Friday, March 16th, 2012It’s a colorful life!

Today’s crayon is PURPLE

For the last few weeks we have looked at some interesting and fun facts about color.  So far we have looked at red, blue and yellow – the primary colors. And the secondary colors of orange and green. Today we will wrap up our series about color facts by examining the color purple.The ancient source of purple dye was Tyrian, a dye extracted from certain sea snails.

  It was scarce and highly valued because it did not fade and actually became more brilliant from sunlight exposure.  Since one snail only produced a couple of drops of dye, its scarcity made it greatly prized.  Thus it was used by emperors and royalty as far back as the Roman Empire.

  This sense of scarcity and rarity has extended into modern age with the color of purple denoting royalty, luxury, wealth, and sophistication.

Chromatherapy, which has been practiced for centuries, is the therapy of using colored lights to heal the body and mind with different colors stimulating or relaxing various parts and organs.  Purple combines the blood warming effects of red with the cooling treatments of blue.  It is beneficial for soothing eye strain and the central nervous system.  It is stimulating without being harsh and can help even out your mood.

There is some confusion concerning the color names “purple” and “violet”.  Purple is the mixture of blue and red light; violet is its own unique light spectral color – it is its own wavelength of light.  Purple is not a true spectral color, but is the mixture of blue light and red light.  Originally purple did not exist on the color wheel, although it now appears on the modern version, between red and violet.

A few fun facts and observations:  Purple is perceived by many people to be romantic however in parts of eastern Asia, such as Japan, purple is the color of death (much like our color black).  And for those of you who are not fans of the color purple, you may be suffering from porphyrophobia, – or the fear of purple.

I enjoy using touches of purple in a room as it is a rich color, adds drama and uniqueness with even just a few touches, and just as in ancient times, adds an air of regal sophistication to any space.