To pull off the look, go for canvas prints on one just wall with the rest, white. You can take the prints to the upholstery as well.
Color
Color is everywhere ‘on the desert’, but, also under the desert, and over the desert. It is earth, plant, air.
A place of discovery, the desert landscape is a symphony of gray, green, and ocher punctuated by tiny explosions in a wide range of white, orange, yellow, and red. Throw in the cooling effects of a rich purple and then the deep blue of the sky and you have made your way all around the color wheel.
“First light” is that time of day when the turning of the earth brings the sun closer to the horizon and the intense darkness of night begins to lift. Objects become distinct from their surroundings and we see them in blacks and whites and grays. But it is when the sun actually rises above the horizon – “second light” – that color floods back into the world. Without light there is no color and depending on how light is being reflected off of or absorbed by an object, and how our eyes process those light waves, we see different colors. We also see colors differently – to many, yellow is yellow, but to an artist it may be cadmium yellow or yellow ochre or . . . Explore color with us this week and brighten your world!
Day 1 – Color In Nature
Insects
How Bees See and Why It Matters
Scientists consider bees to be a keystone species. They are so important to an ecosystem that it will collapse without them. At least 90 commercially grown crops depend upon bee pollination for survival. How important is the pollination by bees? Ask an almond grower. Without bees, there would be no almonds. Apples, blueberries, cherries, avocados, cucumbers, onions, grapefruit, oranges and pumpkins would also disappear. Bees are the undisputed champions of the pollination world. And their secret weapon? Sight.
As one might expect from the amazing diversity of colors and patterns exhibited by more than 10,000 bird species found in the world, birds can see color. The colors in the feathers of a bird are formed in two different ways, from either pigments or from light refraction caused by the structure of the feather. In some cases feather colors are the result of a combination of pigment and structural colors.
Day 2 – Growing & Harvesting Colors
Native Plant Dyes
Plants have been used for natural dyeing since before recorded history. The staining properties of plants were noted by humans and have been used to obtain and retain these colors from plants throughout history. Native plants and their resultant dyes have been used to enhance people’s lives through decoration of animal skins, fabrics, crafts, hair, and even their bodies.
Natural Colors
There are a multitude of naturally dyed yarns, rovings and fabrics out there and sometimes it is hard to imagine where the natural color may have come from! This list is far from exhaustive but will give you a good idea of which natural sources produce which colors. Experimenting with whatever you have on hand is recommended and is half the fun of producing dyes.
The History of Creating Vegetal Rug Dyes
Weavers have been dyeing the wool for their weavings to create beautiful artistry nearly as long as they’ve been making rugs, tapestries, throws and blankets. And while methods have varied over the years, early Navajo weavers began using natural plant dyes as far back as the 1700s. Today, weavers use a variety of beautiful colors to create gorgeous weavings that are simply breathtaking.
The Dye Process
Indigo
The Bug That Had the World Seeing Red
Prominent Art Forms of the Tribes
Creativity was sacred and limitless, according to the Native Americans. The artwork was a means of worshipping the Gods. They were inspired by the beauty and their love for nature.
Their ideology permeates their art. The traditional art forms associated with the region include weaving, jewelry-making, pottery, painting, sand painting, basketry, wall art, amongst others.
- Apache and Sioux are hunting tribes and never settled in one place. Hence, you can find their art in ceremonies jars and containers they use daily.
- Lakota Sioux Native Americans, on the other hand, made intricate prints on buffalo skins.
- Hopi consider the Kachinas to be an ally of the Pueblo. Hence, the Kachina dolls signify fertility and give a part of the spirit of a loved one.
- Stone carving or fetish of the Zuni artist. A fetish is created with the belief that it has supernatural powers.
- Navajo weavers have been spinning beautiful rugs for more than three centuries now. Their artwork is intricate and is known for its longevity and durability.
- Artists from the Pueblo tribe developed pottery during their sedentary period. Rather than being an art, it was used in their daily lives.
Art Form of the Pueblo Tribe
Pueblo tribe is popular for their pottery and is one of the most collected artwork.
The Pueblo art is unique to each southwest tribe and remains unchanged for centuries. Pueblo Indians are a collection 0f tribes, including Hopi, Zuni, Taos, and Acoma. Heishi jewelry and pottery were the most popular art forms of the Pueblo tribe.
While few motifs are shared, each Pueblo tribe has its own well-defined form of decor. Long geometric patterns are quite common in their material, pottery, and baskets. Apart from that, artists also present stylized forms of natural elements such as birds, animals, rain, and lightning in their wall art, particularly the Zuni tribe.
Pueblo Artwork in Home Decor
Pueblo pottery is usually quite different from your regular fine art. Unusual shapes and geometrical patterns define this artwork. These qualities make it easy to incorporate into your home decor.
Authentic products are quite difficult to find. This art form may have chips and breaks since they are handmade.
Use a Pueblo pottery as a centerpiece in your living room. Another option is to get framed prints or wall art of the pottery.
Southwestern Paintings
Southwestern prints and wall art are known for their romantic landscapes and bright color depicting the western hemisphere. You can see desert panoramas lined with cacti, canyons, mountains, and valleys.
Another commonality in the framed artwork is the cowboys, horses, and other famous symbols of the wild west.
Color Palette
Southwest palette includes the vibrant color of the desert, like copper, gold, grey, silver, ochre, and umber. You can also find a touch of purple, blue, or turquoise color depending on the collection and the artist.
The color palette can trace its roots to the traditional Pueblo homes, most of which are available even today.
Colors of the Navajo Sandstone
The range of colors of the Navajo Sandstone –red, brown, pink, salmon, gold, and even white—results from varying amounts and forms of iron oxide within the rock, and in the case of the white upper portion of the Navajo, the overall lack of iron.
The processes behind the color variation are complex and took place in multiple phases over long periods of time. To start, the Navajo is made of grains of light-colored quartz sand, similar to those found in many modern dune or beach environments. Soon after being deposited in dunes, the sand grains were coated with a thin layer of reddish-brown iron oxide (the mineral hematite; a.k.a. rust). This was due to the chemical breakdown (oxidation) of very small amounts of iron-containing minerals within the sand, and made the earlier Navajo Sandstone a pinkish-red color overall.
Much later, ancient groundwater or hydrocarbons passed through the permeable Navajo Sandstone. The particular chemistry of the fluid altered the color of the rock layers in certain places, while they were still buried beneath the ground surface. Occasionally referred to as ‘bleaching’, some of these fluids removed the iron oxide, leaving the remaining rock white.
In some places iron minerals precipitated from solution to form iron concretions of various shapes and sizes (like those in the photo at left), as well as the iron-rich layers which cap hoodoos on Zion’s east side (above).
These dark, iron-enriched concretions and layers are more resistant to erosion than the regular Navajo Sandstone, often leaving them standing out in positive relief against the softer sandstone.
