Have you ever thought about how you actually see color? If you read last month’s blog post, you’ll know the topic of light and color is something I’ve been reflecting on a lot recently.

Color is a funny thing because every hue that people “see” is inside their head. That’s right! Light is a kind of wave and as it enters your eye, it hits tissue at the back, where special cells called rods and cones reside. These rods and cones are reacting to the different lengths of waves coming in, interpreting those to our brain…therefore becoming color.  Their combined response produces a unique signal for each color, and this is how you can distinguish millions of different colors.  Pretty interesting, right?

My maternal grandfather was actually colorblind. I always wonder if this is why he took such great photographs because he saw life in grey-scale.  Which allows you to be less distracted by the “noise” of color and focus on seeing composition.  A sharp contrast to my love affair with color and inherent knack for color combinations.  For instance, when I was 13, I designed a pair of riding chaps, using green suede with grey and purple accents.  I was a bold one when it came to fashion that’s for sure! 

This memory though made me think, Do I see color more intensely or differently than other people? Possibly – I’ve always been observant, so maybe a heightened color sensitivity goes along with that. And if that’s the case, perhaps that’s why I’ve always been so attracted to rocks! I have constantly been mesmerized by the intensity of range and depths in each gem’s hues (not to mention, their shapes and formations). Which is why this Aqua/Green necklace’s petrified opalized wood captivated me amongst a pile of gemstones.  The wood’s stunning hues blend beautifully from rich aquamarine into an illuminating white. In the light, the aquamarine and tourmaline stones glitter, pairing perfectly in unison with the petrified opalized wood. A perfect play on color.

Fortunately, my skills in color and detail have helped me endlessly in being a jewelry designer. I love nothing more than coupling unusual combinations of stones into one magnetic piece.  My ability to see a common thread of underlying color tones allows me to design a unique jewelry piece of color combinations and form. And you know what? The bolder the better.