Esthetic Values and Color Deficiency：Remembering My Mother
There are two things I inherit from my mother: esthetic values and color deficiency.
Recalling when I was little, mom had given me a large roll of her drawing works. The roll was some kind of tracing papers. She ought to have kept it for years. For some reasons, she had passed it on to me. And I never had it kept over the years.
On the roll, there were pages and pages of raw pencil drawings in the style of traditional Chinese elements. Some of these elements I could now recall include mandarin ducks and other kind of birds; many different types of big and small flowers such as plums, water lilies or viburnums; imaginary animals such as dragon and phoenix; and natural phenomenon such as stones or cumulus clouds. Presumably, these drawings were preliminary exercises mother had been doing before transferring them onto the pillow cases for subsequent cross stitching.
Mother was known to lack certain color ability in detecting certain colors accurately; however, she could impeccably perform embroidery works with great sense of color matching. She could in turn transform those works into immaculate pillow cases.
When mother was doing embroidery works, she would put on glasses and she almost never put on glasses any other time; by then, she would certainly sit by the front entrance way to receive better daylight. I never remember how many embroidery works she had done over the years. For sure, those many charming pillow cases all of us children slept on were surely some consummate handicrafts elegantly delivered by my mother.
Years later, I discovered that these embroidery works were given a name called folk art. To me, they are delicate art works. These art works are derived from genuine appreciation of esthetics. They are exquisite products of esthetics deriving from tender loving care.
At an early age, I was very much aware of my innate ability in appreciating art matters. I tended to see things from other angles other peers seemed not to be equipped with. Drawings, paintings, craftworks, etc. were some of my childhood favorites during past time leisure or for sheer purpose of academic requirements.
I discovered I also had color deficiency years later. Albeit I also could not accurately or discriminately pick out certain colors, those very settled colors and especially in dim light situation. This matter has never been a form of visual barrier to me. Color deficiency has otherwise helped me see natural phenomenon in many different ways.
With educational approach, I tend to see the world in its black and white tonalities. The world in hues is so much interesting due to its colorful tonalities. When transcribed into black and white tonalities, the world is now perceived in its monochromatic tones without hues. In other words, this value gradation is referred to as the gradual changes in tonalities, both in hues and otherwise.
Coloring is another inherent skill few scarcely equipped while I could manage stylishly. The process of coloring to achieve an image or a task is a form of gratification to me. During professional commitment, I had to deliver and color by numbers served the purpose accurately. Esthetic values and color deficiency are independent natural abilities; they are both mutually advantageous if concurrently employed with genuine comprehension of what our world is actually made of.
Mom has since passed. I am deeply grateful for what she had given me for I have been able to achieve many different possibilities by taking advantage of a perceived situation in life due to this natural insufficiency as well as innate ability.
Thanks, Mom!
Jeremy
Shanghai upon the Sea
March 11, 2009
There are two things I inherit from my mother: esthetic values and color deficiency.
Recalling when I was little, mom had given me a large roll of her drawing works. The roll was some kind of tracing papers. She ought to have kept it for years. For some reasons, she had passed it on to me. And I never had it kept over the years.
On the roll, there were pages and pages of raw pencil drawings in the style of traditional Chinese elements. Some of these elements I could now recall include mandarin ducks and other kind of birds; many different types of big and small flowers such as plums, water lilies or viburnums; imaginary animals such as dragon and phoenix; and natural phenomenon such as stones or cumulus clouds. Presumably, these drawings were preliminary exercises mother had been doing before transferring them onto the pillow cases for subsequent cross stitching.
Mother was known to lack certain color ability in detecting certain colors accurately; however, she could impeccably perform embroidery works with great sense of color matching. She could in turn transform those works into immaculate pillow cases.
When mother was doing embroidery works, she would put on glasses and she almost never put on glasses any other time; by then, she would certainly sit by the front entrance way to receive better daylight. I never remember how many embroidery works she had done over the years. For sure, those many charming pillow cases all of us children slept on were surely some consummate handicrafts elegantly delivered by my mother.
Years later, I discovered that these embroidery works were given a name called folk art. To me, they are delicate art works. These art works are derived from genuine appreciation of esthetics. They are exquisite products of esthetics deriving from tender loving care.
At an early age, I was very much aware of my innate ability in appreciating art matters. I tended to see things from other angles other peers seemed not to be equipped with. Drawings, paintings, craftworks, etc. were some of my childhood favorites during past time leisure or for sheer purpose of academic requirements.
I discovered I also had color deficiency years later. Albeit I also could not accurately or discriminately pick out certain colors, those very settled colors and especially in dim light situation. This matter has never been a form of visual barrier to me. Color deficiency has otherwise helped me see natural phenomenon in many different ways.
With educational approach, I tend to see the world in its black and white tonalities. The world in hues is so much interesting due to its colorful tonalities. When transcribed into black and white tonalities, the world is now perceived in its monochromatic tones without hues. In other words, this value gradation is referred to as the gradual changes in tonalities, both in hues and otherwise.
Coloring is another inherent skill few scarcely equipped while I could manage stylishly. The process of coloring to achieve an image or a task is a form of gratification to me. During professional commitment, I had to deliver and color by numbers served the purpose accurately. Esthetic values and color deficiency are independent natural abilities; they are both mutually advantageous if concurrently employed with genuine comprehension of what our world is actually made of.
Mom has since passed. I am deeply grateful for what she had given me for I have been able to achieve many different possibilities by taking advantage of a perceived situation in life due to this natural insufficiency as well as innate ability.
Thanks, Mom!
Jeremy
Shanghai upon the Sea
March 11, 2009
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