Summer Break

For five and a half years, we have happily brought you Focusing on Life. We've loved every minute of it but this summer we decided we needed a creative break. We will do something we've never done - take off the months of July and August. 

We plan to use this time to relax, spend time with family and friends, catch up on personal projects and recharge our creative batteries. 

One of our stated objectives is to create a safe, welcoming community for creatives to share their art. We believe we've done this so we encourage you to continue to share your art with us on our Flickr page and Instagram feed (#focusingonlife) and we'll share ours there as well. We'd love to see what you're up to this summer!

Wishing us all a joy-filled summer!

The FOL Sisters

Purple Haze

by Leigh

INTERESTING INFORMATION ABOUT PURPLE

source: sensationalcolor.com

• Purple was the color of the first dye made by man. It was called “Mauveine” and was made out of coal tar. The recipe was discovered by William Henry Perkin in 1856.
• Purple represents the planet Jupiter.
• February is the month associated with the color purple and the birthstone for those born is February is amethyst.
• Purple Stones: Amethyst, Ametrine, Sugilite, Lavender Jade, Sugilite, Selenite, Iolite, Lavender Quartz, Lepidolite
• The Byzantine emperor signed edicts in purple ink.
• Leonardo da Vinci believed that the power of meditation increases ten times when done in a purple light, as in the purple light of stained glass.
• In 1999, formal Moral Majority spokesman Reverend Jerry Farwell came out publicly against the children’s show Teletubbies. He believed that its character “Tinky-Winky” was gay, stating that he was purple – the color of gay pride – and that his antennae was a triangle – the symbol of gay pride.
• The poem “Warning” by English poet Jenny Joseph begins with the line “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple…” The poem and its famous purple line has become a tongue-in-cheek reference to a woman’s struggle with aging.
• Purple is the color of Madison Square Garden and seating for VIP’s was once covered in purple.
• Purple is the color of the highest denomination poker chip = $5,000
• During the Silver Age of comic books, those with purple on their covers sold better.
• In stained glass, the color purple or violet is seen as uniting the “wisdom” of blue and the “love” of red and symbolizes justice and royalty.
• The “Purple Orchid Three” is a sweet potato grown by its Hainan developers from seeds taken into space in 2005 on China’s “Shenzhou VI” rocket.