ChildArt Magazine – The Color Issue

Karen Haller 01
Karen Haller

When I was asked to write an article for US ChildArt Magazine which is a global education periodical written for 10 to 14-year-olds aimed at inspiring creativity, it took me all of a nano second to say yes!

Even though my area of speciality is in Applied Colour Psychology I’ve long been an advocate for children exploring and experimenting with colour as a beautiful and pure form of self-expression.

If any of you have seen children playing with colour they have such a wonderful natural connection to it that sometimes as adults we can grow out of, losing our spontaneous connection with it.

It was my friend US colourist Kate Smith who was the guest editor for the colour issue who invited me to write an article and it got me thinking what to write about as there’s so many options. And I thought about what do children really love and are interested in when it comes to how they relate to colour.

What immediately came to mind was how children relate to colour with what makes them happy. They choose colours that make them happy.

So that’s what inspired me to write my article on ‘What’s Your Happy Colour?

I believe we all have a happy colour. Maybe more than one and why not…? It’s the colour or colours that just makes us feel good from the inside out, from a warm glow to a great big smile on our face.

Colour has an incredible power to change how we feel, think and act in an instant. And it’s down to one thing. When we connect with colour we’re having an emotional experience. This means that colour is influencing us in some way all of the time.

So what’s my happy colour…?

Well that’s like asking a parent to pick their favourite child, but my most favourite colour for years now has been orange, like the orange you see on a marigold flower. I just smile every time I see it. It connects me to my playful side.

For the ChildArt Magazine article I created a fun game for the child to discover their happy colour and suggested they can play it with their family too. I also shared ideas of how and where they could use their happy colour.

Do you know what your happy colour is? Do you know what colours when you wear them light you up? Do you have colours that you love to surround yourself with in your home?

Children are very free with their colouring in pencils and colouring outside the lines. As children we interact with colour in a very pure and instinctive way.

As adults we often find ourselves with less scope for that but one of the reasons why I encourage us to get in touch with our happy colour/s is that there are great benefits for us in our everyday lives. It’s the colour/s that make you smile from the inside out, that makes you feel better.

The three main benefits are:

  • Using colour as a form of self-expression
    Being able to use colour as a way of expressing your true personality through what you buy and surround yourself with
  • It’s your ‘go to’ mood booster
    Colour can change your mood in an instant and how you think, feel and behave. An instant pick me up
  • Boost positive mental health
    Colour helps how we relate to ourselves and others.

So don’t under estimate the power of your happy colour. It can really shift your mood in an instant, help you interact better with other people and express your true personality.

 

Join The Colour Collective
If you want to see how other people around the world get inspired by colour then come over and join the fun and dynamic  Colour Collective.

 

Want a copy of my “What’s My Happy Colour” article?
If you would like a copy of the article in PDF format, then drop me an email at [email protected] to arrange a call.

 

Subscribe to ChildArt Magazine
And if you’d like to know more about how you can support children’s creative and empathic development check out the ChildArt website wwwicaf.org/support where you can also subscribe to the magazine online.

All images except for the marigold are courtesy of ChildArt Magazine.

Wishing you a colourful day
Karen x

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