Class Reflection: September 25th

This weeks class was lectured by Vaike. She discussed colours and their effects on people, and how they affect us in the built environment. I had a great deal of interest in the subject previously, so I found this lecture especially interesting. I had a slight amount of knowledge in the subject from a book I own, but the physical origin of where colours are naturally derived from is something new to me. It is so interesting how much history our everyday objects actually have. For example graphite,was originally discovered in the UK in 1565. The mine was overtaken by a copper mining production. Later, in 1847, a new and enormous graphite deposit was discovered close to China just as the first mine was running out. The emperors of China thus had control of the industry. They also wore yellow robes, which is the reason why we still have golden yellow pencils today! I will forever wait for a Trivial Pursuit question on this.
One thing that really surprised me, yet now seems so blatnatly obvious is the use of colour depending on where you are in the world. Vaike's example of colours used in Nordic areas, while working so well in that region, would appear dull in southern regions. It is perfectly obvious, yet something most of us surely do not pick up on.
My interest in the use of colour is what drives me towards interior design as a focus in this faculty. I have always been drawn to colour, and lots of it, and feel I am mildly in tune with the oras they produce. I enjoyed the assignment she had us do on meditating on specific colors. I was surprised that meditating on purple, gave a reaction that seemed a mixture of my feelings experienced from blue and red.... which makes purple. It really goes to show how complex colours and their uses really are!