Inspiration. Information. Consolation ~ by Jennifer Noxon

These are three books I have on my coffee table these days.

The Secret Lives of Colour, recommended to me by The Ten Collective’s Eileen Hennemann, has lived there the longest. It is a treasure trove of intriguing info about individual colours. Each colour is highlighted separately. The author has done significant research and has tastefully chosen information about each colour: its origins, its role in the history of fashion, and other chewy historical facts. The writing is accessible, and each colour is a manageable two pages or so of text. Perfect for a cup of coffee in the morning and way more satisfying than the news!

Braiding Sweetgrass. Wow. This was the book I had been craving when it came to beginning to understand the indigenous system of beliefs, wisdom and plant knowledge. Given the state of our world right now, it was comforting and reassuring to read this, to find a system of beliefs that is ancient, humble, and based on nature. It is not always an easy read, but the positives far outweigh any heaviness. Everyone should read this book. It is what we all need to hear.

The most recent is Uppercase magazine, a quarterly published in western Canada. It claims it is for the ‘curious and creative’. I came across it while browsing in our local (and amazing) library’s magazine section. Each edition focuses on a particular type of art making. This edition is on Abstraction. There are highlights of various artists, articles written by artists, and beautiful colour reproductions of paintings by working artists, both Canadian and international. If someone is not sure how to interpret abstract art, they will be a lot more informed by the time they reach the back cover. The paper is soft and there are NO ads. None. Nada. Nilch. At one point they even suggest you cut up the edition to use in one’s own artmaking (that is, if you own your edition)!

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