Colorful Lives, Warm Spring Kristina Hutch Matthews

I am thrilled to introduce you to my friend, colleague and dreamwork mentor, Warm Spring Kristina Hutch Matthews.  Kristina is an artist, writer, animal lover, healing arts practitioner and so much more!  Her mother is also an accomplished and prolific artist and together they run the Penfield Arts Center. 

We immediately clicked when we met and I was excited to give her a color analysis given her natural talent for all things aesthetic.  I wasn't surprised to see her closet immediately following the analysis was filled with muted colors. That is typical these days, especially for those with a creative style.  But, I was shocked to see her closet a few months ago.  She has completely transformed it from the dusty colors of the past to lighter and brighter colors focused especially on the warmth of Warm Spring.  She has learned that the golden browns of her hair and eyes work perfectly as neutrals replacing blacks and grays.

Over the years, I have utilized many personal development tools but it was Kristina's dreamwork class that has given me the most incredible AHA moments. I thought the class would be fun and interesting and help me understand why I saw a whale or something like that but dreamwork is so much more!!  Kristina has a talent for giving feedback and fresh insight into a situation that may be challenging or lingering from the past.  My understanding of how to remember and process dreams has truly been life changing and transformative.  Kristina has brought so much color into my life!  Read more about her journey with her artistry and healing practices as well as her personal color journey in this month's blog:

I have always gravitated towards soft, cool, peaceful, colors. My entire house is decorated like an impressionist painting — all icy blues and cool greens and soft purples. So when Kerry determined that I am a warm spring and showed me the warm spring colors, at first I was shocked. There were only a few blues and even fewer purples in my swatch book. I had literally NOTHING in my closet that was in the warm spring palette.

Even though I am a pen-and-ink artist (www.kristinahutchmatthews.com) and work mostly in black and white, I had somehow wrapped up my identity with blues, greens and purples. I completely avoided oranges and reds and didn’t even have any neutral colors like beige and brown.

Before having my colors done, it was almost as if the color red was a shock to my senses. But when Kerry explained everything and showed me the red and coral colors draped around me, I really saw how these colors complimented my skin tone. I even found some new blues that were lighter and brighter.

After my color analysis with Kerry, everything changed. First, I learned how to shop differently. Armed with my swatch book, I enter a store and scan the racks for my warm spring colors. (It took me some time to know them by sight, but I do now!) I love shopping this way because it really helps me to narrow things down and zone in on what I want. It’s kind of like how I appreciate being a vegetarian when I go out to eat: there are usually only a few choices on a menu and I get less overwhelmed deciding what to order!

When I saw how vibrant and alive I looked in reds and oranges, they became some of my favorite colors. There is also a color I always thought of as “puke green,” but guess what? Whenever I wear that color, I get compliments, and people tell me that it brings out the green tones in my brown eyes.

In the early days when I was trying to build up my wardrobe in the new colors, there were a few times that I came home with something that was the perfect color but not my style. I learned quickly from those experiences. Now, I look first for color but then really ask myself if the style fits my personality. I love that Kerry takes time in her analysis to address the issue of personality style and how that intermingles with color. I am a creative. At first, I bought a few items that were classic and they never quite felt right.

As an artist, I can’t tell you how many times people have asked me: Are you ever going to work in color?

In the past, my answer was always that the complexity and intricacies of my pen-and-ink line work didn’t seem to need color…. I thought that would almost be too much.

For my children’s book, The Cat Flap: A Tale of Harmony and Balance, I had artistic reasons for creating the book all in black and white. It’s a wordless picture book with two front covers that explores two divergent points of view of the same story. One side is the black cat’s point of view, and the other side is the white cat’s. The book is designed symmetrically to help people explore issues of polarity, and teach experientially how you never get the whole story until you understand both sides. (www.thecatflap.com)

I think it’s impossible to completely separate the artist from the work they create. I still do some pieces that are exclusively in my signature pen and ink; but I have started to explore other mediums and play with color in my artwork as well. I don’t believe that it was mere coincidence that this happened after discovering my warm spring colors.

Having a color analysis consultation with Kerry has been one of those mind-expanding experiences that has changed how I view the world. Everything appears more colorful now, as I notice the specific colors in my palette. It’s very similar to how I felt when I first discovered the projective dreamwork process that I practice and share with others at the Penfield Arts Center. (www.penfieldartscenter.com) It’s another way to foster deeper connection with yourself, and to appreciate the uniqueness of all beings on this planet.

Just as most people don't realize how much personal color analysis can improve their overall appearance and confidence, most people are unaware of the amazing potential for healing that comes with remembering dreams and taking some time to unpack this rich material that comes as a gift from the unconscious mind. All it takes is a little effort to remember and document the dream in a dream journal. Once the dreams are 'captured,' clients can share their dreams in a one-on-one session with me or in a group setting.

Participants interpret each other's dreams based on their own personal associations, essentially going into the dream as if it were their own dream, "projecting" their own understanding onto the dream imagery, thereby potentially revealing deeper insights about the dreamer's unconscious mind. It works its magic by tapping into the collective unconscious and shared human experiences. There is so much energy that is freed up when we harness the power of the subconscious and lift “stuff” out of the unconscious and bring it to conscious-level awareness. I am a firm believer that all dreams come in service of our health and wholeness, even nightmares.

If people are interested in learning more, my class listings and contact information can be found at penfieldartscenter.com.

Thank you, Kerry! I am so glad to be able to confidently add some color to the world in a way that is warm, light and bright!