Margie's Muse

Color Inspiration in the Mundane

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I had the honor of being invited to contribute to Bead & Button magazine’s Beading Basics Colors issue (available online and at newstands/bookstores until January 2006). In it the editors find color inspiration from fabric, nature, decorative art, and the color wheel. Palettes of all kinds fill the pages.

You know that color inspiration can be found just about anywhere -- except perhaps in the auto service garage where I sit right now, an amorphous mass of concrete, steel, and rubber. The key is to stay awake, be conscious, and look for color magic, always keeping an ear out for how color speaks to you.

Below are a few of the less likely places I’ve found color inspiration, often when I least expect it... during my daily chores.

1. My Closet. I’m not talking about lifting a palette straight from an outfit (we all do that often enough). Palettes have revealed themselves to me from the full closet itself. I hang my shirts together, pants together, skirts together, etc. On several occasions when the closet doors have been left partially open, they have framed a gathering of hues I’d never seen used together. I’ve taken to purposefully arranging my clothes in different orders now, letting myself discover new palettes almost haphazardly.

2. The Dryer. Laundry... it never ends. Neither do the colors! The above event has repeated itself (without the closet doors) as I’ve folded and stacked warm clothes fresh from the dryer. I once discovered a gorgeous violet/amber/turquoise combination in a stack of neatly folded T-shirts I’d loaded on top of the towels. I moved it aside and let it sit a few weeks where I could stare at it and absorb it. (Finally, a real excuse for not putting the clothes away!)

3. My Grocery Cart. Its the height of autumn right now and my eyes revel in the feast of color that is the produce section of the grocery store. I zeroed in on a few golden and orange squashes and placed them in my cart next to the eggplant alongside the green beans. Whatta rich, delicious palette!

Looking for unusual color combinations becomes a game to play with reality and makes the daily chores more fun. It adds a richness to life, as I feel like I’m on the lookout for hidden treasure.

As long as I keep looking and listening, color finds ways to get my attention and speak to me. Now... to look a little more closely for the color treasures in this auto-garage.