Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Chartreuse is a Neutral?

No pretty pictures of chartreuse things from me. And it looks like I'm going to have to get out my dyes and make some fabric for this challenge (I have half a bolt of solid green, but I think it's too lime, and too solid to work).

I did however, spend some time contemplating Gerrie's directive to use chartreuse as a neutral.

Webster's says neutral is "without hue, achromatic." What audacity to treat a color so specific and intense as chartreuse as neutral! I love it. Gerrie, you have caught my attention.

The more practical definition though is "matching well with many or most other colors or shades." And I'm pretty sure this will be my jumping off point. I will attempt to show that chartreuse goes with everything and is therefore a neutral.

Just for fun, I looked at other definitions of neutral -- to see if they sparked any related ideas.
  • Chemistry: neither base nor acid, as distilled water.
  • International Relations: like Switzerland (I could do the Swiss flag in chartreuse and white instead of red and white -- how fun would that be?!).
  • Linguistics: neutral gender, ie "das" in german, which, along with the feminine "die" and masculine "der," I never did get good at remembering what words it belonged with.
  • Mechanical: disengaged gears. Hmmmm...
  • Electronics: the ground wire (that's usually brown in color though).
  • Philosophy: like International Relations, not taking a side in a controversy.
  • Network Neutrality: today's hot topic.
I've got a few ideas for where to take this. Does this kind of "research" or word association inspire others as well?

4 comments:

Gerrie said...

Hey!! I never intended for all of the twelves to use chartreuse as a neutral. You can use the color any way you want to. I love chartreuse and red and often find a way to work them into my art.

Unknown said...

I am keen on word associations and trails in wandering a creative path. Sometimes I will even journal the words right/write into the quilt. The word game stimulates my brain cells and feeds my imagination.

Kristin L said...

OK, maybe directive is too strong a word, but you did say chartreuse is your favorite neutral and that inspired me. :-)

Vicki Miller said...

I have just been reading about art and Synesthesia, which is how our senses interact with colour.
for me Chartreuse would taste crisp and sharp, it would feel cool and smooth, it would sound clear and loud, it's weight would be neither heavy nor light and it would be a happy and calm colour. Of course these are my ideas of what this colour could signify in a work, but look synesthesia up.