Colour Collaborative: November
Decay
What I find so very interesting about writing these Colour Collaborative posts is the thought process behind it all. Each month, as you've seen, has a theme and pretty much every month the theme word immediately conjures up some sort of image or idea for me. But, as I mull over the word my first thoughts are often turned on their head by the thoughts and ideas that follow.
In this case, it was the camera that changed my mind about decay.
I had thought that decay was about things coming to an end, about deterioration and dying. Certainly it is about the corruption of living things, about the disintegration and breaking down of things. But, in nature at least, decay is brought about by living organisms. Teeny tiny ones perhaps, but living ones all the same. So, where there is decay, there is also a great deal of action and life going on.
When I got behind the lens looking for decay I found more life and vibrancy than I expected. The ramshackle and crumbling old wall might have seen better days, but it's supporting a fantastic growth of moss, lichen, algae and I know not what other kinds of green signs of life. Then there's the decaying flowers that look all blackened and dead, yet they contain ripening seeds that will come bursting forth with life next Spring.
Prettiest of all, surrounding us at this time of year is the most beautiful kind of decay. As the green chlorophyll contained in leaves breaks down, it allows all the other glorious pigments shine through. The gorgeous ambers, golds, sunshine yellows and fiery reds that we love to see.
So I suppose all that decay really means is a returning to earth and so this months palettes are on the earthier side. There are blacks and greys, many shades of brown and more muted tones, but there can be vibrancy too. Even in decay, there is colour and plenty of it.
: :
Annie at Knitsofacto
What is The Colour Collaborative?
S x
