Box 9263, Central Islip, NY 11722-9263; quilt@mbsmm.com.)