UPPE RCASE for the creative and curious
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full spectrum
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COLOURS BY WENDY BRIGHTBILL agirlandherbrush.com
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WELCOME A message from Janine Vangool O R I G I N A L LY P U B L I S H E D J U LY-A U G U S T-S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4
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Dear Readers, Whether a subtle shade or vibrant value, colour is the jumping-off point for creative exploration and personal expression. Colour offers endless inspiration . . . and as designers, illustrators, artists and craftspeople, we all share this passion for pigment. I’ve wanted to do a colour-themed U P P E R CA S E issue for a number of years, but the topic is so broad and so abundant with possibility that it was seemingly overwhelming. How could I deal with the topic in one single issue? After editing and art directing over 20 issues, I finally felt that I was ready to take on the challenge. I gave myself some rules to follow: 1) The issue would be organized RoyG-Biv-style, going from red at the front of the book through to violet at the last page. 2) The arrangement of the content and structure of the magazine would stay the same as any other issue of UPPERCASE . I didn’t want the effect to be heavy-handed and with every spread over-saturated, but rather I’d take a more subtle approach in the choice of topic and the selection of images. With these guidelines in place, I assigned and curated content—sharing my art-directed rainbow concept with our contributors and featured artists along the way. Thank you to everyone who shared my vision and helped make this particular issue extra special.
UPPERCASE a magazine for the creative and curious
MAGAZINE AND EDITOR OF THE YEAR
I’m blushing: UPPERCASE was named Magazine of the Year at the Alberta Magazine Awards 2014, and received a Gold for Best Art Direction of a Single Issue (#18), and I received recognition as Editor of the Year 2014.
Enjoy this full spectrum of inspiration!
JA N I N E VA N G O O L publisher, editor, designer
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UPPERCASE / 3
CONTENTS 3
W E LCO M E
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Masthead/Contributors Subscriptions
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S N I P P E TS
9
Experience Holi Festival of Colour by Rashi Birla
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Creature Red Alerts by Glen Dresser illustrated by Melanie Luther 12 Blog Beautiful Tiffany Pratt by Cara Howlett photos by Tara McMullen
J U LY A U G U S T S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4
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FINE PRINT
16 Library Little Red Books by Nikki Sheppy 18 Beginnings Janet Hill by Adrienne Breaux 24
Business A Practical Guide to Choosing a Colour Palette for Your Brand by Courtney Eliseo illustrated by Antonio Brasko
26 Abecedary Colour by Jude Stewart
P H OTO BY C O N STA N Z E G U H R constanzeguh r.blogspot.com
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Perspective Synesthesia: A is for Red written and illustrated by Nadia Hassan
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Ephemera Colour Charts by Correy Baldwin collection by Andrea Wickert
CONTENTS
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A RT & D E S I G N
36 Cover Artist Shelley Davies 40
Collection Handpainted Labels by Rob Saunders and 42-Line
44
Creative Careers Living Colour by Cara Howlett collage by Shelley Davies
49 Discover The Urge to Paint by Scott Linder 50 Recollection DayGlo Color by Tina Jett 52 Sketchbook Painted Pages Jennifer Orkin Lewis 58
Gallery Modern Paint Colourful Spontaneity Jennifer Mercede by Vinciane de Pape
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Modern Paint Drawing from the Well Belinda Marshall by Christina Crook
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Modern Paint Moments in Time Kristin Texeira text and photos by Tammy Lamoureux
76 Reader Submissions What Does Colour Mean to You? 82 Hobby Paint-by-Number by Brendan Harrison 84 Art Trey Speegle
P L AC E S/ S PAC E S 86 86
Studio Noon Design Studio by Cara Howlett photos by Nancy Neil
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Snapshot Tiny PMS Match by Inka Mathew
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C RA F T
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Material Indigo: True Blue by Linzee Kull McCray
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Lesson Tie-Dye by Shabd Simon-Alexander
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Guide Oaxacan Natural Dyeing Workshop by Kristine Vejar Dye Workshops compiled by Cara Howlett
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ST Y L E
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Wardrobe Jessi Arrington by Tiffany Pratt photos by Zach Mershon, Creighton Mershon and Mindy Best
108 Stylist Trend Bible by Jane Audas 110 Kitchen Mmmmeringues: Blackberry Stained Meringues Recipe story and photos by Tara O’Brady 112
M I SC .
112 Subscriber Profiles 113 Peeps 114
Covet For the Love (Hate) of Purple by Andrea Jenkins
P H OTO BY A D R I E N N E V I TA adriennevita.com
MASTHEAD
U P P E R C A S E M AG A Z I N E
ANTONIO BRASKO is a creative director, designer and futurist from Tampa, Florida. His clients include Nike, adidas, Dr. Martens, Adobe and more. He also designs collections for Norwood, his Portland-based headwear and apparel brand.
“ F O R T H E C R E AT I V E A N D C U R I O U S ” J A N I N E VA N G O O L
publisher, editor, designer janine@uppercasemagazine.com
antoniobrasko.com norwoodusa.com
UPPERCASE
C U S TO M E R S E R V I C E
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COURTNEY ELISEO Along with her husband, Courtney Eliseo owns and operates Seamless Creative, a boutique design studio specializing in brand development for small businesses. Additionally, she shares her love of design through her blog, Design Work Life, which has been spreading design inspiration near and far since 2008.
Printed in Canada by The Prolific Group.
writer, development glen@uppercasemagazine.com
The interior paper is made from 100% post-consumer recycled stock.
E R I N B AC O N
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CARA HOWLETT
NADIA HASSAN lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with her partner, his two kids and her grey cat named Toby. When she is not occupied by her day job as a web designer in higher education or her freelance job as a surface pattern designer, you can find her curled up with a good book, or scouring thrift stores for unexpected treasures.
marketing & editorial assistant cara@uppercasemagazine.com CORREY BALDWIN
copyeditor, writer
C O N T R I B U TO R S CORREY BALDWIN ADRIENNE BREAUX
nadiahassan.com
O R I G I N A L LY P U B L I S H E D
GLEN DRESSER B R E N DA N H A R R I S O N
TAMMY JEAN LAMOUREUX is a photographer, artist, traveller and general assembler of curios. She still works with film and uses her father’s old camera to capture the world. Tammy currently lives in Boston in a little house with a big back porch.
CARA HOWLETT
lamourdelaphoto.com
CHRISTINA CROOK V I N C I A N E D E PA P E
J U LY-A U G U S T-S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 4
ANDREA JENKINS TA R A O ’ B R A DY NIKKI SHEPPY
TINA JETT is an artist and vintage dealer in Northern California. Aside from creative pursuits, she is a big fan of exploring the globe, useless trivia, film, sarcasm and stuffing her face with good eats. Her husband describes her by saying, “It’s like she lives in a colouring book.”
A D D I T I O N A L C O N T R I B U TO R S Rashi Birla, Melanie Luther, Tiffany Pratt, Tara McMullen, Courtney Eliseo, Antonio Brasko, Jude Stewart, Nadia Hassan, Andrea Wickert, Shelley Davies, Rob Saunders, Scott Linder, Tina Jett, Jennifer Orkin Lewis, Jennifer Mercede, Belinda Marshall, Kristin Texeira, Tammy Jean Lamoureux, Trey Speegle, Noon Design Studio, Nancy Neil, Inka Mathew, Linzee Kull McCray, French General, Rowland Ricketts, Rebecca Desnos, Beth McTear, Shabd Simon-Alexander, Kristine Vejar, Jessi Arrington, Zach Mershon, Creighton Mershon, Mindy Best, Jane Audas. Thank you to all of our readers who submitted their work, including Lisa Rivas, Wendy Brightbill, Constanze Guhr, Adrienne Vita, Gabriella Buckingham, Tracey English, Ximena Escobar, Erika Rier, Satsuki Shibuya, Coco Dowley, Debbie Kendall, Kathryn Cole, Shae Leviston, Saskia Wassing, Rebecca Silus, Cathy Heck, Aunyarat Watanabe, Susy Martins, Susan Douglas, Kerrie More, Jenny Johnson, Kate Austin, Kristen Solecki, Rhiannon Connelly and Marisa Edghill.
tinajett.com
LINZEE KULL McCRAY lives in Iowa. She loves writing about textiles and craft, interviewing artists and designers, grubbing in her garden, sewing, knitting, travelling, swimming and walking her dog, Pearl. Her book about the influence of place on art quilters will appear in 2015. linzeekullmccray.com
JUDE STEWART writes about design and culture for Slate, The Believer, Fast Company and Design Observer, among others. As a contributing editor for Print, she writes a twice-monthly online column about colour and pattern. Her first book, ROY G. BIV: An Exceedingly Surprising Book About Color, is available now from Bloomsbury.
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judestewart.com
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SATSUKI SHIBUYA satsukishibuya.com
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UPPERCASE / 7
SNIPPETS COLOUR YOUR WORLD PIE CHART Made with luxurious lambswool, woven in Scotland and handmade in their London studio, this colourful pie chart rug is perfect for a punch of colour.
donnawilson.com ALL THINGS PRETTY This gorgeous flower is available as a print from Amanda Graus’ Etsy shop along with gold foil prints, original paintings and illustrations. “I am a lover of all things pretty and love to share my creativity with others who have the same passion.”
allthingsprettyblog. etsy.com
ANNE AND JUAN Dedicated to sustainable textiles, this Etsy shop has Merino wool dyed by using birch leaves, madder, indigo and iron as well as dip-dyed hooks and needles. annaundjuan.etsy.com
NOTED
TWIGGS BINDERY
WATERCOLOURS FROM FLOWERS
A SENSIBLE HABIT
Jonna Twigg and her Brooklyn-based bindery produce these spectrum hardbacks for people who love books and value the art of handcraft. twiggsbindery.com
Rose James sells these stunning handmade watercolour paints made from natural flowers. She also stocks gorgeous kantha quilts and cushions for your colourful home. gypsya.etsy.com
Brandy Schuman paints these flour sack tea towels by hand. No two are alike and will definitely make your kitchen or dining experience more lively. asensiblehabit.com
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HOLI FESTIVAL OF COLOUR STORY AND PHOTOS BY RASHI BIRLA
M
y first memories of playing Holi mostly feel like a Technicolor blur, but I don’t know if that’s because those memories are more than two decades old or because Holi really is big blur of coloured powder, flashes of people running and laughter. Holi is a Hindu holiday marking the start of spring and known as the “festival of colours.” In recent years, its popularity has spread to Western culture, giving rise to events such as the Color Run. Though there is religious and cultural significance to the holiday, in common practice Holi is simply celebrated exactly as it’s seen in photos—people run around an open field throwing brightly coloured powder on each other. Some people up the ante and add water guns and water balloons to the mix. The powder comes in an amazing range of colours: reds, blues, yellows, greens and pinks. When the powders mix together, they create an incredible, saturated palette of colour that’s a visual feast. I haven’t had the chance to celebrate Holi very much as an adult, not until this past spring in Philadelphia. The kid in me was thrilled at the opportunity to make a big, colourful mess, and the designer in me was just as thrilled to make a big, colourful mess (and attempt to capture it on camera). We started the day with new, white shirts and clean skin. Within a few moments, we were all transformed into more colourful versions of ourselves, with only our bright white smiles left untouched by the bursts of colour. No one playing Holi that day was spared from becoming a canvas covered in colour. Strangers on the field became friends as hits of powder were exchanged, music blared from loud speakers as mini-dance parties erupted continuously, and loud laughs filled the air. As a kid, I remember sticking my hand into a bowl of powder and pulling out a fistful of colour that I tossed up in the air. Sprinkles of colour fell onto my head and on everyone else around me. As an adult, that feeling is just as exhilarating. How often are we able to create a mess with such abandon? And such a beautiful mess at that.
rashibirla.com
UPPERCASE / 9
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CREATURE
TEXT BY GLEN DRESSER ILLUSTRATED BY MELANIE LUTHER
Cells, signals, capillary loops and colour-receptive creatures.
I
n 1849, Lord Alfred Tennyson published the poem “In Memoriam, A.H.H.” in which he penned the line “Nature, red in tooth and claw.” The stanza speaks to the difficulty in balancing religious faith with the earliest ideas of evolution. After Darwin published On the Origin of Species a decade later, Tennyson’s phrase became a popular reference to the often bloody nature behind natural selection. This wasn’t the only phrase that linked that colour to our more primal side; “seeing red” evoked the idea of a bull charging at a red-caped matador. There is no colour that invokes the primal more than red. And yet the reason we see those hues comes from a very different element of our nature. Eyesight in most organisms consists of two types of cells: rods and cones. Rods are useful for low light, and are most numerous in nocturnal creatures, from cats to owls, and in humans are low in number and primarily on the periphery. Cones are responsible for detecting colour. The type of cones present in any animal’s eyes determines its ability to see different colours. Many birds and fish have four types of cones (tetrachromacy), and can see not only the red, green and blue colour range that we see, but ultraviolet colours as well. Each avian cone-cell contains a microscopic drop of oil that acts as a sort of filter, with different hues imbuing different qualities: reddish drops, for example, help seabirds see for long distances through hazy conditions. Mammals are less colour-receptive in general; most have the ability to see greens, blues and yellows: dichromacy. Deep sea whales such as the sperm whale have few cones and might see with monochromatic vision. With a few exceptions, there hasn’t been a particular evolutionary need for most mammals to develop the cones necessary to see red. But sometime in our past, our ancestors became trichromats. Primates began developing the ability to see red hues as a natural selection trait that allowed them to find both red fruits and young, reddish leaves, which were particularly high in nutrients. A similar trait developed in marsupials that consumed a similar leaf-and-fruit diet. In a world of green leaves, those who could see ripe fruits and berries, and the freshest leaves, became foragers of the most discriminating nature. That era in our past opened up a whole world that we would otherwise not be able to see; a world in which red is a code between allies, enemies, lovers. The red of a zinnias, salvia and columbine best attract the attention of pollinating hummingbirds, as well as trichromatic insects, including bees and butterflies.
Sometimes the function of red is as much about who cannot see the colour as who can. Dichromacy in a foe is something animals can exploit. The sockeye salmon spends much of its life living in the ocean, and during these years it is relatively tame in colour—pale blue to blend with the sea and get some measure of protection from orcas (who see colour far better than their deep-sea cousins). But as they swim upstream near the end of their lives to mate, the males become bright red, a display for their prospective mates, but one made possible by the change in predators: less colour-perceptive bears and birds-of-prey will still catch their share, but not because of the salmon’s colour. Similarly, many songbirds have bright colours that seem to feature primarily in social interactions and mating rituals, but that don’t necessarily expose them to their greatest predators—birds-of-prey, as well as rodents and other mammals—who do not hunt by colour recognition. On the other hand, the birds that hunt tree frogs in Costa Rica are very colour-aware, so the strawberry poison dart frog uses its bright red tones as a reminder of their toxicity. We can’t see all the signals out there, though. In addition to seeing ultraviolet colours, some birds (including blue tits) and fish (including ambon damselfish) have ultraviolet markings, which they use for courtship and social interaction. True colour-blindness affects about 4 percent of all humans, mostly male, but on some level we are all a little colour-blind to the full spectrum. We can only speculate as to what it might be like to see with the pentachromatic vision that pigeons are thought to possess. We love to use the full visible spectrum to express ourselves, through our clothing, through our creations. But the peculiar and most human expression, according to Darwin, is blushing. Had we no ability to see red, we likely would not have evolved the areas dense with capillary loops that fill with blood during moments of social anxiety, or embarrassment, or romance. If nature is, as Tennyson said, red in tooth and claw, it is also red in the subtlest social gestures: red in the overt cues to best attract a lover, red in offer of symbiosis. We came to it almost accidentally, but come to it we did and it is ours to do with as we wish. We can link it to bloodlust or courtship or nationalism, or just our mood on this particular morning. We attach what we want to a colour; it speaks to us and we speak through it. U P P E R C A S E / 11
BLOG
BEAUTIFUL
TIFFANY PRATT
colourful beyond question
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q On your website you describe yourself as a stylist and designer who sees the world through heart-shaped, rose-coloured glasses. How would you describe your occupation, and how does your perspective in life affect your career? a I would not describe my work as an occupation so much as a passion for and deep dedication to what I love. Every day I am involved in an array of styling or designing projects that all vary in type and duration. Each of my projects calls on my many skill sets in fashion, interiors, craft and art. I would say that I view each day as a colourful gift. With this grateful and enthusiastic heart, I have been able to attract amazing clients, incredible projects and outstanding opportunities. This state of mind has shaped how I live each day, how my clients feel when we are together and their joy at the beautiful things we create. q You have an extremely creative career that allows you to do so many different things. From styling a person, to art directing an event, to helping a bride plan her wedding, you have an uncommon career path. What is your background and what led you to where you are now? a My career background began in fashion and then just exploded as I became interested in more than just clothing. I wanted my hands in everything so that I could learn how to create the life that I imagined for myself. I renovated a home, planned my sister’s wedding and taught art—to name a few early events that started this party. Now, years later, I’m able to help people in whatever arena they need it. All my skill sets are like colours on a palette and I get to mix them when I am called to do so. It is all connected somehow and one informs the other. If I get to be highly creative and inspire others then I will always say yes to what presents itself. q You once said that hot pink is your favourite colour. Why is this? Are there any specific memories that come to mind when you think of hot pink? a I am a pink person. I always have been and always will be. When I see something in hot pink it makes my heart race. I relate to it. It makes me feel happy, comforted, inspired and at home. I cannot think of an isolated moment when pink first came in and swept me off my feet. All I know is that it is the colour of my heart and I want to see it all the time.
Known for her neon orange hair and enthusiastic, bouncy outlook on life, Toronto-based stylist Tiffany Pratt has created a colourful career for herself that has taken her to the end of the rainbow, and back. INTERVIEW BY CARA HOWLETT P H OTO S B Y TA R A M C M U L L E N
F O R T I F F A N Y P R AT T ’ S LIMITED EDITION POSTERS
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q What role does colour play in your life? a Colour is life energy and one of the most powerful pure forces. It is the air that I breathe. How and why I choose certain colours is deeply personal for me, and I do it with a lot of purpose. I associate people with colours, I see experiences and moments through colours and I always dream of colours. This is why I need to create, make and design. Colour acts as the road map through my life and sets me apart, making who I am and how I see the world special. q Your hair is always strikingly coloured. What first made you decide to colour your hair in such a vibrant way? a I was born a ginger, but it dulled in colour as I got older. I flirted with orange hair for 15 years, floating in and out of vibrancy. Five years ago I decided to take it electric and added pink and now purple. It was a “go big or go home” moment where I decided to really commit to my love for colour. I spread love and colour therapy to the masses by way of my hair. There is no turning back now. Once you have slid down the rainbow, everything else pales in comparison. q Neon-coloured hair suggests that you have a lot of self-confidence. Do you think people react to you differently because of your colourful appearance? How does this benefit or hinder you?
a Neon-coloured hair does suggest confidence. This confidence is required to handle the amount of comment and questioning that I face each day. I did not expect the level of curiosity that my appearance sometimes brings, but I continue to be who I am, as a service not only to my soul but to all the people I meet who I inspire to do the same. Sometimes neon hair implies that you are not professional or involved within a corporate career. This is fun for me to navigate because I can be in a man’s world and play hard, even though I have a rainbow on my head. The juxtaposition is lovely. Don’t judge a book by its colourful cover; it might just be a scholarly read. q What are some of your favourite projects you have worked on? a I cannot pick a favourite. That would be like admitting you had a favourite child or trying to pick only one colour to paint with. However, I did learn a great deal about myself and about business from creating, launching and running my art studio Glitter Pie and the children’s craft product line that followed. These experiences were the launching pad for everything else. q What projects are you working on? a I am pretty excited about life right now. I have dozens of homes that I am working on for some of the coolest people, half a dozen weddings all differently curated and loads of styled photo shoots in the hopper that I am
art directing. I am starring on an HGTV show in Canada, writing my craft book and developing my follow-up craft product line for children. My life is busily bountiful and I am so grateful for all of it and everyone involved. q What do you enjoy most about what you do? a What I love most is that every day I am the ringmaster to this circus that I have erected and it all depends on me. There is something magical about the divine pressure that I feel. It makes me strong, it makes me jump out of bed, feel inspired, push harder, ask more questions, bend time and trust more deeply. My life is a rich experience because I live on the creative edge every day. Somehow I have become comfortable there and it is exhilarating. q As you look towards the future, is your colourful outlook a lifelong style decision, or do you see yourself evolving in the years ahead? a The future feels bright and laced in colour to me. I do not see my colourful outlook as a fleeting style decision or a temporary point of view, although I might tweak things over time and modify items large or small. But overall evolution is inevitable. I know it will come for me one day and I will hug it in my rainbow-loving arms and hope that it will release me into an even bigger, brighter version of what you see today. Stay tuned. tiffanypratt.com U P P E R C A S E / 15
FINE PRINT
READING, WRITING AND THE CRAFT OF PRINT ON PAPER
LITTLE RED BOOKS Mao’s Little Red Book: A Global History ALEXANDER C. COOK, ED. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
P
opularized in miniature crimson editions—portable and protected in slick vinyl covers—Mao’s “little red book” is among the most published and iconic books in history. First published in 1964 as part the Cultural Revolution’s program of political indoctrination, it was initially intended as “an ideological field manual” for soldiers of the People’s Liberation Army. As such, it contains speeches and statements from Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, about war, philosophy, politics and art. The book sold more than a billion copies, was translated into dozens of languages and spread through socialist enclaves around the world. According to this study, this aphoristic “weapon of mass instruction” informed everything from Slavic antiimperialism and Indian Maoism, to Tanzanian ujamaa socialism. It even spawned a revolutionary musical genre—the quotation song—that promulgated key maxims from Mao’s book by making them hummable. These were mnemonic devices laced with musical hooks, and they aired over loudspeakers and were pressed onto vinyl albums to be distributed throughout China. I happen to know that the Little Red Book was also imbibed by Western socialists, for as a child I myself owned a copy. Attracted by its kid-friendly size and sticky, candy-coloured cover, I leafed through the tissue-thin pages, stopping to read the chapter, “Imperialism and All Reactionaries are Paper Tigers.” Although I understood (vaguely) what imperialism was, I still searched for the snarling tigerly sculptures in papier mâché that I imagined, discovering to my consternation that reactionaries only were “real tigers and paper tigers at the same time.” Today my copy retains the mark of my perusal in a purple pencil-crayoned tracing of the Chairman’s military form—large hoops dangle from his earlobes.
RECOMMENDED READING BY NIKKI SHEPPY
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LIBRARY
Capote in Kansas
The Bus We Loved
A Perfect Red
ANDE PARKS AND CHRIS SAMNEE ONI PRESS
TRAVIS ELBOROUGH GRANTA
AMY BUTLER GREENFIELD HARPER PERENNIAL
Dubbed a “drawn n o v e l ,” C a p o t e i n Kansas steers clear of recapitulating Truman Capote’s brilliant 1966 experiment in the non-fiction crime novel, In Cold Blood. T h at b o o k wa s a n investigative novel based on the writer’s research into the 1959 murders of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas, and it reinvigorated his career, arguably overshadowing much of his later work.
London’s Routemaster bus was born at Chiswick Park in 1954, the same year that introduced the Fender Stratocaster guitar, with its shapely double cutaway. Like this sibling, the Routemaster enjoyed tremendous staying power, far outliving its projected 17-year lifespan. In fact, it succeeded in transporting ’50s design principles into the 21st century. One might even say—given that its ancestor was the 19th century horse-drawn omnibus—that it preserved elements of an even older style. Travis Elborough’s chronicle—“more hagiography than history,” he admits—is the story of a charming and resilient bus that people rode every day.
When Mary Queen of Scots bent to the chopping block for treason in 1587, she wore a velvet petticoat and satin bodice, both dark red, as symbols of martyrdom and royalty. In Europe, not everyone could wear the colour—sumptuary laws often forbade those outside of the aristocracy from donning it. Red attire was the prerogative of those with power and money: the coccinati in ancient Rome, royalty, cardinals and the elite.
This graphic novel is less concerned with motive, murder and the subsequent manhunt (or with evidence and trial) than with the few personalities implicated in the tragedy, including the 35-year-old writer. It’s about the haunting of Capote as he confronts the ghosts of the Clutters, the shades of death row inmates Dick Hickock and Perry Smith as they await execution, and Capote’s adviser and childhood friend Harper Lee, author of To Kill A Mockingbird. Treating Capote as a fictional character, the book deliberates on the writer’s psyche to expose the conflict at the heart of the humanist impulse: a devastating identification with one of the victims, and also one of the killers. Written by Ande Parks (DC Comics’ Green Arrow), the story evokes with broad strokes; it doesn’t illuminate or advocate in the style of the “new journalism,” with which Capote’s own book became linked. Its magic realism alludes to a tradition of southern gothic. The art is by Eisner Award-winning Chris Samnee of Daredevil and Rocketeer fame, and it cultivates a crisp noir style as aptly inky in the murder and prison scenes as it is glaring and newsy in the trial scenes. The opening salvo of panels, set in Nancy Clutter’s bedroom, has the expressive quality of woodcuts. This incisive style makes for a macabre study in chiaroscuro.
If speed was the advantage of the Routemaster, danger was the drawback. Later years saw more litigation when an occasional passenger fell from the open platform at the back. But the bus remained faster than models without conductors and open access. It was conceived in postwar austerity, thrived in the heyday of Swinging London, and grew old in the age of mass merchandizing and preservationism. A distinct aura gleams from the swish of red curves, now that the bygone fleet of Routemasters has officially been laid to rest. Elborough recalls the verve of the chassisless body, the quaint grandeur of the upper deck, the anthropomorphic half-cab and bonnet, and the grinning radiator. He invites us to inhale its whiff of omnibus stylings, from the spry angles of the spiral staircase at the rear to the restraint of the Holdsworth moquette upholstery (a yellow-laced maroon tartan designed by Douglas Scott). The Bus We Loved is a swan song for a classic of industrial design—one that recalls its cherry-red London pedigree as a cheeriness amid stone that once beetled along the backwaters of York Way past the gas works and late-night golf range.
Amy Greenfield, who herself comes from a family of dyers, traces the sources of red pigment through history. There was finicky madder, cinnabar, lovely but delible brazilwood, lac, ochre, achiote, vermilion and arseniclaced Venetian scarlet. Dyers struggled over complex mixtures, adding mordants to help dyes better “bite” into the cloth and stay fast. These colours were used in textiles, paints and medicines. They added blush to food and helped purge melancholy. In Rome, desirable red was, like congealed blood, slick and nearly black. In Tenochtitlán, the Aztecs called their prized cactus-fed cochineal the “blood of the nopal,” and with it dyed feathers, fur, tamales and women’s breasts. Greenfield’s book is most of all the story of the rise and fall of this single ingredient—Mexican cochineal—and the wars waged over its tint of privilege. It’s a tale of colonialism, spies, smugglers and dictators, and of artists, inventors and draconian guild laws. Because fortunes could be made—and lost—the brightest cochineal red inspired trade wars and monopolies. It launched expeditions and chemical experiments. Spanish Conquistadors coveted Aztec sources, alongside chocolate, and seized them, spreading slaughter and smallpox. In turn, English raiding parties sent ships to break the Spanish stranglehold through good old-fashioned thievery. A Perfect Red is an adventure story about what we undertake to secure symbolic power.
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BEGINNINGS
PRETTY AND PAINTED
JANET HILL The world is filled with noise: people telling you which careers will be successful and which to avoid. Noise from within, fueled by your fears. If there’s a trick to building a creative career that both sustains your bank account and your soul, it’s focusing on the voice that speaks up when you’re unhappy in an ill-fitting profession. Artist Janet Hill is a skilled and prolific painter whose canvases of colourful, whimsical scenes of home interiors, flower arrangements, fashionable women and sweet treats delight fans around the world. But her best talent has been in letting her instincts guide her into a successful and enviable career.
T
hough Janet drew and doodled when she was growing up in Brampton, Ontario, she doesn’t call her childhood overwhelmingly creative (her parents were both teachers with fairly traditional careers). But she tasted a certain freedom that allowed her imagination to flourish early. “I was born in the ’70s and my childhood was pretty free, which I think was good for the imagination,” says Janet. “I ran around in cornfields and forests, and played wildly inventive games outside with my friends until it was dark.” Janet first considered becoming an artist when she got to college, at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario, where she eventually earned a Fine Arts degree. But her artistic aspirations didn’t continue after graduation. Her perception of the life of an artist—struggle, rejection, poverty—wasn’t appealing. Janet needed a (paying) full-time job, and found work instead in the furniture industry, in the banking industry and in a payroll department. It didn’t take her long to realize that working for other people wasn’t for her, and in 2002 she opened her own retail store, called The Great Dame, in Stratford, Ontario. The store, filled with “French soaps and lovely things,” just wasn’t financially sustainable and she made the painful decision to close it in December 2007. But sometimes life-changing opportunities are disguised as failures: Janet had started painting and STORY BY ADRIENNE BREAUX
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HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOU’RE ON THE RIGHT PATH
“I would never discourage another artist from pursuing art as a career, but I think that it’s always good to be realistic and self-aware. If you are finding it very difficult to make a living from it, then it’s probably not the right career path for you.”
displaying her work in her store, and noticed they grabbed more attention than the rest of her inventory. She took the hint. After closing, she officially began full-time painting, finding success instantaneously—possibly because she never went the formal gallery route. “I was more interested in having control over selling my work, so I started exhibiting my paintings online, and almost immediately I somehow found an audience. It was very unexpected. I had a lot of support and encouragement from my husband and family,” says Janet. She had experimented with online selling on eBay for a year while she still had her store, but when she began painting full-time she moved to Etsy, where she found a better fit with their artistic community. This year, she surpassed 10,000 sales on Etsy. However, selling products on the Internet doesn’t come without its pitfalls. “I have a very awkward relationship with technology,” says Janet. ”I love how the Internet has widened my audience and given me a lot of exposure, and I also really like the immediacy of selling my work online. However, I try to keep my distance from it as well. Last year, I had a very difficult experience with a widespread copyright infringement situation. Some of the people involved in stealing my images were very unpleasant, and it made me realize that not everyone who was viewing my work was honest and sincere. So I approach social media and technology with some caution and I really try to separate myself from my work.” Janet’s success may also have to do with her work ethic: she can complete a painting in three days to three weeks, and aims for a steady stream of three to six new pieces each month. She also sticks to a daily work schedule of answering emails and printing orders in the morning, taking the dog for a walk to clear her mind, then painting all afternoon. Janet currently resides in Stratford, Ontario (also the home, she reports, of the Stratford Festival and Justin Bieber), with her husband and two pets in a cozy Victorian
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SOMETIMES NO MESSAGE IS THE MESSAGE
“My work doesn’t usually carry a message. I’ve heard the term ‘magical realism’ applied to my paintings, which is probably pretty accurate. I often depict people or animals in settings that are relatively normal, but usually extraordinary things are occurring either to them or around them. I think that my customers are people with a sense of humour who enjoy the escapism that my paintings offer.” cottage. Her studio has a screen door that overlooks her peaceful backyard, and it sounds like heaven, especially in the summer. In the winter, the natural palette of greys, whites and browns influences the colours she paints with. “I think the colour in my paintings comes out of pure desperation,” says Janet. “I tend to use a lot of green, coral reds and blues in my work. Lots of cadmium hues mixed with white, which gives them a slightly softer edge. I also have an inexplicable attraction to the colour of life jackets, so maybe that is where my reds and oranges come from.” Although living in a small house is cozy, for someone at the helm of a rapidly expanding business, it’s not always convenient. Over the years, Janet admits her business and career have overflowed from her studio into the rest of the house, with her dining room having been turned into an office and shipping supplies sprinkled everywhere. Janet and her husband are working on plans for a home addition. Janet’s bright future also includes her first book coming out in September—a French-language children’s book based on her “Miss Moon Was a Dog Governess” painting series. In 2015, Janet will have her first solo show in over a decade. Janet will continue painting wonderful scenes that let people escape into colourful worlds of whimsy, but she’ll keep following her instincts, too. “I think it helps to have a distinct style and to follow your natural instincts,” she says. “Sometimes it’s difficult to ignore the voice in your head that questions if others will like your work, but if you can do that, you are free, and that is when you are most likely to do your best work.” 22 / U P P E R C A S E
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BUSINESS
A Practical Guide to Choosing a Colour Palette for Your Brand WRITTEN BY COURTNEY ELISEO • ARTWORK BY ANTONIO BRASKO
BRANDALISM ANTONIO BRASKO “Brandalism is an experimental study on the influence street art and graffiti have had on the fashion world. By utilizing distinct brand marks, iconic colours, and spray cans, the quintessential tool of the graffiti artist, I intend to reintroduce the ideology of vandalism, branding and fashion from a new perspective.”
antoniobrasko.com
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When developing an identity for your brand, colour is one of the most important choices you will make. Colour is an undeniably compelling tool for connection, as it has the power to communicate with your audience quickly, and without saying a word. In fact, many of the world’s most successful brands are so ingrained in our consciousness that we can identify them by colour alone—consider Tiffany’s iconic blue box, Target’s bright cherry red, FedEx’s royal purple. On the flipside, colour is also extremely subjective. When it comes to choosing the palette to represent your brand, it can be a challenge to figure out where to begin. I’ve put together a few practical steps to help guide you through the process and empower you to develop a unique colour palette that will set your brand apart.
STEP 1
STEP 2
DEFINE YOUR BRAND
SURVEY YOUR COMPETITION CREATE A MOOD BOARD
Before you can even begin choosing colours that represent your business, you first need to define who you are on paper. This is no simple task—it can be tough to take enough of a step back from something you are pouring so much time and energy into to look at the big picture. But there is a simple process you can follow to help you.
When developing a brand identity—and a colour palette especially—one of your primary goals should be to set yourself apart from the competition. Using colour is a powerful way to do this.
Using the competitive information you uncovered, as well as the tone you’ve defined, your next step is to create a mood board—a collage of sorts—that will act as a loose visual representation of your brand.
Start by taking a visual survey of all your competitors. Use a Pinterest board or another image gathering app to track their logos and brand identities, and then start looking for patterns within the set. Are they all using a similar colour palette? How many colours are they using? Are all of their colours loud and vibrant? Or quiet and soft?
Begin gathering imagery that represents the tone of your brand. Try to pull from many different sources so that you can assess the overall look of the board without focusing too much on the specific content. The end result should be a harmonious combination of images—each one may represent a different tone, but they’ll come together to represent the brand as a whole.
First, ask yourself a few questions: Who am I trying to reach? Who is my ideal customer? What am I trying to communicate to them? How do I want my customers to feel when they interact with my product or service? These questions are all about your customer, because you should be choosing colours based on how you want to connect with them, as opposed to your personal preferences. Go one step further and define what you do in one sentence. From there, further distill the essence of your brand into just a few words. The goal is to establish the tone or personality that you want to project in as few descriptive words as possible. Try limiting yourself to three adjectives, and no more than five, that define the core of your business.
Chances are there will be at least one commonality among them, which can serve as a great jumping off point for your new palette. If all of your competitors use blue as a primary colour, maybe you should use green (assuming it suits your personality). Choosing a colour that is unique in your particular marketplace automatically gives you a leg up, especially in our increasingly visual world.
STEP 3
If you’ve been true to the definition of your brand in the image gathering process, you should notice that a colour story is already developing. Even if it’s not complete, you should be able to identify a starting point that will lead you in the right direction. Once you’ve taken these three steps, you will be armed with enough knowledge to create a colour palette that is authentic, compelling and unique to your brand.
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ABECEDARY
A N A B E C E DA R Y O F C O LO U R C O M P I L E D B Y J U D E S T E WA R T
B APPLE
BARNS
Was it really an apple that destroyed the Garden of Eden? Rabbis squabble in the Talmud over a wide range of fruits: Was it a fig? A grape? Wheat? The Koran’s Tree of Knowledge bore bananas. Most evidence, however, points to the humble orange.
Why are barns red? Early American barns went unpainted until the late 1700s, when prosperous Virginians and Dutch Pennsylvanians concocted a red paint of milk, lime and rust flakes—a poison to fungi that trap moisture in wood, promoting rot—and started applying it to barns. FLAMINGO
EGG YOLK
Why are flamingos pink? Because they feed on carotenoidrich crustaceans, such as insect larvae and shrimp. Lesser flamingos in the pecking order grow more intensely pink from feeding exclusively on spirulina, a carotenoid-rich algae (which itself is green).
GREY HAIR
What makes egg yolks yellow? In a word: feed. If hens eat feed rich in carotenoids, their egg yolks pop out a carroty orange. Alfalfa meal and yellow corn yield a burnt-yellow yolk, wheat and barley a pale-straw shade and white corn the faintest yellow of all.
All of our hair cells make a tiny bit of hydrogen peroxide, but as we get older, this little bit becomes a lot. We bleach our hair pigment from within, and our hair turns grey and then white.
CHOKERS À LA VICTIME A ghoulish practice after France’s Reign of Terror was holding “victim’s balls,” attended by anyone whose relatives had died by guillotine. Guests showed up with the nape of their necks shaved, as if prepared for the axe, and a red thread tied around their throats.
DOLLAR The US greenback takes its colour from Civil Warera “demand notes.” Rather than lug your gold bars around, you could carry a demand note, which represented an amount you’d stockpiled in gold elsewhere. HORSESHOE CRAB BLOOD Every year a half million horseshoe crabs are harvested and milked of their sky-blue blood. The crabs’ blood coagulates instantly in the presence of pathogens, making it perfect for screening vaccines and medical devices for bacteria that can be fatal in our bloodstream.
LUCK (AND THE LACK OF IT) JALE INK Love-letter inks in early China and Persia smelled heavenly. The ingredients lists read like all of love’s elements bottled: cloves, honey, olive oil, powdered pearl, rhinoceros horn and the smoke of pine trees burning in autumn. 26 / U P P E R C A S E
Jale is an unearthly colour of the sun Alppain in David Lindsay’s 1920 novel A Voyage to Arcturus. “Just as blue is delicate and mysterious… and red sanguine and passionate,” Lindsay writes, “so he felt jale [to be] dreamlike, feverish, and voluptuous.”
Green symbolizes luck, or its opposite, across numerous cultures and contexts. Take the taboo in China against green hats, for example. The phrase “wearing a green hat” in Chinese sounds uncannily like the word for “cuckold,” so Chinese men steer clear.
MOMMIA A brown pigment for artists made from crushed mummy remains and actively sold until the early 19th century.
PENCILS Pencils turned yellow after an abundant graphite lode was discovered in 1847 in Siberia, near the Chinese border. Yellow pencils evoke the “Yellow Emperor,” Emperor Huangdi, who reputedly invented writing. NEELKANTHA, THE ONE WITH THE BLUE THROAT Here’s how the Hindu god Shiva got his blue throat by drinking a poison unleashed by a serpent god, thus saving the world. He drank, but didn’t swallow—so the blue poison hangs, forever in his throat.
ORANGE Oranges acquire their colour through exposure to the cold air; an orange orange is not necessarily ripe but has certainly suffered a chill. In tropical climates, temperatures may never dip low enough to turn the fruit from green to orange.
TETRACHROMACY SYNESTHESIA
Humans are trichromatic: the colours we see are produced by three cone sensors in the retina—red, green and blue. (We get our near-colourblind night vision from another retinal sensor, the aerodynamicsounding “rods,” which pick up many fewer colours.) Scientists estimate two to three percent of the world’s women are tetrachromats. An extra fourth cone between the red and green cones boosts their colourvision range from one million to one hundred million shades.
Synesthesia is a harmless brain condition that scrambles various senses. From childhood, synesthetes “see” colours that aren’t actually there, triggered by letters, numbers or sounds. Some synesthetes can even taste letters or sounds.
A sharp and thoughtless remark in French earns the appellation une verte réponse—unripe, sour, plucked too early from the brain’s vine.
In 2002, two Johns Hopkins University astronomers calculated the average colour of the universe: a kicky turquoise. However, a colour scientist publicly corrected their calculations to yield the true average colour: beige.
Australia’s Diyari tribe treks 1,000-plus miles annually to collect red ochre from the Bookartoo mine. How they navigate Australia’s featureless interior is a mystery, but ochre itself has uncanny qualities that might help. Iron molecules in red ochre align themselves towards magnetic north.
ROY G. BIV The acronym for the order of colours in the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. It is also the name of the book written by Jude Stewart, who penned this abecedary!
VERTE RÉPONSE
UNIVERSE
X MARKS THE SPOT
QUININE In 1856, William Perkin was trying to synthesize artificial quinine to treat malaria when he stumbled on a brilliant, durable purple dye he dubbed mauveine. Thus the first industrial dye was invented, and “Mauve Measles” spread throughout Europe.
YELLOW WITH ENVY German has curious differences from English in they way it is used to describe certain emotional states: “Yellow with envy” (gelb vor Neid) and “black with rage” (schwarz mit Ärger). They also get as “blue-drunk as a violet” (blau wie ein Veilchen).
WEDDING DRESSES Why do brides (usually) wear white? Queen Victoria first popularized the white wedding dress in European circles with her 1840 marriage to her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. ZAMBIAN MARRIAGE CHICKS The Ndembu people of Zambia give young brides a baby chick reddened with ochre. “Only after her first sexual union does the bride wash away the ritual red pigment,” writes ethnologist Anne Varichon, “and the reddened water is kept in the house to promote the arrival of children.” U P P E R C A S E / 27
“There are those for whom [the] basic rules of the senses do not seem to apply. They have a rare condition called Synesthesia, in which the customary boundaries between the senses appear to break down, sight mingling with sound, or taste with touch.” ERICA GOOD, THE NEW YORK TIMES, SEPTEMBER 1999
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PERSPECTIVE
I
A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE BY NADIA HASSAN
love colour. I love thinking about it, experimenting with it and just soaking it in, though I’m pretty sure none of that makes me special—lots of people feel the same way! Even so, my relationship with colour is not entirely ordinary. I have a condition known as grapheme–colour synesthesia, a neurological phenomenon whereby letters and numbers are perceived as being inherently coloured (for example, the letter A is always red). Though several theories have been put forward, the exact cause of this condition remains a mystery, at least for now. The word synesthesia comes from two Greek words, syn (together) and aisthesis (perception), and literally means “joined perception.” There is nothing I can do to turn off or alter my distinct sensibility. The involuntary and consistent nature of synesthesia helps to define it as a real experience, as opposed to a hallucination or the product of an overactive imagination. Paradoxically, these very same qualities also serve to suppress awareness of the experience in those who have it. Scientific American reports that “the estimated occurrence of synesthesia ranges from rarer than one in 20,000 to as prevalent as one in 200.” That struck me as a comically high range, until I considered that there must be a multitude of unwitting synesthetes out there. Take me, for example. I was already 19 when I suddenly and for no apparent reason became acutely aware of my “rainbow vision.” The condition had always been there, I just hadn’t noticed it, in the same way you don’t usually notice that you are blinking or breathing. Another year passed before I discovered that it had a name, and that there were others with similar but unique experiences. Stories of delayed awareness like mine seem to be the rule, rather than the exception. Describing my synesthetic experience has never been easy, because it is truly automatic and somewhat beyond description (for me, at
assigned colour, not an indication that they have no assigned colour), and there is little variety in the colours of the remaining letters. My number set, at least, has a slightly more vibrant look.
least). I’ve always felt a bit self-centred when talking about it, as if I were boring someone with the hazy details of a dream. Most attempts to describe what I was seeing—or more correctly, what I was perceiving—were met with polite expressions of utter confusion. I liken the synesthetic effect to a “rollover state,” similar to what we experience on websites. For instance, if a passage of text or a set of numbers is displayed in black, I’ll see it as black text, but as I read the text I’ll perceive the corresponding colours, projected onto the letters or numbers as I read them. Only the words I am reading and those that are immediately nearby are affected. The colours are always the same, regardless of typeface or letter case. Wikipedia explains that, “while different individuals usually do not report the same colours for all letters and numbers, studies with large numbers of synesthetes find some commonalities across letters (e.g., A is likely to be red).” Well, colour me commonplace, I guess. Compared to the diverse array of colours seen by other grapheme-colour synesthetes (some of whom have illustrated their experiences), my palette is decidedly limited. Nearly half of the letters are black (that is, their actual
I have no desire to get rid of my “hidden sense” (not that I could, anyhow). After all, this inveterate colour-code helps me remember how to spell some of those often-misspelled words, such as “ridiculous” (which has no E, and therefore should have no yellow) and “definitely” (which has no A, and so should not contain red). That said, sometimes I feel as if I’m trapped in an eight-count box of Crayola crayons. It can get tiresome for someone like me, who loves the full spectrum of colours—not just those generally reserved for toddlers’ toys. Though I didn’t learn about my synesthesia in a formal sense until I was 20 years old, I’ve been preoccupied with colour for as long as I can remember, looking for any excuse to explore it. I found the perfect outlet in surface pattern design. Since 2005, I’ve been creating repeating patterns and applying them to any surface that will sit still, from fabric to phone covers, to entire city streets. I think of myself as a professional–amateur surface designer because I create new designs on a regular basis, but primarily for my own enjoyment. In 2013 I started the Pattern of the Week project, as a way to celebrate colour and indulge my passion for patterns. Eighteen months later, I’m still committed to showcasing a new, original design every Monday. There is no denying that the democratization of textile design, through fabric-on-demand services such as Spoonflower, has only amplified my enthusiasm. However, it was my love of colour that sparked and now sustains my interest in pattern design. My synesthetic experience laid the groundwork for me to embark on this colourful, pattern-filled journey! U P P E R C A S E / 29
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EPHEMERA
N
ature has its own ways of displaying colour, and it does so with abandon; colours in their natural state are wild, uninhibited, free. They shift and vary, they grow and recede—always dynamic, always unpredictable. Colours like to mix it up, and they don’t sit still. These tendencies are inspiring, but not always practical—at least not from the standpoint of humankind. Let’s be honest: there are times when we need to contain colour, to isolate and dissect it. Consumers need to see their colour options, and manufacturers need to ensure that those options remain consistent. Scientists need to classify what they observe. Designers and artists need to build colour sets, to select and combine, and mix and match. Sometimes we need to break things down to their elements, and sometimes we need to bring elements together to get a sense of the bigger picture. We need to pair up—or weed out—as we hunt for that ideal combination to suit that single purpose. We do all this out of practical necessity, but it is also a form of play. Whether for work or pleasure, the need to isolate and combine has led to the creation of various organizing systems—colour charts, colour guides and colour wheels. All are ways of representing colours and their relationships to each other, and the possibilities within those relationships. We’ve come to rely on these systems, but to what end? Does colour have a regular order, or are we imposing one on it? And if colour does have an order, when, if ever, does it pay it any heed?
TEXT BY CORREY BALDWIN COLLECTION BY ANDREA WICKERT
For the general appreciator of colour, the strict organization of a colour chart can be at once utterly pleasing and strangely unsettling: all those variations of shade and hue, pushed and prodded into repeating geometric shapes, lined up like laboratory test tubes. They remind me of the pastel, cookie-cutter bungalows that fill the suburban world of Tim Burton’s Edward Scissorhands—each one individual, yet conformist; hideous yet gorgeous. There are just a few base, primary colours—a limited number of pure colours from which all others, through mixing, are made. But the space between these primary colours is the interesting place. As colours move across the spectrum, or around the colour wheel, they take on the qualities (and pigment) of whoever is next in line. This poses perplexing questions: When does one colour end and another begin? When does red cease being red and instead become yellow? And what of orange, the blended colour that the two make? Is orange ever its own thing? Can it ever be truly singular and whole? Can it ever be just itself? These conundrums were posed by the artist Spencer Finch in his 2010 piece, “Where Does Red Begin and Where Does it End.” In the watercolour painting, Finch illustrates the shifting of orange into violet through 360 individual panels of paint. (The poet Katia Grubisic asked the even more troubling question, “What if red ran out?” in her 2008 collection, but that is perhaps another matter entirely.) Finch’s painting invites us to locate the exact moment when red begins and when it ends. Both artist
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and viewer know, of course, that the task is impossible, but it makes little difference—the joy is in the hunt. How many colours exist? How do we represent all the possible variations? More to the point: is such a task possible? In 1692, a Dutch writer named A. Boogert produced a handwritten book, called Klaer Lightende Spiegel der Verfkonst, in which he described the process of changing the tone of watercolour paint by adding small portions of water. A. Boogert illustrates this process over more than 700 pages, creating a comprehensive and exhaustive catalogue of colour. The book was relatively unknown before being dug up in a French museum by a medieval historian named Erik Kwakkel, who shared the find on his blog just this April. What we find is this: you can daub water over the course of 700 pages and still come no closer to capturing each miniscule shift in colour. You cannot subdivide the infinite; it is an impossible task. Graphic designers immediately compared the book to the famous Pantone Color Guide, the go-to guide for one of the biggest colour corporations around. The guide, which uses the company’s own Pantone Matching System, was 32 / U P P E R C A S E
first printed in 1963, and today dominates the public’s perception of what a colour chart looks like (a fan, rather than a swatch book or one-page chart), as well as why and how they’re used. Like other companies in the business, Pantone is constantly coming up with (and naming) new colours. By now they’ve likely surpassed even 17th century A. Boogert in the multitude they’ve made available. And yet you can bet there are even more on the way. How many colours exist? Despite our efforts to illustrate, organize, categorize, collect and count, we will never be able to find them all. Books like A. Boogert’s epic Klaer Lightende Spiegel and Pantone’s plethora of matching guides are like film reels, providing the illusion of continuity by artificially dividing what exists. The infinite amount of colours cannot be captured, not really. With its structure of multiple squares of colour variations, the colour chart is a system for presenting possibility. Each geometric space is your life, and each colour is your life in a different shade or hue. Each possibility is an alternate universe: similar, but different. Not real, but possible. Opening a booklet of paint swatches allows
U P P E R C A S E / 33
a glimpse into these universes: this is my living room in caramel, in dusty rose, in olive green. These are the multiple universes of my living room. The insistence on compartmentalizing is all around us. In my pantry, grains and pulses are lined up in their own individual canning jars: brown lentils next to green lentils next to red. Brown rice next to basmati next to jasmine. Each with its own unique characteristics. Each of us with our own unique preferences. Each jar filled with the promise of a possible meal. Individually, however, each of these items contains only half a protein; only by com34 / U P P E R C A S E
bining them can I truly be fed. The same could be said of colour. Likewise, on my spice rack are turmeric and coriander and cumin and cinnamon. Individually, each one is limited; only together can they create a curry. On the prairies where I grew up, the comparison is just as obvious: ordered rectangles of golden wheat, the dustier tan of barley, green of peas, brilliant mustard of canola, the brief week when flax blooms an ocean-like purple blue. This separation, and strict containment, is necessary for the practical requirements of the industry. Grains are harvested separately, cleaned and transported and stored
separately, and packaged and sold separately. Wheat is one thing, we learn, and rye something completely different. And yet, how wonderful a multi-grain loaf tastes. How much its very own thing it is. I bake bread myself, mixing wheat with a spectrum of grains: kamut and rye and spelt—creating hues and shades of flavour. The wonder is in the combination. And yet, the combination is not possible without the initial compartmentalization. The one is not possible without the other. Unlike you and I, nature is utterly at ease with the slippery nature of colour. Nature doesn’t compartmentalize; it in
teracts. It’s all a jumble. Why do we try to organize what is unorganizable? Is it for mere practical reasons? Does is come from a collective desire to control? Perhaps, but it’s more than that. It allows us to do two very important things: it allows us to visualize possibility, and it allows us to combine. A presentation of colour choices is a starting point from which we can begin to blend, to mix, to experiment. Perhaps by first identifying structure, we’ve made it possible for ourselves to find true freedom, true creativity.
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ART & DESIGN
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COVER
ARTIST
As many colours as there are ideas. Q+A WITH COVER ARTIST S H E L L E Y D AV I E S
q What is your life story in one paragraph? a After attending too many art schools in my hometown of Toronto, I wended my way through many animation studios there, making commercials, animated feature films and television spots (Sesame Street being a huge highlight). From the very tiny details of animation to the very large canvas of scenic painting, I worked in theatre, TV and the feature film industry. My Prince Charming came along, then two wonderful children and a move to Europe for 12 years. Now back in Canada, in Victoria, British Columbia, I’m creating editorial illustrations for magazines and newspapers, with children’s book illustration at the top of my wish list. q If you weren’t an illustrator, what would you be? a Opera singer? No. Astronaut? No. Cowgirl? Noooo. Bookseller? Yes! Publisher? Yes! Garden designer? Yes! q How would you describe your illustration style? a I aim for colourful, witty and joyous, with a splash of serendipity thrown in for good measure (otherwise known as mistakes), to keep it feeling spontaneous. q What media do you use? a My work is very much handmade (in this age of dull digital), using cut paper and lots of collage, with a good dose of paint to add dimension and splash. q How does UPPERCASE fuel your creative drive? a Every time I pick up an issue of UPPERCASE or flip through your blog, I’m reminded of the myriad like-minded souls out there who get as excited as I do by the shape of a letter, the design of a book cover, a well-crafted piece of furniture, the layout of type on a page, a newly minted pattern, imaginative colour combinations—a never-ending list of things to get energized by, explore, admire and
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enjoy. These are my friends, or future friends; the folks who speak my language. And I don’t take lightly the impact these people have on the world, either. Add all their activities up and the things they create replenish our environment, changing the spaces we live in, what we see and how we live. There’s something light-hearted about UPPERCASE that appeals to me, too. The fact that art, craft and design are intermixed, collaged in each issue as it were, gives it a feeling of play and fun, which is always the starting point for my work. q How did you feel about being asked to do the cover of this issue? a I am so delighted to have been asked to do the cover of this exceptional magazine. UPPERCASE just happens to be my favourite publication, so it’s an honour to be a part of it, front and centre. And the fact that all those people I admire so much, all those like-minded readers and subscribers will get to see my work just makes my head spin with pleasure. Who knows what new and exciting projects might spark from it! q What were some of the challenges of creating this cover? a Using the guidelines of it being a round colour wheel, I played with a few different layout ideas before I could really start to have fun with all the things I like: the letters, patterns, vintage packaging and my trusty paint splodges (I use styrofoam trays as palettes and then slice them up for their scrummy colour juxtapositions). The trick was to figure out what not to put in, because I like a lot of things! I really enjoy the treasure hunt aspect of my work—making a rich tapestry that requires repeated viewings to discover all that’s within. It’s fun to look at and even more fun to make. q How does colour play into your creative process? a Colour is often a starting point for me. For many people, starting a new project can be a daunting prospect; the dread of the blank page, canvas or screen. But if, for example, you choose a colour, any colour, and then play with it, ideas start to percolate. It’s a way to begin, and colour lends itself to joy so effortlessly (and unconsciously), so it takes wing easily. If a colour isn’t quite to my liking, if I’m not attracted to it at first, all it might take to make that dull colour fizz is to pair it with another, and then a story starts with those two colours. It’s kind of like with people: put two of them together and see if they complement each other. Everything can be used to make art, even colours you don’t immediately gravitate towards. Like a smell or a piece of music, colour can drop me right back into a memory; it’s so evocative for visual people. Playing with colour is never-ending fun, and there are as many colours as there are ideas. shelleysdavies.com
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HANDPAINTED LABELS T E X T B Y J A N I N E VA N G O O L COLLECTION BY LETTERFORM ARCHIVE IMAGES PHOTOGRAPHED BY 42-LINE
At first glance, these old labels for fruits and beverages may look like the average vintage label . . . but look closely. Accomplished with fine brushes in gouache and the occasional metallic, these artist mockups are miniature masterpieces offering a glimpse into a meticulous past. 40 / U P P E R C A S E
COLLECTION
E
arlier this year, I had the pleasure of visiting the Letterform Archive in San Francisco. The Letterform Archive is a digital gallery of designer, publisher and educator Rob Saunders’ extensive collection of printed ephemera. Though Rob has been collecting for decades, the Letterform Archive is a relatively new endeavour, launched last year. With an incredible eye for detail and appreciation of objects as artifacts, items in the digital archive are not simply scanned; they are precisely photographed at exceedingly high resolution in excellent lighting so that viewers may enjoy the nuances of the paper and the textural detail of the print. During my visit (private viewings can be booked in advance), the pièce de résistance was this collection of food labels—one of Rob’s recent acquisitions. Not the lithographed finals, this collection is comprised of the artist mockups of label designs. Perfectly incomplete renderings with greeked type contrasted with precise lettering and impeccable artwork of fruits, castles and steins, the collection is a testament to the talents of the anonymous artists who worked for the Lehmann Printing & Lithography Company of San Francisco, founded in 1911. Each sample was rendered at actual size, as to fit the destined jar or can and to show the client art as close to final as possible. The examples here are from 1920-1930 and were photographed by 42-Line, a company that specializes in digitization of rare papers, manuscripts and books. letterformarchive.org 42-line.com
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COLLECTION BY LETTERFORM ARCHIVE letterformarchive.org
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CREATIVE
CAREERS
L EAT R I C E E I S E M A N
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE PANTONE COLOR INSTITUTE
LIVING COLOUR CAREERS COLLAGE BY S H E L L E Y D AV I E S
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Colour is my job! I am the executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. The institute was first established to collect research on the human response to colour, and to share that research with colour aficionados from all aspects of the world of design, wherever colour is integral to the design process. Currently this includes just about every industry, since colour plays such a vital part in the development of products and environments. I have written nine books on colour, am involved in the development of Pantone’s colour forecasts, deliver colour seminars and help with product development and consulting for many industries. pantone.com
COMPILED BY CARA HOWLETT
M EAGA N WA R R E N
MEAGAN WARREN WEDDINGS My career began from my love of art, particularly throwing pottery and painting. I have a degree in Fine Arts from Clemson University in South Carolina. During college, I interned with the Artisphere International Arts Festival of Greenville, which then led to my career in fundraising and event planning for the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, South Carolina. It was there that I discovered my true passion for event planning and design. While working for the museum, I studied interior decorating, then took a course in wedding and event planning. Then Meagan Warren Wedding was launched! Our aspiration is to accompany brides through the entire wedding planning process, and fashion an artful and flawless experience for each client. Colour is a huge part of our work. Each wedding starts with the bride’s colour palette, as she shows us which colours speak to her. Once the colour palette for the wedding is chosen, we design every aspect of her wedding—choosing linens, fabrics, decor, lighting, furniture, etc. Every detail of the wedding revolves around colour.
meaganwarren.com
R E G I N A L E E B LASZCZY K AUTHOR
As an art student in the 1970s, I loved the striking colours of Modernist painters such as Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky, and I learned colour theory in a seminar on Josef Albers. Working with clay, I hated the muddy stoneware palette and developed my own glazes in brilliant whites, blues and greens. In the 1980s, I worked as a cultural history curator at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington. Back then, few curators were interested in 20th-century design, but I saw a world of possibilities in the material culture of synthetics. While looking through a copy of Fortune magazine from 1930, I found an article called “Color in Industry” that put the bright paints and pigments of the Jazz Age in context. I still have my faded photocopy of that article, which coined the term “colour revolution” to describe the bright, new world born of the confluence of chemistry and camouflage during World War I. In the 2000s, my curiosity turned into an obsession as I delved into dusty archives to unpack the story of the colour revolution. Who decides the colours of the new fashion season, and when did this practice—known as colour forecasting—begin? Why did fashion designers of the 1950s “think pink”? Why did kitchens of the 1960s have avocado-green refrigerators? Was there a “colour conspiracy,” as is often suggested by the press? My book, The Color Revolution, published by MIT Press in 2013, explains how colour consultants solved a problem created by chemistry—too many hues from which to choose—and how artists applied their skills in colour theory to visual manipulation in advertising, marketing and product design.
imaginingconsumers.com
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BREE LEECH
DULUX PAINT COLOUR EXPERT In running my own creative studio, I choose colour for many different projects. I specialize in trend forecasting, which is largely communicated in colour. I also work on small, private interior design projects. For private projects, I need to interpret what a client will love and translate that into the colours that will be used within their space. I’m surrounded by colour every day—the Dulux atlas is frequently open on my desk and I often refer to it as my bible, as it guides me in colour selection, no matter the style of the project. Colour is so emotive. It’s one of the best tools I have to communicate a mood and make a client feel that their space is special to them.
texturedesign.com.au
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R AC H E L P E R LS
J O N B RYA N T
My career is colour. In each permutation of my artistic life, the use of colour has been central. I’m an architectural colour consultant—I design colour palettes and placement for interiors and exteriors of clients’ homes and businesses. My profession fits smack in the middle of the DIYers and interior designers. I primarily specify paint colours, but also help clients select rugs, tile, wood stain and anything else related to colour.
As the owner of the Calgary-based company The Urban Painter, my life is surrounded by colour. The goal of our business is to provide excellent service to every client that we work for. A very important part of that service is helping them determine which colours will bring their home to life. The colour of a space has the power to either make a person feel comfortable and content, or leave them feeling dissatisfied or bored.
When I work on a palette for a client’s project, I have a myriad of criteria running through my head. Sure, there’s colour theory and plain old personal aesthetics, but colour in the built environment is so much more than that. I’m considering the psychological impact, architectural design and lighting conditions. I’m drawing on cultural and historical references. I’m considering how the function and desired mood of a space can best be supported by colour. My job is as varied as the colour spectrum itself.
Helping clients find just the right colour shade to make the most of their space is no small job, and I welcome the challenge and joy that comes from helping people choose the perfect colour. When we complete a job and a client says that they feel like they have a whole new room or home, I know it is a job well done.
HUE CONSULTING
THE URBAN PAINTER
theurbanpainter.com
hueconsulting.com
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G E R A L D I N E W H A R RY
TREND FORECASTER My love for colour started when I was studying textile design in Paris at the École Duperré. I specialized in screen printing and was obsessed with resonating colours against each other. When my career evolved into fashion design, I continued to use my eye for colour, but in a different way. At the start of the season I would have to create a palette for the collection around a seasonal theme. That was one of my favourite parts of the process. I would also design graphics and all-over prints for the fashion collections, and I’d always work closely with a team of graphic designers on the colour combinations. Colour is something I feel comfortable playing with, and there have actually been times when colour has made me salivate! It’s a bit like food, I guess. Your senses get stimulated.
STACY G O DW I N HAIR STYLIST
Colour can change the world. As a stylist, I’ve seen it happen time and time again. A client who ordinarily comes for just a haircut decides to step it up and add colour. The second they see themselves, a change comes over them—a bounce in their step and a new confidence in their demeanour. That new confidence can translate into a new job, a new boyfriend and new experiences. When they come back to see me and I hear their stories, I know that my colouring had an impact. The right highlight can brighten up your face and help your skin look its best. Your closet will feel brand new again when you go for a bold new hair colour—the ultimate accessory! I’ve been a hair stylist my whole life. I wanted dolls so I could play with, cut and colour their hair. I dyed my own hair pink when I was barely a teenager and styled my first bride at the age of 17. I draw inspiration from a wide spectrum of sources: from traditional hairstyles (blonde bombshells and mysterious brunettes) to the unexpected (rainbows and unicorns). You only live once, and I believe in daring to be different and enjoying the instant gratification of colour.
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Now that I’m a trend forecaster, I use colour to create a mood around a concept and inspire people in their design choices. I forecast trends, some of which make a statement around a specific hue and others through the juxtaposition of colour. I tap into people’s common consciousness about colour, but also encourage them to be innovative and take risks.
geraldinewharry.com
DISCOVER
VINCENT DESHAIES KAMA PIGMENTS
I started making my very own colours as a young student in Quebec City more than 20 years ago. I would source out pigments and raw materials while travelling to New York and sneak them through customs on my way back to my hometown. As an artist, I have always made my own paints, being disappointed with what was readily available in art stores. I wanted pure, saturated colours, and I knew artist’s paints could be so much better than what was available through commercial art suppliers. It seems that my original idea took off, because it gave birth to Kama Pigments, a specialized art store where raw materials, most notably pigments, are made readily available to artists. At the request of many customers, Kama Pigments started manufacturing its own line of ultra-saturated artist’s paints in 2006. I am fortunate to own this company as it allows me to interact every day with professional artists, designers and artisans who share my passion for colour.
kamapigment.com
T H E U R G E TO PA I N T BY SCOTT LINDER
M
y mother is always painting something. A dark corner or old chair are no match for her brush and pots of paint. Brightening up our lives with paint is an ancient instinct, really. Cave paintings are proof of that. Even the most famous temple to the gods, the Parthenon, was painted in bright colours (derived from natural pigments, too). Time and rain might erode the pigments we use, but the urge to paint never wanes ( just ask my mom). If we’re not painting objects, we’re painting our bodies. Some of us get tattoos, permanent or temporary. In the West we’ve even appropriated henna, the ancient African/Asian art of marking the body, often for marriage rites. And then there is make-up. Worn by women (and men) since time began, make-up has served countless functions, from camouflage for scars to attracting a mate. Make-up artists today, such as Rhonda Barrymore of Atlanta, are drawn to make-up’s beautifying effects. In 1963 she “met” her muse—Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra—at a drive-in picture show. “My mind was fixated on every detail of her beautiful Technicolor make-up,” Rhonda recalls. Interestingly, Hollywood’s Cleopatra, straddling past and present, reinforced the stronghold of ancient Egyptian art and painting, from silhouettes to hieroglyphics. When we think of the word “painting,” we think of something in a frame. Up until the Renaissance, however, paintings weren’t so portable, stuck as they were as frescoes and on altars. Canvas as we know it only appeared around 1500 AD. Only in recent centuries, too, have artists been free to choose their subjects, having been liberated from the constraints of church, academe and patrons. Nevertheless, painters today often rely on commissions to make a living. David Oxley, a painter from Toronto who paints portraits of people and pets, sees the positive side of work-for-hire: “Besides the financial benefit aspect, it keeps the creative muscles toned.” Still, he likes to put his stamp on things, including “big, bold brushstrokes” or visible underpainting. Perhaps his instinct isn’t so different from that of the ancients—painting as a way of brightening up the world. A way of saying, we were here.
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RECOLLECTION
T
ucked away in an industrial section of downtown Cleveland is a nondescript brick building with a colourful secret inside. It’s the global headquarters of DayGlo Color Corporation, makers of the fluorescent pigment that brightens up a good chunk of the world around us. Some of you might think of neon colour and have a quick flashback to the psychedelic 1960s, or the questionable fashion of the 1980s. Even when fads wane, the demand for fluorescent colouring remains, just as it has since the company began. One night in the 1930s, 18-year-old Joe Switzer explored his family’s Berkeley, California, pharmacy with a black light. It was there that he discovered the glowing properties of certain chemicals. An idea sparked to mix them with paints to snazz up his amateur magician act. His brother Bob encouraged him to make it a business, which got underway with the help of $1.75 and their mother’s kitchen. The first customers were other magicians, theatres and store owners. A Cleveland company specializing in movie posters helped them discover a new direction: how to make colourants that would glow in regular daylight. The brothers used this process to assist the US military with safety measures during World War II, helping to save numerous lives. In 1946, Bob and Joe made things official, founding Switzer Brothers in Cleveland. Success came next in the advertising industry, with their brother Fred joining the team in 1959 to focus on sales. Their big break was convincing Procter & Gamble to use DayGlo fluorescence on boxes of Tide to gain more attention in supermarket aisles.
the high-octane colour company with magical beginnings STORY & ILLUSTRATIONS BY TINA JETT 50 / U P P E R C A S E
In addition to changing the name, the company has greatly expanded their product line over the years. Beginning with inks, pigments and paints for things like printed media, packaging and textiles, they have ventured into new markets with FDA-approved and eco-friendly colourants. Today you can find DayGlo in everything from drinkware to sporting goods to cosmetics.
Despite the vast majority of DayGlo’s business being with manufacturers, the company’s name has become synonymous with neon among the general public. My mother worked for the company for 25 years, beginning as assistant to the Marketing Director and ended her time in human resources. Working for DayGlo appealed to her because she could relate to the product. She came from a job that specialized in chemicals that were unfamiliar to her, but with DayGlo could see what the end result of her work became: cleaning supplies she bought at the store, footwear, toys, traffic signs and the covers of her magazines. I occasionally tagged along with my mom to her work on days when school was out. I later spent a couple of high school summers in the building, earning my own spare change. Most of my time was spent assisting the marketing and purchasing departments. One marketing responsibility is to ensure that the DayGlo name is being used properly. As with Kleenex, Xerox and Scotch Tape, the name DayGlo is sometimes used as a categorical description for all fluorescent colour. There’s also the issue of spelling the name correctly, as opposed to dayglo or Day Glow, among others. Back in those dinosaur years before the Internet, a company was hired to send actual cut-out newspaper and magazine clippings bearing the DayGlo name in some form. The marketing department would then sift through each one, determining whether an error was made, and sending a letter of proper usage. This sorting process was one of my assignments.
surrounded by so much brightness five days a week. It was nice, though, when those colours did pop out at you from a piece of letterhead, or the tower of client products in the lobby, or the powdery dusting of pink and orange pigment that settled onto the floors and railings near the shipping department. Some day I might have to have another look inside. Rumour has it that the mailroom has had a wall-towall makeover that I’d be very happy to see.
I also helped the marketing department in the mailroom. Just as today, interested parties requesting product samples are sent colour cards and plastic chips. One colour guide features printed examples of pigments, and the other has small chips to show how they appear in plastics. Also in the mix was a sampling of larger plastic chips, arranged on a chain in rainbow fashion. Surrounded by boxes filled to the brim with colourful bits, I spent many hours taping down those small chips and stringing up the big ones. I’ve been a huge fan of colour for as long as I can remember. Spending time at DayGlo contributed to that fondness, as I became familiar with the likes of Corona Magenta, Blaze Orange and Saturn Yellow. I often wished the office was covered with buckets of neon from top to bottom. Instead, it was a haven for the traditional corporate beige and mauve so prevalent in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Looking back, I don’t know if people could have tolerated being
dayglo.com tinajett.com
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SKETCHBOOK
PAINTED PAGES Inside the enchanting painted sketchbooks of Jennifer Orkin Lewis, aka August Wren UPPERCASE CHATS WITH JENNIFER ABOUT THE CHALLENGE OF KEEPING A SKETCHBOOK What is your background? What did you do before becoming a freelance illustrator? I graduated with a BFA in textile design from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and returned home to New York. After college I spent many years as a stylist, designing print lines for apparel, lingerie and children’s clothing. I didn’t create much art during those years but was inspired by everything in my environment. I began painting again, designing and creating greeting cards and book covers, doing textile design, as well as personal projects in many mediums. I definitely have been working hard on my 10,000 hours during the past few years! For 2014, you’ve challenged yourself to spend 30 minutes a day painting in your sketchbook. On your website you said, "I want to be intuitive to my feelings for the day. I’m not trying to be neat or perfect, just glopping on the paint and getting something done.” How has this exercise changed your approach or attitude to your sketchbook? I feel much less attached to each piece. Each one is truly an exercise and part of a larger learning experience. I now feel more open to playing around and trying something new. In past sketchbooks I worried too much about what the final outcome would look like. This time, because I’m using a junky sketchbook and working within a limited time structure, I just let those fears go. No ripping out pages that I don’t like. It just is what it is. This has been very freeing. How do you decide what to paint each day? Has this decision become easier or more difficult over the course of the project? That is the hardest part of the project. It’s become easier over time but I do have days where at first a mild panic
sets in. I force myself to just make a quick decision and begin painting. A portrait, a vase of flowers or a pattern of some sort appears in the sketchbook and I stick with it even if it doesn’t feel like my best work that day. Sometimes I’m surprised at the result! What has been the biggest benefit in keeping a sketchbook? I feel a lot of joy each day when I am painting so freely and I have learned so much about what I can accomplish. Perhaps most important, the experience has helped me gain more confidence in my own style. The book itself is a great reference. I find it especially satisfying and love to see how thick the book gets as each month passes. How has your sketchbook painting style informed your commissioned work? I now use the sketchbook as a vehicle for starting a new project. I just go at it loosely and joyfully until I need to tighten things up. It brings great energy and focus to my work. What advice do you have for those who dream of having a gorgeous sketchbook full of great work, but fear starting? Set limits that work for you and just go for it! It’s important to let go of needing each page to be a masterpiece. Use a timer, and when it rings just move on! There was a teacher at RISD who famously took a beautiful finished drawing and ripped it in half in front of the class. It was scary but also very liberating. The lesson has stayed with me all these years. My advice to others is to just keep creating and avoid getting too precious—you can always create again and rework your ideas.
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M O D E R N PA I N T
colourful spontaneity
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GALLERY
q When did you discover that your true calling was painting? a I started painting in high school. I love all kinds of art. I love colour. My grandmother painted watercolours—she was definitely an inspiration. When I went to college, my intention was to study illustration. However, by the time I was ready to move on to my major, the illustration program was no more. So I chose something else I liked, which was painting. I guess it was a little random, but nonetheless it was something I loved to do. q Does an average workday exist in your world? How do you typically structure your days? a Average day! Ha! Part of me wishes I had an average day and part of me loves the freedom my irregular schedule provides. I typically work on what’s right in front of me. If I have a big show coming up, I work on those pieces. If I have a teaching engagement on the horizon, I prep for that.
Jennifer Mercede is a Portland, Oregon-based painter who is known for her unique use of colour and line work. Her paintings are playful, energetic and spontaneous, and incorporate a lot of doodling. Her work has been widely exhibited across the west coast of the United States, particularly in Oregon where she has become a big name. In addition to solo and group shows, Jennifer has also been commissioned to create a number of largescale murals. UPPERCASE spoke to Jennifer about what inspires her and why she chooses to reject conventions in her work. INTERVIEW BY VINCIANE DE PAPE
When I get involved in a project, I’m usually all in. For example, when I was preparing for my most recent gallery show at Mark Woolley Gallery in Portland, I painted all day and way into the night. I’m very nocturnal so my typical schedule is to be up until three in the morning and then sleep until noon. To me a weekend is the same as a weekday when I’m working. I just work whenever I need to work. This schedule then allows me to travel and have adventures when I’m not working, and I love to travel, so this is a bonus. q Is there a project that stands out in your mind as a favourite? a I love collaborating, so I would have to say my murals with Chris Haberman, a fellow Portland artist, were some of my favourite projects. Painting large is exciting, and he is such a loving, fun guy. We had a blast, making jokes and bouncing ideas off each other. We did two murals in 2008: one at a restaurant on Alberta Street in Portland (which sadly no longer exists) and another in a private residence in the Alberta neighbourhood. We have also done many collaborative paintings. Similarly, I love teaching and painting with Pam Garrison, a multi-talented crafter and artist perhaps most known for her exquisite journals. She is a real joy to be around; we are always cracking jokes and she is incredibly creative. Being around other people I love makes work so much more fun for me! U P P E R C A S E / 59
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melts my heart, be it in an interior design magazine, someone’s clothing choice or another friend’s art. I store it away in my brain’s colour filing cabinet and pull it out to play with on a rainy day. Specific artistic influences include Hundertwasser, Klimt and Basquiat. I’m inspired in general by abstract expressionism and the dada movement, especially Duchamp’s piece The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even. This glass piece was cracked in transition and I love how Duchamp decided that he admired the cracks: an element of chance that enhanced what he had done intentionally. q What is your dream project?
q What is the first step in beginning a new project, whether it is personal work or a commission? Do you have a particular process that guides your work? a The way that I begin a new painting varies. If I am doing an abstract piece, I just get right at it. I pick up whatever colour I’m feeling at the moment, or whatever pen, marker or paint is closest to me, and I start mark-making. Sometimes I start with paint; sometimes I start with a drawing utensil. It typically depends on my mood. Do I feel like making large brushstrokes? Or do I feel like creating small, intimate doodles? If I’m creating an animal piece, I’ll find an inspiring reference and draw it out, typically with the commitment of pen on wood, seldom with a sketch to test it out. In a commission, the process is similar, though my colour scheme or style may be guided by what a client wants. Also, because I want to make sure they are happy, I sometimes have to be more intentional, and consciously breathe and loosen up so that I can get myself into a space for free movement and truly enjoy the process. q I love the idea of rejecting art rules, which you talk about on your website. Describe how you’ve evolved as an artist over the years. a That is in direct response to the art
schooling I received, and rejecting those ideas is why I believe my art is as free as it is today. When I started painting seriously five years after I graduated from college, I noticed I was hung up on certain rules that kept me stuck. I wanted to be free, so I made a list of rules that I wanted to reject, and created a list of new rules I wanted to embrace. I had to let go of inhibitors like “you have to paint big” or “you can’t mix coloured pencils with paint.” I created my own rules like “it’s okay to use a ballpoint pen” and “it’s okay to enjoy the process.” Through this rule breaking, I began to free up and tap into my own style. I began to play, have fun, be spontaneous and express myself. As I create, my goal is always to connect to my bliss, to the flow. I want to enjoy the process! It is important to me. I check in with myself to see how I’m doing. Am I nourishing myself with this brushstroke? Is this fun? Do I feel free and in the moment? That is my compass. That is how I know I am doing my thing. q What are your aesthetic influences? a I love the rawness and freedom I see in young children’s work, or the art of people with developmental disabilities. I love graffiti art, nature and bright colours. I’m inspired anytime I see a combination of colours that
a To be honest, I’m mostly inspired to make music right now. I love to sing. I doodle on guitar, drums, keyboard and other instruments. To collaborate with inspiring musicians and have a long period of time dedicated to exploring and creating fun, funky, free music—that is my dream. q Do you have a favourite tool or medium? a Definitely ballpoint pen on smooth wood. q Does living in Portland influence your work? a It is hard to know how to answer exactly, but I will tell you that I love the rain. I love the grey skies of Portland. I love that I can depend on it to be kind of grey quite often. It inspires me to be in my studio and be creative. q Where do you see yourself down the road? a I actually plan to write a book in the near future. I want to make more music, write more songs and collaborate. More teaching people how to find their own voice in art. I’d love more solo shows throughout the country—New York City would be fun! I would love to do more large-scale murals. Someday down the line I sure would love to direct a movie! No matter what, I want to keep having fun and following my passion! jennifermercede.com
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M O D E R N PA I N T
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drawing from the well When Belinda Marshall, a self-taught painter and surface designer from Australia, found herself squelched and burdened by both breast cancer and the departure of her partner, she knew she needed to plumb a new line of inspiration. She would have to dig a well.
F
or Belinda, being diagnosed with breast cancer was a shock, even though she had been conscious of the risks and endured screenings regularly, as her mother succumbed to the same cancer when Belinda was still young.
In the midst of the news, life became about addressing her worst fears and “doing whatever she could to avoid those becoming a reality,” explains Belinda, mother to two young sons. “I spent a lot of time and emotional energy thinking through my treatment options, factoring in information about future risks, and decided to go with bilateral mastectomy. The chemotherapy was brutal. It made me very nauseous and any kind of connection to my creative self was on hold until it ended. There was no tangible place to draw strength from—just the abstract sense of inner strength and living in survival mode, day to day. I was on a lot of drugs and the ones that didn’t make me nauseous seemed to make the experience slightly hazy and vague.” Having her husband leave was another wave in the same process. “I was in some kind of bubble that was protecting me from seeing his reaction to my illness. It was all about how it affected him and his lifestyle, and how things were changing irrevocably. It was a shock, but as time moves along I’ve gained an understanding that there wasn’t a sudden change in him, just an expression of the real him, amplified. Once I was seeing this aspect of him without any illusions it became easier to accept the separation. The priority was looking after the kids.” It was during this time that Belinda had a realization: her art was the essence of her hope. Her creative work made her feel stronger.
STORY BY CHRISTINA CROOK
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bourne with lots of cafes and shops that bustle through the weekend. Her childhood home, a small country area, had little to sustain her artistic interests, and Belinda felt the call of the city early on. Today, the home she shares with her two sons is nestled in a quiet enclave close to a creek and a walking and bike path where, stepping outside, Belinda feels transported away from the hurry of the city. Their apartment is small but lovely, with an abundance of windows and natural light. It can feel like a world away from the sand and tides of New South Wales that steadied her youth. Learning to read the ocean and allowing it to propel her body through the surf was powerful for Belinda, and it taught her early on that the potential for fun lies in acknowledging your fears and plunging ahead anyway. You can see the lines in her work: airy and bright, with a palette both vibrant and whimsical. Belinda traces her acrylics on wood, loving the medium for its feel: the faint grain and the pleasure of sanding to add layers of texture without damaging the surface. She usually begins with a layer of white and gradually adds layers of colour and detail. Belinda had long hoped to travel alone to Sweden to meet and learn from Camilla Engman, specifically the way Camilla includes character in her work. The trip provided her with a positive goal to work towards and focus on throughout her treatment. With the help of some friends she created a video on Pozible (the Australian equivalent of Kickstarter) to help her raise the funds to participate in ACE Camp (Arts, Culture, Education), a world away in Scandinavia. Her story touched many, and within a matter of days she exceeded her $4,095 goal, boarding a plane to overcome another fear: that of flying. “Travelling alone to a new place for such an exciting adventure reminded me of what life can be about,” says Belinda. “It was invaluable to be away from the demands of domestic life and routine for a short time and living out a dream. I had wanted to go to Camilla’s ACE Camp for a couple of years but hadn’t made a real effort to justify actually doing it, for reasons relating to family commitments, finding the money and fear of flying. But ultimately the things I had been through put me in a place of feeling that there was nothing to lose, no reason not to do it, and that there would be a way to make it happen!” Upon her arrival, Gothenburg was in full spring bloom. The light, the pace of life—noticeably slower than her corner of Melbourne—and the city’s noticeable support for the arts, made an indelible impression on her. Within a day she was in the studio, learning new ways of seeing, sketching, painting and collaging. “It was excellent to learn by seeing,” says Belinda. “Camilla shared so much of herself—her local hangouts, her work processes, her space. As a self-taught painter there were always little thoughts floating around in the back of my mind—‘Am I doing it right?’—which often led to over-analysis and criticism. Seeing Camilla’s process and method of making work that is uniquely hers gave me confidence to develop my own. I was absorbing so much while I was at the workshop, then when I came home and started work I could really feel a change happening and my confidence building.” Meeting and working with the other artists in attendance was also a pleasurable and positive experience. “There was an immediate, comfortable connection and a sharing of work and learning together,” she says. Over a week’s time, she felt her reserves brimming with newfound relationships, creative inspiration and deepened confidence. She returned home to Brunswick East, an inner-city suburb of Mel
“My process is to try to work without too much conscious thought or criticism along the way and to let the pieces establish themselves,” she says. “They are not really independent of me but actually a more raw part, which can often surprise me. Working on many pieces at once helps with building up the character of the work while avoiding too much pressure to develop or resolve them too quickly. I can do a bit here and there to each work and allow myself time to know when they are fully formed and finished.” Belinda has recently been working with a local fabric printing company, Frankie and Swiss, to make products including cushions, limited edition tea towels and wall hangings featuring her work digitally printed on fabric. “This has been really fun,” she says. “Seeing the work in different forms and contexts and imagining the potential is exciting.” Much of this new work is drawn out of her dark night of the soul. Since her journeys, both in health and abroad, Belinda feels she is rebuilding and reconnecting with who she is as a person, artist, mother and friend. “I have become more conscious of time being precious,” she says, “both at the immediate day-to-day level and in the big picture. Things are very busy and intense as a single parent, and managing time has become an art form of its own. I love feeling conscious of my own intuition and seeing my kids learning to trust theirs.” “As an artist, I’ve grown to love the more intuitive, genuine process of creating work in a way that is a lot more free,” says Belinda. “Due to my situation as a single parent, I’ve felt pressure to make things work on a practical and financial level, which conflicts with the process of making work. But the pressure has been positive in that I’ve learned to value my work a lot more and to take it more seriously. With this came confidence that I didn’t have when I was financially dependent on a partner. I’ve gained some clarity about what needs to be in place for the business to be viable as a source of income to support myself and the kids now and in the future. I have become much more committed to developing my business skills, as I’ve realized that without them I may well have to find a completely different way to generate income.” For Belinda, her creative moors—parenting and painting—are ultimately what fuel both today’s work and tomorrow’s hope. belindamarshall.com U P P E R C A S E / 67
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M O D E R N PA I N T
moments in time
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Kristin Texeira paints to provide proof— for herself and others—of having existed in certain moments in time. She paints to capture, document and preserve memories. She paints the essence of moments through colour by mixing up the poetics of people and places. q What is your first memory of painting? a My earliest, earliest memory was when I was about three or four years old. I used to stay at my grandmother’s house during the day while my mom was at work and my gram would let me paint whatever I wanted, wherever I wanted. Sometimes she would let me paint on the windowsill—watercolours on the windowsill. My grandfather would get mad but she let me do it. q Were you fascinated with colour even back then? a Oh yeah. Even when I was really little it was less about filling in the shapes in my colouring book as it was about using as many crayons as I could. I would just make rainbows inside of the shapes. q You’ve said that your work is about linking memories with colour. When did you begin making this connection? a This is when it happened: I was outside one day when I was a freshman at MassArt. The sun was setting and the tops of the trees were a crazy saturated orange. I was mixing the colour on the spot in my mind. I was thinking, it’s going be a little bit of cad yellow and a little bit of ochre and little baby bit of cerulean blue. I went straight home and painted what I could remember of those concoctions, to seal that memory on a piece of paper. From then on I was always thinking that this was how I could prove that a moment existed. If I am always observing and appreciating these subtleties, I can constantly be T E X T A N D P H OTO S B Y TA M M Y L A M O U R E UX
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present and awake in a moment. If I take note of what I’m looking at and pinpoint the colours I’m taking in, I’ll be able to preserve it. q So is your artwork simply an exercise in remembering? a I think it started off more as an exercise, but now there’s more of a time lapse between when I am painting these moments and when they actually happened. The colours have become more abstract and more about expressing an emotion or a feeling than about remembering an exact concoction. q What is your current process of documenting a memory in colour? a It usually starts from writing. I learned that the fastest way to seal a memory is to write it down, so I always carry my sketchbook with me. If something moves me—even something seemingly insignificant—I’ll write it down. Sometimes my writing is pages long, but it’s always a little bit vague. I like to give myself subtle clues as to what I am seeing and feeling and hearing. I like jotting down dialogue. Then I’ll just out pull out certain sentences that speak to me and turn those into the titles of my paintings. My writing is like my under-drawing or under-painting. Instead of being a painter that sketches a scene or a picture and then paints over it, my sketches are my sentences—those strings that I have created. That’s what gets me started. That’s my foundation. Then I can mix the colours to create something that hasn’t been seen before. q Do you have a favourite or especially memorable project? a I love any project that involves painting a person’s colours. By that I mean the colours that come to mind when I think of somebody. I met this woman in Maine who told me that the greatest thing that we can do as human beings is to recognize one another. And I think that I get to do that when I paint someone’s colour. q Do you believe you see colour differently or are more sensitive to it than most people? a I think that I do see colour differently. I feel like my senses are actually all a little bit mixed and muddled, but in a really good way that is helpful when I am writing. What I see can be something that I taste and what I hear can actually feel like something. It’s more fun to be descriptive that way and it comes really naturally to me. It helps me assign colours to certain feelings and people. Colour is how I organize and translate my everyday life—through sorting things and feelings into colour.
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spider string at the tops of small pines sway in the wind like the sails of ghost ships
q Who are some artists whose work resonates with you? a All of the abstract impressionists from the ’50s and ’60s in New York. Their work was smart because they were taking a chance and trying to make this style of work that no one had ever seen before. They were trying to do something new and something that wasn’t so obvious. They were coming up with ideas and saying what they needed to say with as little movement as possible. They just got to the point. q Where do you see your work heading? a I think of my paintings as science experiments sometimes, and I’ve done all of these projects where I am just constantly trying to test and strengthen my memory. I’ve always just wanted to fill spaces with colour, so I just want to have a mad scientist room. I love artist studios when they have data everywhere—lines and lists and marks on scraps of paper. All of those little scraps of paper and all of the little tests that it took to get to a painting—that’s art. I want to make more art like that. The process of trying to get to something is the most exciting part. I feel like people respond the most to that part of my work when they visit my studio. They find that these odd little pieces of paper with two marks of paint on them are more interesting than what I’ve been fussing over on a canvas. Mad scientist laboratory colour installations is where I’d like to go.
holding on to magic hour/proof that the light lasts until 11 pm
kristintexeira.com
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SUBMISSIONS
What does colour mean to you?
For creatives, art supplies go beyond being just tools of the trade. We asked our readers: how do they enhance your creativity? What makes this particular medium special to you? How is colour tied in with your identity as an artist?
COCO DOWLEY UNITED STATES
Coco’s Colour Passion Colour mixing is a true passion and brings boundless joy in my creative process. After the colours gather in their containers around me, the dance of paint begins on all the surfaces I want to prepare for my artwork. Collage has become an exciting new direction, so having a large supply of decorative papers at all times is essential. Recycling cardboard, paper bags, journal writings, magazine pages (but not my copies of UPPERCASE!), and even my paint palette pages have opened an endless source of materials to use in my artwork and books. cocodowley.com
DEBBIE KENDALL UNITED KINGDOM Tubes of Delight My traditional oil-based printmakers’ ink is sticky, thick and highly pigmented. I adore the process of hand mixing colours by eye using palette knives to fold the colours together, like mixing ingredients for a cake. I record my colour mixing adventures on strips of scrap paper that become my recipe cards. For printmaking, the ink must be rolled out in a thin, even layer. During this process the ink hisses and clicks as my heavy roller spreads it out on a glass slab. Colour, to me, is intense, bold and exciting. I love the audacity and exuberance of the intensely pigmented inks, which contrast with the other solid and technical paraphernalia of printmaking—a black iron press, turned woodenhandled gouges. In relief printing, colour is laid down in solid blocks. My job as a printmaker is to strive to tame the sticky, messy globs of ink into a flawless, even sheet of colour on the paper. In between the precise and painstaking process of producing a printing plate and the exacting and mechanical system of printing, the choosing and mixing of colour is a giddy and beguiling interlude. But the printmaker in me still likes to look behind the free, creative and decorative side of colour to the science and methodology of mixing the perfect shade. theenlightenedhound.com
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SHAE LEVISTON AUSTRALIA
Carnival Paint Palette As an artist, colour is my whole world. Through my artwork I can express myself in colour in infinitely more ways than words. In acrylics I can mix up every hue and show my emotions, inner world and imagination in the most subtle or wildest ways. As an intuitive artist, acrylics allow me to work quickly, work on varying surfaces and add so many other mediums to it to create collage and mixed media work. Through colour I can create the paintings that bring people joy, awaken their inner child and evoke delight and wonder. thebutterflycollector.typepad.com
KATHRYN COLE UNITED STATES
SASKIA WASSING CANADA
Watercolour Love I love colour and I love watercolours. Watercolouring is such a beautiful experience for me. I love getting the colour on the brush, adding a little bit of water, and putting it onto the paper—and then adding another colour and seeing the magic that happens. The spontaneity is exciting. You have to paint quickly, so there is no over-thinking it, which is such a difference from being a metalsmith (which I did for 15 years). As an artist I am able to let go and enjoy the process of painting and let the brush and the paint create the magic.
Saskia Loves Colour Colour means everything to me. It is the most important element in my creative life. I realize that sounds extreme but I love colour. I live and breathe colour and as an artist and designer, colour is the driving force behind all of the work that I produce. If I had to live and work with only two mediums it would be my fabrics and my threads. Cutting, piecing and embroidering with these wonderful, tactile materials allows me to translate my sketchbook diaries into my personal colourful language so that other people can see and feel colour the way I do. Turquoise and reds, purples and oranges, chartreuse and pink, I am in love with colour and all it’s possibilities. The richly coloured fabrics and threads in my home studio are always yelling out “pick me” when I sit down to work.
butterflyandbloom.com
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REBECCA SILUS UNITED STATES Place and Light As a painter, colour means everything to me. To recreate the subtle shifts of light that happen in the landscape, I usually layer very thin veils of colour. I love how light changes with the seasons; the clean, pinky blues of a winter dusk reflecting on snow versus the rich glow that saturates the atmosphere of a summer evening. As a traveller, some of my favourite things to discover in a new place are the qualities of its light, how its buildings are painted, or just the colour of its earth. I take a lot of photos for reference, but often they don’t capture the movement of colour that happens in a place so I rely on my memories of how it looked and felt. fieldoffice.co
CATHY HECK UNITED STATES
Pile o’ Palettes: 25 Years of Paint Testing Ever since I started my career as an illustrator, one of my favourite mediums has been watercolour. If you have painted with watercolour, you know that you have to dab your brush . . . often . . . to get just the right colour. I always place a piece of scrap watercolour paper next to my paints and swipe my brush before touching the artwork. When I begin cleaning up after completing a project, I have often thought, “I love the way this palette looks. Some day I’m going to do something with these.” And I toss it up on a high shelf. Recently, we finished a big studio cleanup, and unearthed the pile o’ palettes. Again I said, “Some day I’m going to make something with these.” And I tossed them back on the shelf. But before I did, I snapped this picture. So here is a photo of a pile of palettes representing the creation of 30 years of licensed artwork. In the same time span, we have also raised three daughters who often have stood near the drawing table and left little drawings and messages on the palettes. As I unearthed each of these, wondering if I could guess the collection that it represented, I came upon one with these words, “Hi Mom.” This is my favourite palette of all. cathyheckstudio.com 78 / U P P E R C A S E
AUNYARAT WATANABE JAPAN
How I love to get my fingers dirty! Oil pastels are a very friendly and exciting media that allows me to create a world of my own. I love the bold and punchy lines of oil pastels. They are great for a keen traveller like me, as they can be carried easily around in a little box. I’m especially fond of candy colours that multiply my imagination. What if the sky is cherry pink? What if elephants are mango yellow? It is so much fun that I can choose any colour in my imaginary world. I’ve lived in Bangkok and Sydney, and now I am living in Japan. I know people don’t all speak the same language or think the same way, but I can express myself through my artwork, and say more than I could in a thousand words. Drawing is the best way to represent who I am, and oil pastels fit me just right. The soft buttery touch of oil pastels brings out my inner child to play. How I love to get my fingers dirty! watanabe.rocket.ne.jp
SUSY MARTINS CANADA
Seeking the Everyday Sacred At the heart of my artistic practice is the idea of taking an everyday item that most people would consider useless, of little value or dead, and renewing its life with whimsy and spirit. In a sense, I am seeking the everyday sacred. I use dead or dying botanical matter as my main colour medium. I use it to create colour stains, which serve as the guide and palette for my paintings. I began working with them about seven years ago, when a dear friend suddenly passed away. In my grieving, I turned to my art practice and to my beloved flowers as a way to hold onto my friend’s spirit, to lock it away, keep it special and make it a part of my soul. The beauty, wonder and life I discovered still present in these defunct flowers and plants left me completely enchanted and helped me to see life where it appeared there was none. Each time I create a painting, it feels as though I am giving them one last chance to bloom forever. Using the botanical matter as my colour medium truly enhances my creativity, as each type of flower creates a unique stain and colour palette, stirring my imagination and inviting me to enter their magical world. For each painting, I carefully and with intention choose the flower or flower combination, and play with the layout and design I hope to create. In these paintings, the flowers shine alone or are juxtaposed with hand-painted doily patterns. As stains released from the flowers, they represent emotions and stored experiences. Dead flowers mean so much more to me than just a way to get colour onto paper. They have become intertwined with my identity as an artist. They guide me and generously allow me to hold a magical view of the world and to play in the space of matter and spirit. inkedlily.com
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SUSAN DOUGLAS UNITED STATES
Handspun Palette Am I an artist or a craftsman, or perhaps an artisan? I’ll never know, and frankly I don’t much care. I dye. I blend. I spin. I ply. Each step is a choice, my choice: fiber, colour, texture. More choices follow: knit, crochet, weave—functional things mostly. Sometimes I allow the yarn to exist only for its perennial potential, and never confine its strands into anything. Forty years ago, fiber introduced itself to me and became a permanent guest. It has been unwaveringly essential to my well being. It allows me to reflect my internal colour palette and it is my medium. I don’t question why; I just accept the happiness it provides.
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KERRIE MORE UNITED STATES Yarn I have fond memories of riding my school bus, far beyond my regular stop, to the homes of cheerful ladies who invited me to their kitchen tables and taught me how to crochet. I am forever grateful to my mother who, knowing how much I longed to learn, sought out these generous women, and made arrangements for my afternoon lessons. They rifled through their yarn stashes, unearthing balls of burnt orange, cornflower blue and mustard yellow with which I made endless stacks of pot-holders and the occasional scarf. My love of yarn grew stronger in the aisle of a local variety store where I picked out pretty pinks, lemon yellows and lime greens for my first baby blanket. Crochet continues to be my happy place, and yarn is arguably one of the happiest of mediums. Colour, in the form of yarn, becomes the most beautiful way to break the rules in my otherwise very structured life. With yarn and needle, I dare to pair orange and pink. I brazenly mix bright, cheerful colours with muted shades—because with yarn, even the most unexpected combinations look fresh. Even with so many choices, I can’t help but feel a special fondness for the vintage hues of my childhood and the sense of nostalgia they evoke. I recently stumbled across a stash of my childhood yarn along with a few of my early projects. Taking these photographs transported me back to those kitchen tables where I fell in love with yarn and all of its lovely potential. kerriemore.com 80 / U P P E R C A S E
KRISTEN SOLECKI UNITED STATES
Black, Permanent Ink As an illustrator, colour defines my work. It describes emotion and sets the tone of a piece. Black ink is a medium that is particularly special to me. It is bold, dark and permanent. As I paint or draw with the ink, it requires constant care to maintain a balance of stroke and colour. If I make a mistake with the permanent ink (which often happens) I learn how to use it in my work to make it richer. This bold line work is tied in with my identity because of the process. Each line is made consciously with no turning back. It is quick to dry and move. When I am finished a painting or drawing, the viewer gets a feeling of the immediacy and process, the work and emotion that went into the piece because of the ink. kristensolecki.com
JENNY JOHNSON UNITED STATES
Sugar Is My Hustle I’m a dessert blogger and my palette is food colouring— colouring icings, frostings and glazes. Why? With colour the creativity is endless. vintagesugarcube.com
KATE AUSTIN
Want to be published? Keep your eyes open for new calls for participation! ipate uppe rcas ema gazi ne.co m/p artic
CANADA
Bright and Fuzzy Colour is my muse: I’m motivated by colour to make art. I love wool as a medium—the variety of textures combined with the saturated colour blows my mind every time and totally gets my creative motor running. When I’m working with colour—knitting, crocheting, weaving, painting, taking photos, even working in Photoshop—my whole being vibrates with happiness. When I’m making something I start with the colour, and then find the form and function as I go. My identity as an artist—knitter, surface designer, painter, printmaker—is completely, inextricably interwoven with colour. My palette is all around me, all the time. The flowers in my garden, the sky, my house, my clothes, inks, paints, pencils, coloured paper—I use these to express my passion for colour every day. katelovescolour.com
RHIANNON CONNELLY UNITED KINGDOM
MARISA EDGHILL CANADA
Colourful Companion
Kirigami Colours
My Dad gave me his own box of watercolours when I was in my early teens and had just starting to show an interest in art. Although it has never been my main medium I have taken this box all over, when I studied languages in Paris and Heidelberg and then from studio to studio. Now that I am returning to textile design I have been using it again to create design elements. I recently told my Dad that I still loved and used the palette, and that it was in its original box. He told me that he had bought himself a replacement set, but that the original packaging was long since gone.
I love the potential inherent in a new pack of origami paper. Each sheet a different colour. Each colour a different feeling, season, personality. Each piece waiting to let the shape inside be released. The joy of the revealing as each sheet is folded, cut and then unfolded, blossoming into a new design. No two are ever the same. It’s better that way.
rhiannonconnelly.com
omiyageblogs.ca
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HOBBY
GUARANTEED MASTERPIECES The paint-by-number craze of yesteryear. T E X T BY B R E N DA N H A R R I S O N
It is hard to overstate the popularity of paint-bynumber kits in the 1950s. These kits, featuring rolled canvases printed with numbered spaces and a set of premixed, numbered oil paints corresponding to the canvas, became a global phenomenon and multimillion dollar industry. “Number pictures” by Ethel Merman, J. Edgar Hoover, Nelson Rockefeller and President Eisenhower himself were exhibited in the White House in the early 1950s. Even the first family of television, Ozzie and Harriet, hawked the Picture Craft line of kits in 1953 in ads that read, “35 beautiful subjects! It’s fun, relaxing, you need no experience—and it’s GUARANTEED!” But what was behind the rise of this peaceful pastime? And what does it tell us about the age they existed in? I M AG E S C O U R T E SY T H E PA I N T B Y N U M B E R M U S E U M paintbynumbermuseum.com
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ocial and cultural circumstances combined to create the ideal conditions for paint-by-number to sweep the nation. The rise of industrialization and organized labour resulted in the 40-hour work week, which meant that leisure time became available to the masses for the first time in history. With the post-war shift to suburban living, homeowners needed art to hang on their walls to complement their décor. Applying principles of mass production to a cultural product meant that people who otherwise might never have touched a canvas or paintbrush could, for the first time, access the artist’s toolbox. Number paintings had been around for hundreds of years before they became a national fad. Leonardo da Vinci is said to have broken his paintings into sections by colour and assigned portions to his assistants to complete. By the 1920s paint sets for children that had line art keyed to numbered or lettered sections were popular playthings. But although the idea had been floating around for years, it wasn’t until the late 1940s that paint-bynumber kits took off. Though several individuals independently developed paint-by-number products for adults in the late 1940s, the man most responsible for promoting their popularity was Max Klein, a former General Motors chemist who had purchased a struggling paint plant and needed to develop new markets for his products. His employee Dan Robbins, a commercial artist designing packaging for finger paint sets, told him about da Vinci’s numbered canvases. Robbins proposed to Klein that they apply this method to a paint set for adults. The skeptical Klein asked for a prototype. Robbins’ first attempt was an abstract impressionist still life. He broke the painting down into a schematic of colour blocks and painted it with tempera colours on cardboard.
Klein hated the result, but loved the idea behind it. He sent Robbins back to create some more conventional paintings. These paintby-number kits, marketed under the Craft Master brand, struggled to connect with an audience. The situation was not helped by a manufacturing error that saw the palette for The Fisherman swapped with that of The Bullfighter, resulting in red sky, yellow water and pink boats for the nautical scene and a blue cape and green bull for the matador. “Most people think paint-by-numbers was an immediate success,” wrote Robbins in his book Whatever Happened To Paint-By-Numbers? “Not true! In the beginning we couldn’t give our sets away. It took almost two years to get our paint-by-number business off the ground.” Needing to sell more kits, Klein hit upon the idea of a demonstration at Macy’s. To ensure his demo’s success, he also distributed $500 to a crowd of strangers to buy the $2.50 kits. The ploy was a success—between Klein’s surreptitious sales and the more legitimate purchases, they sold out of kits that day. Although Klein’s marketing stunts helped to create demand for their products, the mania for the hobby didn’t begin in earnest until 1952, when a San Francisco hobbyist entered Abstract No. One in a local art fair. The judges, not realizing they were looking at a paint-bynumbers creation, gave it third prize. This validation of the aesthetics of number paintings helped the public to see that they were worthy of display in their homes. By 1954, Palmer Paint’s Craft Master line sold a mindboggling 12 million kits. At the height of the craze, Craft Master employed 35 artists, each specializing in land-
scapes, seascapes, still lifes, flowers, religious studies, or animals and pets. They designed paintings to fit a range of skill sets and standard-sized frames (from 8” x 10” to 24” x 36”) using a set number of colours that could be as few as eight for a small set and up to 90 for the most complex. They began by painting a picture in the style they needed, which was then broken down into component colour blocks, resulting in a schematic drawing keyed to a palette. The topographic patterns were then tested and retested to ensure that anyone who persevered and completed the painting would end up with a painting they’d be proud to hang on their wall. Although the Craft Master team included many fine artists, it was a commercial enterprise first and foremost. Klein’s genius for tapping into what the public wanted lay in a willingness to ask—in each Craft Master kit, he included a comment card that asked customers to suggest subjects for future kits. Horses, puppies and kittens were all introduced as subjects after customers asked for them, and they soon became among the most popular designs. The reverse was also true— abstract subjects never became a popular line. Like many 1950s fads, paint-by-numbers burned brightly but briefly. Despite increased competition, Craft Master overextended itself with factories in Canada, England, Japan and Australia, and an ill-considered “personal portrait” line in which artists would create paint-by-number designs from snapshots. By 1956, Klein was forced to sell the business to avoid bankruptcy. Klein wasn’t the only one having trouble—by the late 1950s and early 1960s, new claims on leisure time like television exchanged active production for passive consumption. But another factor was at play—shifting notions of culture came to view the cookie-cutter, assembly-line nature of paint-by-number as lacking authenticity. The phrase “by-the-numbers” became shorthand for any activity accomplished by rote. As the years progressed, paint-by-number kits became more and more kitschy and lowbrow, featuring celebrity subjects like Mork and Mindy, Liberace and Snoopy. Abandoned paint-
by-number canvases became a regular sight at thrift stores and tag sales. But even though they had fallen out of favour, they also had a lasting impact on the pop art movement, particularly on Andy Warhol, whose series of canvases based on commercially available paint-by-number sets were among his last paintings before moving exclusively into reproducible images. By the 1990s, number paintings underwent a cultural rehabilitation. Former Saturday Night Live head writer Michael O’Donoghue exhibited his collection of 300 paintings at galleries in Los Angeles and New York. He argued that no one should have to apologize for enjoying paint-by-number paintings. “They are a great metaphor for life in rigid McCarthy America,” he said in an interview promoting his exhibit. “You stayed in the lines.” In 2001, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History further validated the art form with the exhibit Paint-by-number: Accounting for Taste in the 1950s. Not bad for a hobby whose heyday was half a century ago. Today new paint-by-number paintings are available in hobby shops and craft stores, and vintage versions can be found on online auction sites. Although the rolled canvas was replaced with printed canvas board in the 1970s, today’s sets are largely the same as the ones that existed in the 1950s. Many of the most popular sets, including The Last Supper have remained in continuous production to this day. And the best part of all? It’s still fun, relaxing, you need no experience—and it’s GUARANTEED! U P P E R C A S E / 83
ART
TREY SPEEGLE DEFINITELY NOT BY-THENUMBERS Using one of the world's largest collections of vintage paint-bynumber paintings as inspiration, Trey Speegle explores themes of hope, love, longing and transformation by recontextualizing vintage paint-bynumbers with word play that has a broad pop appeal. He exhibits and is collected widely, and the Microsoft Art Collection acquired his iconic "You Are Here" in 2011. He has collaborated with Stella McCartney, Anthropologie and Fred Perry. Earlier this year, he met the First Lady, Michelle Obama, who signed his Drink Up! mural at the New Museum, where it was shown as part of WAT-AAH!'s Take Back The Streets"exhibit. His work can be seen in the new book Creative Block: Get Unstuck, Discover New Ideas by Danielle Krysa. He lives and works in New York's Meatpacking District and in his converted barn in the Catskill Mountains, which can been seen in the May 2014 issue of Scene magazine.
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PLACES/SPACES NOON DESIGN STUDIO STORY BY CARA HOWLETT PHOTOS BY NANCY NEIL
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STUDIO
In a world of consumerism, where individuals are encouraged, enticed and seduced to purchase lowprice and low-quality goods, Jane Palmer of Noon Design Studio is attempting to wind back the hands of time.
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oon Design Studio is a small dye house based in Los Angeles that only uses dyes made from things found in nature like roots, bark, beetle shells and indigo. Jane and her team are creating high-quality products that are completely biodegradable. As Jane says, “Anything we make should be able to be buried in the backyard.” Before synthetic dyes were discovered in the mid-19th century, textiles were dyed using pigments created from natural items like carbon, the mineral azurite and the soft clay ochre. Naturally occurring pigments are found all over the world, each in their native areas. In 1856, an accidental discovery became the catalyst for the textile dye revolution. William Henry Perkin, an 18-year-old student at London’s Royal College of Chemistry, was investigating a man-made alternative to a white crystal called quinine, a malaria remedy found naturally in the bark of the cinchona tree in Peru and Bolivia. When Perkin attempted to oxidize the quinine, it didn’t result in the white crystals he expected, but instead a red-black precipitate. When he rinsed out the container holding the residue, he saw that he had produced a purple substance. That substance became the first synthetic dye, later to be named mauve. Synthetic dyes have woven their way through history since 1858. With the invention of synthetic fabrics like nylon, polyester and acrylic, stronger and brighter synthetic dyes were developed, spawning the textile industry as we know it.
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“People are coming back to an interest in natural dyes now because there’s new modern methods for producing the dyes.” Today the textile industry is the largest consumer of dye products, and is now finding itself in “hot water” as governments and environmentalists are becoming more aware of the effects of dye pollution. Rivers and streams in China and Bangladesh are being polluted by dye factory run-off or companies dumping dye in the waterways. “Those dyes and chemicals are becoming really integrated into our ecosystems,” says Jane in a profile produced in 2012 by film director Angeline Gragasin. “There has to be another solution, and I think that natural dye could be one of those other solutions. I’m here to do it!” On May 8, 2014, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission recalled lines from Target’s children’s clothing and women’s wear because the azoic dye used in the clothing contained a carcinogenic fabric dye. “Conventional dye is made with a concoction of different kinds of chemicals and petroleum products. Some dyes can contain such chemicals as lead, formaldehyde and even arsenic,” says Jane in the video. “There’s documented cases of people getting really sick from working within textile dyeing factories." “In the past it was difficult to use natural dyes on a large scale, and I think people are coming back to an interest in natural dyes now because there’s new, modern methods for producing the dyes,” she adds. In an interview with UPPERCASE, we asked Jane how Noon Design Studio began. The inspiration, she says, came from the book Cradle to Cradle by Michael Braungart and William McDonough. “The concept is that all products should be designed from the beginning to be biodegradable. Not even just recyclable. This really blew my mind, and it forever changed the way I make things,” says Jane. She was also influenced by the resourceful attitude of the people she met while studying textiles at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. “Living there had a huge impact on what I do now,” says Jane. “People there are resourceful because they have to be. Most people I knew grew their own food, col88 / U P P E R C A S E
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lected rain water for showers, repaired their own furniture and made their own herbal medicines. It was an environment of using what was available and not looking to the outside world for more. I loved living there and weaving fabrics with pine needles, or making paper from kudzu vines, or using lemon juice to make hairspray. It made a lot of sense to me then, and still does now.” After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Jane attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she obtained her Masters in Fine Arts in textiles. After living in Chicago for 10 years, Jane moved to Los Angeles, where she now runs and operates Noon Design Studio. The studio, which has been running for close to three years, has focused on dyeing textiles for apparel designers. Recently, however, Noon Design Studio launched a textile line of their own, featuring handwoven, naturally dyed cashmere blankets, shibori pillows and indigo dye kits for DIYers. As people become increasingly aware of the serious problems caused by synthetic dye pollution, Jane feels that our only hope is to stop consuming so many products. “I can’t imagine how that’s going to slow down, but it’s the combination of chemicals and toxins, plus the enormous volume produced and used, that’s creating the majority of the problems,” she says. “From a natural dye perspective, it’s the same. It only makes sense if it’s done in reasonable quantities. Noon Design Studio does have some things in the works that I am hopeful can make an impact, such as using agricultural excess for new sources of dyes.” Jane summarized these thoughts on the Kickstarter campaign that helped get Noon Design Studio off the ground: “Natural dye has a long and rich history stemming from almost every culture. It is important because it utilizes naturally occurring materials to create colour without the use of chemicals or salt. A naturally dyed organic textile is non-toxic and safe for everyone. At the end of its life, it can biodegrade back into the soil without hurting the earth. Almost any natural textile can be dyed naturally, so why shouldn’t it be?” noondesignstudio.com
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SNAPSHOT
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T I N Y P M S M ATC H BY INKA MATHEW One morning in May last year, my attention was captured by these little, bright blue flowers in my front yard, called Veronica Georgia Blue. The design geek in me got curious and I wanted to know if I could find a matching Pantone colour: it was PMS 2726. It was so satisfying and fun to find that colour match that I decided to continue with other tiny objects that I find interesting or that have meaning for me. It’s a way for me to visually chronicle the little things in my life.
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CRAFT
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MATERIAL
T E X T B Y L I N Z E E K U L L M C C R AY
indigo magic
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sk people who dye with indigo about its appeal and you’ll invariably hear the same word: magic. As oxygen hits fabric pulled from an indigo dye vat, it transforms from dull yellow to acid green and finally to blue. And when cloth is twisted around a pole or clamped with rubber bands and sticks before it is dyed, it reveals highly anticipated, but unpredictable, hues and patterns as it is unwrapped. “There are happy accidents, but no mistakes,” says Kaari Meng, who teaches indigo-dyeing workshops through her Los Angeles shop, the French General. “You have this magical unveiling that takes everyone back to kindergarten.” Though it’s undergoing something of a renaissance, appreciation for indigo is nothing new. Linen dyed with indigo was found on Egyptian mummies wrapped in 2500 BC. Indigo dye comes from the plant genus Indigofera, which includes more than 275 species, and which has been grown for centuries in India, Asia, Africa, and Central and South America. Before indigo became available through trade, Europeans got blue dye from woad. Some call woad inferior, but according to Kaari, “they’re two completely different blues. Indigo’s a more saturated, dense colour and woad is brighter, more luminous.” Indigo, however, contains around 10 times the concentration of the chemical that creates the blue colour, meaning much less is needed to make an equal amount of dye.
FRENCH GENERAL
In the 1500s, trading vessels brought tropically grown, woven cottons to Europe for the first time. The populace loved the cool alternative to their woad-dyed wool and linens, and clamoured for the deep blue shades that indigo made possible. Dark blue hid stains well and became the colour of laborers—blue collar workers—and the military— navy blue. This desire for cotton and indigo also accounts for some of its dark history. Once grown, harvested and processed, indigo was lightweight and easy to transport. Europe’s woad growers felt threatened and convinced their governments to ban indigo, which they called “the devil’s dye.” Conquests by Europeans in indigo-growing countries resulted in battles and exploitation of workers. Then in the mid-1800s, synthetic indigo was introduced and natural indigo production waned.
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Much like farmers’ markets and slow food, indigo’s current revival may be part of the growing interest in knowing and valuing the origins of everyday things. Rowland Ricketts, a professor of textiles at Indiana University, was first drawn to indigo for its sustainability. In the late 1990s he moved to Japan to teach English and take photos. There he realized that the water in his home—including his photographic chemical residue—drained directly into a nearby river. “That got me thinking about the way I was making art and its effect on the environment,” he says. At the same time, he became intrigued by gardening and met people using natural dyes. “All my interests converged in indigo,” he says. “Instead of coming back to the US with some trinket as a souvenir, I decided I’d bring something that I’d keep using and doing.” He apprenticed at a Japanese indigo farm and dyeing studio, then spent another three years learning Japan’s centuries-old traditions of indigo cultivation and shibori (see sidebar). Today he grows Japanese indigo—Polygonum tinctorium—in his home garden and on nearby small farms. He also recently completed a two-year project called IndiGrowing Blue, working with locals to grow, harvest and dye with indigo.
ROWLAND RICKETTS
GROWING AND HARVESTING INDIGO Rickett’s indigo (Polygonum tinctorium) begins its journey from seed to cloth in the early spring. Seeds are planted in a seedling bed, and the seedlings are transplanted and nurtured in the field. Harvesting is accomplished by hand using a sickle and the dye-bearing leaves are dried in the sun. As the plants dry, the indigo in the leaves turns blue. Only the leaves contain indigo, so they are winnowed from the stems by stomping. These dry indigo leaves are mixed with water and composted for one hundred days to make the traditional Japanese indigo dye-stuff known as sukumo. The indigo is cut near the base using a sickle.
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REBECCA DESNOS BETH MCTEAR
Though many consider Rowland a master of the medium, he demurs. “The indigo I work with is an accumulation of all the knowledge of all the generations who have worked with this dye and this process before me,” he says. He uses his art installations to draw attention to the genesis of the blue hue. “There’s an historical knowledge embodied in my work, but others might see it as just a piece of blue cloth,” he says. “So I’ve tried to bring the process into the gallery.” At one exhibition, he spread the indigo he’d grown that year on the gallery floor, and as people walked through the installation, they winnowed it. “They were physically engaged in the process of making the dye and could smell its sweet, hay-like scent. I was bringing them out to the field, and the field into the gallery.”
REBECCA DESNOS
Another artist who appreciates the years of knowledge and tradition behind indigo is Philadelphia’s Beth McTear. She studied textiles at Moore College of Art and Design and used synthetic dyes for more than 10 years before becoming concerned about their effects on her and the environment. Since 2010 she’s focused on indigo, selling her wares through Etsy as Honest Alchemy. This past spring she dyed 300 fair-trade cotton scarves for Anthropologie. Despite spending long hours with her dye vats while filling the order, she says there is still much to learn. “I was naïve when I picked indigo to start with, because it will take a lifetime for me to fully understand it,” she says. “It demands that you care about it and work with it, rather than having it work for you. It’s more of a collaboration—it has a life cycle and you have to keep it happy and healthy.” Although it’s possible to keep an indigo vat going for years, it does require attention. If you’re not up for growing, harvesting, composting and fermenting your own indigo, dye can be purchased in cake, powder and crystallized forms and combined with soda or wood ash for alkalinity, and to make the dye water-soluble. Beth also feeds her vat to maintain the correct chemistry. “I used to add wheat bran and chopped madder root but it started smelling wrong and wasn’t dyeing right,” she says. Another indigo artist suggested she try adding saké.
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RESOURCES BOOKS The Art and Craft of Natural Dyeing: Traditional Recipes for Modern Use J.N. Liles
REBECCA DESNOS
“It turns out my vat likes to drink,” she says. “I give it about a bottle a month.” Dyeing results vary, based on the proportions of saké or wheat bran, as well as how often a vat is used. “Indigo gets tired and needs to rest and rebloom,” she says, referring to the coppery scum that forms on the top of a healthy vat. Even with experience and care, working with natural dyes requires a willingness to embrace the unknown. London-based Rebecca Desnos, who sells her indigo-dyed bamboo scarves through Etsy, carefully records dye quantities, temperature and time, but knows the results are never predictable. She’s stopped trying to repeat designs and now creates one-off pieces. “Natural dyeing never gives a uniform colour, but instead a fabric that is alive with different tones and textures,” she says. “By trying to replicate designs, I was working against the natural process.” The natural process is a huge part of indigo’s mystique, and of its appeal. For Rowland Ricketts, starting from seed is essential, even though it adds many steps to creating blue-dyed cloth. “The colours you get are incredibly profound and beautiful, but it’s the other things that are of interest to me,” he says. “Synthetic indigo is molecularly the same, but it’s a world different. The entire process is what I’m drawn to, not just the colour.” Beth McTear echoes that thought. Even with the stress of largescale production, she appreciates that indigo requires focus and an attention to her materials. “I have to stir my vat for a while to marry the ingredients,” she says. “It has to be done slowly so that the powder absorbs without introducing too much oxygen. I sit there for 10 minutes, and that steady stirring slows me down. It feels like the right thing to do.”
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TIPS FOR DYEING INDIGO-DYEING WORKSHOP TEACHER KAARI MENG OFFERS THESE TIPS: • Kits for small-scale dyeing are available (see Resources). A vat made with crystallized indigo can be prepared in an hour or two. Unlike most natural plant dyes, indigo doesn’t require heating or the addition of mordants (compounds added to increase colourfastness). • Indigo’s depth of colour is created by dipping items multiple times, allowing them to oxidize in between. Oxidation can take from 5 to 10 minutes. Kaari recommends dipping 12 to 15 times for deep colour. • To avoid introducing oxygen into the vat’s anaerobic environment, stir slowly and minimally, and carefully introduce and remove items to be dyed. • After an initial rinsing, indigo is extremely colourfast. To add interest to indigo-dyed textiles: • Shibori is the Japanese art of resist dyeing, using techniques like stitching, wrapping and twisting to create patterns in textiles by preventing the dye from reaching every fibre. Kaari teaches three methods in her indigo workshops: nui shibori, a running stitch that tightly gathers cloth; itajime shibori, in which wood and acrylic shapes are tied and clamped to cloth, often producing geometric shapes; and kumo shibori, where small objects like mung beans are twisted and tied into fabric to create a resist.
Harvesting Color: How to Find Plants and Make Natural Dyes Rebecca Burgess A Handbook of Indigo Dyeing Vivien Prideaux Wild Color: The Complete Guide to Making and Using Natural Dyes Karen Casselman and Jenny Dean Shibori Designs and Techniques Mandy Southan Shibori: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Color and Texture on Fabric Lynne Caldwell Shibori for Textile Artists Janice Gunner INDIGO DYE, INSTRUCTIONS, PROJECT KITS Dharma Trading dharmatrading.com Aurora Silk aurorasilk.com FEATURED ARTISTS Kaari Meng frenchgeneral.com Rowland Ricketts rickettsindigo.com IndiGrowing Blue indigrowing blue.com Beth McTear honestalchemyco. etsy.com Rebecca Desnos rebeccadesnos.com
LESSON
TIE-DYE: DYE IT, WEAR IT, SHARE IT BY SHABD SIMON-ALEXANDER
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love tie-dye. I love how it looks; I love making it; and I also love the story that it tells. By looking at beautiful dyed textiles and clothing, we can learn some of the secrets perfected by the generations of artists and craftspeople who came before us. The art of tie-dye has been around for nearly two thousand years, and its history is filled with intriguing stories of travel, trade, religion and culture from ancient times through to Woodstock and the present day. Today, the tradition of tie-dye is alive and well and practiced throughout the world, with established techniques serving as the foundation for the innovative designs seen everywhere from rural villages to high-fashion runways. Tie-dye, known as shibori in Japan, plangi in Indonesia, bandhani in India, and adire in West Africa, includes any technique in which fabric is gathered, folded, twisted, rolled, tied, stitched or bound to resist the application of dye. It is one of the oldest and most prevalent resist-dyeing techniques. The other major resist-dye techniques are ikat, in which the threads are bound and dyed before being woven into cloth, and batik, in which the fabric is drawn on or stamped with wax or a resist paste before being dyed.
Shabd Simon-Alexander’s book, Tie-Dye: Dye It, Wear It, Share It was published last year by Potter Craft and includes everything you need to know about tie-dye—the materials, design techniques and how-to basics, plus 22 fashionable projects. Thank you to Shabd and her publisher for allowing us to share these excerpts from her book.
shabdismyname.com pottercraft.com
When I first started tie-dyeing, I searched all over for inspiration and information. I couldn’t find anything new, just the same summer-of-love designs I had seen a thousand times before. I knew that tie-dye had potential far beyond what many people might expect. I was determined to see how far I could take this exciting hand-dyeing art. I spent a year exploring its many variations; experimenting with different fabric, colour and pattern combinations. I found inspiration everywhere from marble crosscuts and modern art to the architectural elements on skyscrapers and bridges. One of the things that inspired me the most were pictures of space from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope. I used these images of faraway nebulas as the inspiration to create a design for a pair of leggings. I got such a great response every time I wore them that I decided to start a small line of hand-dyed jersey basics. Over the years, my dye project developed into a full-fledged fashion line that is now found in boutiques all over the world. Tie-dye is a democratic medium; it has been made and worn by the elite as a demonstration of their wealth, and by the poor to refresh simple, worn-out clothing. Patterns vary from detailed and refined to bold and dramatic, and include geometric, floral and figurative designs, depending on the culture and personal preference. Today, tie-dye is enjoying a resurgence in popularity, with designers pushing the boundaries of classic traditions in new and innovative ways. U P P E R C A S E / 99
GUIDE
OAXACAN NATURAL DYEING WORKSHOP TEXT BY KRISTINE VEJAR In early April, Mariano and Rafaela Martinez travelled from Oaxaca, Mexico, to the fibre arts space A Verb for Keeping Warm in Oakland, California. Oaxaca is an epicenter for natural dyeing and weaving. Mariano and Rafaela contribute to this tradition through their participation in Centro de Arte Textil Zapoteco Bii Dauu, an organization dedicated to preserving natural dyeing and weaving in the traditional Zapotec style. In Oakland, they taught a day-long workshop in which participants learned how to make a rainbow of colours using only cochineal, marigolds and indigo. The materials they use—wool and dyes— are grown locally in their community. Cochineals are an insect that live on the nopal cactus and that produce reds, pinks and purples, depending on the pH of the water they are dissolved in. The marigolds used, Tagetes lucida, are a special variety indigenous to the region, and produce a bright, vibrant yellow. Indigo, the renowned blue dye, adds blue to the spectrum, though it also plays another important role: dipping yellow-dyed yarn into indigo makes emerald green. Through classes and community events, A Verb for Keeping Warm strives to connect the local textile community to every part of the textilemaking process: farming, spinning, natural dyeing, surface design, knitting, weaving and sewing. Teachers from around the world visit the Verb studio to teach their methodology and variations on all of these subjects. Kristine Vejar, owner of A Verb for Keeping Warm, is writing a book on natural dyeing, with Abrams/STC, to be released in the fall of 2015.
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CREATIVEBUG
creativebug.com By gathering some of the most inspiring designers and crafters, Creativebug’s aim is to be crafters’ go-to source for online art and craft instruction. Creativebug enables users to subscribe monthly and have unlimited access to online craft classes or purchase only the workshops that catch their eye. Creativebug also offers free DIY articles on everything dye-related, from dyeing clothing with food colouring and tea bags to how to dye burlap. Creativebug also has paid classes on how to dye a scarf using Inkodye, and how to dye ombre napkins.
SHABD SIMON-ALEXANDER
shabdismyname.com Shabd Simon-Alexander, a textile artist based in New York, is famous for being the first person to show Martha Stewart how to tie-dye. Shabd recently released her first book, Tie-Dye: Dye It, Wear It, Share It, and holds workshops on tie-dye, shibori and hand-dyeing. Shabd also conducts workshops and tie-dye parties with what she calls her Traveling Studio. Bringing her skill and expertise, Shabd conducts lessons on tie-dye for parties and events in cities around the world.
A GATHERING OF STITCHES
CRAFTSY
TEXTILE ARTS CENTER
ANN JOHNSTON
agatheringofstitches.com
craftsy.com
textileartscenter.com
annjohnston.net
A Gathering of Stitches is a collective studio space for fibre and textile artists, based in Portland, Maine. It is, according to founder Samantha Hoyt Lindgren, “A place for makers to come use shared equipment and resources, learn new skills or hone old ones, and join a community of folks who love fibre.” A Gathering of Stitches offers a wide range of dyeing workshops, including classes that will teach you how to dye with ancient materials, how to hand-paint yarn and the art of shibori, the Japanese method of dyeing fabric.
Craftsy provides hundreds of online classes to help you bring your creativity to life. From sewing to cooking, Craftsy lets you learn at your own pace with video lessons from the world’s best instructors. You can even enjoy your classes offline using Craftsy’s iPad and iPhone apps. Fiber artist Jane Dunnewold teaches a class called “The Art of Cloth Dyeing” on Craftsy. You can learn about resist methods of dyeing, how to use fibrereactive dyes and chemicals safely and how to create effects and patterns without muddying your colours, all without leaving home.
Aspiring to unify the textile community and be an advocate for all things handmade, Textile Arts Center (TAC) is a resource facility devoted to providing classes that engage new generations with traditional crafts. “[Traditional crafts] are a part of our collective history, and they are vital to our ongoing expressions of design, art and culture,” say organizers. Participants can choose from a variety of dye classes, such as learning the basics of shibori, an ancient Japanese resist-dye technique, or learning to dye fabric with local plants. Classes are offered in both Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Ann Johnston is an author, quilter and all-around textile and dyeing expert from Oregon. At her studio in Lake Oswego, Ann holds intimate fabric dyeing and quilt design workshops, accepting only four participants at a time. Apart from teaching classes in her own studio, Ann travels as far as Spain to share her knowledge of hand-dyed fabrics, offering workshops and lectures at festivals and exhibitions.
CLOVELLY SILK
PLANT DYED WOOL
THE WORKROOM
THE SCHOOL
clovellysilk.com
plantdyedwool.co.uk
theworkroom.ca
theschool.com.au
Clovelly Silk is a family textile design and print company based in the coastal village of Clovelly, England. Ann Jarvis, former head of the design studio at Liberty of London Prints, runs Clovelly Silk with her daughter Ellie and her husband, Bill. Apart from their design and print work, Clovelly Silk holds half-day and full-day tie-dye courses at their studio. They offer three types of tie-dye courses: basic, one-on-one or bespoke.
Jane Meredith runs workshops by the River Wye in Herefordshire, England. “I run workshops that are all about wool, colour and texture— from the sheep to the finished item,” says Jane. Amid a beautiful setting, participants can learn how to choose the best fleeces, then how to wash, dry and card them. They will learn how to spin the fleece into yarn on a hand spindle and on a spinning wheel. After dyeing the yarn gorgeous colours sourced from local flora, students can make crafts from their yarns.
The Workroom is a shop in Toronto, Canada, that offers sewing-by-thehour machine rentals and holds quilting, sewing and cross-stitching classes. “In my wildest dreams, I hoped that The Workroom would become more than just a shop, but would also be a vibrant and inspiring place where friendships would form over pretty fabric and cups of tea,” says owner Karyn Valino. Apart from sewing and quilting classes, The Workroom also offers several courses on natural dyeing, giving participants the opportunity to use dyestuffs like indigo, logwood and madder.
The School is a company started by Australian stylist Megan Morton. From learning how to work with wire to making paper-cut garlands, to filmmaking with an iPhone or iPad, participants are introduced to a world of beautiful crafting. Textile designer Joanna Fowles teaches a shibori class in which participants can make their own hand-dyed scarf using traditional shibori techniques. “Shibori is, in one word, stunning,” organizers say. “Using beautiful silk scarves and this ancient Japanese dyeing method we will create a scarf that defies beauty.”
COMPILED BY CARA HOWLETT
U P P E R C A S E / 101
STYLE
MAKING, WEARING, COLLECTING, DECORATING AND OTHER ASPECTS OF CREATIVE STYLE
JESSI ARRINGTON
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WARDROBE
Jessi Arrington is a living, walking, breathing rainbow. An intense colour lover, Jessi is the co-founder of WORKSHOP, a design studio based in Brooklyn, New York. She is a designer, blogger (Lucky So and So), thrift-store huntress and environmentally conscious fashionista.
q I have really enjoyed your colourful explorations. Can you tell us about when you first started to live a Technicolor life? a I have been fascinated by colour my whole life. For some reason, I am drawn to, compelled by and obsessed with colour more than a normal human should be. It’s not an overstatement to say it has been a guiding force in my life. And although colour and I have always had a special relationship, I didn’t really become an outwardly colourful person until my late 20s. Maybe I was too worried about fitting in, but I think I was just oblivious to the idea that if you love something, you should surround yourself with it. The more comfortable I’ve become with myself, the more colour I’ve added to my wardrobe, and that has brought me incredible, unforeseen joy.
I N T E R V I E W B Y T I F FA N Y P R AT T PORTRAITS BY ZACH MERSHON AND CREIGHTON MERSHON PARADE PICTURES BY MINDY BEST
U P P E R C A S E / 103
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q As a bonafide colour queen, you have taken your love of colour to another level: Rainbow Parades! Can you tell us how this idea came about? a My oldest friend in design, Josh Stewart, branded me a “rainbow lover,” almost as a joke. He loves nothing better than a super-tight, one- or two-colour design, but I would always push him to add a third or fourth colour, which to him equaled “rainbow.” That became the thing: Jessi’s favourite colour is “rainbow.” Then on the day before my 29th birthday, my husband and business partner, Creighton Mershon, asked our friends in our co-working space what kind of party he should throw for my birthday. I believe it was Jessica Hische who suggested a rainbow birthday, with everyone dressing head to toe in a different colour. I was overwhelmed with gratitude when my friends came together to form something I never could have imagined myself, something I love and something for which I was the impetus. The next year on my birthday, it only seemed natural to take the party to the streets, and the Rainbow Parade was born. I tend to take things to their extreme. We pushed our way out into the Dumbo neighbourhood through sheets of pouring rain, led by a marching band. One year later, it was the same story again, but this time it was a gorgeous day, and we paraded across the Brooklyn Bridge. I get emotional just thinking about it. How could life get better? q Do you think that you can assign a word for every colour of the rainbow? a I tend to see colours less as isolated items and more in terms of the relationships they have with one another. Depending on the saturation, or the hue, there are endless possibilities. Rather than give you a word form of blue, I’m compelled to assert that, given that all colours are at 100% saturation, blue with yellow is brash, yellow with orange is bounce, orange with purple is gut check, and red with green is assured mutual destruction. To me, contrasts between colours evoke powerful associations with specific places in time that transcend words. q I read about the year you spent researching and writing about pink, in 2003. Was this the best year of your life? What possessed you to do this? a It started with an advanced colour theory class that looked at how we understand colour and how this influences culture. That got me thinking about the weirdness of pink. Most cultures around the world have words for the three primaries, the three secondaries and the three neutrals (black, white and brown), and then there’s a word for pink. Why is light red the only tint that warrants its own name? The following semester I was in a class called Critical Research and Reasoning, and I had to choose a research topic, so I decided to do my best to get to the bottom of pink, why it is culturally important enough to have its own word and why it is so polarizing. If you think colour is inconsequential, spend a few minutes thinking about the evolutionary and societal implications of pink.
U P P E R C A S E / 105
Tattly designs, I simply asked myself what kinds of tattoos I would want (if I was badass enough to actually get a tattoo). Of course the answer was designs that take full advantage of all the colours of the rainbow. I’m so happy that they’ve been so popular, and I love when someone asks for permission to use one of the designs for an actual tattoo. Of course you can, I’m honoured! q WORKSHOP is your place of work, the foundation of your brilliant ideas. What else is it? What do you love most about walking through the doors of this workspace?
My approach has changed as I have internalized that if you have a good eye, there are endless, amazing items out there, ripe for picking. My favourite pieces to wear are inevitably the ones that fit my lifestyle, rather than the other way around. I always start by scanning for the brightest colours, and then as I hold up an item, I quickly scroll through my mental checklist: Does it look like it will fit? (Ignore any sizes on tags; they’re worthless.) Is it ready for action, meaning can it be put directly into rotation without mending or altering? Will it travel well, meaning can it emerge unscathed from a spring-loaded suitcase? Will it still look good when I inevitably spill paint, glue, chocolate or bourbon on it? Can I throw it in the washer? Does it have pockets? (Why oh why doesn’t everything have pockets?) Can I run to catch a bus in it? Can I lift a box in it? Can I climb a ladder in it? Does it make me smile, or better yet giggle just a little, to imagine how I’ll look in it? Is it under 20 bucks? More than one or two no’s on this list, and I have to leave it behind; otherwise it will simply be something only my closet gets to see. Only if there are zero no’s am I allowed to purchase something without a try on. I have a rule: if I come across something truly outrageous, the likes of which I’ve never seen, I must try it on just to see what it looks like. q I would call your style of dress a form of colourful costuming. This playful approach is why you are so approachable. Do you think you will ever grow tired of dressing this way? Do you feel like the “Lucky So and So” by keeping up with this dressing program? a The way I dress not only makes me happy, it has brought new friends into my life. Even when I attend social functions by myself, I’m never alone for long. I’ve come to realize that people really want to interact with one another; they just need an in. I’m basically walking around wearing the excuse people are looking for to start a conversation with me. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of getting dressed! It is a form of self-expression I can’t imagine living without. The women on the blog Advanced Style inspire me greatly, and I’m looking forward to being an audaciously styled senior citizen! q I have one of your Tattly temporary tattoo designs. I just love it. Other than supporting a friend and the rainbow, what was your inspiration for doing this collection? a When the call went out from Tina Roth Eisenberg for the very first 106 / U P P E R C A S E
a Owning your own design business isn’t for everyone, and for Creighton, Casson and me, it certainly isn’t a way to make the big bucks. But it allows us to collaborate with our favourite people. We’re going through a major shift at WORKSHOP, supporting our cofounder Josh as he becomes a father and moves into a position with our neighbours at Tinybop, and following our passion for projects that translate online brands into physical experiences. We are transitioning into a full-on “experience design agency,” which is something I didn’t even know existed until just a short time ago, but that I think my entire career, and life really, has been preparing me for. As for walking through the doors every day, I am so lucky to walk into a co-working environment filled with the most amazing design entrepreneurs. It’s a place that I’ve been shaped by and have helped to shape, and I’m probably more proud of that than anything else. We are collaborators and cohorts, and we live, learn, travel, drink and dance together often. We push each other to be our best. q Everyone must ask you what it is like to work with your husband, so I won’t. But I will ask you to assign a colour to what it feels like to work with your husband. a Ha! My initial reaction is to say that working with Creighton is “rainbow,” because that is my favourite colour. But a better metaphor might be the puffy cloud that you always see depicted at the base of the rainbow. In addition to my Supermom Martha, who is a fount of unconditional love, Creighton is the most amazing, supportive, loving person I have ever met, and we really do our best to fortify each other, no matter how unconventional or outlandish the endeavour. So I guess working together is “white,” like that puffy cloud, which my friends in additive colour will know is what you get when you add all the colours of the spectrum together. q How big is your closet and how do you decide what to keep or toss of your beloved vintage (aside from of your underwear)? a My closet is a regular six-foot closet, and I share it with Creighton, though I have to admit he really only gets about a third. I will know I have “arrived” if I ever live in a home in Brooklyn with a walk-in closet. Getting rid of great items pains me, but I don’t have a choice. Inevitably, the thing I need to complete an outfit is the thing I just gave away last month. Such is a life in colour! q You are a highly creative person. You dream in colour, and your life is one epic colour parade. But in the quiet times, what fills you up and keeps your creative fires burning? a What quiet times? workshoplovesyou.com luckysoandso.com
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STYLIST
STORY BY JANE AUDAS
Two is a coincidence. Three is a trend.
I
f you could look into the future, what would you see? For Joanna Feeley, managing director of trend forecasting agency Trend Bible, the answer is patterns, patterns everywhere. “Trend forecasting is about patterns, in every sense of the word,” she says. Our consuming behaviours are pretty predictable—they have been since social scientists started recording them. To trend forecasters, this isn’t boring data. Not at all. It is what gets them up in the morning. They turn our patterns into identifiable and quantifiable trends and sell that information to information-hungry and short-on-time manufacturers. Trend forecasting is all about finding out what the customer will want before they know it themselves. As Joanna explains, “It is about being able to look beyond the horizon line and understand what will influence consumers and what can be put in front of those consumers, commercially speaking. Our clients want to be able to put product offers in front of their customers that will resonate with a social and cultural mood.” The more
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saturated the product market becomes the more important it is for brands to identify what they do best and how they can do it better. To be in the know, the smart brands call in the trend forecasters. Trend Bible is a fairly small agency that predicts the next big things in the home, interiors and children’s markets. They are based in Newcastle in Northern England. Location is important to Joanna, and it meant she returned to her beloved hometown. Fittingly, people in Newcastle have always known how best to woo a customer into parting with their money—it is a grand place, built on industry and commerce. In many ways the tools of trend forecasting are there for all to see and use: demographic surveys, data visualizations, social trending, developments in material technology and so on. And social media platforms like Pinterest make mood board addicts of us all. But in talking to Joanna it is clear that though the science can be learned, having the experience to interpret all the information and make it relevant to a particular brand makes the difference—and Joanna has 16 years of experience in the forecasting business. Experience and the more intangible aspect of the job—the gut feeling—separate the pinners from the
people who earn a living forecasting for big businesses. Trend Bible holds two panels a year to kickstart their internal thought processes. For their Home and Interiors and their Kids Lifestyle panels they invite all sorts of unexpected people, from anthropologists and behavioural psychologists to textile designers. Invitees are asked to think two years ahead and bring forward anything they feel is relevant and interesting in their particular work sphere. These “weak signals” may be words, visuals, objects, videos, memories or even snippets of conversation. The Trend Bible team looks through all this material for reappearances, repetition, trends, things that seem to go together and emerging memes—that is, patterns. Trend Bible puts their commercial lens over all the material, looking for commercial viability: “You are looking for more than a few signals of something that might tell you about a bigger trend,” says Joanna. The outcome of all this is books and digital reports, which form about 20 percent of Trend Bible’s work. They often sell these products to businesses that may already have their own internal trend teams, and who collate such reports from many different forecasters. The other 80 percent of their work is bespoke
consulting, working closely with brands to identify a product-specific need and to advise on how to best respond to it. For bespoke consulting, they distill all the relevant and related information and identify whether a trend is right for a particular client, who then makes business decisions based on their advice. Simply put, they know how to ask the right questions on behalf of the client, with their products in mind. “We’re all about the broad viewpoint,” says Joanna. “We have the time to look at all the areas and to work out what is coming. The most asked question in our studio is, What does that mean?” For some clients, Trend Bible only works in colour, as it were. If a product is consistent from season to season—a glass vase, for instance—then a new colour will inject new energy. “Colour is such a major driver,” says Joanna. “Consumers are really responding to colour choices at the moment, to the point where they sometimes bypass other aspects of the product.” She cites KitchenAid as a product line that has been revitalized through an increased interest in baking and new colour options that update or maximize their range. These injections of colour are indicative of a growing consumer confidence. Joanna notes that as the housing market slowly
revives, we all move away from safe options like neutral whites. Home pride is manifested in bolder product colours. Joanna sees trend forecasting as an “absolutely measurable” activity. “We have to gather evidence as to why we think something is important, to ensure that a company feels confident in what it is we are telling them to do,” says Joanna. She adds that there should be a measurable financial impact on any business that works with Trend Bible. To this end, the company has well-developed methodologies of its own, based on models of influence. “When we look at trends we are looking at what the people at the top of that model of influence are doing,” says Joanna. “We call those people mavens. They effectively start the trend.” These mavens are a small group of people who may have particular hobbies or interests, or their own particular, peculiar style. They may also be art curators with a broad overview of a particular area. “These people help us see where the real seed of an idea might emerge from. They are the people we watch first.” The next group in this model are the early adopters—those people in industrial apartments, wearing niche brand clothing and self-consciously projecting alternative life-
styles. In London they are known as the Hoxton set, but every city has a group, often found on wooden stools in very small coffee joints. Joanna explains: “Part of our job is to watch for when this group starts to be influenced by the mavens. This indicates a trend is taking hold.” Then we have the “late majority,” the mass market that most of Trend Bible’s clients are interested in capturing the attention of. This model is borrowed and adapted, Joanna freely admits, from Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point, which they often give to new members of their team: “It presents a really interesting way to think about influence. We use some of his frameworks for our own methodologies at Trend Bible. We reference Gladwell on a daily basis in the studio, almost as if he was a member of the team.” She goes on to say that Gladwell himself “stole” his model from social scientist Everett Rogers, who wrote the influential 1962 tome Diffusion of Innovations. It just goes to prove there really isn’t anything new under our particular sun. trendbible.com
U P P E R C A S E / 109
KITCHEN
MMMMERINGUES S T O R Y A N D P H O T O S B Y TA R A O ’ B R A DY
M
eringues don’t always get their due fanfare. Meringue-topped pies are applauded, sure, and macarons, which incorporate a meringue base, have their fanclub, but meringue meringues are oftentimes forgotten. In my mind, that is a disservice to a well-made meringue. Despite the simple pleasure of a meringue, and the simplicity in making them (they are just egg whites and sugar, after all), the labelling of meringues can be complex—the term refers to uncooked meringue bases, cooked bases and the baked dessert—and it can be difficult to understand the various types of meringues and their specific uses.
For Swiss meringue, the egg whites and sugar are heated slowly over a bain marie, then whisked to cool before being beaten to full volume. With the sugar added so early, a Swiss meringue will not expand as much as the other types. The resulting meringue is velvety and dense, with a Marshmallow Fluff-like texture. Like Italian meringue, Swiss meringue is considered cooked. It is the best meringue for topping pies.
French meringue is the most common. It is an uncooked meringue in which sugar is added to egg whites that have reached soft peaks. The mixture is then beaten until it holds its shape. The resulting meringue seems weightless, and is unstable and will sink with time. French meringue is often used in flourless cakes and soufflés for lift.
The meringue cookies featured here are flavoured with a puckery blackberry purée. The method used is halfway between those used for the French and Italian meringues, with sugar that is hot, but not melted. The batter can be piped into pretty nests or kisses, but I like it best in fat spoonfuls. By baking the meringues at a low temperature, their startling whiteness is uncompromised, and the blackberry swirl, which starts as a fuchsia, darkens to a deeper violet.
Italian meringue is made with a sugar syrup that has been heated to the soft ball stage (236°F to 240°F, the point at which sugar syrup dropped in water will collect in a soft ball). The syrup is slowly introduced to beaten egg whites and, once blended, the mixture is beaten to stiff, glossy peaks. The most stable of the meringues, an Italian me-
Meringues are fanciful yet rustic, burly in looks but light and melting on the tongue. They are immensely adaptable, straightforward to make and easily dressed for dessert (and they are especially good in the nutty take on Eton mess that follows). In short: hip, hip, hurrah for meringues.
There are three types of meringues bases, identified by how and when the sugar is introduced to the egg whites.
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ringue will not deflate. It is the start of buttercream frosting, and it is used to cover Baked Alaska and for baked meringues.
RECIPE
Blackberry Stained Meringues These meringues are unabashedly over the top in looks, yet still manage a (messy) elegance in eating. Their delicate crust gives way to an ethereal marshmallowy centre, and their candied sweetness is tempered by the sourness of blackberries. Eat them straight, or piled with fruit, cream and nuts. MAKES 12 FOR THE MERINGUES
Scant K cup blackberries, fresh or thawed if frozen A few drops blackberry liqueur or champagne vinegar 1 K cups caster or superfine sugar 5 egg whites, room temperature A pinch of fine sea salt OPTIONS TO SERVE
Barely sweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche Fresh black raspberries Lemon or lime curd Pistachios, roughly chopped METHOD
With the back of a spoon, press the blackberries through a fine-meshed sieve set over a bowl. Stir in a few drops of blackberry liqueur. The juice will thicken as it stands. Stir occasionally. Preheat the oven to 400°F/205°C. Line two baking sheets (or one baking sheet plus a large cutting board) with parchment paper and set aside. Line a large roasting tin as well. Spread sugar in an even layer in the tin. Bake until the sugar is hot and beginning to melt at the edges, 7 to 10 minutes. As it heats, start working with the egg whites. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a metal bowl with electric beaters, whip the eggs and salt on low until foamy through and through. Switch the speed up to full whack, and beat the eggs to stiff peaks (they will hold their shape when the beater is lifted), around 5 minutes. At this point the sugar should be ready; pull it from the oven and lower the oven temperature to 200°F/100°C. With the mixer still on, add the hot sugar to the eggs, a spoonful at a time, beating well after each addition. Once the sugar has been incorporated, continue beating until the whites are firm, glossy and smooth, and the sugar has dissolved, 5 to 7 minutes more. Flick some of the blackberry purée to make wispy splatters across one of the prepared baking sheets (or the lined cutting board). With a metal spoon, dollop about a 1/3 cup of the meringue mixture onto the paper. Flick more purée across the meringue, then pick up the mound with a large, clean metal spoon. Grab another spoon of the same size, and scrape and roll the mix from one to the other, so that only the outside of the meringue gets marbled with colour. Next, hold the full spoon perpendicular to the clean parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a second spoon, scrape the egg mixture into a tall, rounded heap. Repeat shaping with the remaining meringue. Space each finished meringue about 2 inches apart, with six on each pan. Keep the leftover blackberry purée for serving. Bake the meringues in the oven until they are crisp on the outside but without colour, and come away cleanly from the paper, around 2 hours. Transfer them to a wire rack to cool. Eat the meringues as they are, or serve with whipped cream, fresh and puréed blackberries, citrus curd and pistachios, or any combination of the above. Ungarnished meringues can be stored in a sealed, airtight container at room temperature.
F O R M O R E O F TA R A’ S S T O R I E S A N D R E C I P E S V I S I T : sevenspoons.net
TIPS FOR MERINGUES
Make sure all whipping equipment (bowl and beaters) is squeaky clean and free of grease. Older egg whites, versus those from farm fresh eggs, will beat up with the most volume. Use eggs at room temperature. The egg whites have come to proper peaks when they stay in place when the bowl is tipped or inverted. When flavouring meringues, dry additions (spices, powders, nuts) or thicker additions (dense purées) work more consistently than wet, because liquid will weigh down the meringue and decrease its volume. Also, as they evaporate, wet fillings affect how meringues cook and increase the chance of cracking and holes.
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Erika A. Douglas
Jane Cabrera
Candice Warner
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U N I T E D S TAT E S
HOW ARE YOU CREATIVE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE?
HOW ARE YOU CREATIVE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE?
HOW ARE YOU CREATIVE IN YOUR DAILY LIFE?
As a full-time student, I firmly believe in procraftinating before every assignment. Puns aside, I also try to bring my love of creativity into the work I’m currently completing in the realm of early childhood education—especially the value that is applied to process and not product. WHAT ARE YOU MOST CURIOUS ABOUT?
I’ve been writing and illustrating children’s books for 17 years and I try to keep this fresh and inspirational for myself and for the folks who buy my books. I sketch a lot and always have many different projects (non-children’s books) on the go. I try to live life as creatively as I can, in whatever environment I find myself. The most creative challenge is fitting this into being a mum to two children.
People and places. The stories, scars and secrets of both.
WHAT ARE YOU MOST CURIOUS ABOUT?
I believe I am creative first and foremost in my thoughts. I try to keep my head up while I'm walking around, rather than down at my feet or my phone. I love to see how the colours of nature, buildings, people and the environment interact. There is inspiration everywhere, you just have to seek it out. I am also a graphic design student so I am creating new work every day. Aside from this, I play with paper and glue as often as I can.
WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION? A massive black Hilary Radley coat covered in flowers. Functional and flashy. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LETTER OF THE ALPHABET AND WHY? K. It adds a level of difficulty to people getting my name right. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR? Yellow is the colour which makes me happiest. It is the colour of sunflowers, bananas, rubber ducks and canaries. Life would be dismal without it.
Other’s creativity—what inspires and drives them. I love a biography. And nature. For myself, I’m curious if can make my creative process and drive into a living beyond children’s books. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION? My imagination (and my Hasbeen boot collection). WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LETTER OF THE ALPHABET AND WHY? A. It’s at the beginning and always introduces others, and capital “A” can be used as shelter if it rains!
WHAT ARE YOU MOST CURIOUS ABOUT? The process behind creative work. My own, but mostly that of other creatives. WHAT IS YOUR MOST PRIZED POSSESSION? My most prized physical possession is a little cliché, but it is my oversized cutting mat atop my working desk. I love being able to cut anything I want, and not have to get up from my workstation. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LETTER OF THE ALPHABET AND WHY?
A neatly organized treasure box of jewel-toned embroidery thread with a few vintage tapestry needles.
I can’t say just one. I love colours that complement each other. I’m not a fan of pink, purely because it is forced on girls and excluded from boys too much (sorry pink).
K. I have never been asked this question before but I've always thought it was a good one! The letter “K” always seemed a little rebellious to me. It's not used nearly as often as one would think. When there's a "K" in your word it always seems to give it a little extra punch.
douglust.wordpress.com
WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED CREATIVE TOOL?
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR?
My brain and a soft pencil.
Pantone 573 C. It is a light teal colour, often referred to as "mint." It's elegant but fun.
janecabrera.co.uk jane-cabrera-illustrator.blogspot.co.uk
WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED CREATIVE TOOL?
WHAT IS YOUR PREFERRED CREATIVE TOOL?
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COLOUR?
A pair of thin metal scissors that my mom gave me from her scrapbook materials. I think they might be surgical scissors, but they cut paper perfectly. be.net/candicewarner
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COVET
FOR THE LOVE (HATE) OF PURPLE STORY AND PHOTO BY ANDREA JENKINS
I
haven’t always hated the colour purple. I haven’t always felt this way. When I was a preteen I fiercely loved a purple sweater, a pair of purple polkadot socks, a mess of plastic purple bangles. In my mind, purple made me different, set me apart. I wanted purple hair, purple icing on my birthday cake, purple paint on my walls. And then one day I didn’t. I don’t know when, or how, it happened but I turned my back on purple. Thirty-odd years later I can barely stand the sight of it. Which, of course, begs the question, why? Why do we like the colours we like, and hate the colours we hate? Studies suggest everything you might expect, that preference can be linked to specific experiences with objects, that those experiences determine how we feel about the colours of those objects, and how we then store that information and use it to make decisions about those colours. Findings also suggest a link to adaptive behaviours, a natural attraction to colours that seem to radiate health and survival. Even cultural trends enter into the equation, and where you live might also play into your feelings about colour. What it comes down to is this: we love the colours we love and hate the colours we hate, and there are about a hundred different reasons why. 114 / U P P E R C A S E
It’s a push and pull mostly rooted in emotion, and shrouded in a bit of mystery. I cannot trace my distaste for purple back to a specific event. I only know I loved it once and then I didn’t. I could not, can not, tell you why. What I can tell you is that my illustrator husband and I only really fight about a few things:money, parenting and his use of purple in his work. I can tell you that I make decisions heavily based on my dislike of the colour, that every time I drive by the old purple antique shop in the neighbourhood I want to paint over it. I can also tell you that the instant I started to think about my dislike of the colour—to really, really think about it—I started to see it everywhere:the lilac bush at the side of the house, a beloved mural on the other side of town, a friend in a spectacularly purple vintage dress, a collection of purple vinyl (Prince), traces of it in my own closet, even. As it turns out, purple found a way in. It slipped in through cracks, snuck in with nary a warning. And although you won’t find me heading up a fan club for all the purple lovers out there, I just might be softening, just a little bit. I just might be coming around.
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