The swirls that look green and the swirls that look blue are the same color.  Yes, really. Published by Akioshi Kitaoka in 2009, this illusion is based on mixing colors optically.

What you don’t notice at first is that the colors of the thin stripes crossing the swirls are alternating between orange-red and purple. Look closely and you can see that the swirl that appears to be magenta is really a red/purple combination.

By removing the red and purple strips in a corner of the pattern you can see that the swirls without the strips are both the same emerald green.

I first saw this kind of optical mixing in a stripped weaving that a student brought to class. It took me a while to figure out what was happening.

In weaving, mixes do not darken the same way paint, polymer and dyes do.  Instead, alternating colors create what you might think of as a colored light over the pattern. This is what is happening in the optical illusion: the red/green blend appears to have a yellow light over the swirl. The purple/green blend appears to have a blue light over the swirl.

I used to say I could never be a weaver. I wouldn’t have the patience. But when I see how much fun weavers have playing with color I’m half tempted to head over to Ruthie’s community Weaving Studio just a few blocks away here in Portland and become a begineer again. (Just kidding!)

Master weaver Randall Darwall says “Why use five colors when fifty will do nicely.” I’ve lusted after his scarves at many an ACC show. Its difficult to appreciate the movement of color in his weavings from the photographs on his website – I wish I could have been in Chicago last weekend for the American Craft Expo to see his latest work. This link to the fiber artists in the show is the next best thing.