Wednesday, August 30, 2017

The Statue of Liberty's Many Color Changes Through Time

The color changes of Lady Liberty


Here's the story of how the Statue of Liberty became that iconic green color—and how it was almost reversed.

As the name of the material would suggest, the statue was originally a 
bright copper color. However, once she was assembled in New York 
harbor, a reaction called oxidation—which is also responsible for rust—
began. Her copper exterior began to react with the oxygen in the air.
That reaction created tenorite, a dark brown-black material. So her 
copper color got darker before it got lighter.
 Completing the chemical makeover, sulfuric acid in 
the air (much of which comes from New York air 
pollution) reacted with the tenorite and the 
oxidized copper, turning the exterior green. By 1906, 
all traces of copper were gone and the statue was 
the color we know today. However, in the early 1900s,
Congress collected money for repairs, suggesting 
that the statue be painted its original copper color—
but people protested, and the “repairs” never 
happened. Thankfully, because we certainly can’t 
imagine this iconic statue being any other color. 
But with all of these reactions, will the Statue of Liberty be changing her
color again anytime soon? Will we see a purple Statue of Liberty? Luckily,
no. The statue’s exterior is finally “stable,” meaning it’s not reacting 
anymore. Green will continue to stand for liberty for generations to come. 

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Smart Tips for Updating Paint in Your Home

 10 Tips, Tricks, and Fascinating Facts About Paint

 
Paint is all around us, but how much do you really think about it? OK, thinking or talking about paint sounds, well, just about as exciting as watching it dry. But there are actually some cool things to know about what you can paint and how to paint it.
So whether you're just freshening up your white walls or trying something new with an accent color, you should check out these bright tips. We guarantee that after you read this, you won’t think about paint (or painting) the same way again.

1. Smart paint

A lot of institutions, like high schools and prisons, use colors such as taupe for their hallways because it’s known to be soothing (as is a certain shade of pink)—but did you know that some colors are thought to make you smarter? It has been hotly debated whether red and blue can actually affect your ability to take tests. A study from the Journal of Experimental Psychology showed that red has an adverse effect on, say, SAT performance because it tends to make people anxious and more likely to second-guess themselves. Blue, on the other hand, inspires creative thought, because it’s relaxing and cooling and makes you more attentive to details.

2. How to paint without removing the hardware

If you're spray-painting a piece of furniture, it's kind of tricky to avoid the hinges and locks. Here's a great hack: Simply cover anything you don't want to be painted with a generous layer of petroleum jelly, and spray-paint away. When you’re done, simply rub the coated areas with a paper towel and the paint will come right off.

3. Chair lift

Did you know you can paint upholstered chairs? All you need is acrylic or latex paint, fabric medium, and a few more supplies to transform you latest thrift store find into a one-of-a-kind, statement-making piece of furniture. The miracle material is fabric medium, which keeps the paint from drying stiff. For a thorough breakdown of this project, we love this tutorial from DIY Network. Now nothing is stopping you from having that canary-yellow armchair you’ve always wanted!

4. Mind the sun

When deciding on a paint type, consider how much natural light the room you’re painting is going to experience. The more light a wall gets, the quicker the paint color is going to fade. If you can’t find a UV-resistant paint (these are mostly for exteriors), it’s best to go with the generally more durable oil-based paint.

5. How to reduce drying time

As previously mentioned, few things are more boring than watching paint dry—but what if you could speed up the process? Paint dries quickest at 70 degrees Fahrenheit, so if you have to paint when temperatures are less than ideal, it’s a good idea to set your thermostat. Be warned that while higher temps can help paint dry, humidity can undo all that work and actually slow down the process, so check the weather report and plan accordingly.

6. Don't believe the label

Even if you bought them at the same time in the same store from the same guy, no two cans of paint are precisely the same color. The best way to level out the minor differences in shades is to simply mix your cans into one container. If you have two gallons of paint, combine them into one 5-gallon bucket. Once mixed, the subtle differences blend away.

7. Beware! New paint smell = bad for your health

That distinctive scent of a newly painted house is—and we’re sorry to break it to you—really, really toxic. On a typical day, volatile organic compound levels in a home are about two to five times higher than they are outside. But when you paint, those indoor pollution levels could reach up to 1,000 times higher. The good news is that you don't have to vacate your house for a week after painting. Consumer Reports announced a few years back that the federal government was regulating VOC content in paint. There are also brands such as Mythic that boast zero VOCs and an "ultra low odor."

8. Adhere to the 60-30-10 rule

A key rule of thumb for maintaining a balanced color scheme in a room is the trusted interior design equation: 60-30-10. Roughly 60% of your room should be the dominant color (this is generally the wall color). The next 30% should represent a secondary color—accent walls, a painted bookcase, wainscoting, or furniture such as a large-scale sofa. The remaining 10% of the color scheme should be accented with art and accessories.

9. Smart storage

For those times when you need to touch up your walls or furniture, keep an extra can of the original paint on hand. To extend the lifespan of your paint, make sure to store at the optimum temperature range of 55 to 90 degrees. Before you store your leftover paint, close the lid really well (use a hammer to make sure it’s firmly sealed), and then flip the can upside down. This will prevent air from getting into the can.
You can also ditch the metal cans and store paint in separate containers. Just use a funnel to empty the can into an airtight jar.

10. Chill out

Whether you hear a knock at the door or experience arm fatigue, chances are you're going to have to put down your paint roller before you can finish painting the whole room. To keep it from getting all crusty, just wrap the roller in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator. The roller will be ready to go when you're ready to keep chugging along.
Eric Alt has been a writer and editor for outlets as diverse as Maxim, Fast Company, Men's Journal, Cosmopolitan, Mental Floss, Inked, "Attack of the Show," and Spike TV, among others. He lives in New Jersey, where he tries desperately to keep his two children from tearing the state to pieces.
 

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

Coloring Post Cards

 Humboldt postcards offer creative fun

Color Me Humboldt postcards were created by local artists Jenna Catsos and Tibora Bea.
Color Me Humboldt postcards were created by artists Jenna Catsos and Tibora Bea. Tibora Bea — Contributed
The Color Me Humboldt postcards feature various local scenes, including the Trinidad Lighthouse.
The Color Me Humboldt postcards feature various local scenes, including the Trinidad Lighthouse.Tibora Bea — Contributed
Sharpen those colored pencils, because Humboldt’s first color-in postcards are making their debut just in time for the summer travel season. The idea was born out of a desire to celebrate Humboldt County, while encouraging creativity. Color Me Humboldt products feature illustrations of the county’s landscapes, attractions, flora, and fauna, created specifically to color and decorate.
Each postcard pack features six illustrated cards printed on thick, high-quality card stock, designed for coloring with a variety of media (pencil, marker, watercolor, crayon). Each pack also includes a set of colored pencils. All materials and packaging are carefully selected with sustainability in mind: compostable packaging; recycled paper with soy based inks; and reused colored pencils from SCRAP Humboldt
Color Me Humboldt is collaboration between Humboldt-based artists Jenna Catsos and Tibora Bea.
You can find Color Me Humboldt postcards through Pen&Pine’s online shop: penandpineshop.etsy.com.

If you've run out of time to order these postcards, use pages from a fun coloring book and print them out on cardstock, cut to standard post card size, buy cute postcard stamps, pack colored pencils and a small sharpener and be on your happy way. This could be a project for youngsters to enjoy as they travel. It could cut down on questions such as "Are we there yet?" BBL

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

Pops of Color Enliven An Overabundance of Concrete Gray

Seattle architecture now

crushes on color


A new building along Madison Credit: Nick Turner for Crosscut
Not too long ago, you could look around the metropolitan region and
lament the absence of color in new buildings. It seemed as if everything
 being built was some version of grayness. Tan and beige tones were the standard go-to hues as the 1990s came to an end. (In dreary climates,
depression increases)
Large expanses of glass often reflected (sometimes literally) the
sky — looking like a uniform, fluorescently lighted ceiling. Each new
 building appeared to extend this limited palette with more walls of pale boredom.
That was before the 2000 completion of the Museum of Pop Culture
 — or MoPOP — the former Experience Music Project. Whether or not one considers it a top-drawer example of architect Frank Gehry’s prolific
body of international work, the structure created a definite splash
on the local scene.
Perhaps it broke the unwritten rule of architectural discretion through
the application of vivid colors, as well as sinuous shapes. It just took a
while for the regime change to fully occur.


As we emerged from the long stretch of depressing weather that broke
records from November onward, we saw that something quite interesting
had happened almost without anyone in Seattle expecting it. With
scaffolding and protective tarps taken down around construction, we
found ourselves seeing colors. Lots of them.

A trend settter? The Museum of Pop Culture, formerly called EMP.
The Museum of Pop Culture, formerly called EMP. Credit: jc_nyc

Along Dexter Avenue, Stone Way, Madison, Seneca and other streets
throughout the city, many new buildings have been enlivened by intense
colors. And not just token swatches or trim but broad brush strokes that
 cover large portions of the exteriors.


In previous years, a handful of designers played with colors. But the
attempts were tentative and subtle. Perhaps a series of projecting bays
 were finished in mustard yellow. But not much more.
Likely, the reticence was the result of development clients being fearful
 of making a “wrong” choice in the marketplace — safer to stay with
muted color scheme.
Moreover, the specification of colors can be fraught with hazards. What
might look good on a small sample or in a simulated rendering could turn
out quite different in the full-scale presentation. And, by then, of course,
the work has been bought and paid for.


Some of the past reluctance to add color to architecture might have
 come from the region’s roots in Scandinavia, where politeness and
deference is often the cultural norm. But for decades, buildings in
Scandinavian countries have used intense colors to create a unique
ambience in spite of their more adverse climates. For whatever reason,
Seattle has come late to the game.
But now, color is on us almost with a vengeance. Even temporary
construction enclosures on high rises are showing up with bright yellows
and blues. The increasing verticality of the city is being celebrated by
these rising collars of color.


New townhomes tend to make bolder use of colors. Credit: Nick Turner

And color has come not just in flat-painted surfaces. It has been infused
in glass. The clutch of towers for Amazon around Seventh Avenue and
Lenora Street fairly bristle with blades of colorful glass. Light passing
through them produces different effects depending on sun angle and sky atmospheric conditions, as well as with ambient light in the evening.
We are seeing a wholesale playfulness in infusing the skyline with
combinations of color.

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

Red, the Feel Good Color


Is your outfit falling flat today? Perhaps not giving you the confidence you want? Well, it’s time to mix things up and add this color to your wardrobe.
What color? Red.
A new study has found that both women and men who wear red feel more physically attractive. Apparently, the bold color gives us all a nice little confidence boost.
The study, published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, saw researchers from Germany ask 180 university students to wear either a red or a blue shirt. (Side note: the students had no idea what they were being asked.)
Then, the students checked out their reflections in mirrored cubicles, as well as completing a survey that included questions about how hot they thought they looked.
The end result: those who wore red rated themselves higher in attractiveness compared those in blue. They also rated themselves higher in sex appeal.
Researchers did note that introverts who shy away from attention could view themselves differently wearing red. And that attractiveness might not last forever.
Modal Trigger
Olivia Wilde[/caption]
AFP/Getty Images
“We need to investigate if and how different personality characteristics interact with the effect,” study author Anne Berthold, a researcher from the University of Zurich, told PsyPost. “Also, it might be possible that the effect disappears when someone wears red every day.”
The other kicker: it might not be the color that makes us feel more attractive, but the fact that it’s an attention-grabbing shade.
Despite the if’s and but’s, we reckon you should test the theory out for yourself.