Colour...is it all the same ?

I've always been interested in colour from a young age. Colour as applied to dress and fashion.

For my last year's college specialisation I chose to do loom weaving. Part of the work entailed dyeing yarns and it was fascinating to collect dyestuffs and discover that their colours did not necessarily have anything in common with the resulting colour.  My topic title was "Inspiration for Weaving." So I photographed many sights of natural events, and places like snow covered peaks, moorland, streams, forests and the like. Then I chose colours from selected photos to incorporate in my weaving.

Being an outdoor person I am acutely aware of colours in the landscape and take endless photos.   But recently I've been perplexed in my idea as to what colours are, and do we all see them the same?
I know that animals and insects see colours in a different way to ourselves, and I know that some people are "colour blind" and that some people see no colours at all! However, what has entered my mind recently is 'do we all see colours the same?'

I'll try to explain.  Okay, from our baby days we are 'taught' colours...so mum might say "the balloon is red" etc. and we absorb that knowledge and associate a name to a colour, but what if we don't all see the actual same colour ? What if I look at grass and say "look how green that it is", but do I know that my colleague is seeing the same colour? What if his/ her 'green' isn't the same as mine?

Not that it really matters, but it just occurred to me, and it's rather a dark subject and a bit profound for late evening so I'll sign off on what has been a very busy, traumatic day and hopefully I'll have time tomorrow to write a bit more.

 

So here I am after a busy day, finally writing a quick piece...

 

Colour my life

Colour my childhood yellow-

When summer days were long and mellow.

Colour my teen years red-

When I danced long and late to bed.

Colour my college years gold-

When I matured and suddenly felt old.

Colour my twenties plum-

When I became a wife and a mum.

Colour my thirties midnight blue-

When I found my love wasn't true.

Colour my forties powder blue-

When with love true I started anew.

Colour my fifties fluorescent green-

When joy filled my days and tears unseen.

Colour my sixties dull grey-

As I lost my love one sad day.

Colour me now what you will,

As the years stretch before me still..

Thanks for reading my rather hurried piece, Kath.