Color Challenge: March

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Laura&Tina

Laura's Color Challenge 2012 ©laura gaffke

Dear Tina,

I actually created this month’s color challenge for YOU! It is the size of a postcard to go along with our mail art and I have a whole story behind it which I will share in our upcoming newsletter (readers, you can sign up for this on the right sidebar of this blog). I added something to it which you will notice when you get it and I will publish the change in the newsletter. Until then, I will leave you in suspense!

xoLaura

p.s. As a self proclaimed “Parrot Head“ I thought I would share the symbolism associated with this colorful bird. The tropical colors in this challenge reminded me of Jimmy Buffett and being on “island time”.

Parrot Symbolism:

Parrot teaches listening to all of nature and awakening to the language within using intuition for more open communications. They bridge understanding and will show you a deeper subtle harmony inherent in all things. Parrots show intelligence, good temperament and a sense of diplomacy. Do you have color and spice in your life? Are you listening to discernment in communications? It is time to be creative and express your ideas and make life vivid either by being bold and vocal or being quiet. Parrot will teach the quality you need to capture the color, the joy, the magic in life’s endeavors. (I credit this writing HERE where you can learn about other symbolic animals)

Tina Hirsig Color Challenge March 2012

Dear Laura,

I got a new camera a few months ago (Cannon Powershot 300 HS) and as a way to get to know the camera I started a project I am calling “Sky.Earth”. I simply point the camera at the sky and take a picture and then immediately point the camera at the earth and take another picture. In this way the light is consistent in both photos and it represents the moment I was standing on the earth. I loosely do this every day (which means sometimes I forget and skip a few days). The skies have always fascinated me. It is the one thing about this planet that has not changed (as far as we know) over the millions of years. Cloud shapes and sizes and the colors we see are a phenomenon of the atmosphere. It is the sky the dinosaurs and cave people looked at- and it is the same as we see today. This feels profound to me and will be exploring this through using my camera.

It is turning into a personal visual diary which I am enjoying as well. I wonder if I did this for the next 20 years how this project would develop? The color challenge this month had the colors I generally see at the beach here in South Carolina. I spent a lot of time on the beach this past March as my parents were here visiting at a beach house. These four Sky.Earth entries are of four days in March.

Tina

April’s COLOR CHALLENGE should you want to follow along or create your own art for this.

Just link your blog in the comments for us to see! FUN!

Color Challenge Results for February

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Laura&Tina

Yes, we know this is a bit tardy, but better late than never! We have posted these with Louise Gale at her blog and flicker page and wrote about this project HERE. The colors this month are noted below.

Tina's Color Challenge February 2012

Laura Gaffke's February Color Challenge 2012

*Laura’s work is also part of a collaboration with artist, Diana Sartor. Explanation and thoughts on this coming soon!

Stay tuned for March’s color challenge!

Laura & Tina

1 Reply

Are you challenged by color?

Posted on March 4, 2012 by Laura&Tina

Hello Friends!

There is so much brewing with Tina & I that I don’t even know where to start! One decision we have made for 2012 is to explore COLOR together. Tina is teaching a Color Theory class and as you probably know from seeing my work, color is very important to me. SOOOOoooo we have decided to expand what we know and try this color challenge, designed by Louise, for 2012. It has always been interesting to me how different our use of color is and how we weave that into our collaborative work. I tend to like a vibrant colors while Tina’s work is often earthy and more subdued. Ever since graduate school, we have always been intrigued by how our work can often be parallel in thinking but very different with how we handle our color and materials.

The flickr pool from last year’s challenge is quite diverse and intriguing I must say. We missed the first month which was tangerine. Ironically my inspiration board was filled with tangerine and turquoise two colors I am in love with right now.

Laura's Inspiration Board in her studio

Louise has designed this project so you can join at any time during the year, or maybe even for just a few months. That is the kind of flexibility we always appreciate!

Here is February’s color challenge and notes from Louise’s blog:

February Color Challenge

THE CHALLENGE:

Create something using these vibrant colors with a combination of any of the additional shown above. (you can also include white or black in your creation)
The colors don’t need to be 100% exact – the codes/numbers are listed for guidance and if you decide to create using a computer, you can grab these codes.
EXTRA TWIST: Add some extra texture into your creation by using something to print with or simply re-creating a favorite texture (such as a wood grain, leaf print or anything else that comes to mind)
Share it in the flickr group here
Pop back here on the 28th where I will share mine. I will then invite you all to post a link to your work or blog post about it all and visit everyone who participated.

Let us know if you join in. We will be publishing our results this coming week.

Laura