CC: A Bit of Green

This time of year, we are all longing for green—a longing so deep and melancholic only the spring leaves will cure it.

But what else do we think of when we think of green? Money. Inexperience. Paradise. Jealousy. Recycling. Gardening. And yet green is so much more than those things, for it is fundamental to the oxygen we breathe. Chlorophyll, the pigment responsible for the greenery that sustains us, is simply derived from the Greek words for green and leaf.

The cultural meanings of green are many—including Islam, little green men with special powers, Puck, Peter Pan, Robin Hood, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. If you want a book that's about green in our manifold cultures, I recommend Green: The History of a Color by Michel Pastoureau—it's well-translated from the French and well-illustrated, too.

The intention of this series of swaps is to explore the power of color used sparingly, with the greatest part of the collage being colors I am calling "neutrals." By "neutrals" I mean not just white, the infinite greys, and black, but also all the various shades of brown, which include cream and pale tan. This time you will create a collage with mostly neutrals and just a bit of green. Future swaps will be devoted to "A Bit of Blue," "A Bit of Purple," and so on.

The "A Bit of..." series will usually have the signups due by the 25th of the month, and swaps due in the mail by the following 15th of the month (with minor adjustments, as needed, for holidays). But I'm late again getting this swap up, so I'm extending the signups to the 28th.

So! Your challenge, this month, is to make one collage postcard of any size or shape with mostly neutrals and just a bit of green as the allowed colors. You may use any shade of green—grass, bright, olive, sage, and so on. This swap is "sender's choice," which is another way of saying, "don't look at your partner's profile." In fact, this whole series is about developing your own imagination as a collage artist, not about pleasing your partner. Think of it as a chance to expand your repertoire! You may, of course, add other media of all ilk to the PC, but collage should be the main medium. Mail it naked unless there are flimsy bits. Mail it by the 15th of March.

Mini-FAQ:

How much, exactly, is "a bit of green"? I've debated about naming a specific percentage—such as less than 5%, less than 10%, whatever. Instead, I've decided you should let yourself be guided by the examples I've provided below. Past that, it's up to you to decide what's "a bit."

Does the neutral portion have to include a shade of brown? Not at all. You may restrict yourself to black, white & grey in the neutrals, or even purely black & white with no shades of grey. You get to pick which neutrals you use. But if you can stay away from the very orange- or yellow-toned browns, and very blue- or green-toned greys, please do so. In other words, in your neutrals, lean toward undersaturated.

May I include a teensy bit of other color(s) than green? Yes you may, so long as the amount of the other color(s) is quite a bit less than the amount of green.

Some examples of mostly neutrals with a bit of green:

• "heartache" by kerstin stephan —> a larger view of the one featured above

• "DesVanece" by dani sanchis

• "No—ON" by jacob whibley

• "veronika" by michelle caplan —> be sure to scroll down

• "what did the sphinx say?" by nils karsten

Have fun! I hope the examples will inspire you to try new and different things. I may have been late getting the swap up, but I am giving you five examples instead of the usual four. =grin=