Writing my way through the A-to-Z blogging challenge, I’ve tasked myself with creating a manifesto reflecting wonders, curiosities, and delights currently captivating me – all through the lens of unusual, obscure, or simply charming-to-me words.
I is for…
International Klein Blue (IKB)
Like many of us, I imagine, I’m fascinated by color. As a kid I was blissed out when I got the super-giant assortment of crayons – so many colors, so much joy! There are all manner of ways to think about color, but one of my fascinations is the cultural and historical aspects. From this perspective, I’m particularly fascinated by the color blue.
The Egyptians were producing a blue as early as 2200 BCE using a complex formula of limestone, sand, and copper-containing minerals. Later, “true blue” ultramarine was created from lapis lazuli, but the price was greater than gold and many artists, including Michelangelo couldn’t afford it.
For years I’ve been having the most luminous numinous dreams about the night sky. All manner of things happen in these dreams, but I’m always struck by the color of the sky, some version of lapis with gold-flecked stars or a deep cobalt. It’s literally breath-taking.
It’s inspired me, in my waking life, to really look at artists who’ve painted the night sky, It was sometime during this research that I discovered the French artist Yves Klein, and although he didn’t paint a night sky, he did in fact create, and register as a trademark what he considered to be the purest blue of all. It’s a deep ultramarine pigment suspended in a resin binder that didn’t dull the pigment’s luminosity. It’s fabulous. Here’s a peek at International Klein Blue (IKB):
Klein died in 1962 at the age of 34, and critics are mixed in their opinions of his work, often dismissing him as an attention-seeking performance artist, but I certainly think he’d be someone I’d liked to have known. He considered his color to be “extra-dimensional” and he once proclaimed his goal as an artist was simply “to feel the soul without explaining it, without vocabulary, and to represent this sensation.”
Often when I’m steeping myself in portrayals of the night sky, I turn to Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Few people know his famous work is not his original Starry Night – he did one in the previous year, and it’s known now as Starry Night Over the Rhone. But it’s his second, most famous work that inevitably draws me. I love that it portrays the night sky as he actually saw it during his stay in the Saint-Paul asylum, and that he wrote his brother of painting Venus as the morning star.
I have a great fondness for Venus, and am always curious as to her travels both as a morning and evening star. She’s now rising as an evening star and will be for most of 2018.
I’m often up late (or early) scanning the sky, and I’m likely to make a cup of tea to accompany my musing. I was delighted to discover the Bleu teas from Tea Forte this winter. There are a number of different herbal varieties in their series, each with a few petals of what I assume is the Butterfly-pea flower, which colors the water various shades of blue depending on what other flowers are in the blend. I especially like to drink it out of my “bird” cups, imagining what sort of birds might be flying in a sky of that color.
I’m inspired by International Klein Blue. I find it delightful to live in a world where there’s always the possibility of finding new colors, and there’s nothing preventing us from painting our lives any way we wish.
Does your Muse speak to you in colors? Are you a sky gazer? Ever drink blue tea? Do tell – you know I love to hear.
Blue tea? Why not – there’s green tea ..
That’s an extraordinary colour of blue Deborah. I could immerse myself in its intensity. I love the sky and it’s changing colours, sunsets and sunrises, and deep pinks and oranges intermingling with intense blues …
I like oranges and greens – pale olive green, deep olive almost khaki, the green of the grass, the different colours of leaves –
Sometimes I feel blue – but that like the clouds passes in its own time ..
Thank you!
The sky is an infinitely delightful always-extraordinary ever-changing canvas. I could probably have no trouble devoting myself as a full-time sky watcher.
But like you Susan, so many other colors speak to me as well. So much life – so many colors!
I find there is nothing quite like looking up on a clear night – especially when it’s cold, for some reason crisp air makes it so amazing (if a little difficult to stay for long ;)). I don’t really think in colour when it comes to planning scenes and characters, but I do love playing with paint on canvas or paper or in Photoshop.
Tasha
Tasha’s Thinkings – Movie Monsters
I agree with you Tasha – cold crisp nights are amazing, both because of the clarity they usually provide, but also because of the way they entice you to really gather in the goodness intensely. The incentive not to freeze is a powerful motivator, and makes peeks at all the magic seem all the more powerful when you know you really can’t linger forever. Kind of a reminder about life I think.
I adore color, yet I’ve never heard of International Klein Blue. What a story to go with it, and that color is powerful.
I’m a sky gazer, but usually early in the morning. I chat with the moon when she’s around and delight in the stars. Although there’s no blue tea involved.
I do love kindred sky gazers. 🙂
What a gorgeous color of blue! Yes, I’m enamored with colors, too, especially since I had cataract surgery in 2002. After the colors all start to dull from cataracts, you REALLY appreciate them when you can see them in all their glory again.
Blue tea, huh? I drink a lot of tea, but never blue. I’ll have to check it out.
I hadn’t really realized that about cataracts, but of course it makes sense. What a delight to recapture the ability to see color in all its vibrancy!
The blue teas from Tea Forte are quite pleasant as well as pretty – I definitely recommend them.
I have never heard of International Klein Blue. It is beautiful. Blue in all its shades is my favorite color. I feel my favorites are the blues Van Gogh mixed for the background of his most beautiful Almond Blossoms.
One of my favorite things is the Pantone Fan Deck, a ring of cards with every color, hue and shade imaginable. I first learned about them when my husband purchased one to use in college. It is so much fun to look at and very helpful when trying to mix colors. My girls loved getting their dad’s old ones. The cards need to be replaced every few years because light causes the colors to go yellow.
One of my ‘would love to dos’ is a visit to the Harvard Museum to see the Forbes’ Pigment collection. What a fun job to be the curator! http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/forbes-pigment-collection
I’ve never had blue tea, but how enchanting are your lovely bird cups!
xo
Van Gogh’s Almond Blossoms is a favorite of mine as well Pattie – pure gorgeousness.
How fun to have access to a Pantone fan! And thank you for sharing the link for the Forbes’ Pigment collection. I had no idea, but just looking at the photos has me swooning.
I’d never heard of that color, but looking at the example, I would call it royal blue. It’s one of my favorites in the blue family. (which is my favorite color to start with!)
There really isn’t any way to correctly represent the color on a computer screen because it’s both luminous and matte. But suffice it to say it’s gorgeous and no doubt you’d be a fan. The blue family has very many members, and I don’t think I’ve ever met one I didn’t like.
I’ve had a peach tea that turned the water a really pretty shade but have not had blue tea. I had a glass mug that I liked to use to see the changing colors. Sadly, it broke. You know how I feel about the moon and sky watching. Nice I today.
The peach tea sounds lovely and I bet it was delicious as well. Glass is lovely to serve tea in. A clear glass tea pot is almost a necessity if you want to serve blooming or flowering tea, which is leaves and flowers bundled together and dried. When set into the hot water they gently unfold like a flower blooming.
hari OM
Long-time amateur astronomer here – LOVE that night sky! Am fascinated, too, how certain ideas and names can appear once, and then appear several times more in succession – there was a retrospective on Yves Klein on television here recently; definitely a character to love or loathe; am tending to the former myself. YAM xx
How fun there was a Klein retrospective. And I love those synchronicities where things pop up in quick succession – I like to call them cosmic winks.
I do love the color blue…
thanks for teaching me more about it.
beth
https://bethlapinsatozblog.wordpress.com/
That is one of the joys of the A-to-Z challenge isn’t it – learning all manner of odd and interesting things. I always feel like I enter May a much smarter person. 🙂
Sky gazing is right up my alley Deborah. Day dreaming (daytime activity) + sky gazing (night time activity) keeps me so busy I have no time to complain! The husband seems happy, too:)
Didn’t know about IKB but absolutely love it. In fact, last summer, I bought a Ghisa silk saree in Assam. Ghisa is a by-product of Tussar (finer, refined silk). So it’s rough and one can see all the knots of the yarn in the weave–I love it. The saree, now I know, is in the exact shade of IKB!
We bought a bag of blue potatoes last Christmas and my daughter made a marbled mash–cream and blue swirls of potatoes in a bowl.
I put one in the ground and I’m happy to report that we harvested about ten blue spuds last month:)
I is for Ishq
LOL – it sounds like you’ve got your time all worked out perfectly to the satisfaction of all!
Your saree sounds fabulous Arti! I once had a dress for a special occasion that was made from a silk that was nubby and textured and I think it may well have been my most favorite dress ever.
You have absolutely inspired me to plant blue potatoes – I love them. And it never occurred to me to swirl them into mashed white potatoes. You can bet I’ll be doing that next.
Blue is my favourite colour and thank you for bringing me closer to it’s many facets with this heart warming post of yours. I love Vincent Van Goh’s Starry Nights too.
Natasha
natashamusing
April Anecdotes
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Thanks for your kind words Natasha, and for stopping by.
Wow, what color! I could stare into that shade of blue for a long time….
The Multicolored Diary: Weird Things in Hungarian Folktales
I know – it’s mesmerizing isn’t it?!
That’s quite an assortment of blues!
I love Van Gogh, and I love the sky – night and day both. Sadly I am myself no good with crayons or colours or painting…
There are so many ways to enjoy colors, art, and the sky. For me the fun is always in the exploring.
Hi Deborah – I’ve been wanting to write posts on colour since I saw an exhibition at the National Gallery on colours … oh! I see I did write up two … I was going to do another … but that obviously got forgotten along the way … both posts are pretty comprehensive – and I guess would make reading in May or later!! Two in July 2014 and then there’s the recent Loving Vincent film – I wrote a post in March on that … there’s colours there … the film you’d love …
I do love colours and now we’re watching the Spring greens come to the fore – bright and fresh … but International Klein Blue – shines out … brilliant colour – cheers Hilary
I will most definitely track those pieces down and read them Hilary – I know I’ll enjoy them!
I LOVE that special indescribably green that is Spring green – it makes my heart burst with happiness. We’re still a bit away from seeing it here – we actually had a bit of snow on Monday yet again. But Spring is banging on the door and they’ll be no keeping her out. I’m so ready!
I have to agree with your other commenter, Susan, about how the colors of the world are so vivid and crisp after cataract surgery. I was stunned at first that the colors were so vibrant. Now I wonder if one’s eyes dull again after a few years or if you just get used to how those colors looked at first. I have to go to the ophthalmologist soon, I’ll ask him his opinion…
Fascinating question – I’ll be interested in hearing what he says.
I came to know about the artist Yves Klein and his Klein Blue (IKB) for the first time through this post.
Blue is my favorite color, next only to black 🙂 Its so hypnotic – you must visit the blue city Jodhpur in India. Its a special place.
One of my upcoming posts is about Jodhpur.
Do check out my #BlogchatterA2Z submission for letter I:
https://lonelycanopyblog.wordpress.com/2018/04/09/idling-at-jawahar-kala-kendra/
I love many things about the A-to-Z challenge, but one of the best is how many new things I learn.
I would love to visit Jodhpur, and I’ll look forward to reading your post.
As a kid I loved the color blue, similar to the one you favor. Later on deep dark purple became my favorite and now I seem to lean towards green. Although, not the bright greens, but the darker ones. I think because, I am in going through a phase I need to great ‘peace’ in my personal chaos, I am leaning towards the darker ‘rustic’ colors.
I know they are not official colors, but black and white, in combination with green and wood, definitely my favorites in and around the house.
But when I need my sleep, and I can’t get the brain threads to stop twirling, I imagine a field of yellow flowers. I read once that will calm you down and it really works.
It sounds like you have a rich and wonderful relationship with color Patty. One of the things I especially love about Spring is that unique color of green that newly-emerging leaves and plants emit – so filled with light!