There MUST Have Been a Sale on Blue Paint in Greece!

[Thom Courcelle]

In the most JOYOUS OF WAYS possible, Katerina Nikoltsou of Thessaloniki fame has let the tide of BLUE PAINT flood the postal systems around the world and the happy mailboxes of IUOMA members.  My face crinkles in a wider smile every time a see one of her white and blue-edge stiped envelopes in the mail box, and her trademark "BLUE" and "MAIL" and "ART" carved rubber stamps proudly announcing the theme of the envelopes' contents (all with their own variations: "Zalop"; Trashpo"; etc.).  I can hardly believe those rubber stamps haven't crumbled into eraser dust by now!!!

To see the world through bleu-tinted glasses is a world I could live-in with some contentment.  Some people think Seattle is Rain, Rain, Rain, and gloomy clouds all the time.  And there is quite a bit of gray throughout the year, but Blue skies grace the Puget Sound as well, and as artists, you can all well imagine the multitudes of shades and suggestions of BLUE that can also permeate a cloud-covered sky, that make up shadows, and are reflected by large bodies of water. Despite it's nickname of the "Emerald City," Seattle is very much a BLUE CITY.  View these pictures of the Seattle Sky and tell me my city is not BLUE:

How many different BLUES in just those four snapshots of the sky!

Katerina's work is like that--nuances and shades that enrich the experience of BLUE.  How many different names can you think of for the color BLUE and it's infinite variations: Cerulean; Cobalt; Colonial Blue; Navy; Midnight Blue; Sky Blue; Ice Blue; Tiffany Blue; Denim Blue; Indigo; Cyan; Baby Blue; Azure; Ultramarine... I bet you can come up with more...

Here for you, then, is a virtual gallery of nuanced blues from the colorful pallette of colorful Katerina:

Some more Blue archived mail from the Katerina collection:

I can even see BLUE between the blades of green grass:

Thank you for splashing my world with color, Katerina! I love it all!

[vizma bruns]

Yikes! That's the bluest woman I ever did see.

[Thom Courcelle]

Here's a story of some REAL blue people that were in the news recently:

 

a link to their story:

http://www.nclark.net/BluePeopleofTroublesomeCreek.html

 

[Thom Courcelle]

I wondered how such a little carpet could be so woven in such detail!  It's a wonder!  ..and now that I know that it's only one of a twin, it feels even more special!  WHOooOHhHHoo!

Here's some Blue Men (not quite as ripped as Vizma's crew):

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

ok, will not hijack here, 'will make a blog...but it's BLUE (jeans and flowers )

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

Thank you, Nancy! So, you are wearing "blue". eh? Good...there are even people sending me "blue" (look at what came from Vizma...yummy!) It's BLUE!

[Nancy Bell Scott]

Flying carpets--ooo I like that idea, Katerina. This is a wonderful blog, Thom. Katerina is so prolific, she is really a marvel. She even has me wearing blue, which hadn't happened in quite a while. Those Seattle skies look mighty dramatic. Maybe we should all move there after all.

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

Flying carpet...was a cut-up of an old coin purse thing from the Istanbul markets....cut in half, only two sent out: to Cherry Blossom in Japan, and Thom in Seattle. Hmmmm, I'll have to look around the Greek markets if they have any of these little "carpet-baggers" :-) There is a need for more woven flying carpets, me thinks :-)

[Katerina Nikoltsou (MomKat)]

xxx thanks for the great blog, Thom. The Seattle/Puget sound skies are fabulous! I must come there to paint :-)

Oh, ok, you didn't forget Grecian Blue...and lots of Greek Blue Grass. I have "Thom Blue" (knitted bag and contents :-)

[Marie Wintzer]

Gorgeous city sky, Thom! And that's a great collection, oh, I see you have the other half of my carpet!

[De Villo Sloan]

You should have seen it when sandpaper was on sale.