Do you have a color that tells a story in your life? Do you have a color that represents a powerful emotion, an event, or a decision? Maybe you haven’t thought about it until now, but often that color leaks out into your life, and your creative work, in ways that may surprise you.
For me it was the color Purple. And 10 years later, it was the movie ‘The Color Purple’.
But first, let me explain…
When I was a teenager in the mid-Seventies, growing up in a small town, we were getting seriously mixed messages about the world we were entering. On the one hand there were women – older than us – who were fighting for Womens Rights. (The kind of rights that young women today have taken for granted…until recently.) We were being told that now women could grow up to do, or be, anything they dreamed of….
On the other hand there were still plenty of people in our lives who were still telling us to keep quiet, don’t stick out in a crowd, don’t talk back, do what is expected of you. It was very confusing.
My best friend came from a well educated family. Her parents were both professors from immigrant families. She got straight A’s, and she was an over-achiever and still managed to be a funny, creative person. The only thing expected of her was that she be the best at everything. Ha. She pretty much nailed it. We got split up and went to different high schools, but we always went to summer camp together. She got a PhD from Stanford and then her law degree from Berkeley, but she always retained her wild sense of style and color. And her favorite color was Purple.
I thought she was very brave to wear bright purple. Because if you wore a color like that, people would make fun of you. She didn’t care. I secretly loved Purple, but was afraid of being bullied. So to me, that color represented Courage and Freedom.
In 1985 the film “The Color Purple” came out. I had just moved from Hong Kong to New York City in late 1984 to work as an import designer. I remember very clearly going to Saks 5th Avenue (yes, that one!) and picking out a purple velvet silk cocktail dress, and then making payments on layaway until I could bring it home and wear it to a party. I remember that feeling so well. It felt like I had arrived. Where had I arrived? At home, with myself.
We are still best childhood friends. She is a medical ethics expert, a professor, and speaks up for women without a voice. And we both wear Purple. These days, the color means Creativity, Unity and Spirituality, to me.
***
Last week we put out a call for comfort quilts, to be transported to Ukrainian refugees in Europe along with food, medical supplies, and other relief necessities. We are supporting our longtime non-profit partner Mission of Love, in this effort.
If you wish to help, please read the details on this info page carefully.
We continue to stock the fabrics you all have requested, for your quilt and sewing projects to support Ukraine. We continue to donate to Mission of Love, Doctors Without Borders, and a list of other non-profits on the ground helping refugees now.
My group exhibit “For the Love of Gaia” is still up at the New England Quilt Museum, and I will be there to give a lecture at 1 pm Sat April 9, for the closing reception. I hope those of you in the area can come to see the show in its final weeks, or come to the lecture on 4/9.
Praying for Peace,
Luana and Paul
-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- BarbFlowers on Where the Wild Things Are
- BarbFlowers on From Boulder…With Love
- juliehq on Profile Article – Luana Rubin – on Create Whimsy
- sunnysewsit on A Day in the Forest
- quilter501 on A Day in the Forest
Archives
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
Categories
Meta
Follow Us