AN OBSERVATION OF COLOR
"Discover by chance on the hinge
of a pocket knife some foreign dust—
and the world will again seem strange,
enveloped in a rainbow mist."
From Do You Remember, Alexander Blok, trans. J. Stallworthy and P. France
The outbuilding at my parents’ farm is a shaded, sepia-toned world of ash, taupe, and rust. Metal siding the color of a heron’s feather is corroded with splashes of pine needle brown and oxblood. A sawhorse, whose legs have been shaped driftwood-like by the elements, supports a seal-gray whetstone. Light from a silt-hued hanging lamp, with a noodle of cord, illuminates filmy antique bottles. With its paint-splotched wood, a tree stump takes on the aspect of a palomino.
The structure’s interior could stimulate certain appetites. If your tastes run to the sweet and fruity, look no further than the hand-fashioned hammer in cocoa, the pomegranate oil can, oxidized nails dipped in cinnamon, and clove Pac-Man shapes. A hefty zinc dustpan’s rounded and delicately fluted corners are reminiscent of the best lemon tart.
Thirsty? Coffee drinkers will appreciate the flat white of the lawnmower handle. Sweet tea washes the interior of an antique trunk, and an absinthe cleaning rag is draped over the back of a chair like an abandoned dinner jacket.
Savory options abound in the outbuilding: a popcorn-yellow Styrofoam tray from a screwdriver set could get you in the mood for snacking. There is a paprika bicycle chain slung over a hook, oversized sponges in turmeric, and a turkey baster whose squeezer is a tasty cumin. Vintage glass bottles are translucent oregano, and a postwar overnight case is misty sage. Condiments aplenty can be enjoyed here, from the mustard flashlight to the butter-toned wheels of the push mower, along with a dressing table, now used as a tool storage area, in a mouthwatering mayonnaise.
Products and labels of recent vintage are vibrant and saturated. A fire extinguisher in bleached white hangs by the entrance, and sky-blue plastic string dangles from a nail across from a fluorescent orange spirit level. Woven with strips of bright emerald, a lawn chair provides seating near a coil of evergreen extension wire. Cleaning wipes in custard stand out against cloud-bottom cinderblocks while a cobalt can of machine lubricant sits beside a pesticide bottle in scarlet. Glossy clear packaging glints brilliantly from slate shadows.