Living Coral

Hi everyone!

This fortnight's challenge prompt in the Sylvanian Families Collectors Community was:

Challenge #10: Pantone Color of the Year: Living Coral

Each year, the Pantone company selects a featured color. The selected color influences design choice in all sorts of areas, including fashion, home decor, graphic design, and more.

Last year, Kaz created a prompt based on the Color of the Year (Ultra Violet for 2018) and I thought it would be fun to revisit the idea with this year's color. The chosen color for 2019 is Living Coral, so it seemed an ideal companion to the Ocean and Seaside challange!

This is how the Pantone website describes Living Coral:

Vibrant, yet mellow PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embraces us with warmth and nourishment to provide comfort and buoyancy in our continually shifting environment.

In reaction to the onslaught of digital technology and social media increasingly embedding into daily life, we are seeking authentic and immersive experiences that enable connection and intimacy. Sociable and spirited, the engaging nature of PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral welcomes and encourages lighthearted activity. Symbolizing our innate need for optimism and joyful pursuits, PANTONE 16-1546 Living Coral embodies our desire for playful expression.

Representing the fusion of modern life, PANTONE Living Coral is a nurturing color that appears in our natural surroundings and at the same time, displays a lively presence within social media.


As always, there are multiple ways to address this challenge. Create a project using the Living Coral color or make something featuring coral (the sea creature) and life in the sea. Because our coral reefs are endangered, your project could feature caring for the environment or natural resources. Projects could also be based on any feelings or ideas that you might come up with from the color description.

Make an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story or do whatever inspires you to create a project around the Living Coral theme! If Living Coral isn't inspiring you, please feel free to make any sort of ocean-related project, or the project of your choice.
 
Here's my entry for this challenge. Hope you like it!

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It was a Friday afternoon and school had just ended for the day. Freya Chocolate and Frances Robinson were hanging out in Annabelle McFarlane's bedroom, the three of them just chatting and relaxing after a long week. Frances was slowly warming up to Freya, though at times she missed the time she used to spend alone with Annabelle, her best friend.
Their teacher had instructed them to work on and present a small project to the class for the following week. The theme was "sea animals". Annabelle and Frances were going to work on their project together. Freya had been paired with her brother Coco, much to her annoyance.

"So, what are you going to be working on for our school project, Freya?" asked Annabelle.
"Uh, I don't know" Freya replied, sounding disinterested. "Starfish, maybe?"
"Oh, that's a good idea!"
"What about us, Anna?" asked Frances, timidly. She was feeling insecure about the whole thing, she really disliked giving presentations. "There's so many sea animals..."
"Well" Annabelle replied, deep in thought. "I was thinking of going for a less common sea animal... What about the living coral?"
"Oh!" Frances' face lit up instantly. "That's a great idea, those are so pretty! But... Where can we read about them? Maybe they'll have some books at the school...?"
"Actually," Freya said, finally lifting her gaze from her book "my grandpa knows a lot about those. If you come visit tomorrow, I'm sure he'll be happy to tell you all about them".
The three girls smiled at each other. Sounded like a plan!

And so, the following day, Annabelle and Frances went to visit the Chocolate's home. Rhys was delighted to have such a receptive audience! 

"Living corals, you say? Ah, yes, I have seen them many times during my travels. They form in warm, shallow water. Such beauty, such lovely colours they have! Coral reefs may look like they're made of rocks, but they're actually tiny organisms called polyps".

"Do they actually eat, grandpa?" asked Freya.

"Of course, since they're animals. They eat other small animals called plankton as well as algae".

"You're so lucky to have seen them up close, Mr Chocolate." smiled Annabelle. "Are they as beautiful as in the pictures?"

 "I would say they're even more beautiful! But they're also very important. Coral reefs help us with fishing, protect the coastlines from erosion, and the substances they produce can even be used to make medicine".

"Is it true that they're endangered?" asked Frances, very softly.

"Yes, unfortunately it is true" Rhys said, frowning slightly. "Since they grow so slowly, they're being destroyed faster than they can repair themselves. They can be damaged because of overfishing, when sailors bump into them with their boats and even when people touch them and stand on them. We all really ought to be more careful and protect them".

The mood had become a little glum, but that was quickly remedied when grandma Patricia came out of the kitchen holding a huge cake!

"Who wants a little afternoon snack?" she melodiously asked, with a huge smile.

After enjoying the sweet treat, and with all the new information they had gathered, Annabelle and Frances were ready to work on their project. Since Annabelle loved to write stories and Frances liked to draw, they had a dream of working on an illustrated picture book together one day. This project would prove to be a good first try at that!

And so, Annabelle worked on the text for their project...

And Frances drew and painted the illustration.

The day of the presentation has finally come! Fortunately for Frances, Annabelle will be doing most of the talking. :D

Do you think they'll get a good grade? :)

Hope you enjoyed this little story!