Wednesday 10 December 2014

The 'Christmas Look'

Last year and this year I've been paying more attention to what kind of things are considered 'Christmasy'. I tend to still think of Christmas colours as green, red, gold and silver, and in addition to Christmas colours there are winter colours like icy blue and white. It's strange to still have that idea considering how long that's not actually been the case. At the risk of sounding old, it's probably due to what I was used to seeing as a child. A lot of Christmas wrapping paper has floral patterns instead of snowflakes and is bright pink instead of red.
Something in particular stood out to me though and that's the use of owls, usually in hats and scarves, on wrapping paper and Christmas cards. Its a fun little idea and not that surprising really, considering how owls became quite trendy. That and Russian dolls (which when I first glanced at them I thought they were wise men) seem to be trying to edge their way in next to snowmen, robbins and snowflakes. And of course Scottie Dogs in hats- great news for all dog lovers.
Christmas has long since moved away from its original purpose for many to make way for Santa, Christmas trees and reindeer and as long as its making money, it will continue to grow into something different. Its great news for artists who want to try new colours and ideas and generally just want to keep ideas fresh and fluid. For me, I will always try to keep in mind what Christmas is actually about and simply enjoy all the different looks its bound to have and take full advantage of any creative avenues it may go down.