Carol Larson - textile artist

It is a pretty well known fact amongst friend and foe that I love purple! And that the Red Hat Society very nearly ruined it for me.

My love of purple started in my 20’s when I sewed a purple dress and wore it to work. People came out of the woodwork complimenting me on the
purple dress. I always felt good when I was wearing purple! Shortly afterwards I learned the meaning of the color purple (and I don’t mean the movie). It stands for royalty…well there you go. I felt absolutely regal wearing it.

Word got out and one year for my birthday all the gifts were purple. It didn’t matter if it was anything I needed or could use, it was simply purple. As I have aged my color tastes have changed but purple has remained. My hairdresser has tried in vain to convince me to dye my hair purple or streak it purple but I want no part of it because so many my age are doing it. I never want to look like everyone else!

When I was fitted for my custom titanium knee brace earlier this year she asked if I wanted purple? What gave it away? Oh yeah I was carrying a purple purse and wearing 3 shades of the color. I was a little disgruntled when she also told me that purple is the most popular color. There it was again…everyone doing it! It was almost enough to choose puce.

So when the homes on our street were going green, I opted for purple! Not royal purple, lavender or orchid but a deep gray with a hint of purple. It is so exquisite as it changes with the light. In the early morning hours it looks more lavender and in the evening more gray. I love it, except that it fades fast because of the blue in it. Last fall we had the badly faded sides professionally painted which was incredible in that it was done in a day!

While the kitchen was being remodeled my husband, who as a young buck painted houses for a second job, brought out his brushes and ladders, and began to repaint the kitchen and family room. He painted the ceiling twice with at least five touch-ups after various stages of construction. Then he decided the hall looked dingy compared to the kitchen so he repainted that!

I had been asking for the bedroom to be repainted for at least 5 years and once the lighting was upgraded which required the ceiling be repainted and by default the walls, he got started. Today he finished. The entire room is now blue orchid with the trim one shade darker. I preferred one shade lighter but the painter vetoed worried about dirt showing.

Blue orchid is a very grayed lavender and difficult to photograph. Although this image is dark and looks pretty much like the exterior of the house the bedroom is much lighter and gorgeous! The paint is not even dry and already the wheels are turning about moving various pieces of art into the bedroom; for what every purple room needs is some complementary green, orange and yellow! It is going to be so spectacular I may not be able to sleep at night…likely because I will be considering the master bath which now looks dingy in comparison to the bedroom!