Dear Friends,

The weather this summer is the most unusual I remember.  Normally, we could almost always count on an afternoon shower to cool things off, but things have changed. Now two weeks at a time can pass before we get any rain whatsoever. And temperatures?  I’m sure I don’t have to point out the record-breaking heat waves! A must-see for understanding why these climate changes are occurring is the movie I recently saw called “An Inconvenient Truth”. As critic Roger Ebert said, “You owe it to yourself to see this movie.” Ebert's review: rogerebert.com

Personally, I was amazed at how much I enjoyed this beautifully made documentary, and at the same time, taken aback at how rapidly global warming is changing our planet. Could this serious threat to our very existence finally help bring the human family together? Considering all the great reviews and media attention this film and its powerfully important issue is getting, it’s looking hopeful! And don’t worry—the movie is not all doom and gloom! At the end of it, we’re provided with the address for the movie’s website which provides practical suggestions for ways we can easily help make the difference in our planet’s—and, therefore our personal—destiny: climatecrisis.net  

On a related business note, ICI recently sent me 80 gallons of their new improved Lifemaster “green” paint product I mentioned in my last newsletter. I am so thrilled with it’s new durability, I was motivated to create 10 new colors:  Blush, Khaki, Taupe, Bone, Sky, Cornsilk, Luminaire, Bark, Pumice and Wheat.  As usual, I’ve tried to have the names suggest the color. There is no smell whatsoever (i.e. no volatile organic compounds) and when I tried to scratch the eggshell, it was unmarred! The lighter colors are also available in VOC-free flat and all colors are available in the eggshell and semi-gloss. I’m so excited to not only have these environmentally sound paints for you, but I’m thrilled that they are simply outstanding in the performance department as well, easily measuring up to “regular paints” and even exceeding them.

My recent trip to San Francisco was inspiring! I visited with the members of the Peninsula Chapter of the ASID at their June meeting held at Jacobsen & Balla’s expansive studio in nearby San Carlos. Artist Ruth Jacobsen’s full spectrum hand-painted wallpaper is breathtaking!  For the first time, I was able to admire large art panels of many of her designs.  (By the way, the Wall Art Panels are also available, museum wrapped, sized to order and ready to hang.)  Although the paper itself seems delicate, once it is applied to a wall, it’s amazingly resilient and appropriate for all living spaces, including kitchens and baths.  I was able to see this first hand at the E&O Trading Company Restaurant in San Francisco (eotrading.com) where it was used in a high traffic area and there wasn’t a mark on it!

Some of my favorite designs:  Venetian Parchment (an old world finish), Ming Poetry (castings of poetry composed by 15th century master calligrapher Yao Shou) and Silver Sonata (with a random silver leaf motif). For even more gilding (but beautifully subtle), there’s also Earthen Treasures, Reflections and Gilded Parchment.  Each design is available in a variety of hand-mixed full spectrum colors, and custom colors are also available. Ruth pulled my full spectrum paint samples and put them with her wall paper samples to show everyone how well they work together. A valuable benefit of full spectrum colors is how they visually integrate the various colors of the fabrics and furnishings in a project. If you are in a major city with a Niermann Weeks Showroom, you can see samples in person. If not, contact Jacobsen & Balla via their website (jacobsenandballa.com) or phone them (650-593-3435) for more information. 

Although I was first asked to talk to this group about the psychology of color, I realized it might be like “preaching to the choir,” considering my audience consisted of highly educated interior designers and architects. Indeed, most designers know what emotions and activities are enhanced by a specific color, so, after much deliberation, I chose to talk about the energy of color. The following is just a taste of what I shared with them. (If you would like to know more about which colors stimulate certain emotions and activities, you can find that information in my first newsletters linked below.)

I’ve studied textbooks on color, but much of my self-study has come from reading metaphysical books on the healing power of color. Much of what I’ve read predicts that color will continue to become even more important as a healing modality in the future. As we progress in our understanding, we realize that all of life, both the physical and non-physical aspects, is energy. Indeed, color is light and light is energy. Colors correspond to various frequencies of vibration (or oscillation) of energy, with red vibrating at a low frequency, violet, a high frequency, with yellow falling in the center, just like our own personal energy centers known as chakras.

Sunlight, which sustains our very existence, contains all colors of the spectrum, so any surface it strikes will reflect hues in varying amounts. Taking the cue from the sun, when you combine all colors in the spectrum, they create the color white which contains the energy from each color.  This is the theory behind our paints.  While each individual color in our palette has its own energy that promotes certain activities and emotions, they also contain pigments from the entire spectrum, which like the color white, contains the energy from each pigment’s color. This is why so many people report feeling better in their rooms that have been painted with full spectrum paints. Living in an environment of balanced, full spectrum color is life enhancing!  I’m also convinced that one of the reasons I haven’t been ill in many years, is because every morning I do a visualization technique where I send healing light energy to various parts of my body.

Our bodies have their own personal colorful electromagnetic or energy field known as the “aura,” which is an indicator of health, mood and state of mind. A photographic process called Kirlian photography can document the aura’s colors that are not ordinarily visible to the naked eye except in those who have developed their abilities to see them. The different colors of an aura are created in much the same manner as the frequency of sounds are created.  With sounds, the faster vibration, the higher the frequency/pitch of sound.  Similarly, as the waves of energy that make up the aura change their speed of vibration, the colors change.  The book Life Colors: What the Colors in Your Aura Reveal by Pamala Oslie goes into detail about what our aura colors tell us about our personalities, relationships and careers.
 
Wow. There is so much I want to share with you on this topic, I hardly know where to stop! But we’ve got many more newsletters to come, and this is summer—a time for relaxation and rejuvenation. So instead of teaching you more about the healing power of color and light right now, I’ll simply encourage you to enjoy the vibrant colors of summer, appreciate the sunlight so abundant at this time of year, and dream about what colors you’d love to have more of in your environment! Until next time, I wish you all the best for a safe & happy Summer!

P.S.  Ellyn Couvillion of Baton Rouge’s newspaper, The Advocate, did an outstanding job describing our paints:

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/business/2920366.html

P.P.S. Another great writer (& paint customer), Richard Morrison, AIA, ASID, writes a column for the Palo Alto Weekly's Home & Garden Design Section. Here's his description of full spectrum paints:

http://www.paweekly.com/news_features/home_and_garden_design/2006/jul06/paint.php

AUTUMN 2005 LIVING WELL (Uplifting Sources)

SUMMER 2005 LIVING WELL (Tips on Exterior House Painting)

SUMMER 2004 LIVING WELL (Color Consultants)

SUMMER 2001 LIVING WELL (Create Healing with Nature's Colors)