Why bunnies and eggs are linked?
Week 16's Mint Green, Tawny, Salmon Pink & Raspberry Pink
Happy Easter Monday everyone and I hope you, your children and/or grandchildren have recovered from yesterday’s overindulgence of chocolate eggs, hidden around the house by the mischievous Easter Bunny.
Today’s colours were taken from a 1950s illustration of an Easter Bunny. Eggs and rabbits are synonymous with Easter, but ever wondered why they are they linked?
The simple answer is that both have long been associated with fertility and new beginnings. Rabbits, known for their impressive reproductive abilities, symbolise abundance and new life. Similarly, eggs represent potential and birth. These are perfect symbols of spring's renewal and the Christian resurrection narrative.
Eating eggs during Lent was forbidden in medieval times, so enjoying your first one in forty days on Easter Sunday was memorable. The Easter Bunny apparently originated in Germany during the 1700s when the Osterhase would lay (!) coloured eggs for well-behaved children. It is interesting that Germany is also where decorated Christmas trees originated from.
The first chocolate eggs appeared in France and Germany in the 1800s and in the UK the first hollow chocolate Easter eggs were launched by Fry’s in 1873.
Linking back to last week, the largest Easter egg in the world is the Vegreville Pysanka in Canada. It’s a 31-foot tall Ukrainian-style decorated egg made of aluminum, weighing over 5,000 pounds.
Read about Easter traditions here and about the Vegreville egg here.
“Easter Bunny”, likely gouache, credited to Robert Sinnott, Treasure Trails, Crown Publishers, 1956
Colour Combination
The chosen colours this week are Mint Green, Tawny, Salmon Pink & Raspberry Pink. Use the colours along with a contrasting dark and neutral light colour if you wish. Create an artwork in any medium or style.
I love seeing what you’ve create. If you’re posting on Instagram, please tag #coloricombo and #estemacleod and join us in the private Facebook group Creative Prompts.
Colori Flori - Early Bird registrations open 26 April
You are invited to a special springtime event. Registration for the first Colori Flori Summit opens on Saturday 26 April. Sign up to the priority list here to get a reminder when it opens.
Colori Flori is an online event I curated to celebrate the tenth year of me teaching online art courses. I am joined by thirteen artists, we created brand new floral themed lessons in water based media, incorporating specific #coloricombo palettes from the past. Read more about the talented artists that’ll be taking part here.