Spring into Green

Flowering Allium, 2009.

Green is the ultimate color celebrating Spring. During Spring, the color literally springs us into action when it seems all of the plant kingdom is awakening from either a deep sleep or a confusing winter season. Yet, during those sometime long Winter months, we are surrounded by evergreens such as junipers, pines and hollies. Evergreens offer up color we would otherwise be starved for in the depths of winter. Overall, Green’s strongest connection is new life symbolized in the Vernal Equinox recently celebrated 20 March 2010.

Helleborous, 2009.

Green is one of the three secondary colors on the color wheel. It lies between Blue and Yellow. Green morphs the triangle (yellow) and the sphere (blue) forming its own balance between these two primary colors. The green wavelength lies in the middle of the light spectrum, making a transition between warm and cool colors, the fast wavelengths and the slow ones respectively.

Energyscape #3012, 2009.

The heart chakra is associated with Green. The heart represents issues of giving and receiving love, finding balance and harnessing the imagination. Green is compassion, hence its association with our ecological crisis; the conflict between being “green” and pretending to be by “green-washing”. Its element is wood. 

Determination, 2009.

Green is derived from vertigris or copper. The patina of copper is a distinctive green-gray, developing over centuries. Copper as an afterbath or simply steeping fiber in a copper pot pulls out the “green” in yellow plant dyes. 

Yellow Veins, Cornell Botanical Gardens, 2009.

Visually, green is the most abundant color but when it comes to natural dyes it often requires a two step combination of yellow and indigo. The value and intensity of the yellow in combination with the depth of indigo will determine the resulting green. Consider the warmth or coolness of the yellow dye which is being used. Traditionally fustic is a warm yellow and weld is a cool yellow. With the use of local yellows and indigo, the range of Greens can become customized and Place specific.

Chalet Oklahoma, 2009.

Green represents life and ecology. Its qualities are closely associated with herbs, foods and medicines and anything harmonic. The color relates brightness, as in Spring, or dullness, as in sage which is a melodramatic color associated with wisdom. 

Tower of Ivy, Ithaca, 2009.

descriptive words for green:

sage, celadon, olive, bottle green, cerulean, sea green, mint, deep in the woods, meadows, olive, chlorophyl, copper, verdi, vernal, juniper

Green Paving, Hot Springs, 2009.

green inspirations:

green apples, moss, wheat grass, sprouts, herbs, rosemary, sage, thyme, oregano, mint, peas, holly, evergreens, limes, malachite, spring shoots, fern fronds, salad greens, mesclum mix, pistachios, forests, grass, jade, emerald, green grapes, leaves, olives, herbaceous plants, green eggs, green onions, green tomatoes, parsley, cilantro, spinach, arugula, lettuce and kale.

green represents:

life, freshness, harmony, welcome, neutrality, calmness, relaxation, balance, health, growth, vitality, good fortune, healing, spiritual, peace, tranquility, wholeness, brightness, optimistic, fruitfulness, contentment, tranquility, hope, fusion and an appreciation of natural eco-systems.

Mixed Moss Species, 2008.