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Real Life Fantasy: Prussian Blue & Murex Purple

In our last installment of RLF, we talked about the history of the color blue, which hopefully was enjoyed by my fellow art history enthusiasts out there.

If you were not one of those fine folks… You may not find this one intriguing either. It’s more about the color blue, along with how artists have procured and created it.

The first link is from Fast Company, specifically focusing on Prussian Blue (HERE). It is considered the first synthetic color, in that it wasn’t extracted from minerals or plants (or animals, as we’ll discuss in a bit). Prussian Blue was discovered in 1704 by German chemist Heinrich Diesbach; it’s cochineal + iron sulfate + cyanide = C18Fe7N18. (The Wiki page on Prussian Blue is a fun little rabbit hole for chemists out there.) As the article points out, this new shade of cerulean meant that the ultra-expensive ultramarine was no longer necessary for painting with blue. Which basically means without Diesbach, Picasso would probably have been some schlub painting everything Rose.

Picasso's "The Tragedy," from his Blue Period (1900-1904).
thank you pablopicasso.net

“Wait,” you may be thinking, “What does this have to do with chromaturgy, or the Seven Satrapies?”

The second link is from the LA Times, about Murex Purple (HERE).

“Wait!” you say. “I recognize that phrase… Isn’t it the color

Show Spoilers

Liv wears to signify herself as a superviolet drafter once she joins the Color Prince? *shakes fist at our favorite misunderstood traitor* And then becomes her signature color once she becomes Ferrilux?”

Wool dyed in various colors extracted from the Murex trunculus snail. (Moshe Cain)

Yes. Yes it is.

Murex purple, or tekhelet in Hebrew, is created–long story short–by extracting the blood from thousands of Murex trunculus snails, then exposing it to full-spectrum sunlight. Without the sunlight, the purplish “ink” turns fabric yellow. We know that this is because the blood contains hemocyanin, a respiratory protein that delivers oxygen to organs in many species of mollusk, including Murex trunculus.

a banded dye-murex (hexaplex trunculus)
(c) Aleksander Golemaj

Astute readers will notice the similarity of the word “hemocyanin” to “hemoglobin”… and will recognize that “cyan” in the middle is also the name of a shade of blue.

“WAIT!” you shout to your screen. “What is hemocyanin again?”

Ah ha! Patience, grasshopper. We are building the foundation for that.

Next time.

Posted on in Real Life Fantasy, Seven Satrapies

UPDATE: Naming Rights Winner!

UPDATE: The JordanCon Silent Auction was a HUGE success this year! The naming rights went to Sam Baskin, and the $750 bid will benefit the Dennis and Donna Oldorf Hospice House of Mercy in Iowa. Thanks so much Sam! His character will make an appearance in THE BURNING WHITE as Rivvyn Shmuel; the book is available for pre-order NOW, and is set to be released on October 22!

__________

Here’s your chance to become a character in an upcoming novel by New York Times Bestselling author & 2019 JordanCon Guest of Honor Brent Weeks!

Brent has very kindly donated the rights to name a minor character in one of his upcoming works. The stunning conclusion to the Lightbringer Series, THE BURNING WHITE, set to be released in late 2019, and will go into production in a few weeks. As the winner of this auction, you can submit a name (or variation thereof) that may appear in that book, or another upcoming project of Brent’s choosing. There is no guarantee that the name will be used in a specific book, but it will be used somewhere, and whatever he does is bound to be great. The character named will play a minor role in the work; there is no promise of dialogue or impact on the plot, but Brent will do his best to make the appearance a memorable one.

All proceeds from the auction will benefit the Hospice of Mercy in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Rules and Conditions:

If you participate, you acknowledge that you understand and agree to the terms and conditions below.

  • You must be present at JordanCon in Atlanta on Saturday, April 27, to bid in the auction.
  • Brent will adapt the winning bidder’s submitted name to fit the world of the Seven Satrapies or Midcyru. Usually,
    this means altering the spelling/pronunciation to fit the culture of the fictional world.
  • If the winning bidder chooses to submit the name of someone else, the winning bidder must submit a written release
    from this other person giving permission to use their name.
  • This auction is for the ​name only​. The winning bidder ​may not​ dictate the character’s personality, description, or role in
    the story. Any such ideas become the sole property of Brent Weeks with ​no further​ compensation or acknowledgment.
  • If you are the winning bidder, you must provide contact information (Full name, proposed character name, email address,
    physical address, and telephone number)
  • Finally, we hope it goes without saying, but: the submitted name will be rejected if Brent feels that it is in any way
    offensive, ill-intentioned, or disruptive to the story.

The Release Date for THE BURNING WHITE is October 22, 2019. However, publication dates are naturally subject to change. The winning bidder may receive an email with updates regarding the actual release date.

Posted on in Conventions

Real Life Fantasy: A Brief History of Blue

The color blue has a pretty awesome place in human history. Many professional smartypantses [archaeologists, evolutionary biologists, historians, et al] believe humans evolved the ability to perceive the color, in a gradual shift from bichromatic to trichromatic vision. Last time we shared a bit of Real Life Fantasy, it was mentioned that there’s no word for the color blue in ancient languages (including Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, among others). The coolest evidence of this lack is in Homer’s version of The Odyssey, in which he describes the sea as “wine-red” rather than any shade of blue. And if our man Homer didn’t even have a word for blue, it seems safe to expect that none of his friends had the word either.

But luckily for Ironfist, and Cruxer, and Samila Sayeh, blue started showing up in Egyptian jewelry around 4,000 BCE, and in pigment (known now as “Egyptian Blue”) around 2,200 BCE.

Egyptian Juglet, ca. 1750–1640 B.C. (Photo: Met Museum, Rogers Fund and Edward S. Harkness Gift, 1922. (CC0 1.0))

Multiple shades of blue–including ultramarine and cobalt blue– were being used by artists centuries before the era of the Seven Satrapies. By the time Gollaïr and Solarch show up around 142 anno lucidonius, they have a full complement of blues from which to choose.

Small sculpture of a young blue dragon
“Blue Morpho,” Windstone Editions

ANY way,  this entry into RLF canon is an article from My Modern Met–the website for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. There they talk about blue’s place in art history (which is to say, human history). It’s brief, and beautiful.

classic Vermeer portrait of a young woman wearing a blue headscarf
Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring

 

Posted on in Art, Real Life Fantasy, Seven Satrapies

March Q&R video is live!

Well look at that–another Q&R video on Brent’s official Facebook page:

Show Notes:

.14: “What’s the deal with the clock, Brent?”
.42: “How often does a mirror like Janus Borig appear?”
1.03: “Do you have any idea where you’re going with your next series?”
1.28: “Are you playing D&D at the moment?”
2.44: “What is your background besides writing?”
2.55: “How long did you consider the concept of the Lightbringer series before writing it?”
5.08: “What was the biggest inspiration behind the drafters and their abilities?”
8.12: “Were the book four twists planned from the beginning?”

Additional Resources:
Home page for D&D online: http://ow.ly/dyea50nuof3
And speaking of D&D, here are Lightbringer Character Sheets: http://ow.ly/8UQG50nuof0
Gloomhaven: http://ow.ly/qJfF50nuof4
Further reading on The Medici Effect: http://ow.ly/LjB250nuof2
Further reading on Siddhartha: http://ow.ly/lllL50nuof1

Posted on in Facebook Q&A, Interviews, Video

Life, The Universe, and Brent Turning 42

Hi friends!

CAPSLOCK here to let y’all in on a fun project I’ve got going to celebrate Jefe turning 42 in March. Since it’s his Answer Birthday, I thought it appropriate to celebrate by giving away stuff!

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to create a piece of hybrid art that celebrates NIGHT ANGEL or LIGHTBRINGER and THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE.  Take your favorite bit from one of Brent’s stories (a character, or concept, or object) and add it to the HHGG Universe. Or vice versa.

Think whale and sea demon fighting over a pot of petunias. Andross playing Nine Kings against Marvin. Zaphod holding a ka’kari. Durzo stealing the Heart of Gold. Karris and Ford playing Krikket against Kylar and Arthur. Or keep it simple and come up with a quote that merges a line from each author.

Use whatever medium you love most: cross stitch, cookies, paintings, photography, cosplay, ceramics, woodworking, digital art, words… Heck, you wanna send us a [short] bit of hybrid fanfic? Have you often wondered how a conversation between Dorian and Zaphod would go? Make it happen!

The prize for FOUR lucky winners (other than knowing you’ve made your favorite author’s birthday super-duper-extra amazing) will be either a signed copy of one of Brent’s books, a t-shirt, and/or a bookmark made by none other than Instagram’s @kylarguile.

Send photos of your masterpiece to ME [admin@brentweeks.com] by March 31, 11:42pm PST. We’ll announce the winners on April 4, 2019.

And, as usual, you have to be at least 18 years old to win.

I’m so excited to see what y’all come up with!

P.S. If you are thoroughly confused by this, and you have no idea what the heck The Hitchhiker’s Guide is, it’s totally okay. Brent has still only read the first book in the series–and that was recently!–so you’re not alone. And if you’re a hoopy frood who had the words “DON’T PANIC” in friendly green wooden letters above their crib, NO SHAMING. We are all friends here.

Posted on in Art, Contests, Giveaways

Real Life [and a tiny bit of] Fantasy: Colors, Seen and Heard

 

 

We’re a bit late on this one… But if you haven’t ever listened to the Radiolab podcast (produced by WNYC/NY Public Radio), let us recommend you start with one of their most popular episodes, about colors.

 

They talk a little bit about the history of color perception. They also dive into how different creatures perceive color (because some species have more receptors than we do, and some have less), and how they use that perception for more than just visual communication.

A mantis shrimp. These critters have SIXTEEN different light receptors in their eyes!

My favorite part of this episode is their use of choral music to represent rainbows! It’s a delightful way to spend an hour.

And while this particular entry isn’t relevant to Lightbringer by itself, it is the first of an ongoing series where we explore the history of color. Which is to say, the next few entries will build upon one another in some unexpected and lovely ways.

Take care, friends!

Posted on in Art, Real Life Fantasy

Fan Art Tuesday: A Blackguard t-shirt

Lauren Melone sent us this photo of her wearing a t-shirt that she designed herself.

I don’t know about y’all, but I NEED one of these shirts! Granted, I won’t look as badass as Lauren does in it, but still. I would wear it almost every day, and on the off days I would hang it somewhere I could see it.

YAAAAAAS! Thanks for sharing, Lauren!

 

Posted on in Uncategorized