Colorful Inspiration for National Relaxation Day

August 15 is National Relaxation Day. If you’re like me and not being productive makes you feel like a slug, celebrate National Relaxation Day with me and my favorite mode of relaxation—with inspiration. With the right tools in your toolbox, getting inspired can be a breeze, and what a great way to spend National Relaxation Day. Here are some ideas for how to get inspired.

Mimic Mother Nature

Nature is my first and foremost source of inspiration. Using beadwork to capture the beauty of a butterfly or to replicate the colors of the changing fall leaves is a common theme for bead artists everywhere. Go for a walk around your neighborhood, watch a nature documentary, or visit a botanical garden with your camera to collect some inspiration from the natural world around you.

Consult the Color Wheel for Inspiration

Color theory is a subject that all artists should strive to learn and understand. Using the color wheel to help you select colors is a great way to create color palettes for beading. Eventually, it’ll be second nature to you and selecting colors will no longer be such a daunting task.

Scribble with Colored Pencils

Another method of developing a color palette and experimenting with color is to “swatch” with colored pencils (affiliate link). Try sampling colors from a zendoodle or coloring book page that you’ve already completed and scribble them on a blank piece of paper side-by-side to see what you like.

Echo Your Favorite Interior Design Schemes

Whether it’s a decorative vase, an abstract painting, or a hand-me-down rug—echoing the colors and patterns of one special item throughout the décor for a room will make it all cohesive and pleasing to the eye. Try the same thing with beading! Peruse home magazines or surf the web to find an interior design scheme that really flips your bippie. Then echo the colors and patterns to create a piece of beadwork that you are sure to love.

Match Your Mood

Sometimes you are just feeling a color. Or maybe you go through phases where your eye is just attracted to a certain color that keeps popping up everywhere. Think of the feeling you get from a colorful sunset, a favorite painting, or a sunny day at the beach. Imbue that feeling into your beadwork by using color, texture, and materials. Every time you look at the piece, you’ll be magically transported back to that mood.

What’s your favorite method for gathering inspiration? Let us know in the comments!

Meredith Steele
Technical Editor, Beadwork magazine

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