1-A: Gnarled
2-A: Arbutus Bark
3-A: Peeling Arbutus
4–A: Arbutus Wood
This beautiful gnarled tree, with its colorful textured bark, grows only on the Western Coasts of North America from British Columbia Canada (where we are from) down through Washington, Oregon and Northern California. Here in BC we call it the Arbutus Tree. It’s Latin Genus Species name being Arbutus menziesii.
In the United States, this gorgeous tree is known as the Madrona, Madrone or Bearberry. According to Wikipedia, the Concow Tribe calls this tree the dis-ta-tsi (Konkow language) or kou-wat-chu.
It is one of my most favorite species of trees. Then tend to grow in the most wind swept shores along the coastline, so they carry with them a spirit of gnarled beauty and rugged survival instincts. Their twisted branches and colorful peeled bark, lash themselves to rocky cliffs… hanging on for dear life… looking stunning during the whole adventure!
I wasn’t with Doug when he snapped this photo at Manchester State Park on our last PcT Roadtrip. He tends to take a lot of photos on his own… either early in the morning before I awake… or sometimes during the day when I’m working on dinner or cleaning up the trailer. Sometimes he can take an hour taking pictures and he’s only stepped a few meters away from camp… so rather than just stand there watching him, we often choose to do things apart while he gets his shots :)
I kind of wish I had been there for this shot though. This Arbutus is such a gorgeous specimen, I would have loved to see it in person. This photo is the next best thing though, and that is why it is the color inspiration for our next color recipe series. I do hope you enjoy this Vol-084-A Series color palette chosen for the month of May 2015. 
The following Vol-084 A-series Arbutus Palette will be added to the Polymer Clay Members Library at the beginning of May 2015:
- Gnarled (Recipe 084-1A)
- Arbutus Bark (Recipe 084-2A)
- Peeling Arbutus (Recipe 084-3A)
- Arbutus Wood (Recipe 084-4A)
[wp_ad_camp_1] … Gnarled is the soft dark shade of brown found in the gnarled knot of this beautiful Arbutus tree. Arbutus Bark is a deep red brown found along the edges of the flaky curled bark. Peeling Arbutus is the almost coral orange shade of the highlights in the bark. And Arbutus Wood is the dusty yellow green of the wood revealed underneath the peeling skin of the arbutus.
I love how you share these photos that give you your inspiration. I know this tree as the Mighty Madrone. It is a gorgeous tree, can be a messy one, very much like the peppercorn tree of California. I live south of you in Washington State on the Olympic Peninsula. ~Illaya-B
Just recently I finally decided to print out all your color recipe cards and purchased all the rest of the colors I needed to mix them up. It took a few days to mix it all but I now have a notebook full of the recipe cards with the color chip attached to them. I hand make miniature bonsai and other miniatures. It’s amazing how many supplies it takes for making a tree that’s only about a quarter inch to 2 inches tall :) I am using your color recipes to make the pots for the bonsai. Some of the colors are just out of this world beautiful. If I never did anything but mix colors I’d probably be perfectly content. ~Kathy-H
I just wanted to let you know I have been able to access the videos and recipe cards I signed up for. I’m enjoying your web site and watching your videos. I’m excited about trying your ideas and mixing your recipes. Color mixing is not something I’m especially good at so it’s really helpful to me to have access to color recipes. Best regards. ~Deborah-E
*********************************************************************************************** If you would like more information about the Members Library, here are some direct links: Library Member Benefits and What Others Are Saying Order Page for Color Recipe and Video Back Issue Packages Become A Full Member at the Library
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Another stunning palette. Thank you Cindy and Doug. I love your recipes inspired by the best color palette Nature!
Serendipity! Was mesmerized by and shared this photo on Facebook, and today, it looks like you have provided the perfect palate to take a whack at caning the image! Thank you so much, and wish me luck, kids. ROFL!
Click link for image of mother and child….
“Aspau
April 9 ·
UNA BONITA REFLEXIÓN!!
Existe una tribu en África, donde la fecha de nacimiento de un niño no se toma como el día en que nació, ni como el momento en que fue concebido, sino como el día en que ese niño fue “pensado” por su madre.
Cuando una mujer decide tener un hijo, se sienta sola bajo un árbol y se concentra hasta escuchar la canción del niño que quiere nacer…. See More
A beautiful reflection!!
Existe una tribu en África, donde la fecha de nacimiento de un niño no se toma como el día en que nació, ni como el momento en que fue concebido, sino como el día en que ese niño fue “pensado” por su madre.
When a woman decides to have a child, sits alone under a tree and concentrates to hear the song of the child that wants to be born.
Then listen, she comes back with the man who will be the father of his son and he teaches. Then, when they make love with the intention is to be understood, at some point they sing their song, as a way to invite him to come.
When the mother is pregnant, teaches the child’s song to the people of the place, so that when is born, the old women and people who are next to her, i sing to welcome.
As the child is going to grow; when the boy got hurt or falls or when does something good, as a way to honour him, the people of the tribe sings your song.
There is one other occasion upon which the people of the tribe sings the child.
If at any point in his life, that person commits a crime or an act socially abhorrent, they call him to the center of the village and the people in the community surrounds it. Then they sing their song.
The tribe recognizes that the way to correct an anti-social behavior is not punishment, but the love and the recovery of the identity.
When you recognize your own song, you do not want or need to do anything to hurt others.
And so continues throughout his life.
When contract marriage, they are singing the songs together.
And finally, when this person is going to die, all in the village sing his or her song, for the last time, for him.
‘ you may not have been born in an African tribe that sings your song to you in each of the transition of your life, but life is always reminding you when you are vibrating at your own frequency, and when you are not in love.
Just keep singing and you’ll find your way home “.
Automatically Translated”
Blue, that was a great match-up. Just saw this today myself. You are right about the colors. Cindy this is an awesome palette. I love these deep rich colors. Thank you for creating this one. I do have a suggestion. Since we have so many people from around the world, it would be nice to do color palettes that represent things in other countries besides our own. Doesn’t that sound like a grand idea? With your talent for creating such beautiful palettes, I am sure it would be appreciated all around.
Hi Dixie Ann, that is a wonderful idea and we hope to implement more pictures from around the world as color inspiration. But we will have to do some more traveling first. In order for us to be allowed to use photographs for our color recipes and other stuff for our business we need to have full ownership… which basically means we pretty much have to take the pictures ourselves, otherwise we could run into copyright violations. That is one of the reasons we travel with the RV… to find new beautiful locations to shoot photos. (Remember when the pictures were mostly from our yard?) One day we hope to do a lot of international travel so that there is an even wider variety of photograph inspiration.
Maybe you could invite members of the community to submit photos they own and are willing to share with you…. it would have to be in some kind of controlled way so you weren’t inundated with pictures…. But we have folks from all around the world. Wouldn’t it be fun to know your photo inspired one of Cindy’s magical palettes? It could be a contest, maybe… What do you think?
Fran
That is a nice idea Fran. We’ll have to put some thought into that.
What a interesting palette. I know this tree as a Madrone. (Originally from northern Calif, myself). This would be a palette I would use to make Mokume Gane………..hmmmmmmm