Jan 11 2024 - Colouring the Year

 

The colour of the year.  Why do we care about this?  How did it get to be a significant thing. And who is the authority?  Is it Pantone or Benjamin-Moore?  Pantone's colour is 1023 Peach Fuzz.  Here's their introduction:  "PANTONE 13-1023 Peach Fuzz captures our desire to nurture ourselves and others. It's a velvety gentle peach tone whose all-embracing spirit enriches mind, body, and soul. In seeking a hue that echoes our innate yearning for closeness and connection, we chose a color radiant with warmth and modern elegance. A shade that resonates with compassion, offers a tactile embrace, and effortlessly bridges the youthful with the timeless." It all about warm and cuddly with that colour.  Pantone isn't the first to come up in the list.  Benjamin-Moore has definitely put more dollars into sponsoring their retrievals to the top 5 or more. Hope over to their website and their colour is Blue Nova CC-850.  I certainly enjoyed the video of Blue Nova CC-860 mixing up.  It is calming like thick, creamy waves on the shore - red, pink, gray, aqua, mid-blues all come together. Watch the paint swirl HERE.   Benjamin Moore says this: " With Blue Nova leading the way, depth and intrigue are balanced by an undercurrent of reassurance. This alluring mid-tone features an enchanting duality, capturing the spotlight with endlessly classic appeal. New horizons are sought by exploring disparate places, thoughts, and colours to form endless creative possibilities. Softly saturated with a nuanced approach to contrast, the Benjamin Moore Colour Trends 2024 palette takes inspiration from the hues experienced through travels and moments that span beyond routine. On adventures near or far, we encourage collecting poignant colour moments with verve and personality that are unexpected and boundlessly magical."  Somehow these press releases read like Horoscopes. Here is another of the Christmas images - this poetic Poinsettia was at the Niagara Falls Showcase Greenhouse.    Read more daily posts here: marilyncornwellblogspot.com Purchase works here: Fine Art America- marilyncornwell.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Nov 19 2020 - A Rose in Mathematics

 

Here we are with the Christmas flower - the Poinsettia.  This one is a rose form.  It is petite and delicate.  Roses are so beloved that many flower hybridizers try to create 'rose form' flowers.  Begonias and Camellias have forms that are especially like roses. There is a rose (mathematics) entry in Wikipedia.  The link is HERE.   I expect the picture below is an excellent overview of rose flower petals, although the first few look more like daisies to me than roses.  And the references say see also:  daisy and shows a picture of "a figure resembling a daisy or sunflower which has circles placed along a spiral. The definition of rose in mathematics is: A curve which has the shape of a petalled flower. This curve was named rhodonea by the Italian mathematician Guido Grandi between 1723 and 1728 because it resembles a rose (MacTutor Archive). I encourage you to look at the animated examples of roses created using gears with different ratios.   Today's picture comes from a few years ago, but I can tell you the Poinsettias are blooming at Sunshine Express.  I was there a month ago and they had replaced the Chrysanthemums in the greenhouse.

Read past POTDs at my Blog: https://marilyncornwell.blogspot.com Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Whacky Thanksgiving

This is American Thanksgiving and we visit what's whacky as reported by the Huffington Post a few years ago.  Colored Turkeys at Gozzi’s Turkey Farms You can order your Thanksgiving bird from this Connecticut farm, but that’s not what visitors come to see. Every year around Thanksgiving, Gozzi’s dyes its live turkeys all shades of neon and gives kids a chance to feed them. Says a Yelper, “I thought pink, purple, green, and yellow turkeys were just in coloring books. But Gozzi’s got them.” The Fifth Third Turkey Trot Well, it’s actually the 31st instalment of this Detroit footrace, named “Fifth Third” after the bank that founded it. The titles continue their wonkiness on race day: there’s the 10k Turkey Trot, 5k Stuffing Strut, and Mashed Potato Mile (completing more than one is a Drumstick Double). Don your craziest costume, and you might win the contest! The Turkey Testicle Festival That’s right, the catchphrase at this 21-and-over bar fest is “hot nuts.” A thousand pounds of actual turkey yarbles will be served alongside pizza and beer at Parkside Pub in Huntley, Illinois on the eve of Thanksgiving. Catch some local bands and leave with a story to tell around the Thanksgiving table. The Green Lake Gobble Seattle ends their Thanksgiving 5k with a hefty serving of side dish: in the Mashed Potato Much Off, the one to shovel the most potatoes in four minutes wins a pile of cash. You might also score prizes if you beat the runner who wears a turkey suit during the race. Here's our orange Poinsettia for the American Thanksgiving table.

Poinsettia Madness

A visit to Sunshine Nurseries last week was a feast of poinsettias.  As far as you can see are stripes of red, white, pink - all the colours and varieties of poinsettias imaginable. There are three locations for poinsettia trials in North America - Florida, South Carolina and Niagara.  This year it is taking place at Linwell Gardens, one of the growers.  Last year it took place at Vineland Research Station and there was a great public showing and voting. There are over 160 varieties on trial this year, and I hope to see them on Monday afternoon when I interview Wayne Brown, the chair of the activity.

Poinsettias Are Here

This is their only month here in the Norther Hemisphere.  Known for their Christmas status, they lose favour quickly after the holiday passes.  

However, for this short time, they rule as the King and Queen of flowers.  Here are a few selections of the display at Centennial Greenhouses in Toronto, along with a scene of the  traditional display of dried fruits and pine cones.