Seeing Colour Anew
Colour is often where we begin ~ and where we get lost.
Open any box of dyes, threads, or fabric scraps and the choice can be overwhelming. Every hue calls for attention. Every combination suggests another possibility.
In that noise, it’s easy to lose sight of what we’re really trying to say.
So at Artybird Carnforth, we start differently. We begin with a limit.
The Power of Constraint
In our Design for Textile courses and DesignPlus groups, one of the first exercises is to build a small palette ~ two or three colours, plus variations of light and dark. It sounds simple, but it’s surprisingly challenging. We’re so used to having every option available that choosing just a few feels risky, even restrictive.
And yet, something remarkable happens.
When colour is limited, imagination expands.
With fewer choices, we start to see more clearly. Tonal relationships, texture, and composition come into focus. Decisions feel lighter.
Instead of asking “what colour should I use?” we ask “what feeling do I want this to carry?”
A constraint becomes a pathway.
Finding Confidence in Constraint
Artists often describe a quiet shift during these early sessions. At first, there’s hesitation ~ will this be enough? But within a day or two, that doubt turns into curiosity. New harmonies appear in unexpected places.
The eye relaxes. The work finds balance.
A limited palette also brings confidence. There’s no need to chase a perfect combination ~ you already know your boundaries. Within them, there’s freedom to play, layer, and risk more boldly. Each choice feels deliberate, connected to the next.
One participant said recently, “I used to add colour when I felt unsure. Now I take it away.”
That’s design thinking at work: every element earns its place.
Colour as Conversation
Across our DesignPlus groups, artists share their palettes on camera ~ holding up felt, paint, or stitch samples to compare notes. What emerges is less a classroom and more a conversation.
Someone in Alberta might show the way winter light cools her greys; a maker in Cumbria might share the warmth of local wool.
Distance disappears. What remains is the shared language of colour.
These moments reveal how learning together changes what we notice.
Colour stops being personal preference; it becomes relational ~ one tone responding to another, one maker to the next.
More Than a Palette
Working with limited colour teaches something beyond composition. It reminds us that creativity grows in clear spaces.
Just as we trim a palette to find clarity on the page, we sometimes need to trim the noise in our practice to reconnect with why we make.
Less distraction.
More intention.
Less panic.
More play.
The Invitation
If you’ve ever felt stuck at the start of a project - too many options, too little certainty - you already know how powerful constraint can be.
The DesignPlus programme at Artybird Carnforth builds that clarity into the heart of the learning process: monthly sessions, small groups, shared reflection, and steady encouragement.
Whether you’re in Cumbria, Canada, or anywhere in between, you’re welcome to join us and see what happens when colour becomes conversation.
👉 Join a free DesignPlus Discovery Call to meet our community and “Find Your Birds.”