Sunday, June 01, 2008

A History of Color

This weekend I asked some friends for help on a writing project. My task was to explore the idea of my favorite color for myself and my art. As I recently mentioned, periwinkle is my favorite color and it has been ever since I can remember. But I was at a loss for how to describe the color or why I like it.
My friend Wendy did a little research. According to the Wiki on periwinkle (there's a Wiki on periwinkle?), it is a desaturated color. Wendy says that means it's subtle and nuanced.
Crayola says periwinkle is #7 on their list of favorite colors. Personality traits associated with periwinkle blue are serenity, purity, and infinity. (Infinitely what?) In China, periwinkle blue is symbolic of immortality. (Oh.) Philosophy graduates' tassels are this color because it represents deliberation, introspection, and conservatism.
Blue, particularly periwinkle blue, rarely occurs in nature. It does occur in two of my favorite things, certain varieties of lilacs, and certain varieties of twilight sky. Honeybees are known to prefer flowers with blue hues.
There is a site for The Periwinkle Foundation, which is dedicated to helping children with cancer. They explain that the flower that shares the name and color periwinkle contains components used to fight cancer.
I've always loved color, and I know certain colors are symbolic of certain meanings. Red can mean anger or passion, purple is used to indicate royalty. That sort of thing. I had no idea this history and meaning behind a color could be so rich, and personal. Seriously, if you know me, this is a little creepy.

1 comment:

Crystal Laine said...

This is amazingly YOU! I was amazed and I'm a long time student of color. It's so spot on.