playing with light and color
creating a new vision.
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“light, that first phenomenon of the world,
reveals to us the spirit and living soul of this world through color.”
~ johannes itten, bauhaus colorist
In Tokyo, there is an artist’s dream come true: thousands of pigments with names like “Autumn Mystery” and “Luxury Twinkle” line the neat, airy bamboo shelves of a store called Pigment.
Pigment is dry concentrated color dust used to give fabric, ink, plastics, and, of course, paint their hue. By adding a binding agent like oil or glue to the powder, the pigment becomes adhesive. It’s an older style of paint-making as opposed to purchasing paint pre-mixed, but many artists prefer it for its simplicity and versatility. The store also sells other traditional Japanese painting supplies like brushes, papers, frames, natural animal glue, and ink stones.
Pigment the store is just as beautiful as its contents. It was designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma, whose work connects ancient principles of Japanese art and ideology to the modern day. Much like pigment, it’s simple, natural, and basic but elegant too. The store is made almost entirely of bamboo with gently waving lines, lots of open space, and light. The store does ship art supplies ordered online, but Pigment’s physical store and displays are something to behold.
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‘we all have the same palette of emotional paints
it’s how we pigment them on the canvas of life that dictates our artistry.’
-ged thompson (liverpool poet)
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credits: atlas obscura, pigment, tokyo
as the snowfall arrives
there is a soft quiet
a world of white outside
while inside
the cottage is filled with color
the center of the snow globe
i’m clearly drawn to whimsical animal art
and yes,
that is the wing of a peacock kite you see in the upper left corner.
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“laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face.”
-victor hugo
Crayola Is About to Kill Off One of Its Colors
The world’s most famous crayon-maker is planning to make this year’s National Crayon Day (today, march 31), one for the record books. As TIME reports, Crayola is planning to retire a classic color from its 24-pack crayon box for the first time in a century. Is dandelion facing certain death? Could blue violet be waving bye-bye? Is scarlet saying see you later?
Crayola hasn’t confirmed which color is being killed off yet, which means that every shade is on the colorful chopping block. But they’ll announce their final decision via a live stream event today, which you can RSVP to on Facebook.
While you’re awaiting the big news, you can make your own voice heard by telling Crayola which color you can’t live without by sharing a photo on Instagram with your favorite color and using the hashtag #ShareYourFave.
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“colors, like features, follow the changes of the emotions.”
-pablo picasso
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credits: istockphoto, jennifer wood, mental floss, time magazine