NCS color class, homework review
The NCS Colour School ran from August 18th to August 23rd. The program was held at the Red Cross conference center outside of Stockholm near the village of Mariefred. The Swedish countryside at this time of year is perfect. The morning air was fresh with sunshine, lifting fog and the lazy humming of bees. Gardens were alive with color and fresh produce. Apple orchards marched down to the shores of Lake Malaren, while the imposing towers of ancient Gripsholms Castle rose above the tree line in the distance. Falu red barns and dappled herds of royal deer easily gave the impression of what life must have looked like in this place centuries ago.
Attendees of the NCS colour school came from all parts of Europe and the world. Each of us brought our own experiences for working and relating to color. The entire week was spent sharing philosophies and ideals, so we not only learned from the instructors, but from each other. Color practice and guest lectures made each day pass very quickly—by the end of the day we were usually pleasantly exhausted! It was inspirational to learn the NCS semantics of working with color. The process for it is both technical and intuitive. It felt comfortable employing it with the methods I currently use for establishing collections and palettes.
Gripsholms Castle in Mariefred, Sweden
One rainy afternoon we took a tour of the imposing Gripsholms Castle. Built over 450 years ago, it was once the home to the Vasa kings of old. Now the castle houses the National Portrait Gallery and is open May through July to the public. Along with the fantastic portraits of kings, queens, princes and princesses, are some wonderfully restored Gustavian interiors. I loved the story about the mirror tax, and the fact that many of the portraits were originally shown without frames (too expensive!).
At the end of the week, my classmates and I turned in our final projects and said our good-byes. We exchanged the glistening waters and charming meadows of Gripsholms for the ochre yellow and black rooftops of Stockholm.
