December 5th, 2025

Happy December to my readers! What a year it has been. Just recently Pantone announced their color of 2026 as “White Cloud Dancer” (Pantone 11-4201). I won’t bore you by quoting their reasons why, when you have probably already read about it, or can read about it by clicking on the link in the previous sentence! However, I feel differently about the choice than they do. So here are my 2 cents (Oh, wait! The U.S. doesn’t produce cents anymore.) Here are my thoughts on the choice:

1. White in a year after there have been so many deaths from war globally? Hmmmm. White is the color I have seen in people’s faces as they lose their health insurance, jobs, stability, affordability and general sense of peace in 2025. White roses have been used to symbolize purity however they have also been sent when someone has died. So currently, I find this choice tone deaf on many levels (apologies to Pantone, whom I have respected for decades).
2. The color begs the question, “What policies can we enact globally that prevents the need for calming people down? Why are people agitated in the first place?” I think we are all aware.
3. White has always been a problematic color for laypersons (non-artists). My husband and I chose a white with hot pink in it for our home a few years ago (PMS 232). You can’t see the pink unless you looked in the gallon jug after a week of not using it, it’s just ONE of the colors used to make that particular white. It takes the yellowish tone out of white and makes it really PULL the light in from the windows. The difference was amazing, from the previously cream colored walls. So FRESH and BRIGHT!
   

So, yes, I am one of those “artists” who can tell the differences between the multitude of whites out there and can advise people toward “warm” or “cool” whites. So… I’m going to pick another color for 2026 inspired by OPI nail polish. Hey, inspiration comes from MANY places. I like the name of it also. It’s called “Glowing Along”. YES! Despite the challenges of the last year, my intention is to keep creating, keep inventing, keep improving and keep refining. So I’ll just keep “glowing along” in 2026.

While we can all take advice and guidance from the experts, after the initial nudge in a direction from the experts, it’s up to you to take the ball and keep running it down the field. With color, you have to realize that HOW that color is transmitted will change how that color is SEEN by the human eye. Is light coming through it, like the crushed glass window catchers we made in a class recently? Or is it a paint/ink on paper? Does it have metallic qualities in the paint/ink? I just learned about glitter Mod Podge this week. Who knew? I didn’t until now. It’s amazing which craft supplies come out during the holidays.

The photo above (indoors) of my hand over the painted swatch of “Glowing Along” nail polish will show you the slight variations that colors can take on, depending on how and where they are applied and from what vantage point you are seeing them. Sophistication is another level of color evaluation. Can it be a strong color without being “loud”? How does it affect the other colors around it? Obviously, whatever color appears next to “White Cloud Dancer” will be important. Does “WCD” become the foreground or the background? Have fun playing with that if you are truly curious. Curiosity is a great thing, when properly executed.

For now, because we are all are usually busier in December, I will just leave you with some examples of color looking different through a burlap table cloth or a lifted toward the light, from our recent class. These photos do not include the piece I created, mine is a gift so I can’t reveal it yet, but they are two examples of the snowflake design with color differences, down on neutral colored table or lifted to see the light through. It was a fun class and I was grateful to our teacher for showing us another way to create something beautiful that utilizes our sun.

Happy Holidays and may you find your calm in whatever color uplifts you. Peace.