Christine Burgmer
I was born in England, but moved to Germany when I was 20. I'm married, have four grown-up children, and provide English language and communication skills training to business professionals.
Location Germany
Activity
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Oh, you're right, Nancy. I remember doing that quiz. I use Apple products, too. But I didn't know the correct answer either. :(
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Thank you, Laura. It's good to know that I'm not alone! :))
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Hi Bill,
Re-decorating a house is easier, I'd say. I've always loved looking at books and magazines on painting and decorating, so I think I'm prepared. And I've re-decorated before.
The garden will be a bit more difficult and I might need help. I've read lots of gardening books over the years, too. However I think I'll still need a gardener who can...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I loved the course.
A big THANK YOU to the course educators, to the organisers and to the other learners out there. It was great working with you.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I'm so much more aware of colour now.
I will be re-decorating a new house at the end of the year and the garden next year. So this course has given me a lot of food for thought. The tools we were introduced to, will be very helpful, I'm sure.
I've just started to paint again, and find that I'm becoming more daring in my use of colour. I only used...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I love Google's idea of branding bicycles, and have just discovered this site here:
http://www.purebusinesscycles.com/more-featured-bikes
I think I'd go for a Facebook bike. And what about you?
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I've just posted two photos:
1. Green & Black's
2. Five Cups and Some Sugar.I'm ALWAYS looking out for beautiful chocolate packaging. I spent a horrible amount of money for chocolate in London a year ago, because I fell in love with the packaging - and the shop looked very exclusive. However, I was rather disappointed with the chocolate itself....
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Oh, I fully agree with you, Tina. I would also buy a bottle of wine with a nice label. We know it's crazy, don't we, but we still do it.
Isn't it a bit the same with perfume? Okay, we MUST like the smell. But before even trying a perfume, we look at at the bottle first, don't we? Well I do! ;) There are some bottles that I wouldn't even put on my shelf,...
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I don't like the Coca-Cola website either, Bibiana. It's too much, isn't it?
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I've noticed something interesting and rather crazy. I wonder if others have noticed the same.
If you had asked me what the Burger King or Pringles logo (or just take another logo) looks like, I wouldn't have been able to describe it to you in detail. I wouldn't even have known that they use three or four colours.
What I do know is that I would recognise...
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It might take more than a season though, Lyn. :(
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Thank you, Bill.
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Yes, I agree with you, Lyn.
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I very much enjoyed watching the video.
I always thought that roses didn't like having neighbours (well that's what my father always said). So it was interesting to see how Tom introduced other plants to the rose beds. I loved the way he compared planting with singing in a choir! That was a great piece of advice.
I didn't realise that one could plant...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I don't believe that the state of the economy can influence our colour preferences.
One lady I work with (she's in the company's marketing department) always knows which colours are in fashion. But she's the only person I know who talks about it. This has never interested me, because I know which colours I like and which colours work well for me.
Perhaps...
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I've had the same experience, Philippa. If I can't find 'my' colours, I go out of the store without buying anything!
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I like the Denim Drift colour and would use it in my home, even though it rains a lot here! Perhaps it's because I've always liked denims. I didn't think much of the other colours though.
There are so many beautiful colours out there to choose from. Why would I want to listen to Dulux's colour specialists?
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
My forecast for 2017 - 18 would depend very much on what I need the colour for. Is it for the home? And if so, for which room? Or is for my clothing?
Just because mustard yellow is up-to-date, doesn't mean that I would let it come into my home or into my wardrobe. No way!!
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I don't like following trends. In fact, I don't like the idea of other people telling me what is 'in' and up-to-date - and what I should be wearing and how I should be decorating my house.
At the moment you find a lot of copper objects (lamps, tables etc.) in the shops here in Germany. But I've never liked the colour/the metal, so you won't find any copper...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I'm very much looking forward to developing my colour sense. I'm already looking at colours differently, so I'm excited in learning a lot more about colours this week and in the weeks to come.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Another inspiring and informative week. Many thanks to you all.
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Bill, that was quite new to me. Must give it a try. But are poppies in full bloom at Easter?
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Thank you so much for your explanations. Now that does make sense!
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Thank you for the explanations, Nan. I now know how to do it. There are several applications one can use. I tried to do this yesterday, but my application didn't want to work! :( That's technology for you! ;)
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Listening, reading, talking and writing about colour this week has been quite eye-opening and highly inspiring.
I've spent a fair amount of time looking at pictures of interiors and trying to work out why I find some appealing and others not. I seem to be noticing more and analysing colours around me.
I loved playing around with the three colour...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
It was good to learn how an interior designer works.
I particularly liked Natalie's idea about being careful with key investment pieces. I've realised over time that I can get quite fed up with a pattern or a certain colour. That's why I now tend to go for more subdued colours. I might be a bit more daring with scatter cushions and works of art, though.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Learnt some surprising facts about pigments. Indian Yellow from urine - surprise, surprise!
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Wonderful, thank you, Morwenna. I have PicCollage on my iPad, but didn't think about using it! :(
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I've just uploaded my mood image and a screen shot of a palette of extracted colours. There are colours in the palette that I can't see in the image. And one of the main colours appears to be missing. Strange!
I couldn't put both image and palette in one box. Can someone tell me how to do it?
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I couldn't wait to try out the colour extraction tools. Results were very different. Not sure why at at the moment, though.
One tool picked out a lot of lighter tones, while the other tool picked out the darker ones. Pictaculous had fairly good results but, as Heather said, they seem to focus on fewer colours.
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Thank you, Julia. We are definitely learning something! :)
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Thanks for the link, Heather. It was good to actually see how natural light affects colour.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I found the interview very interesting indeed. And I even found more information on Marianne''s work: http://mariannecotterill.com
She's inspired me to start a mood board.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Palette 1 created the right impact on my mood. That's the kind of picture I saw in my mind's eye.
With Palette 2, I couldn't imagine all those colours coming together. No way! What surprises me is that I didn't like some of the earthy tones and I now realise that you hardly notice them because of those vibrant blues and pinks. However, I would like to see...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I'm still a little bit confused by all the terms ...
I find palette 1 more pleasing to the eye. Is it because the colour scheme is more harmonious, with lots of tints and some shades?
Adjectives that spring to mind are: calming, restful, soft, subdued, cool, balancing, harmonious and reserved (and perhaps a little bit boring?).
I could imagine that...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I've always felt safer working with colours that are near neighbours and then just adding more white or black to them. However, I do like the idea of using complementary colours in small amounts.
If I want to add an accent colour, does that mean it's a complementary colour? At the moment, I'm not sure how to find it.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Oh, now this sounds really exciting. As Dunja has just written, I can't wait to try this tool out.
(I didn't realise that one can convert RGB colours to RAL. I find that important to know.)
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Christine Burgmer replied to Janett Levien
Sounds like a good idea, Janett. I want to try it, too.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Sounds wonderful. Thank you, Rachael.
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Yes, I love graffiti, too, Penelope, and am amazed at some people's creativity.
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Thanks for the earrings tip. Good idea, Penelope.
Yes, I loved those paper clip earrings, too. But they'd have to be in silver. No good if there's nickel in them! :(
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I've just come across this lady. The website is in German, but I thought you might like to look at her photos. I think Greta is 69 now.
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Exactly, Penelope. I feel the same.
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That's an interesting point you make, Penelope. I also prefer white porcelain plates. I think that I might have another reason, though. I get tired of seeing the same patterns and colours over time. Curtains I fell in love with years ago seem drab now.
I started collecting cups, saucers and cake plates of a well-known brand years ago, but must say that I...
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I read about this course some time ago and think I might register when this course is over.
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Penelope, your wish is my command:
https://padlet.com/cb1/p1hmgs14787h
Password: Welovecolour'My' photographer took some photos a few weeks ago. I needed them for marketing purposes. They were all white, grey and black. But I found one with colour! ;)
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I'd need all the clothes and accessories, though, Rifka. He might have an idea. Yes, fingers crossed. ;)
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Lovely idea, Penelope, about dressing incognito. Why didn't I think about that before?
I've just written to a photographer friend about our little discussions - in a way hoping that he suggests some photo shoot sessions! ;)
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Nicely said, Rifka. I love the idea of 'skidding back into society' - perhaps in a different way than before. Let's wait and see what happens.
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Google is my friend, Penelope! ;)
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Thank you so much, Rifka. The maroon saree is beautiful.
How difficult it is to choose one.
I like the first one on my screen: "Teal Blue Art Silk Saree" - but, no, I can't decide. I would need more than one! ;)
"Black and White in Roma". Which number is it on your screen, Rifka?
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Oh, you made me smile, Penelope. I live just under 1,000 feet up a hill. But it's not quite as isolated as your place. We have a few shops and we're on a bus route.
And I'm now wondering how I'm going to bring more colour into my life. I'm on the verge of retirement, so I still go out of the house fairly regularly - wearing blacks, greys and whites! ;)...
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Are they the houses on the right - on the top of the hill here, Penelope?
http://visitbristol.co.uk/about-bristol/areas/harbourside (Picture 1)
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Needed to look at some photos again ....
http://www.papermag.com/ari-seth-cohen-advanced-style-older-wise-1756883153.html (Just look at those colour combinations!)
https://www.amazon.de/Advanced-Style-Ari-Seth-Cohen/dp/157687592X
Rifka, "Old is the new black".
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Oh Rifka, you've given me goose pimples! I feel the same. What a wonderful idea! Just being a photographer's model for a day.
And Julie and Penelope, I'm so pleased you found these women amazing, too.
I can look at these pictures again and again. But would't we look silly pushing the trolley around the local supermarket in clothes like these? I mean, I...
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Thank you, Lucina.
I fully agree with you. I often see colours and colour combinations that I like, but for some unknown reason, I wouldn't wear them myself or bring them into my home.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Just watching the BBC Horizon Programme. I've always wondered whether I see colours as others see them. Do we all see colour in the same way? How do we know?
Sometimes we see people wearing strange colour combinations. Strange for us, perhaps. But not strange for them?
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I believe that colour can affect the way we feel and behave. Perhaps we ought to wear more colourful clothes during the winter months and not only in summer?
The capital cities I know have distinct colour identities. I can't say that they assume a common, urban appearance. But it's not only the colours, is it? There is so much more.
Several years ago, ...
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Angela, I had a green and yellow school uniform at primary school. Those are colours I would NEVER wear. And I don't like them in the home, either. As my school uniform was navy blue at secondary school, I tended to stick to navy blue afterwards. It made me feel safe, somehow. And then there was a time when you couldn't buy navy blue clothes in the shops. It...
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Carla P, I think it's just a craze at the moment. I wonder when it'll go out of fashion. Ah, yes, I've seen the turquoise and the fuchsia here, too.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Crazy, but somehow I feel that I'm looking at colour differently. I want to experiment more. So I'm very much looking forward to next week.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Our village doesn't have a lot of colour - so we can't compete with London. But perhaps our German cities are more vibrant? I'll have to take a closer look next time I'm in one.
Lovely pictures on the Padlet wall. And great to see where the participants come from.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
This all has reminded me why I always love going to London. London for me is the colour capital. It's the place I go to for inspiration. I never go alone, though. My daughter always comes with me. We do go to other places, but we always have to come back to London. It's the one city where I feel you can go out of the house wearing anything you want to...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
That's exactly why I love London and try to visit every two years.
Why don't they colour their houses like that in Germany? ;) Okay, our neighbours did paint their house in a vibrant yellow. It was a bit of shock for everyone (and still is). We painted our house light blue. But you can hardly see it, which is a bit disappointing. We weren't brave enough.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
My marketing material was always blue, as people here say that it's THE colour for businesses. As I found that a bit boring over the years, I added a vibrant green to it.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Highly interesting and thought provoking. Love the studies with the different coloured pills. Amazing!
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I feel that people here in Germany are more conservative than in Britain. Yes, I would say that colours here are cooler and less saturated. Houses are mainly white here. At the moment it's fairly modern to decorate homes in whites and greys. You don't often see a lot of colour. Okay, it is still modern to paint one wall in dark red. But then you seem to see...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Great to see where all the participants come from.
Front doors here where I live in Germany are very unlike the front doors in England. In England, my parents painted their front doors in either yellow or blue. Here they're either brown or grey.
A German neighbour of mine returned from a trip to London and was absolutely shocked that people painted...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Here's my Padlet board: https://padlet.com/cb1/7f94tufnwiwp
I loved looking at all the photos on the group's Padlet wall. What a wonderful technicolour show!
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I first heard about Farrow and Ball in Berlin, and recently saw that there's a shop in Cologne, not too far from where I live. I love their colours, but was surprised to hear that they have small amounts of plastic in them.
We painted our walls with paints that are free of chemical ingredients and biodegradable. But, of course, the results are completely...
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Good for you, Rifka. I had a lot to do this week and so am just at the beginning of Week 2. I hope to be able to catch up on Sunday.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
It's difficult to think about colours today, because we've had grey skies all day.
I realise that I've not worked a lot with fully-saturated colours. Why do I feel safe with blacks, greys and white? Does it have anything to do with my colour-blindness. I mean, I can see colours - and love how other people work with them. It great to see others add accent...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I've just managed to get back to the course ... I'm very much looking forward to learning about colour psychology, but also about the difference between due and saturation. I think I might have an idea, but I'm not sure.
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Don't worry, Rifka. It works now.
I love your photos - the colours, but also the textures. I wish I could post comments, however I don't know how to.
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Thank you, Julia. I just love those rainbow colours. :)
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Rifka, can you give it another try? Your link opens my Padlet Wall. :(
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Christine Burgmer replied to Christine Burgmer
Thank you so much for adding comments, Asmaa and Rifka. What a nice surprise!
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
As I am red-green colourblind, I've always wondered whether I see colours as other people do. I suppose I'll never know, will I? But I've always loved colours and been amazed how people combine them.
Personally, I've always played it safe and used colours that are often seen together. I would love to become more daring in my use of colours - both in the...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I 've created a board on Padlet. Well I think I have. If I see comments, I'll know that it works! ;)
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Until now, I've tended to go with harmonious schemes in the home. I do like soft blues, greys and white. I've always avoided complementary schemes, but have started using complementary colours in some of my sketches/paintings.
Colours I avoid in the home are gold, orange, brown, beige and green.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I found the after images experiment very interesting. And I particularly liked the info on the Bauhaus movement.
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Christine Burgmer replied to Marissa H
I couldn't open the test in Safari on my Mac, so I tried Chrome. It worked there. I had to run Adobe Flash Player.
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Hallo Louise, The doctors told me that I was colour blind (one of my sons is, too). However, I often wonder whether I really see colours differently. No one else seems to notice. And I don't feel that I am missing out in any way.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Loved looking at the colour schemes. I'm definitely in love with the industrial look.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
My inspiration comes from looking at magazines, books and websites on art, craft and design. I've always got my camera with me when visiting different cities. It's not only colour that inspires me. It's also shapes and materials.
I love Sue's advice on starting a project with just two contrasting colours and adding a third a bit later and then a fourth ......
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Art was my favourite subject at school. I love colour, but feel I'm not brave enough in my use of it (whether when painting with watercolours, decorating my home or even in my clothing). I'd just love to be more creative and take a more experimental approach.
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Pleased you like it, too, Amelia. :)
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Every now and again, I work with a German colleague who also teaches English.
I was always surprised to hear how she gave feedback to our language learners. I never gave it a lot of thought, however, until I read that Germans are more direct in giving feedback than Brits. We then talked about it openly and laughed a lot. She had observed that I was fairly...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I've always felt different. Not an outsider. Just different. And it's quite a good feeling.
It was only when I heard the term "third culture kid" some months ago, that I realised that there are other people out there in the big wide world who feel different.
When I lived in England, people knew that my parents were foreigners. I had this unpronounceable...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I'm an English native speaker who has been living in Germany for many years. In fact, I've just learned that I live very near to Steve's wife's hometown!
It was only by chance that I started teaching English to business professionals 16 years ago. I felt a bit of a fraud and so completed an MPhil in Teaching Modern Languages to Adults (online with the...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I was born in England to German parents and grew up speaking English at home and at school. I always say that English is my mother tongue, but not the tongue of my mother!
I learned to speak German around the age of 16 and moved to Germany when I was 20. I've been living here ever since. My sister also lives in Germany.
I'm a mother of four grown-up...
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Oh yes, Anacélia, that's a good example. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and feel very much the same as you do. Everyone should watch it! :)
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It worked well for me, Steve. I wasn't aware that there's a Chinese equivalent of YouTube. Thank you.
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What a great experience, Ausra! :)
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Good for you, Pernilla. I wish I had gone to France years ago. After 10 years of French at school and college, I have never really managed to speak the language well. Of course, one can pick languages up later, but it's more difficult. It's so much easier to learn a language in a country where it is spoken every day.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
Before travelling to Turkey for our son's wedding, we invited a Turkish couple to our home to give us some idea of what to expect. It was my husband's idea. I thought it was a bit crazy, but I later realised just how important it was. We were very well prepared.
Okay, as I said earlier, things didn't always go as planned, but everything worked out well in...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I've been thinking about my own personal “interculturalness” scale ... This is not easy.
I think I am more on 'the most intercultural' end of the scale. But I wonder what others would say? And I know that I still have a lot to learn ...
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I particularly liked Dr. Bhawuk's comments on what happens when we work internationally. That we need to
deal with more than one right way of doing things.It's good to be reminded that every culture has its OWN correct way of doing things and that we can build a bridge "to connect two right things and make one right thing".
Very nicely said!
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
We're all learning from one another, aren't we? It's a great experience.
I feel as if I'm working on a jigsaw puzzle and am slowly but surely adding pieces to the big picture.
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Christine Burgmer made a comment
I can fully understand both Chen Lin and Markus. What would I tell them? Don't expect too much from others.
The less we expect, the less disappointed we will be.
Needless to say, this is easier said than done. It needs practice.
