I was trying to pull a piece of fabric from the bottom of a precariously arranged pile of objects on the top shelf of my bookcase. The fabric came out easily but so did my set of coloured pencils. The tin crashed to the ground and all the colours of the rainbow landed on the carpet.
I am very fond of coloured pencils and am lucky enough to have a set of 72 Derwent pencils. They are the most glorious pencils – they feel so good in my hand. When I draw with them, they cover the page with thick, rich colour.
The pencils are arranged in two layers, like good chocolates, in a beautiful tin. The colours in the top layer range from the deepest ochre, through the yellow hues to orange and apricot; from the most gorgeous reds and pinks through the purples and mauves and finally into the blues.
When I lift out the top layer, the colours of the earth are revealed. There are twelve greens (twelve – what a treat!) followed by the browns, chocolates and clay colours of the ground. Then there are the slates, greys, white and black of stone.
All the pencils have the names of the colours written on them. I am drawn to the words as I am to the colours – Rose Madder Lake, Naples Yellow, Spectrum Orange, Imperial Purple, and Sap Green. It would be a glorious job to give these colours names. Surely that’s a career I haven’t explored? My favourites are the blues – ultramarine, indigo, turquoise, aquamarine, cobalt and my absolute favourite, a glorious one called Kingfisher Blue.
Since they fell, though, all my pencils are splayed across the floor. Reds are across greens; blues are mixed with the terracotta and the greys. My ordered idea of colour is all mixed up and I am confused. I want to reassert the arrangement of the tin quickly.
As I moved to pick up the first pencil, I stopped to look more closely.
The arrangement of the pencils intrigued me. I am reminded of something I’d once heard about how to arrange beads on a piece of fabric – just drop them on the material and stitch them where they land. It’s a bit like sowing flower seeds – scatter them around the garden bed and let them grow where they fall. I have often used this approach when sprinkling packets of seeds throughout my backyard.
The lines of the pencils are interesting, too. Some of them crossed over each other at different points. The angles they made in the tufts of the carpet are intriguing.
Other pencils have fallen and rolled away from the majority, and lie in solitary splendour on one side. Some are caught under others, with their ends pointing upwards, offering a three-dimensional perspective.
The design potential for this accidental arrangement is exciting. I quickly snapped some images for study in the future, making sure to record the placement of the lines on the floor. Who knows how this pattern may trigger some design component in a future quilt?
I carefully picked up the pencils and started to slot them back in their places. Luckily none of the sharp points had broken. Each pencil has a number on it, so I could position them back the way they were originally. I took my time and carefully turned them around so that the numbers and names were on the top, and I did a roll call of those pencils, making sure none were missing.
Once order was restored, I placed the top layer over the bottom one, and replaced the lid. All was well and my colours were back in place. Everything was as it was before, except I had new exciting design ideas swirling through my mind!
What I thought was a source of irritation I now recognise as a creative inspiration.
Stephanie Knudsen says
Colour combinations appear randomly here too
Grandchildren use my Derwent pencils and they love the effect water has with them, Gemma (8) did me a drawing and I have used the colours in a new quilt purples Turquoise and some pink
Looked up my colour wheel and they are a triad of colours clever girl
Erica says
Lovely story! ❤️