First Friday Open Studio, Where do Colors come from?

Hello from the humid Midwest! We finally got a break today from the heavy and hot weather, which means I am now mentally coherent enough to send an update.

First Friday Open Studio

This Friday is Canton's "First Friday" event and Hall of Fame weekend! I have enjoyed getting to work on lots of weaving this summer, and I hope that I will see some visitors at my open studio. I will be open from 5-9pm, doing live weaving demonstrations, and selling artwork. If you come and buy things from the studio, I always try to figure out a good deal. There are many pieces in my studio that are older and I want to find them a good home.

My studio is 318 Cleveland Ave NW, which is in between Milestone Board Games and Second April Studios. Lots of artists will be open on Friday night as well as vendors on the street. I only have one "football" related artwork, but maybe other things will catch your eye if you stop by.

The importance of Color

In the studio, I am working on my new series of pieces that are based on colors that I chose myself. Working with color and textiles is one of my favorite things about my practice. There are a lot of color theory experiences that can happen when different tones of yarn intersect in the warp (the vertical threads) and the weft (the horizontal). Up close, there appear to be tiny dots of different colors, but at a distance the colors start to blend and make new hues. These colors can shift and change in different lights and different times of the day.

As I create these new pieces, I have been thinking a lot about where my love of color and abstraction comes from. I have been near-sighted since sometime in 2nd grade when I discovered that I paid much more attention to what was happening when I sat closer to the chalkboard. (we still had those in 1992). I started wearing glasses, and the world was clearer, but something about my spectacled vision felt off or strange. I still get close to things and take off my glasses to make sure what I am seeing is real. However, the colors I can see always remain consistent an true. When I take my glasses off, my -7.25 myopia starts to blur things together, combining colors and textures into blobs and shapes. Much like my colorful weavings, I have much different experiences with objects that are closer and farther away. In some subconscious way, I think my work is away to have others experience how I see things.

Looking at work I have created since the start of my weaving journey, I always find ways to add color or use color in interesting ways. I collect or research colors by taking many (200 images) of sunsets, parks, stoplights, car washes, and other phenomenon where I find color and light. When I make my work, I want to capture that moment or that feeling of seeing those colors and hopefully share that experience with someone else. Everyone sees color differently, and I am always curious to find out what memories or experiences people will associate with my work when they see it.

I like to experiment with color, but that makes it sound more haphazard than what actually happens in the studio. I make MANY many small sketches, charts, graphs, and samples before I dive into a new project. I want to have the most awareness of what colors are going to look like and act like in a piece before any dye happens. I have lots of color combinations that are in notebooks and on my tablet that I still want to make, and some that will sublimate up through my subconscious into new work.

Dyeing colors into yarn is my most favorite, and also most stressful part of my practice. After all the sketches and plans, I want the yarn to look like the things I draw. However, there are a lot of factors that can very quickly change what color or how strong of a color the yarn will become. My professor, Janice Lessman-Moss used to tell is that "dyeing is a crapshoot", meaning that even if all the conditions are correct, something could still happen to change the outcome of the color. I have learned to embrace some of this shift, as it goes with the abstraction that I am trying to achieve in my work. Even though I want the yearn to be a perfect "stoplight red" sometimes it comes out more pink or orange. I have to choose in that moment to embrace these new colors, or try to dye the yarn again. The hardest part is waiting for the yarns to dry, revealing what color they will be in the final weaving.

The final color shift that happens in textiles is when it's actually woven into a structure. Some structures favor the warp, some the weft, and some are balanced, which all determines how your eyes will mix the colors together. It is always interesting to see if my color "math" lines up and I get the blends that I want, or if there is a new surprise in front of me on the loom. The actual weaving of a piece does not take as long as the other three steps. I often feel like I am my own weaving employee that is creating work for my other artist self. I do like to stop and take in-process shots, just in case I ever want to make another similar piece.

Color is important and enriches our lives. I obviously do not follow the trend of keeping things "minimal" in my art, or in my house, where every room is a different color. Each person has their own relationships with colors, their emotions and their meanings. I think that as an artist, one of my goals is to bring more color to my community, and to anyone who takes home a piece of my artwork.

Thanks for reading all this way! Your reward this month is old pics of me doing funny things with my art. I hope you have a wonderful August, and hopefully we get a nice transition into fall! I will be at my studio each First Friday for 5-9pm, or you can always reach out and make an appointment to have a studio visit.

Until next time!
Stephen Tornero