True Colors - Teesha Moore/Monica Riffe

TRUE COLORS

Teesha Moore
Hot Pink & Orange

The first thing I think about when True Colors is mentioned is that Helena Bonham Carter reportedly ordered the book (through stampington). I thought that was pretty cool and reminded me about the ability to reach people with our art that we would never dream possible.

The 2nd thing that comes to mind is pink and orange. I will forever be associated with those two colors in the minds of the readers. For a long time I got a lot of pink and orange art from readers which was super fun. The most amazing thing to me is that after all these years I still get SO many people who still rave about the book. And, usually without fail, when I am in a public gathering of artists, I have at least one person who has the true colors book and wants me to sign my page.

I miss those days when I was more involved with collaborative projects. That group was the best. They made me try harder. I went through a lot of self exploration on those pages. It was frustrating because for some odd reason I thought I had to make art in the style of the artist who I was working on. Once I gained a little more self confidence in my own style and realized that they want MY art and not a reproductions of their own, something clicked with me that still remains an important lesson.

It was a stepping stone in my life...one of many...that made it easy to help inspire people to be more creative and I am grateful to everyone who was involved in it to make it happen. That book has a lot of good energy about it and that is the reason it is still being discussed and leafed through.


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Monica Riffe
Green

“I think about color all the time, do you?...do you want to do a project around color?” ---Responding with a 'YES!' to that email from Lynne Perrella was the domino that started a chain reaction of good fortune and involvement with a fabulous group of artists that has lasted a decade or more.

Through mail art exchanges in the 90's I became acquainted with a third of the true color artists. I still have all of their art cards and the richly embellished envelopes they sent me back in the day. Those alone would be fodder for a fabulous book!

What took the True Colors collaboration to a level beyond simply mail art was all of our communication via emails. Receiving a box in the mail with a new journal was amazing, but getting to know the people behind the art was the true gem. Then the Alphabetica art journal collaboration followed on the heels of True Colors, and between just those two projects, we had years of bonding over the internet. (The chatty-ness of this group is not to be underestimated!)

When the True Colors book came out, I was disappointed that some of my favorite work by the other artists didn’t make the cut for publication. There were so many wonderful pieces that will remain unseen by the masses, and that is a pity.

I feel so fortunate to have been along for the ride! Getting to play with this group of women was a lucky thing indeed. The fact that several of the True Colorists went on to write other books, and that my work was included in those books, feels like a double prize. Most of all, I am very grateful for the friendships gleaned from our collaborative connections.

I remain the only True Colorist who doesn't have a website, or much of a cyber presence, but I have been contacted via email by those who said they saw my work in True Colors. I was surprised when two students from England asked to interview me for school projects they were doing. I was honored to help them out, and hope they got an 'A'!