Tag Archives: Color

After the Rain: NPM #27

We continued our work with color and poetry today using Marilyn Singer’s poem Watercolors as our mentor text. Students loved the way she described black in such detail. I offered paint chips again today–some kids used them, some went in other directions.

My paint chips were the yellow tones of chamomile tea and the green of cabbage patch. Students had just been out in the garden when they came in to write. You can see that influence in my poem for today.

After the Rain

When the gray clears and the sun peeks out

soothing and warm like chamomile tea,

children cheer!

The outdoors beckons, green and lush

cabbage patch

and pea soup

snails slide along the gravelly path

unaware of the

stomp and squish

of colorful sneakers.

She spies the slow slider,

plucks it by the

spiral curl

and gently moves it to the safety

of ice plant.

Rescued!

After the rain.

®Douillard

Paint Chip Poetry: NPM #26

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Today I pulled out the paint chips poetry box and spread paint chips all over the counter (face down). Students picked out 3, wrote the descriptive color words at the top of their notebooks and got ready to write! There were a few challenging words (thistle, cumulonimbus, potpourri) and when one third grader pulled pinot noir I suggested he go ahead and trade that word in. The words push students in interesting directions, although most end up not really featuring color.

Today’s rain kept us indoors–and listening seemed to be locked outside the classroom. Maybe that was another reason for the direction my own poem wanted to go. I pulled the colors/words: smoke signal, graphite, and potpourri And here is where my brain took me:

Learning to Listen

Somedays communicating

feels like sending

graphite-colored

smoke signals

that disperse in the breeze

of talk

Listening is under-evolved

ears hearing only the echo

of self-talk,

lost in the potpourri

of loud, colorful words

Today I’m building a fire

that we must tend together

you read my smoke signals,

I read yours

as we strengthen our listening ears

tuning in

to the subtle graphite sounds

listening like owls

like wolves

like we care what is said.

®Douillard

Thesaurus of Color: NPM20 Day 27

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Last year in April I experimented with paint chip poetry with my students. It was so much fun to rifle through the paint chips, picking them at random and then incorporating them into poems. I noticed right away how this color language elevated their poems, adding a layer of sophistication to their already beautiful ideas.

And in this time of remote learning I wanted to figure out a way to bring a version of paint chip poetry to my students. Some google searches uncovered a thesaurus of color by a blogger on the web. This color thesaurus became our new version of paint chip poetry.

Having played with poetry dice a couple of weeks ago, students had already experimented with incorporating words into their ideas and poetry from outside sources. So today’s assignment to pick some color words to use when crafting their color-focused poems wasn’t a stretch. And there were some wonderful results!

K played with yellow words:

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R took us out in space:

SPACE

AT THE CENTER

MILLIONS OF TINY COLORS

LIKE SWIRLING BRIGHT BUTTER

IN A MIXING BOWL, FUCHSIA,

MAGENTA, GARNET, SCARLET,

THE COLORS OF THE GALAXY!!

WHITE FLECKS, TOO, OF ROSES AND SNOW,

ORANGE OF SUN, BLUE OF THE DEEPEST SEA.

AND THEN THERE’S LIGHT.

NOT THE WHITE LIGHT OF THE STARS, BUT

THE LIGHT OF THE CLEAR BLUE SKY, WHERE

BIRDS DRIFT AND SOAR. THE BLUE OF ICE

DELICATE AS LIFE.

And E started with canvas and ended up with autumn’s leaves:

Canvas.

An ivory surface,

A beautiful sheet.

Changing over time,

But sticking to an overall beat.

Crimson red,

As hot as it is magnificent.

Apricot orange,

Chaotic as fire.

Butterscotch yellow,

Glowing like the sun.

Lime green,

Leaving a trail of bitterness.

Lilac blue,

Spreading seeds across the page.

Night sky purple,

Dark but not dreary.

All these colors,

Put into one piece of paper,

One pile of Autumn leaves.

For my own poem, I found inspiration in my neighbor’s lawn as I walked down the street to check the mail.

Flamingos

They arrived in a flamboyance*

of blush

every color of pink

from the palest of morning sunrise skies

to the mortification

of heat that creeps up the neck

to blaze in your cheeks.

Planting themselves

on the lawn

chewing bubblegum

en pointe in ballet slippers

a display of extravagant proportion.

A quarantine gift for a neighbor

A delight for the neighborhood.

®Douillard

*a group of flamingos

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Pick some interesting color words and try your hand at writing some poetry under the influence of color today!

Purple: NPM19 Day 21

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For today’s offering an exploration of color. A work in progress…doesn’t feel finished yet.

Purple

At the intersection of blue and red

purple blooms

breathing color

onto hillsides

hope into hearts

Sometimes

purple pains

spreading beneath

tender skin

until yellows pushes back

Purple sings

morning songs

trilling through dreams

til my eyelids

find the violet of daybreak

And whispers in shadows

hesitant, hidden

under cover of darkness

until light beckons

@Douillard

Super Bloom: SOLC 2019 Day 9

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The desert is usually subtle. Many shades of brown often characterize the plants and animals that live there. Blending in is necessary for survival and adaptations for preserving water often mean staying small and skinny to prevent evaporation. But when there is abundant rain in the winter, the desert can be a bit showy. Super Bloom 2019 is underway!

We planned a desert hike for today, knowing that hiking would give us glimpses of the blooming desert while taking us away from more of the bloom tourists. We got up and left the house early…appreciating the beauty of the sunrise as we drove toward the east.

One of the perks of living in San Diego is that you can get to the ocean, mountains, and deserts in about two hours or less (if traffic cooperates). We arrived in Borrego Springs before 8am and easily found parking near the Hellhole Canyon trailhead.

Many of the flowers were still asleep, tightly closed against the cool of the night. As we walked, the desert slowly woke, stretching and unfolding in the gentle light of morning. Starting early meant having the desert mostly to ourselves, allowing the desert soundscape to fill our ears. The caw of a bird called my attention to the hillside where I spotted a mama big horned sheep and her baby. We watched and listened as they click clacked their way down the hillside. I definitely envy their surefootedness! A buzzing nearby had me turn my head where I spotted a beautiful tiny hummingbird sitting in a leafless tree. Painted lady butterflies played tag as they flitted from flower to flower to flower to flower. The trickle of water tinkled in the distance, growing to a burbling stream as we got closer to the oasis framed in native fan palms. The outcome of abundant winter rain was in full view as we finally got to the maidenhead falls where water poured from over our heads into the running streams below.

The desert is carpeted in wildflowers right now. Yellows and whites stand near purples and pinks. Splashes of red and brilliant white blossoms punctuate the view. Ocotillos are just started to bloom, along with the barrel cactus. The prickly pears will be ready in a couple of week, judging from the emerging buds.

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The super bloom is just beginning and there is nothing like seeing the desert in its full color glory! As the temperatures gently rise, the blossoms will continue to emerge. If it doesn’t get too hot, the bloom may last through mid-April! Today’s hike was perfect: a just-right physical challenge as we gradually climbed, scrambling up rocks as we approached the falls, like the sheep we saw earlier. The weather was sunny, with coolish temperatures in the 60’s, and everywhere we looked, it was simply gorgeous! It was a perfect Saturday adventure.

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Bubbles

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There’s a bubble man that regularly shows up at the beach where I walk. He concocts a bubble mixture, pours it into a bowl that is fitted onto a one-legged stand that he plunges into the sand, and then starts working his magic.

bigger bubble

Two bamboo poles are his wands, and they are attached by long stretches of rope that serve as the point of bubble creation. He dips, lifts, opens and swirls using the natural sea breezes to create enormous bubbles that drift along the shore.

Tiny bubbles

Like the Pied Piper, the bubble man attracts children. They flock to him, chasing the bubbles, hands reaching, eager to pop these ephemeral jewels. He teases them with a cluster of low, small bubbles, sending them out in a flurry, then lifts his wand high above their heads, coaxing another bubble to grow. A snake evolves into a dragon, expanding and twisting as it nuzzles the sunset. The kids look up, arms stretched, running beneath the giant as it floats out of reach.

color unfurls

When the conditions are right, bubbles become corridors to another world. Immersed in briny ocean water, the brave enter the bubble, seeing the world from inside its colorful coating. For those who are patient and move with elegance and ease, the bubble stays, moving with them in a watery dance of soap and salt and air.

There’s something freeing about the temporary nature of bubbles. You can almost catch them, but never quite possess them. In some ways it’s like learning. For a moment, you can stop time and hold it in your hand and then, pop! It has become part of the air again, you breathe it in and it is a part of you.

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Don’t stop, blow a new bubble today. Try some small ones to get started, share them with others. Now reach. Higher. Open your arms wide, catch the breeze. Pop! It’s gone before the bubble formed. Try again and again until the light catches and the colors unfold into a rainbow of possibility.

Full color bubble

Garden Poetry

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My students are lucky. They spend a half an hour in our school garden every week, growing vegetables, learning about bugs, noticing what grows well and what struggles, and tasting! I often don’t get to go out with them, but today because of a shift in my schedule due to conferences, I joined them…and turned it into an opportunity for poetry writing!

I was drawn to the artichokes, purple and green knots growing strong and tall. When my students sat down to write, so did I.

artichoke

Artichokes

Globes

like dinosaur paws

clenched

holding a tender heart inside

tiny swords

protect that meaty center

purplish green

beckons…attracting me

and spotted ladybugs

When will they be ripe?

Douillard 2018

I know that photographs and visual images inspire my writing. It’s true for many of my students as well. During yesterday’s search for the ordinary, I noticed one of my students arranging jumpropes on the ground and photographing them. And then this sometimes reluctant writer sat down to write.

Color Brain

Color strings sewing

my brain into thoughts,

ones about madness,

ones about fear,

ones about happiness,

ones about sickness,

ones about coldness,

and ones about love.

On the string of fear

the purple hides

with red,

next to blue and turquoise.

Leah

Leah's photo

How’s your poetry writing coming along? What inspires your words and thoughts?

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

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As the sun has come out, so have the colors. The combination of a wet winter and some spring-like temps have plants growing and flowers blooming. I noticed these native beauties near the beach the other day peeking around the railings near the parking lot. With their vivid yellow color, they are almost like tiny suns on a stem!

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Later in the week, from my walk along the shore, I noticed this house on the hill. Now I walk this stretch regularly, so the house is not a new sight, but I was drawn both by the seagull sitting on the rooftop and by the tones of green displayed on the cliff. If you look in the foreground you can see prickly pear cactus in abundance. Just wait til they begin to bloom!

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Sometimes the color I find on the beach is less desirable. I came across this beautiful blue bottle in the surf, washed up or left on the beach. As part the efforts of the #litterati (a group of people who post photos of trash they pick up and dispose of), I snapped this shot before picking up the bottle.

Blue is not an unusual color on the beach. I notice lots of blues there in both the sky and the water, like this shot with the sun coming through the cloudy skies.

And this one of the waves curling and crashing in the hazy afternoon sun.

And then there are the colors of a sunset, this one with some pelicans flying through. In this case enhanced by a filter that took ordinary beauty and intensified the colors into these brilliant yellows and oranges. I’m always surprised by how certain images are transformed by a filter (like this one) while others are not.

So, take a look around. What colors are you seeing this week? Are they bright and vibrant, or subdued and muted? You might consider capturing hues of a single color or maybe you’ll try to capture all the colors of the rainbow.

You can post your photo alone or along with some words: commentary, a story, a poem…maybe even a song! I love to study the photographs that others’ take and think about how I can use a technique, an angle, or their inspiration to try something new in my own photography. (I love a great mentor text…or mentor photo, in this case!) I share my photography and writing on social media. You can find me on Instagram and Twitter using @kd0602. If you share your photos and writing on social media too, please let me know so I can follow and see what you are doing. To help our Weekly Photo community find each other, use the hashtag #color for this week and include @nwpianthology in your post.

Turn your camera on the color around you, and share what you find with us! What color is most prevalent in your place, or is it the absence of color that you are noticing? I’m looking forward to your color this week!

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

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As I looked through my photos this month, I noticed that many of them are monochromatic (grays and blues and whites). Maybe this is a side effect of winter–a time when flowers are less likely to bloom, people wear dark colors, and the sun may be muted by cloudy skies.

And although my photo-a-day prompt for today was black and white, I went out in search of color when I stopped to walk after school. I walked along the beach for a while, watching the extra large waves crash onto the shore (we’re expecting a storm this weekend). I noticed this bright plastic piece among the rocks and bent down to investigate. After taking a photo, I picked up the electronic chip to dispose of (in the spirit of #litterati) and continued on my way.

After watching kids playing tag with the waves, I headed up some stairs in search of a different view. As I neared the top these orange plants came into view…along with the view of the ocean behind them.

As I continued my walk back through an alley, I spied a bouquet of balloons in the park that overlooks the beach. They were tied to the top of a small doll house…and they glowed in the sun. I did play around with some editing apps to see what I could create…and here is one version.

Yesterday I also did some filter play…enhancing the sunset that was already irresistible. The colors in the sky were inspiring! (I do wish you could see the paddle boarder out there, silhouetted in the sunset.

I take lots and lots of photos of this tree near my driveway…especially when the sky calls out to me. We’ve had lots of pink and orange skies lately…like this one I snapped earlier this week.

Last weekend I had my zoom lens out on the beach (you can read more about that here), and noticed this girl laying in the warmer, shallow waters of the tide pool. I wasn’t quite quick enough to catch her laying down, but I did catch her brightly colored wetsuit as she flipped her hair forward and sat up.

And I love playing around with night photography–and the full moon offered a great opportunity over the weekend. I love the bright red and yellow colors of In and Out Burger foregrounding the full moon.

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So, even though it’s still winter and colors are harder to find, search out some color to feature this week. Or you might do like I did, and experiment with some editing apps to deepen or brighten the colors you do find.

So go out in search of color. What will you find when you search for color through your lens?