Paint Chip Inspiration: "Volcanic Blast"

If this is your first visit and you've not seen my "Paint Chip Inspiration" feature, let me repeat what I wrote months ago:

This idea is not unique to me. It comes from Rachel Berger here: http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=11257

She selected a paint chip out of a bag, one a day for 100 days, and wrote a short response to that color/that color's name. BRILLIANT! So I thought, I like color. I can write. I can doodle. I have paint chips. And I can scan. So here I am with my first sixth ninth paint chip ...

VOLCANIC BLAST
 
I was lucky to have a mom with a sense of adventure. My dad was transferred from San Diego to Hawaii in 1959 (before it was a state). The following year, when Kilauea volcano was erupting on the island of Hawaii, Mom and I got on a plane, flew to the Big Island, and then looked for a cab to take us to the site. Mom was pretty and blonde. I was a kid. Cab drivers were falling all over themselves to take us up to the volcano. Undoubtedly because I was a cute kid ...

What I remember most is the sound, the constant roar of lava geysers shooting up into the night sky. And then the colors, the red, orange, yellow and white-hot lava fountains soaring up and then flowing downward into the caldera. It was amazing for the both of us to see. Native Hawaiians tossed bottles of booze over the edge, hoping to appease Pele the Fire Goddess so that no homes would be harmed in the lava flows.

I could be wrong, but I believe Mom and I flew back that same night, with the sounds and sights of the volcanic eruption seared into our minds. Mom had married young, married a handsome young Navy officer, hadn’t seen much of the world, really, but she was born to learn, born to travel, born to adapt, and, luckily, sometimes she took me along. A cute kid with a pretty blonde mother.

©Carol Leigh

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Paint Chip Inspiration: Lincoln Park

The name of this paint chip is "Lincoln Park," so of course it made me think of peanuts . . .

LINCOLN PARK
I was mugged by a squirrel in Lincoln Park. My husband and I lived in Chicago for one (very long) year. We were sitting on a bench, eating peanuts from a bag. A few squirrels were nearby and, of course, we began feeding them. The bag was almost empty and we got up to walk away. One gangsta squirrel tore after me, ran up my bare leg, grabbed the bag and zoomed off, his henchmen in hot pursuit! I swear it was the same squirrel who stole all the yellow plastic flowers off my hummingbird feeder in Nevada City, but that's another story . . .

©Carol Leigh

Paint Chip Inspiration: "Warm Welcome"

In case the type is too small to read:

WARM WELCOME

Chris and I were on Martha's Vineyard last month with two dear friends. Said dear friends were invited to dinner at a local couple's house and we were invited as well. For me, it was a lesson in hospitality and graciousness. Two total strangers welcomed me and Chris to their home, where we immediately felt at ease and a solid part of the conversation and the laughter. In sumptuous but unpretentious surroundings, we were treated to great food, wonderful art, inspirational architectural details, books, music, and did I mention laughter? What fun, what ease, and what a "warm welcome" to the Vineyard. Thank you, Chris and Greg, for a wonderful evening.

©Carol Leigh

Paint Chip Inspiration: "Crushed Seed"

If this is your first visit and you've not seen this "Paint Chip Inspiration" feature, let me repeat what I wrote last week:

This idea is not unique to me. It comes from Rachel Berger here: http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=11257

She selected a paint chip out of a bag, one a day for 100 days, and wrote a short response to that color/that color's name. BRILLIANT! So I thought, I like color. I can write. I can doodle. I have paint chips. And I can scan. So here I am with my first sixth paint chip. . .

If the printing is too small, here's what it says:

CRUSHED SEED
The word "seed" in this paint chip makes me think of the California poppy seeds I scattered around our deck this year, how they bloomed and then re-seeded themselves. Hoping for a good bloom next year. Which reminds me of the most remarkable thing I saw from an airplane window a number of years ago. I traveled from Portland to San Diego in April. Looking out the window I saw a swath of orange that looked like a bag of Cheetos had been spilled on the land. It was the Antelope Valley at the height of the poppy bloom. Although I'd been there numerous times leading photo walks and photo picnics, never had I seen the aerial scope of the place. A view I will never forget.

©Carol Leigh
9/30/13

Paint Chip Inspiration: "Purple Paradise"

PURPLE PARADISE
Purple is the color of creativity and eccentricity, but darned if I can think of anything interesting to say about it. It's allegedly the favorite color of adolescent girls, and I have nothing to say about that, either. The L.A. Lakers uniform is purple, but, alas, they're probably not going to do well this season. What I will say is this:

Roses are red,
Violets are purple, damn it, not blue!

©Carol Leigh

Paint Chip Inspiration: "Desert Caravan"

DESERT CARAVAN

The first workshop I ever led was to Death Valley. The travel agent, who had set it all up and who was to travel with me, making sure all went well on her end, called me the night before to say she couldn't make it, but that "you'll do fine." Sure. Me and a busload of 28 photographers.

At sunrise we were all out at the sand dunes, doing our thing. Everybody got back on the bus when they were supposed to. Except for Norm. Where was Norm? I looked out the window, saw a speck on top of the tallest dune. That was Norm. That was the day my hair began turning grey.

©Carol Leigh

Paint Chip Inspiration: "December Sky"

Today's paint chip is a pretty color blue . . .

DECEMBER SKY
A winter in Bucks County, Pennsylvania when I was 15... lots of farms and fields and beautiful bare trees, limbs stark and bold against a pale blue sky. ©Carol Leigh

Paint Chip Inspiration: "Tomato Bisque"

Hmmm... two similar paint chips in two days, both food related... (Yesterday's paint chip was "Raspberry Couli.") I pull the chips blindly out of a bag, so it's not like I'm selecting these things... Chris says my doodle of a tomato looks like a little cherry tomato. I'm thinking more like a red blueberry...

And my writing about this paint chip:

TOMATO BISQUE
I remember Mom making me tomato soup when I was young and how she would crumble a few Saltine crackers on top. Stir them into the soup and I had a satisfyingly thick, goopy mess to eat. Loved it!

So what about today? If it was so good then, why aren't I crushing Saltines into my soup now?

My palate has changed. Saltines? They're an affront to the fresh basil that now goes on top. My memories of Mom's comforting tomato soup remain, however, called to mind seeing this "Tomato Bisque" paint chip.

©Carol Leigh

Paint Chip Inspiration: "Raspberry Couli"

This idea is not unique to me. It comes from Rachel Berger here: http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=11257

She selected a paint chip out of a bag, one a day for 100 days, and wrote a short response to that color/that color's name. BRILLIANT! So I thought, I like color. I can write. I can doodle. I have paint chips. And I can scan. So here I am with my first paint chip and my first bit of scribbling.

My handwriting is cool, but it can be challenging to read sometimes, especially in this low-resolution image, so here's what I wrote in response to my first paint chip, a color called "Raspberry Couli."

RASPBERRY COULI
I used to think that fruit in salads was just wrong. Cover something so sweet and delicious all on its own with some sticky, fatty, spicy salad dressing? ICK. But then I tried mandarin orange slices in a Chinese chicken salad with a clean Asian/sesame dressing, and yum! And then a salad with toasted pecans, dried cranberries, and spinach with a light raspberry vinaigrette and now you're talkin'! What does this have to do with "raspberry couli?" Well, nothing, really, except that some people do put raspberries in their salads. ICK.

©Carol Leigh