I was talking to Carol Dean Sharpe of SandFibers the other day about beads, my Xanadu necklace and Botswana agate. She and I are both lovers of this humble material with its wide range of striations and subtle colors.
At one point she made the simple observation that the pieces in this necklace are pink Botswana agate. I knew this on some level of course, I saw it, bought it and have worked with it. Yet, when she said that I suddenly saw the material in a totally different light and immediately decided to pair it with pink opal at some point.
It happened again tonight! I was discussing a custom order with Janice at Naftali. I asked her to make me a June Bug green bead. I plan to add June Bug wing covers to the final piece so I wanted it to be close.
She asked me what June Bug green was-- an obvious question for someone unfamiliar with the little creatures. I found a picture and her response was that it was emerald green.
Of course it is! I felt a little silly. Emerald green is a common easily recognizable color, so why didn't I just say that in the first place-- or at least the second place when I found out that she was unfamiliar with June Bugs?
I'm not sure. It has to do with the way I think of, or don't think of, color. It has to do with me not aligning things in my mind. I have a tendancy, I think, to view a color as a stand alone thing until I'm shown that it actually links up with other things-- that the same color is shared by something else.
This sounds odd and I'm not sure what I'm getting at. It just happened twice this week that someone has made me think of a certain color in a totally different light than I'd perceived it before. It's fascinating. Little ah-ha moments. (Or are the duh moments?)
And now I'm wondering what it all means, of course, and if there's a way to use it to my advantage.
It means, to me, that life is full of little discoveries around every corner and each of those is a small blessing ;)
ReplyDeletei actually tend to think the same way about color, so i completely understand where you are coming from. i associate color with a particual object more often than not. and here in new orleans, i am not the only one. we actually have a lilac color that we refer to as "K & B Purple" because their logo was this shade of lilac.
ReplyDeleteHm... The post made me think... Yep, me too - I usually think of a an item in terms of its color. Sounds odd, I know ;)
ReplyDeleteCool to read about similar experience from different people! :)
I've seen June Bugs. I've marveled at their colors, the subtle hues, the beauty of their shells in sunlight...
ReplyDeleteI've only seen emeralds in locked cases under glass in false fluorescent light.
If you told me your new bead was to be emerald green, I'd think of legendary cities and untouchable precious objects.
If you told me your new bead was June Bug green, I'd think of earthy tones and beautiful sunset hums and hot summer nights and color in flight.
I guess it's just a matter of perspective and experience:)