Meeting a fellow Colorwoman

I was so excited recently when I came across a fellow Etsyian with the name Colorwoman..!!!!!!

“Now here is someone I’ve just got to get to know” I said to myself.

Sure enough when I had a look at her fabulous shop on Etsy I was ecstatic…here on the page in front of me was another color devotee!

Connie (aka Colorwoman) makes gorgeous jewellery that embraces an understanding of the basis of Colour Therapy – the Chakra System- an energetic system within the human body.
(more on the chakra system in a future blog)








Connie has been making jewellery for quite some years now and this is what she told me about becoming ‘colorwoman’ -

“I've been colorwoman for 10 years. When I bought my first iMac ten years ago I needed an online name and I thought, "if I were a member of a tribe, what would they call me? "Colorwoman' was the immediate answer that popped into my head and I've been living into that title for a decade now".

Jewellery is a great way to add the energy of colour to your day.
The use of colour for healing mind, body and spirit is certainly not new. It was simply forgotten.
In the healing temples of Ancient Egypt crystals were used as treatment and rooms devoted to a particular colour were set up so that the person in need of treatment could bathe in sunlight that was streaming in through coloured glass.







Connie's colourful pieces, made from both crystals and vibrant glass beads, are made with the loving intention of bringing color to the wearer.

Each piece has been bought into the world in an environment that celebrates the joys of colour. Her studiois painted every colour of the rainbow inside, so as she works with colour she is also truly surrounded by colour !



I love this quote from Connie about what Etsy means to her,

"We do what we do, the way that we do it, because if we didn't there would be a hole where something beautiful is meant to be" Jan. 2008.

Have a look at Connie's shop. She is a prolific craftswomen with many items to choose from.

As well as her beautiful jewellery pieces there is an awesome assortment of coloured glass beads.

You would surely have to find the perfect colour for yourself here!

I noticed also that Connie runs classes in jewellery making and even offers sessions for birthday parties.


I just wished I lived closer...

Seeing Colour

Well... the new features are (for the most part) up and happening on the Rainbow Revolution website. Apart from some minor glitches that are being ironed out it's all systems go!

One of the amazing things about colour that has come to me whilst working with my sister to get the website all happening is how differently we all see colour at times.

I have found this often in classes that I am teaching with variations of green and blue. One of my favourite parts of a class is when I ask the students to bring in turquoise items for the weekly collage table. All sorts of variations arrive and lively discussions can go on for hours about whether it is turquoise, blue or green. For some, what is definitely a green can be seen and described by others as a turquoise or even a blue and visa versa. I have noticed in the poll at the side of the blog here that so far most people's favourite colours fall in the range of the blues and the greens...I wonder what people are really seeing then?

I did a quick search to find out how many colours the human eye actually can see and it is amazing to note that some scientists suggest we can differentiate between millions of different variations! I guess there is also the problem that while we may be able to perceive all these different colours we sure don't have that many different ways of describing them....or do we?

Have some fun on the ColorLovers website naming a few colours for yourself!

Our eyes contain receptors called rods and cones that are responsible for our ability to perceive different colours. The cones are for colour vision and the rods are more for distinguishing light and dark, night vision etc. Colour blindness and night blindness are usually caused by a disturbance in these receptors. Our range of visible colours exist in a very narrow bandwidth on the electromagnetic spectrum so in that way we are limited. Some animals, insects, fish and birds are able to see colour that exists outside of the range available to humans. I would love just a glimpse of what they can see!

I always find it fascinating to watch the colours that I work with change(when I am dyeing my fabrics ) - under different light, at different times of day, wet or dry...It is like the best light show in town!

I'm really excited today!

The Rainbow Revolution website is about to go 'live' with all the changes that we have been working on so hard over the last few weeks.

My sister is the creative brains behind the website and nearly all things of the 'tech' category (except this blog and the etsy shop, which I continue to stumble through!) and I must say for a self taught 'webmaster' she has done an awesome job.

Basically we are putting into place stage two of our vision to bring colour understanding out to the world! Yay!!!

We will have links on the site to some great books on colour that I have recommended and used in my own studies as well as a link to our new cafepress shop which we are using to showcase our digital artwork (cos we don't have the printers etc at this stage to do for ourselves for etsy!).

We would love to use this blog as a way for everyone who loves colour to connect and share their experiences of personal growth so we can all learn more!

As soon as stage two is 'live' (no later than monday!) we will start working on stage three! Keep checking in...we would love your feedback on the website...

www.rainbowrevolution.com.au

Let the Rainbow Revolution begin......!

(and a big thank you to those that have already posted comments here)

hint - some colour meanings are very blatantly 'hidden' in the text above!

Imagine if we didn't have colours like these!














and all we had was this........

Colour Talks!

Colour Talks!

Take a moment to look around! What colours are surrounding you?
You have surrounded yourself with colour and you have chosen nearly all the colours that you have surrounded yourself with! You have made colour choices for your clothing, jewellery, shoes, bags, belts, cars, furnishings, walls, carpets... and the list goes on!

Have you ever wondered why you choose the colours that you choose?
Are you like Picasso and going through your 'blue' period or dealing with issues of love and are in your 'rose' period? Picasso expressed his emotional well being through the colours that featured in his paintings. His 'blue' period was a time of depression and sorrow and his 'rose' period was linked to his falling in love. You may be able to detect some patterns in your own colour choices. *

So why DO you choose the colours that you choose. Some people will say "it was the only thing I had that was clean to wear" or "it's the latest fashion" or " it was the only thing ironed".

Oh really......!

Why is it then that you have a favourite hue but your friend can't stand the sight of it? For that matter why does a particular shirt feel so right one day and feel so wrong the next?

If we allow ourselves a moment of introspection and open our minds just a bit, we might consider the possibility that we could be revealing a little of ourselves through the colour choices that we make.

Color has it's own 'language' and once we become conscious of this, we have opened the door to a vast supply of information and some great 'tools' for self understanding and personal growth. Deepening your understanding of the ways in which you can work with colour both on a personal level and with loved ones can allow access to your 'authentic' self and foster insight and empathy for those around you.

Colour tells us so much about our feelings, thoughts and emotions. Expressions such as 'seeing red' or 'feeling blue' give us a clue to some of the understandings of colour. How DO you feel blue? Do you really 'see red' when you are angry? Was I really a murky shade of green when that awesome convertible went by the other day? (answer is...YES!)

Colour has a dualistic nature and when we explore this on a personal level we allow our subconscious self to communicate with our conscious self. The unknown becomes the known and personal growth can occur.

Imagine a world without colour !

Go on!
Just close your eyes and try. How do you feel when you do? Note your emotional response, even your physical responses. You have just given yourself a glimpse of the impact that colour has.
Colour feeds us on all levels as well as providing us with a way to communicate who we really are.

The understanding and science of colour has a vast history and a huge future. Modern science and it's continual research into the effects of colour and alternative therapists that are drawing from and expanding on the knowledge and practices of the ancients are opening the way for an incredible understanding and use of colour that can only enhance our lives and the lives of the generations to come.

Colour is Soul food...Are you hungry?