Autumn Gathering

Autumn is the time of year when we delight in warm beautiful colors. The trees put on a spectacular show of reds, golds, oranges, and yellows. Mums in burgundy, yellow, white and orange decorate front porches. Then, you have the pumpkins and gourds adding their brilliant colors to fall arrangements. There is one color that just doesn't get enough attention during the showy colors of fall....brown....plain, ordinary brown. 

In the Be Still 52 class this week our exercise was to gather signs of fall. I tried to stay away from the showy colors and focus more on the browns, tans, and golds. Where would the world be without these colors?

Brown is a serious, down-to-earth color that signifies stability, structure and support. It is solid with strength and maturity; think earth, dirt, rocks, and tree trunks. Brown is the predominant color on the planet along with green. It can be considered dull, boring and unexciting. In fact, it is one of the least preferred colors in the western world.

American Indians believe the color brown represents the power of self-discipline.

I like the way the Japanese think about brown. They don't have a specific word for brown. Rather, they use more descriptive names such as "tea-color," "fox-color," and "fallen-leaf."

Can you imagine life without brown?  What color would your coffee be....chocolate....whole wheat bread....nutmeg?  I hope you take some time to look around and enjoy brown along with all the other autumn colors. It's actually quite spectacular all by itself!

"I never met a color I didn't like."
Dale Chihuly

Thank you to Sensational Color for facts about the color brown.