Colorful Names and Stories
I have a weakness for stationery shops, even those that are a little too precious and expensive, as long as they are just enjoyable enough to browse, whether online or in person. One such shop, Brooklyn-based Mr. Bodington’s Studio, won me over when I saw their blog post about Pantone’s colors. It was just the right mix of engaging trivia, a little bit of history, whimsical illustrations, and amusing wordplay, and it made me want to play around with colors and color names myself.
I brought the idea to my small group of art buddies for one of our monthly get-togethers. We call ourselves the Artychokes, and we meet up for what one of our members calls “art and conversation.” We mostly make artists’ trading cards (ATCs), based on a common theme or prompt, trading them informally one for one.
The “conversation” aspect of the group is, of course, wide-ranging, and always includes some remarks from each person about the stories behind their cards. I thought it would be fun to share what came from our recent exchange on the theme of color names.
I’ll start with my contribution. I really liked the gray-blue-green color and vaguely amoebic shapes decorating a box of facial tissue that we had. So I cut the side of the box into ATC-sized rectangles (2.5 x 3.5 inches) before I had even decided what I would do with them or call the color.
I thought of primordial soup, or blue-green algae, and in that spirit carved a couple of rubber stamps to look like fossils, but those names didn’t grab me. Then “pond scum” came to mind. An online search led me to a science article about research on primitive life forms and their apparent ability to act with some intention, which included this quote: “The evidence for cogitating pond scum grows daily.” So I went with “Pond Scum” for the name of the color, but now I think I should have called it “Cogitating Pond Scum.”
My “Pond Scum” ATCs, and an enclosure listing other names I had considered, plus the quote about “cogitating pond scum.”
I added an image to the back, which was from an article in a vintage magazine about choosing colors that are most flattering to you. Remember the trend of identifying your personal color pallette by season? I had a little fun with that.
My friend Bette took inspiration from the colors of award ribbons, crafting a play on words with the color name “A Blue Ribbon ATC.” She attached a unique little charm to each one. It also has a sparkly dusting of blue glitter, which just looks like specks in the photo.
“A Blue Ribbon ATC,” by Bette.
Val made several different color cards, each connected to figurines in her possession. No two were the same. This lovely shade of green is “Chalkware Majorette.”
“Chalkware Majorette,” by Val.
Julie recalled a tornado disaster from many years ago, after which she and several other people were housed in trailers provided by FEMA, which were all uniformly a drab mustard color they dubbed “Calf-Shit Yellow.” She even gave it an identifying number code based on the date of the event.
“Calf-Shit Yellow,” by Julie.
And, finally, Sue needed to give voice to some strong feelings about the current occupant of the White House, coining not only a color name, but a new word as well, a mashup that she explains on the back: “Ruthygation Red.”
Sue’s “Ruthygation Red” ATC, showing front and back.