Love Letters in Crayon: Burnt Orange
Warmth and depth emanate from this richly preternatural shade.
Every Friday afternoon, “64 to Infinity: Love Letters in Crayon” will illustrate the long, strange story of humankind in one of the 64 colors that make up this world-famous primary palette. Last week, we admired the natural splendor and perfectly toasted edges contained within the Brown crayon. In this week’s installment, we gaze upon what may seem a muted tone at first glance, but contains bounteous cultural vibrancy. This week’s Love Letter goes out to the understated, underrated Burnt Orange.
Unlike the more visually intense members of its color family, Burnt Orange can immediately evoke the inviting warmth of an autumnal palette. From fresh-baked pumpkin pie to the fallen leaves of autumn, a glimpse of Burnt Orange can immediately place viewers in a specific seasonal spirit.
Although this particular shade has been known to fire up fanaticism throughout the American state of Texas in more recent years, the hue that inspired this crayon has a long history in human handcraft around the world.
Burnt Orange earthenware appears in practically every advanced culture of antiquity, and clay creations of this description comprise most pottery throughout the great societies of the Afro-Eurasia Transcontinental Region for millennia.
Like every other color in the box, Burnt Orange can also inspire enthusiasm for the indefatigable ingenuity of our kind today.
In the form of rust, this color denoted degradation in tools, weapons, and construction materials from the Iron Age until the introduction of corten weathering steel, a special class of alloys designed to allow the inevitable process of oxidation to take effect without sacrificing the structural integrity of the construct.
Indeed, what was once a mark of impending ruin can now become an æsthetically pleasing patina, reflecting the concept of aging with grace.
Burnt Orange in the form of rust can also imbue the imagination with the otherworldly ambitions of our kind.
Technically termed “iron oxide,” this ancient alien material enrobes the distant surface of the “Red Planet” that is our next-door neighbor in this tiny cosmic community, and now you see why I am obsessed with this color.
Burnt Orange may not be the most visually spectacular crayon in the box, but certainly has its appeal in context. Next week, we spotlight another crayon with what some might consider a surprising share of devotees in a love letter to that least favorite favorite color without which no 64-pack of crayons would be complete: Burnt Sienna!
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