Color Can Raise the Dead
Earlier this week, the icon herself Iris Apfel turned 100. You may have seen her thick-rimmed smile here or there (no really, she signed to model for IMG Models at age 97) donning bright colors, bold patterns, and chunky jewelry for high fashion brands and her Instagram feed alike.
I have to admit that I only recently learned about her (Iris, where have you been all my life?!). Serendipitously, I cut out pieces of an ad to accent my 2021 Vision Board. The piece was of Iris holding pink pom-poms with fabulous bulky bracelets. Loved the color, texture, and energy it was giving. Go figure!
“Color can raise the dead.”
–Iris Apfel
Months later, I came across a quote that stopped me in my tracks: “Color can raise the dead.” I sat with it for a second, noticing the author of said quote.
The role that color plays in my life is a sacred one and this quote struck a chord. Color’s presence in our everyday lives is really incredible when you think about it.
We know when to stop our vehicles when we see red, we know to be alert with the color yellow, we know that green gives us the go-ahead. Orange means there’s stuff changing in our environment and to be aware of those changing it as well.
We use color to show our identities and our origins; hanging rainbow flags in our windows, raising the ole’ red, white, and blue up on flag poles in front of schools, pinning small enamel prints of them to our jackets. They don’t have to say a thing, just shapes and colors and we know immediately what it represents.
We use color to set a tone and expectation for experiences, environments, and moods. Blue, for example, tends to bring a sense of calm and security. Imagine walking into a spa to have a relaxing massage and everything is neon pink and orange; you’d be dissociated from the moment you entered the space. Your senses would be highly stimulated and your body’s reaction would be much less relaxing than if it were a soft, deep teal color.
We use color to create masterpieces on canvases and wood panels that represent emotion, history, and life. These treasures exist because of the manipulation of different colored paint. 🤯
If we were to walk outside and everything was black, white, and gray, life would be drastically different.
Whether you’d like to admit it or not, color is always surrounding you. And frankly, it’s within you, too. If a doctor were to spot something yellow that’s supposed to be red, they know that something might be wrong. If your cheeks have drained of their rosy color and turned to a green hue, it’s a pretty tell-tale sign that you’re feeling off.
Basically, color is life. Queue Iris’s punchy one-liner.
Do you allow yourself to be entranced by color? Do you find ways to acknowledge the role it plays in your life? Maybe you don’t give two shits about color or the psychology behind it. All good, friend! Character flaw, but all good. (Kidding! Kind of…)
Happy Belated Birthday to the queen of color. Let’s honor her by filling this life with the full spectrum.
XO,
HMC