Thursday, April 23, 2009

What Else is Blue?

I was walking down the street. Walking where I walk every day. And then I saw a crayon. Just one blue crayon. I walked a couple steps on, then paused. I turned back and picked it up. What was it about this lone blue crayon that wouldn’t let me pass?

Something about this crayon, away from the rest of its colors, reminded me of…me. (actually it didn’t, but it makes a better, more cheesy story if it did)

When I’m mixed in with a full box of colors, I rarely stand out. I’m just a blue. I’m the color one would choose to fill a sky or a sea...something constant and comfortable. A given. When I’m put on paper, sure I’m beautiful, but I don’t draw the eye. I’m not a vibrant red or bright yellow. I’m just plain old blue.

I’ve sometimes felt lost like this little crayon. People pass by, not seeing me. Not realizing that I’m not where I belong. Not realizing that if they picked me up, I would be so very grateful. I’ve felt alone in a sea of faces, just wishing I was safe between emerald green and chocolate brown. Where I belong. (I think we’ve all felt like a lost crayon at some point, right?)

Well, enough of applying a lost piece of blue wax to my life. These are some pictures that I took of said crayon with my new lens. Would you believe it if I told you that I took 100 pictures of it? Well, you probably shouldn’t. I think I only took about 75. Fifty one in the first “session.” Then, I uploaded them onto the computer and realized that I hadn’t nailed the focus on some that I otherwise liked, so there were probably 15 more in the second set. And then I had some new ideas, so I took about 10 more. Hours go by so quickly when I’ve got the camera in my hands! When the natural light is perfect, you can’t waste it!


So, time to dig deep and share your colors! If you were a crayon, what color would you be and why?

Ok, so if you’ve read all the way to the end of this post about crayons, you get to hear a secret. I said earlier that I’m “just plain old blue”. Well, be that as it may, I sometimes (often) feel so very trapped in the typical “royal blue” dye. When I’m with certain people or at the right level of overtiredness, I trade in the “dull” blue for a more “peacock blue” or “electric blue”. And this is when I feel most myself. Think laughter. Think humour. Think energy. Yup, I may always be blue but the shade of this lovely color can be vibrant and unexpected!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm with you. Blue. I blend in easily but can be the "feature" colour at times. I've always wanted to be the red or the yellow - the colour that stands out and everybody notices, but I'm not.

Peter said...

OK, I am confused. What happened to the color RED? Here I thought RED was it but ... BLUE is the new RED?

75 pics of a crayon eh? Good thing you are not shooting film. All by yourself you could bring us out of the recession :).

Unknown said...

I think I'm a little bit of a chameleon crayon. Can I cheat like that? If not, maybe that light blush pink. Not quite out of place, but how often do you really use it? It's not quite the popular skin tone, it's not deep enough for most flowers. I feel often like I'm "almost, but not quite." Pretty, but not 'wow'.

Actually, that's just me being overly dramatic (or would overly dramatic be stating that I am the essential, coveted, often broken and lost black crayon?)

Marsha said...

Well I don't know so much that I am this color crayon... but it's my favorite.

White. White is never used b/c most times you're coloring on white paper. But i think the color white can be so strong if used properly. It gives light and brightness. It ties things together finishing them. And looks cool on construction paper :)
p.s. I love the last crayon pic best!

Alicia Buhler said...

Bravo for having the patience to get the perfect pics...I love them!

As for my crayon color...I think I'd have to say brown. It's a color that is quite practical, usually seen as plain-jane, but if you really look it's got a lot of depth.