See Clearly When the Clutter is Gone

Posted on | January 8, 2010 | No Comments

If winter weather is keeping you  home more than usual, you may find yourself looking around your house and mentally remodeling or repainting. Before you do anything drastic (and expensive), began with clearing the clutter in closets, cupboards and storage spaces. Clearing clutter is an ongoing project for me — a little effort here and there saves me from being overwhelmed with the task. But even though I’m good at clutter maintenance I still take the time to completely clear a closet at least once per year.

And, all of those tidy spaces make it much easier to change the wall color when I get the urge!

Here’s a peak at the piece I wrote for Latina Style magazine titled, Clearing Spaces:

Dear Cristina,

During the winter my family and I were stuck in our house more than usual. Now that we have time to relax, I’m looking at a lot of clutter and mess and it’s making me loca. I don’t have any money to remodel, but I want a fresh start on a budget that’s mostly going to be hard work rather than cash. Where should I begin?
Ana Louisa P.

Have you ever moved and noticed that after you unpacked your things and put them in your new home, you saw your belongings in a new light? The process of moving is all about preparing for a change. You probably had a garage sale or giveaway before you left your old house, taking a look at your things with the view, “Do I really need this?”

The good news is that you don’t have to move to get a new view of the same old stuff in your life. The easiest way to focus your vision is to clear out the clutter. Without the distraction of clutter you’ll be able to see what you have to start with so you can determine the best way to begin a big change.
This change won’t have to cost you a dime, though you will have to work hard. You may even make some money if you sell your discarded items.

Working from where you are and with what you have can bring about amazing results, whether we’re talking about fitness, emotional growth or home décor. You always have more than you think – just not in the way you usually think about it.

Focusing on what you really like and want to continue to live with won’t stop at your home décor. Even more surprising is that changing your home on the cheap can be a creatively challenging project that will not only result in a “new” way to live in your home, you’ll discover talents you didn’t know you had. You’ll quickly realize that refining your focus will extend to other areas of your life, maybe even including your work and personal relations. . . . READ MORE

When the Color Yellow isn’t Sunny

Posted on | January 4, 2010 | No Comments

Most people expect  a few changes in their eyesight as they age. Changes in eyesight are so common that racks of inexpensive reading glasses in a series of strengths stand in most any variety or drugstore.

One of the unexpected changes that can happen to the aging eye includes the color yellow. For some people the lens of the eye becomes increasingly dense and more yellow with age. With that change, contrast sensitivity declines and dark colors can be difficult to distinguish from each other.

The yellowing effect may not be affecting you personally, but if you are a retailer or manufacturer selling products, how your products are being perceived by the older customer with this condition affects your sales.

Yellow labels can “disappear” against a bright yellow background. Decreased contrast sensitivity can cause blue and black  or blue and green to appear the same. White or light colored type on a black or dark colored background may be almost impossible to read for that customer.

Colors not only affect people differently because of personal and cultural conditioning and experiences. The visual  abilities of each person affects how and if they perceive a color. Keeping in mind the possibility for differences in color perceptions is especially important for color consultants. Yellow is not always a sunny color.

Read more about the aging eye at LighthouseInternational.org

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Matching Pantone Colors to House Paint Colors – Is a Color Match as Good as Buying the Real Thing?

Posted on | December 2, 2009 | 5 Comments

When color consulting clients look at paint color samples the most common question I get from them (after they choose their colors) is this: Do I have to buy “this” brand of paint to get the color I want, or can I buy something cheaper? The answer isn’t simple. Sometimes the answer is  yes, other times no.

Here’s why. There are at least 3 parts to how a latex house paint color looks: Base tint, pigment and sheen. House paint isn’t just white paint with colors added. Depending upon the color, the paint store selling the brand uses a particular (there can be several choices) tinted base color to which  they then add measured amounts of their color pigments. Each company has their own group of pigments. And some companies such as Benjamin Moore, Pantone or Divine Paints use very particular pigments.

What this means to the homeowner trying to match a paint color from one brand to another (usually cheaper) brand of paint is that there will be differences between brands.  Sometimes you can’t tell the difference, and you’ll be happy with the result. Other times, differences may include subtle things like sheen changes, and sometimes (especially when using Divine Paints) the difference between the actual brand and the cheaper copy results in radical shifts in how the color actually looks on the wall. Depending upon the skill of the paint store professional who matches the color, the differences between the color specified and how that color looks on the wall can range quite a bit.

So what should you do if you want certain colors but want to save money? The first thing I suggest to clients is that they buy a cheaper product from the line of colors they like. That way, color consistency will be the same across the product line with some exceptions. Benjamin Moore for example, won’t sell their Affinity colors in their lower priced product lines because they can’t deliver the exact match and paint qualities.

If purchasing the color sample paint brand isn’t going to work because of availability issues or some sort of arrangement with a painting contractor, then ask to see large samples (dried) of the colors so that you can be sure the color match is acceptable between brands.

Recently a painting contractor asked me about matching Pantone Colors from the Pantone Matching System (PMS). He said that the professional paint stores he worked with were hesitant to match the colors. When this happens, it’s likely because the paint store personnel does not have a clear sense of the base tint that will yield the best result.

The bottom line is that if you’re not willing to buy the brand of paint consistent with your color sample, you take a risk that you won’t get exactly what you want. Buy the best quality paint you can afford from a professional paint store, and  it’s often not a problem. If you’re trying to save money on house paint it’s important to  make an informed decision that works for both your sense of aesthetics and your wallet.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Feeling a Color or Tasting a Sound isn’t Crazy, it’s Synesthesia

Posted on | November 16, 2009 | 2 Comments

Have you every noticed that a color can feel heavy (even if it’s a light color)? Or tight, or smooth, or have a flavor? If the colors you see register as tastes, sounds or physical sensations, then you might have synesthesia.

Synesthesia is a condition in the brain processes that describes when the brain  mixes up the senses – taste, touch, smell, hearing and vision so that the person with synesthesia may experience a taste as a shape (for example) or a number as a color.

Though modern scientists first documented synesthesia in the 1880’s it wasn’t until recently with the aid of brain scans and other technology, that science has found a way to ascertain that synesthesia is not just a gift for metaphor, but is an actual brain condition.

In the article, Hearing Color, Tasting Shapes, by Vilayanur S. Ramachandran and Edward M. Hubbard, published by Scientific American, the authors discuss the phenonmenon of synesthesia and explain the possible reasons for the condition.

“Our insights into the neurological basis of synesthesia could help explain some of the creativity of painters, poets and novelists. According to one study, the condition is seven times as common in creative people as in the general population. . . . In addition to clarifying why artists might be prone to experiencing synesthesia, our research suggests that we all have some capacity for it and that this trait may have set the stage for the evolution of abstraction–an ability at which humans excel.”

When I walk through a client’s home, the colors, shapes and textures speak to me kinesthetically  as well as visually. And sometimes I get the sensation of a taste or sound, depending upon how the colors in the room interact. I never gave much thought to this ability until I read Ramachandran and Hubbard’s work. Then a way of experiencing the world that I had considered a personal idiosyncrasy  was suddenly something with a name that I now know is experienced by others.

When science “proves” something that artists have been perceiving, the necessity of the arts in education is even more apparent to me. People who have neurological wiring that gives them problems or  idiosyncrasies  such as dyslexia or synesthesia don’t often fit into the standard learning and teaching styles enforced in the average school. Including the arts in school curriculum allows these people to succeed and flourish and maybe someday, even become artists of one kind or another.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Choosing Room Colors

Posted on | November 5, 2009 | No Comments

One thing leads to another. That’s as true in life as it is for interior design. It’s especially true if you’ve ever started remodeling or redecorating just one room of a home, then stood back when it was done only to realize that other areas of the house need updating.

And in the same sense, one color leads to another as you walk through any building. Creating a paint color scheme blending good color design with the architecture of your home is like putting together a 3-D puzzle. One part of that puzzle changes and everything changes. And change can be complicated.

It’s easy to think about home color as mostly about the walls, but the reality is that the walls, floors, ceiling, trims and decor are all design elements that combine within the open spaces of the home. Now add to that the thousands of choices you have in most any tile, furniture, lighting and paint store and the puzzle pieces of design that seemed so easy to sort are now in danger of becoming a pile of confusing shapes and colors.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by color, you’re not alone. Putting together entire interior design color schemes can be a lot to think about. But, mixing colors around your home gets a little simpler if you think about those color combinations as a master color plan.

Creating a master color plan is what I do for my clients. They choose the paint colors they like and I help them make those choices (or similar choices) work with the rest of their home decor as well as the architecture of the home.

Here are a few tips I share with color consulting clients to help them organize their interior paint colors:

• Identify the colors in your home that you aren’t going to change, such as the flooring, kitchen cabinetry, window coverings, countertops, etc., and be sure that the paint colors you choose complement the colors of those things.
• Look at the paint colors in natural light and at night under artificial light to be sure the color looks good 24/7.
• Sample your color choices in several places of the room so that you can see the effect of light on the paint color.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

The Colors of Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead)

Posted on | October 28, 2009 | 3 Comments

The mystery of life and death and spirit, the reality of change and the beauty of everything is a defining aspect of Mexican culture. Throughout Mexico and most anywhere a significant number of Mexican-Americans live, altars adorn public & private spaces. This spirituality with ancient roots is most visible during the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) festival  November 1st and 2nd.

Dia de los Muertos  (the Day of the Dead) is celebrated in Mexico and by Mexican Americans living in the U.S. As a holy day it is connected to the Catholic holy day All Saints’ Day, but is actually much older and pre-dates the Aztec. The celebration is spread through various other countries in Central and South America.

Through the month of October, people prepare for Dia de los Muertos by preparing altars (ofrendas) to honor the dead. Depending upon the family or community traditions, altars can be elaborate rooms with effigies of the deceased surrounded by beauty, food and candles, or simple altars with a picture and a few items.

Brilliant colors and stark value contrasts between dark and light with the addition of warm earthen tones make up the complex palette of colors associated the Mexican Celebration of Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead). Not only are these colors seen among the flowers and decorations that make up the various ofrendas  (altars), foods and decor that are part of the celebration, the colors metaphorically and symbolically mirror the mystical underpinnings of the Dia de los Muertos celebration.

Because the veil between the living and the spirit world thins at this time of year, the colors of the Hispanic celebration of the Day of the Dead are both strong in hue and in contrast. Bridging those

strong colors and values is the warm brown color of pan de muerte, the traditional bread of Dia de los Muertos. Motifs of crossed bones emerge from small loaves the warm color of brown skin. What a beautiful metaphor and visual symbol of the ephemeral quality of life expressed through color meanings and symbology.

I didn’t grow up with the actual Dia de los Muertos celebration. Instead, when I was under the age of 10 my family celebrated a unique combination of All Saints Day and Halloween with a piñata (a Mexican tradition of a paper effigy of an animal or object that is stuffed with candy and then destroyed by children to release the treats). It was the type of culturally morphed celebration that fit into the surrounding neighborhood of Palos Verdes, California during the 60’s and 70’s.

Since then I’ve explored how the holiday is celebrated in Mexico and incorporated some of those ideas into my personal life. Being that I love making retablos (altars) with images of the divine feminine, such as the Guadalupe and Conquistadora, and have those retablos all over my house, decorating an altar for the season comes naturally.

For me personally, the time of Dia de los Muertos begins in October and continues to about mid-November. This is a beautiful season and  a time that I  specifically ask my ancestors and deceased friends and relatives to visit me with their gifts of wisdom and love. I usually get some sort of revelation or enriching experience during this time that especially helps me for the ensuing year.

Here are some guidelines to the symbolism of the items on a Dia de los Muertos ofrenda (altar):

Composition of a Dia de los Muertos Ofrenda (altar of offerings):

• Water – Source of Life
• Salt – Purification
  

  An effigy of the deceased (in photo) made of loofas draped in her clothing is the centerpiece of this huge ofrenda (altar) taking up an entire bedroom. I visited this home in Ocotopec and the family allowed this photo. Note the beauty and care put into every aspect of the decorations and offerings.

• Candle or light – Eternal love
• Copal or incense Offering to the gods -  Transmits prayers
• Flowers — the yellow flowers represent the sun, wealth and light to help souls find their way. The white flowers represent purity and often represent children.
• Mat, bed, table — a symbolic place of rest for souls. This is often the surface on which the altar rests.
• Toys — for young souls.
• Bread, tamales — sustenance
• The neck and the canes (bones) in the form of a wheel — this is the symbol on the Pan de Muerto, the traditional bread for Dia de los Muertos
• Items that pleased the deceased person and usually a photo, sometimes an effigy draped in
  

  Candy skulls made of sugar or chocolate are traditional food items for the Dia de los Muertos altar. I took this photo detail of the food offering at a public ofrenda (altar) in Tpotzlan, Mexico.

  the deceased’s clothing.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Nature’s Lovers are Colors – Purple and Green Together

Posted on | October 23, 2009 | 1 Comment

Landscape artists often refer to the color combination of violet/purple and green as “Nature’s Lovers”. Not only do purple and green look good together on an artist’s canvas, they can look amazing together in your home.

From soft gray violet to deep amethyst purples, painting your walls your favorite shade of purple will go with more colors than you might think. Here’s why. Purple is a mixture of red and blue. That means you can easily coordinate purple with those colors. Green is another color that coordinates beautifully with purple, but not for the same reason. The color green is what artist’s refer to as a “near complement” to purple.

Even though a “near complement” sounds like something socially awkward, in artist’s terms it describes a particular secondary color’s relationship to another color on the color wheel. (If you want to learn more about color relationships including what is a primary, secondary and tertiary color, read my book, Paint Happy.)

If all of this sounds too complicated, stop before you decide that choosing colors is just too complex of a subject. You don’t have to learn any complicated aesthetic terms to enjoy color. Look around you and you’ll see unlikely combinations that are beautiful together. In nature you’ll often see green and purple together at your local farmer’s market or produce section at the supermarket. Eggplants, artichokes and asparagus are examples of vegetables where the colors green and purple exist beautifully together.

Consciously seeing color and noting color combinations you like is inspiration you can bring into your life and into your home. Next time you’re thinking about home colors, look beyond the paint store before you start choosing color chips. You might surprise yourself with the combinations you realize you enjoy.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Seeing Color Through the Eyes of Neuroscience

Posted on | October 19, 2009 | No Comments

Visualize “fire engine red” and the color red rushes to mind with or without a vision of the wheels. It’s the same for “grass green”, “sky blue” or “chocolate brown”. Seeing color is such a natural condition that we often don’t question why we see colors and we presume that everybody sees the same colors.

Though most of us do see the same colors, some people can’t. Men (about 5-8% and about 1% in women) with congenital color-blindness may not even know the exact extent of their color blindness until professionally tested. And seeing the same colors is no guarantee towards agreement.

When I was a painting student in art school my professor asked me to randomly choose “Coca-Cola red” from a group of red color chips. I confidently picked a red, sure that it matched my memory of the color. When the professor produced a bottle of Coke and had me put my sample up to the logo, I was surprised to find my choice, though close, was not completely accurate.

Since then, decades of working with color and honing my color sense have increased my understanding of how precise the eye can be. For years I’ve mixed color as an artist, continually refining my experience with both the components of a color and how it appears next to other colors. I’ve also realized that my memories of  colors are only broadly accurate.

The color of the beach sand near my childhood home in Playa del Rey, California, is golder to me in my memories than the actual vial of sand from that beach that I collected for a keepsake. That’s because the expanse of sand and the light of the day make the color experience.

So, when I incorporated the gold of the sand into my home interior design color plan I went with the color that best bridged my color memories, the vial of beach sand  and the reality of my living room walls. I compromised between the color I held in my mind and what my  brain and eyes were telling me.

Learning about the neuroscience behind how the brain and the eyes  see color is the topic of Mark Changizi’s book,  The Vision Revolution. It’s a wonderful book from a man who describes himself as a  “theoretical neuroscientist”. Even if your interest in color is currently limited to what color to paint your living room accent wall, you’ll find that Changizi’s book will inform and enlighten your understanding of how the mind works and that how you physiologically perceive color affects your entire life.

www.CristinaAcosta.com Note: I have an affiliate arrangement with Amazon.com. Clicking on the icon for Changizi’s book and purchasing it through this link will result in a small financial support of this blog.

Everyone Wishes for Silver and Gold. Is it a Color Trend or Self-Fulfilling Prophecy?

Posted on | October 18, 2009 | No Comments

Sam the Snowman had it right when he sang, “Everyone wishes for silver and gold.” Sam, just in case you don’t know, was the narrator of  the 1964 classic Christmas TV special, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. But Sam the Snowman was only partly right. Though to be fair, Sam didn’t drive or carry a wallet.

According to Ford Motor Co., and PPG Industries (Pittsburgh Paint), car buyers in the U.S. still vote with their wallets for the color silver as the most popular car color in the U.S. for the 9th year in a row. Colors trailing behind silver are white, then black. The rest of the automobile color line-up varies by city and region.

Sometimes color preferences by region are obvious, like the practicality of owning white cars in hot dessert areas of the country. Sometimes color choices are not so easy to ascribe a meaning. Dee-Ann Durbin, an AP writer recently wrote about the Ford and PPG studies if you want the details.

Despite the apparent popularity of these current colors, you can’t help but wonder if they are as popular as they may seem. If every car buyer could easily custom order a paint color, the statistics might shift dramatically. I own a white vehicle, but only because it was (to me) the least obnoxious color on the lot when I bought my mini-van.

I also considered a white car because I avoid washing my car and white doesn’t seem to show  dirt as much as the other available car colors. My point in telling you this isn’t to share my preferences (or car-washing habits) as it is to give you some insight into the possible reasons behind a particular color choice.

Because silver and white are such popular car colors, car manufacturers will tend to play it safe and make more silver and white colored cars. Is the most popular car color the sign of a trend or a self-fulfilling prophecy?

So how does any of this color talk help you when you’re choosing colors for your home? My advice is to consider color trends with reservations rather than to accept that whatever color is trendy is right for you.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Color Captures Your Attention – So Think Before You Paint Your Garage Door Trim

Posted on | October 16, 2009 | 2 Comments

Put a red tomato on a white sand beach and your eye will instantly focus on the tomato. The color difference (even if you know nothing about tomatoes) will be enough to capture your attention. Not only does this visual attribute help you find a snack or your socks, it’s an important concept to keep in mind when you’re painting your house.

When color consulting with clients who are choosing  exterior paint colors I often suggest they don’t call attention to their garage. This advice doesn’t work for every house or every client, but it’s worth considering. Here’s why:  Many American homes have garages that visually dominate the entrance side of the home. I presume this architectural phenomenon  reflects the reality of most Americans’ relationship to the car.

If you have a home like this, your garage is near your front entrance and the garage door or doors will (all together) visually dominate your entry way. Not only is this iffy Feng Shui, it puts your front door entry way into second place. True, most people will figure out where your front door is and  won’t be knocking on your garage door to get in your house. Even so, downplaying the garage doors in this situation will amp up your home’s curb appeal.

So, how are you going to magically shift attention away from the garage doors and towards the entry door? The answer is a relatively easy and inexpensive  home redo. Here it is: Paint your garage door trim and/or the garage doors the same color as the body of the house. Before you whip out the brush (or google painting contractors), I do have a few guidelines to help you make an informed design decision.

• Paint the trim around the garage door the same color as the body color (exterior wall color), regardless of the trim color around the windows and other doors.

• If the garage doors are ordinary, paint them the same color as the body color.

• If you have beautiful natural wood garage doors that enhance your home don’t paint them without careful consideration. They may be a valid design element, especially if the natural wood is repeated in other areas of the home such as the soffits, trim, shingle accent areas, etc. If you are in doubt, paint the entire home exterior first, then after looking at the result make your decision to paint the garage door.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Blanca, a New Meaning for the Color White

Posted on | October 13, 2009 | 2 Comments

Crisp and fresh or harsh and sterile, a laundry line of contradictory meanings flap around the color white. How we understand color is based on who and where we are. And the meaning color has for us can change along with changes in our lives and our location. White on a tropical island is a very different experience from  white (as snow) covering a northern winter landscape.

I was looking at the color white  last week and realized that for me, white had became a symbol of global interconnection. How did a color I see every day suddenly have a new meaning? Here’s what happened.

Last week an early season snow of over 5 inches fell around my home in Oregon. As the snow piled up (and the shock wore off!) I noticed a strange thing about the color of the snow. It was tinged a warm white. At first the warm white color of the snow wasn’t noticeable, but as the layer of stained snow thickened, it was obvious that something unusual had happened.

Poking my fingers into the top layer of snow, I could remove that soil tinged beige layer of snow to reveal the cold blue-white layer of snow beneath that had fallen earlier as part of the same storm. It was a beautiful contrast of whites.

The next day the news reported that a dust storm in the neighboring state of Washington near Moses Lake over 300 miles away from my  home in Bend, Oregon had tinged the snowfall with the warm red topsoil from Eastern Washington farm lands.

Mother Nature was giving us a lesson in whites along with a reminder that the borders we humans put around our cities, states, territories and countries are invisible to her. During those moments I spent looking at the subtly colored layers of white snow, white became my new “green”.

The idea of white as a unifying color isn’t new. The color white is regularly used in home decor as an interior or exterior paint trim color that repeats often enough around a home that it unifies a variety of other colors. White is so popular in architecture that some paint companies such as Benjamin Moore, Pittsburgh Paints and Sherwin Williams have over one hundred whites in their paint lines to choose from.

White is everywhere from underwear to outerwear. It’s in most everybody’s closet and has been for decades. White dress shirts have been a mainstay of men’s business fashion for over a century. From baby diapers to bed sheets, the color white in some variation is one color I would bet most people on the planet have. Billions of people and the color white. The meanings will keep on.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Color and Design Concepts: The Balance of Repetition and Variation (and a Snake)

Posted on | October 8, 2009 | 2 Comments

Good design snakes our attention. Here’s why. Looking at too much of the same thing can turn a good thing into nothing you’d notice or want to look at. Too much of the same thing sends our brain to sleep. Maybe not literally, but our attention drifts and we’re on to the next thing.

Our human brains are on the alert for differences. That alertness informs us when the forest we’re walking through isn’t just grass and trees, but now includes a snake.

Good design of all types, including home interior design is about moving the eye, mind and body throughout the work. Whether that work is architectural, a photograph, painting or product, when the viewer is engaged, the work is a success. That doesn’t mean that good design appeals equally to everyone. That’s not possible. Despite that, there are general concepts or tools that designers and artists of all types use.

One of those tools is the balance of design repetition to variation. A good designer creates work that has enough of the same thing – repetition of design elements, along with enough differences – variation of design elements, to keep the eye and brain engaged in the way they want it engaged.

Too much repetition and something is so visually quiet, the brain can’t find stimulation and looses interest. Too little repetition and the work lacks stability. The brain gets overwhelmed by the lack of visual cohesion and looses interest. Bringing variation into the design mix is a balancing act that the designer or artist works with to create the “right” amount of viewer engagement.

Because these design concepts can seem complex to understand, I’ve illustrated them with some photos I took in a driveway. Walking across a long gray graveled driveway several times, my mind was focused on anything but the steps I was taking. Then I saw the snake. All of the sameness was out of my brain in a nano-second. Even though the “variation” (the shape and slight color change of the snake) was a very small amount of the experience visually, it was more than enough to get my attention.

I like to think about the concept of balancing repetition with variation and how it exists in the world, both in nature and in human design. I first wrote about this in my book, Paint Happy and I’ve continued to be fascinated by how this design concept is so important in every facet of the arts, including music, theater and dance.

So, next time you’re choosing colors, designing, or making art, remember the snake. Your brain will thank you.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Color Meanings, Color Symbolism and Color Psychology

Posted on | October 1, 2009 | No Comments

You may not know this, but you were covered in color symbolism, meanings and psychology from the day you saw your first pink or blue baby blanket.

Scientists, religions, governments, mystics and artists have always assigned meaning to colors over the centuries of human kind and there’s no way to get away from those meanings. Regardless of the culture you’re from you’ve been steeped in color symbolism.

How those color meanings translate for you depends upon when and where you were born as well as your gender, socio-economic status, the perception of your race and culture within the larger population, as well as your personal thoughts, beliefs and experiences.

That can be a lot of baggage for a color to carry. No wonder there are so many experts trying to decipher the language of color and meaning. The first big breakthrough in the color world was in 1670 when Issac Newton invented the colour wheel. The color wheel is based on his studies of optics and his observation that a prism breaks white light into the variety of colors we see in the visible spectrum.

The study of light and color captured scientists and artists for centuries, culminating in the perfect marriage of science and technology in the late 1800’s when the paint tube was invented.

With the invention of the paint tube, artists could venture into nature and paint the effects of light and color with an immediacy that shocked the art world. Artists now called Impressionists became masters of the retinal sensations of color. Monet, Seurat, Pissaro, and others led a visual revolution of color that seeped from the halls of science to stain artist’s canvases across Europe and then the world.

Within only a few years the Impressionists splintered into a variety of off-shoots including Post-Impressionists, Symbolists, Expressionists, and more. During the ensuing 120+ years the science and art of color and light has become tremendously refined.

With the rise of large corporations and the profession of marketing, there are new players creating color meaning. These companies hire color experts to suggest color schemes that will sell their goods and services to their target demographic of customers. Psychologists, scientists and technicians create tests and scenarios to determine and then predict the effects of color on a variety of human actions from how much and/or how fast a person eats to whether they linger over one color of computer screen longer than another.

Still, the Rosetta Stone of the language of color has eluded everyone. It seems that color meaning, with it’s attendant symbolism and psychology is a moving target. I love that alongside the inroads of science, the mystical and intuitive are integral to beautiful color use.

www.CristinaAcosta.com

Note: Hire me to create your commercial, residential and institutional color projects.

Lighting and Your Eyesight – Tips and Sources

Posted on | September 28, 2009 | No Comments

Light reflected from a surface into our eyes (then sorted out by our brain) is what we perceive as color. Without the proper indoor light fixtures and lighting design, color perception is compromised. Here are some tips and links to get you started on your home lighting design plan:

Dr. Susan MacDonald’s Tips for Better Vision at Home

• Increase the wattage or lumens (in the case of fluorescent bulbs) of the light bulbs in task areas as needed.
• Hire a lighting expert to assess the lighting design of your home, paying extra attention to task areas and lighting for safety (stairs, etc).
• Get an eye exam every two years with an ophthalmologist to ensure your eyes are healthy.

When Darkness Leads to Depression it’s Time for Light Therapy

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is a serious type of depression that happens to some people with the changing of the seasons from Summer to Fall/Winter. Sometimes light therapy using specifically designed light boxes or fixtures will successfully manage this type of depression. The Mayo Clinic website has great information about this disorder.

Save Energy One Bulb at a Time

One energy saving compact fluorescent light bulb can save up to $30 in electricity costs over the lifetime of the bulb. The down side is that these bulbs contain mercury and need to be carefully removed and recycled when they break. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) encourages you to educate yourself about these bulbs. Check out the www.EnergyStar.gov site for details. When you’re ready to trash a bulb with mercury, call your local recycler to learn where to recycle the bulbs. The consumer page of the American Lighting Association website details how to safely remove a broken bulb.

Lighting and Eyesight Sources & Helpful Links:

Dr. Susan MacDonald, www.LaheyClinic.org
www.AmericanLightingAssociation.com
www.MayoClinic.com
www.EnergyStar.gov

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Improving Interior Lighting Might Save You a New Pair of Glasses

Posted on | September 25, 2009 | 2 Comments

Originally published  version of this article in Latina Style magazine

Dear Cristina,

As the season shifts to the shorter days and gloomy weather of winter I sometimes feel more tired than usual. I’ve heard that lighting can make a big difference in how I feel in my home. Do you have any suggestions that will help me get through the Fall and Winter holiday season feeling “brighter”?

Kika G.

Dear Kika,

Brightening your home can brighten your life. In fact, improved lighting can even save you a trip to the eye-doctor. The shorter days of winter require brighter interior lighting to ward off tired eyes and if you’re over 30, you may need to amp up the light in your home just to do the same tasks you did when you were younger.

Even though you’ve gotten a bit older, it’s not necessarily true that you need stronger glasses (though a doctor has the last word). Sometimes, the lighting in your home is the problem. Though a room may seem well lit to one person, another person may perceive the same room as poorly lit.

Here’s why. After our twenties, the amount of light we perceive with our eyes changes. According to Dr. Susan MacDonald of the Lahey Clinic and Assistant Professor at Tufts Medical School in Massachusetts, the population of rods (the photo receptor cells in the retina of the eye) decreases subtly with every decade as we age. Our ability to tell black from white is called contrast sensitivity. “Though a person’s visual acuity such as having 20/20 vision may be good,” says Dr. MacDonald, “it’s decreased contrast sensitivity that often causes patients to perceive their vision is changing.”

If we’re lucky enough to grow old, our perception of light may eventually be as though we are wearing dark sunglasses in a dimly lit room. Dr. MacDonald tells her patients that, “Many times it’s not the prescription of your glasses that needs to change, it’s the amount of illumination that needs to increase.”

So, if you’ve been living in the same home for a number of years without any upgrades to the lighting, it may be time to add some wattage to keep up with your vision needs. Here are a few things you need to know to assess the lighting you have and make some positive changes.

There are three categories of lighting: Ambient or general room lighting, task lighting and accent lighting. Ambient lighting gives you a level of brightness that enables you to see well enough to walk around the room. Task lighting is usually found in the kitchen and bathroom as well as reading areas. And, accent lighting is all about drama and design, like spotlighting a favorite art piece or potted plant.

These are not strict categories. A light fixture can satisfy more than one of the three categories. For example, a table chandelier with directional spotlights provides both ambient lighting to the room along with task lighting for doing homework or playing games. Accent lighting such as a wall sconce may both illuminate an architectural detail and contribute to the ambient lighting.

Unless your home is very old, you won’t have to break open walls to put in more lighting. The easiest way to start is by adding lamps. If you have existing overhead single center fixtures, a very handy do-it-yourself type or an electrician can install a contemporary pendant style fixture or a track light for more illumination. If you want to add a little nighttime drama to a room, have the electrician add dimmers to some of the existing switches.

The trends in lighting are varied from the traditional to the modern, and available in a variety of finishes and materials. You may want to choose designs with a certain style or mix fixtures for an eclectic look. With all of the options available, you’ll have fun finding something to match your décor. There are so many great choices in lighting fixtures and products at a variety of prices that I’m sure you’ll find fun ways to bring more light into your home.

Cristina

www.CristinaAcosta.com

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