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Welcome back to the Soul Forager’s Guide to Creative Healing.
This series began in the heart of winter—a time when many of us were turning inward, reflecting, and creating from quiet places. But like many of our best intentions, this guide needed to pause. The extreme winter here in Northern Canada brought snowstorms, power outages, and long stretches of stillness. It wasn’t just the weather—it was life reminding me (and maybe you too) that we bloom on nature’s time, not our own.
Now that spring has softened the ground, we continue...
Exploring the Emotional Language of Color Palettes
Have you ever noticed how a single color can stir something deep inside you?
A particular grey might echo a quiet moment of stillness. A soft yellow might remind you of a note of joy, or a memory that still glows. Color speaks to us in quiet, intuitive ways—and when we take the time to listen, it tells stories that words can’t always hold.
This week in the Soul Forager’s Guide to Creative Healing, we turn our attention to the emotional depth of color. We won’t just choose what’s “pretty” or what “matches”—we’ll forage for hues that carry meaning, memory, and mood.
🌿 Soul Foraging Prompt
Create your own set of “emotive color palettes.”
Using scraps of paper, paint, pastels, or fabric, build a palette that reflects your current season—both in nature and in your life. Start by asking yourself:
What colors feel tender right now?
Which hues represent grief, hope, stillness, or joy?
Can I gather a palette that says something I don’t yet have words for?
You will name each palette like you would name a poem. Then keep them close—for your next collage, your journal, or as quiet reminders of what you’ve lived through and what’s blooming next.
This palette was inspired by my birch trees and I called it “Stepping Outside.”
🌲 Inspired by Birch – A Guided Palette Practice
Inspired by Bonnie Christine’s podcast episode 192, How to Create Beautiful Color Palettes, I thought we could take this week’s exploration even deeper—with the gentle wisdom of birch trees as our guide.
Birch trees have long spoken to me through their tender strength. Their bark carries stories—layers of creamy white, weathered greys, soft blush, silver shimmer, and stark black. Their colors hold contrast and calm, fragility and resilience. They feel like nature’s reminder that even in peeling back layers, beauty remains.
Here’s how to create a palette inspired by birch trees:
Step 1: Observe and Capture
If you’re able to visit a birch grove (or just a birch tree), take a slow walk. Notice the creamy whites of the bark, the silvery greys, the velvety blacks in the knots, and the quiet pinks or yellows of surrounding leaves and light. If a walk isn't possible, do a quick online search—birch tree images can still stir a deep sense of visual peace.
Step 2: Photograph Your Inspiration
If you’re out in nature, take photos. If you’re gathering images online, create a visual mood board or screenshot collection. This gives you a tangible library of the hues that speak to you.
Step 3: Extract the Colors
This part can be as techy or as intuitive as you like!
You can use a free app like Adobe Capture to pull colors directly from your photos, creating custom palettes. Or visit a site like icolorpalette.com to browse pre-made palettes inspired by birch trees and similar tones.
Step 4: Refine and Apply
Let your eye and intuition guide you as you shape your collection.. Choose a dominant color—perhaps a soft grey—and surround it with creamy whites, dusky pinks, muted yellows, or deep charcoal accents. Let this palette set the tone for your next artwork or journal page.
Remember, this isn’t about matching—it’s about meaning.
🎨 Emotive Color Swatches (Studio Practice)
When I create a new piece of art, I often begin with color. It becomes a kind of emotional compass.
Here’s a simple studio practice to support your journey:
Gather Materials: Pull scraps from your collage stash, dried flower petals, painted paper, or fabric bits that feel emotionally charged.
Intuitively Group Them: Let your hands arrange them. Notice how certain combinations make you feel something shift inside.
Name the Palette: Give it a title that speaks to the emotion—“Quiet Courage,” “Early Morning Light.”
Put it on Display or Use It: Use the palette in your next artwork, or simply keep it as a sacred swatch of your story.
These palettes can become emotional landmarks—reminders of what you’re feeling, what you’ve survived, and what beauty you carry forward.
📚 Catch Up or Revisit: Weeks 1–4
If you're just joining this journey—or want to return to earlier reflections—here’s where we began:
🌱 Week 1: A Memory in Nature — Soul Foraging Begins
Read it here🗺 Week 2: Finding Sanctuary: Mapping the Chaos of Your Inner World
Read it here🍃 Week 3: Whispering Leaves – Releasing What We Hold Inside
Read it here🚶 Week 4: A Walk Through Your Story – Moving with Meaning
Read it here
Each week holds a prompt and a gentle creative nudge—there’s no rush, just a soft unfolding.
💬 A Note from My Studio
This past winter taught me a lot about waiting, about pausing, and about letting things bloom on their own time.
I hope this week’s prompt brings a bit of that beauty into your hands, and that you discover something unexpected in the colors you choose.
Creating color palettes isn’t just about design—it’s an act of emotional noticing.
Each swatch, each hue, can carry part of your story. Birch trees remind me of this. Of resilience in soft things. Of grace in grey. Of beauty in contrast.
This week, I hope you’ll give yourself the space to notice your colors—and honor them.
Until next time, forage gently and color freely.
With heart,
I live and create on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabeg peoples, lands that remain under their original stewardship. I honor their enduring connection to this place and their care for it over generations.
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