Grapheme
14x14x1"
The pieces in this exhibition explore my use of color in relation to my experience as a synesthete. Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which one sense is involuntarily linked to another. In color synesthesia or grapheme—the most common form of synesthesia and the one I experience—letters and numbers are inherently colored.
P is for Pink
McKnight Fellowship Exhibition, 2013
This is a roadmap of my color synesthesia. Each symbol in this piece reflects the letter/color combinations I see. Symbols of written language translate into a language of color. I use color associations to remember names, sequence items, and make color choices in my work.
R is for Red
McKnight Fellowship Exhibition, 2013
This piece takes the letters and numbers in P is for Pink and strips them of their letter shapes. This color chart still reads as the alphabet to me, but it also becomes a system for organizing color and glaze information that can be actively used in creating work. Color now becomes material language and is described in terms of bases, colorants and percentages.
Mash-up
“C” becomes “G” with the addition of a crossbar. That small line alters both the color and meaning of the symbol.
Juniper, Sea Foam, Victory
Paint color names are designed to evoke a mood or association. I wondered what these color names looked like through the lens of synesthesia. Using names from hardware store paint chips, I created three distinct palettes using the colors associate with the letters in each name.
I am Ursula
10x6x14"
Several years after I had developed a signature color palette, I realized my palette primarily consisted of the colors in my first name. Inadvertently, synesthesia has guided my preferences around color.