I think a soul has been deposited inside the yellow pitcher I left on my piano when I returned after an auction recently. Why else would it make me feel so good when I pass by it – with its sunshine-yellow color, white flecks and gold-leaf lid.
The thing that makes me feel good is not a soul, I know, but the color. Yellow is one of those colors that sneakily slows you down, puts you at peace, and makes you marvel at just being – without your even knowing it. The yellow and gold in the pitcher seem to blend together in a way that speaks to me.
I’ve written about color before and how certain ones make me feel. I had six cobalt blue water glasses once that were so beautiful together as a set that they could have been a work of art. Like the pitcher, it was all about the color.
Studies have shown that color can affect our moods: reds and yellows can make us feel alive and full of energy. The cool colors of blue and green can make us feel quiet and relaxed. People with seasonal affective disorder are moody and depressed in the winter because of the gray weather. Spring and summer are my favorites because of the burst of color – trees turning green; azaleas opening up in shades of white, pink and red, and forsythias sprouting sprays of yellow. And that carries over into the fall with its reds, oranges and yellows (again).
I got the pitcher – it’s actually a tankard pitcher because of its hinged lid – at an estate sale last weekend. It stood out on the table, and when I first saw it, I knew I had to have it. It wasn’t marked so I wasn’t sure who the maker was.
When it came up for auction, the auctioneer apparently wasn’t sure either, because he mumbled that it was something or something – I couldn’t understand what he said. I asked him later, and he said he believed it was a 1950s reproduction of Venetian or End-of-Day glassware. I had heard of Venetian or Murano glassware, but End of Day was new to me (wasn’t that a Biblical reference?).
Venetian or Murano is high-quality clear glass traditionally made on the island of Murano, near Venice, in northern Italy. It has been made there for more than 700 years by skilled artisans. Venetian-style glass, though, is made in other parts of the country now. According to Collectors Weekly, most collectors are interested in Venetian glassware produced in the 1950s and 1960s. Here are some examples of the glass.
My pitcher more closely resembled End of Day glassware, which got its name when glass-makers used leftover molten glass to create their own works of art at the end of the day on their own time. Here’s an example of End of Day glass.
I don’t believe my pitcher is either, but the maker doesn’t much matter to me. It’s still about the color, which, for me, is like a painting, poetry, a wonderful book, a great story. You can’t touch what you feel when you look at either of them; they just move you because of what they impart (an energy, perhaps?).
I get the same feeling when I take in the fuchsia, white and lavender peonies in my yard. I love peonies, and these just take my breath away. It’s that energy again, sweeping over me.
What colors in your home or your garden move you? I’d love to hear about them.
