Is there black in your palette?

Posted by: gretchen on October 3, 2007 | 26 Comments

For the month of October, I wanted to start sharing some of my favorite quotes by women. If you’ve noticed in the top corner of the header, there are quotes that randomly change when the page refreshes. These are from my insanely huge collection of quotes that I have collected over the years. I like quotes. I just love it when people can capture a huge idea or an inspirational thought and then simplify it in just a few words. It amazes me.

To kick things off, I thought I’d start with a quote that is attributed to one of my favorite singers of all time, but in fact it actually came from the late Minnie Pearl as Amy Grant tells us:

“I’m thinking about a conversation we had years ago,” she says. “It was after Minnie’s stroke, and she was bedridden, but this was one of her lucid days. We were talking about light and dark. She was saying, ‘They’re both a part of life. For instance, what do you think is the most important color on an artist’s palette?’ I said I didn’t know. She said, ‘Black, of course. Without black, no color has any depth. But if you mix black with everything, suddenly there’s shadow — no, not just shadow, but fullness. You’ve got to be willing to mix black into your palette if you want to create something that’s real.’”

I just love that quote. As a designer, I love any kind of artistic references but this one is especially moving. In order to be real, we have to mix the dark in with the light. In order to have any kind of depth (think maturity, character), we have to experience the bad along with the good. If we haven’t, we are merely a bunch of pastel colors on a canvas with no shadow, no depth to our character. Without some black mixed into our lives, we’re shallow. We’re not real.

Oh and in case you have no clue who Amy is, here’s your chance to sample her work…Yesterday, Amy Grant released a Greatest Hits Special Edition CD with a bonus DVD containing 5 videos. It actually arrived in my mailbox a few days ago (thanks to the perks of being in the fan club - the only fan club I subscribe to), but I’ve not even had a chance to break the seal on it until this morning. I decided to shred the cellophane and pop the DVD into my drive for a little inspiration. I had forgotten how awesome the “Lead Me On” video is! Fortunately, YouTube has a copy of it for me to share with you. The scenery is just fantastic.

26 Comments |

Put Your Records On ~ Corrine Bailey Rae

Posted by: gretchen on August 27, 2007 | 37 Comments

Here’s another gem of a tune from Corrine Bailey Rae for your Monday morning…

Read more

37 Comments |

The Unglamorous Lori McKenna

Posted by: gretchen on August 15, 2007 | 3 Comments

I just happened to catch an interview with Lori McKenna on ABC News Nightline. What an amazing story she had to tell! She is a mother of five from Stoughton, Massachussetts who was discovered by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Lori has written several hit songs for Faith Hill and has just released her first album called “Unglamorous.” Her songs are mostly about family life and women’s struggles such as marriage and growing older. A couple of Lori’s biggest hits to date are “Fireflies” and “Stealing Kisses” which were recorded by Faith Hill in 2005.

I have been a big fan of her music since her debut on Oprah well over a year ago. The interview was fantastic, portraying Lori as a down-to-earth mom who still lives in her home town with her high school sweetheart and drives a mini-van. In fact, she says she LOVES her mini-van. (Hmm, not so sure about that, Lori, but I guess with that many kids you need one.) ;)

Here is another great interview of Lori McKenna (with some tidbits of “Unglamorous” mixed in): Read more

3 Comments |

She’s Not Just A Pretty Face Video

Posted by: gretchen on August 15, 2007 | 5 Comments

Although I posted the lyrics to Shania Twain’s “She’s not just a pretty face” last year, reader Janice sent me a link to really nice youtube clip of the song and said “It’s a perfect Girls Can’t What? theme song!”

Love it. Thanks Janice! :x

5 Comments |

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