GLADYS MAYER (1888–1980) attended Rudolf Steiner’s series of lectures
on education at Stratford-on-Avon in 1922. The following year she visited
Steiner in Switzerland and decided to become a painter and art teacher at
the Goetheanum, Dornach. She is the author of a number of titles including
The Mystery Wisdom of Colour and Colours: A New Approach to Painting (1983).

In this delightful study, the accomplished artist and teacher Gladys Mayer
explains that color is the very substance of the soul. Just as the body is
made up of mineral, water, air, and warmth, the soul is made up of color.
This is revealed in the emotions of sadness and joy and the many shades
between that are expressed in human language as, for example, “seeing red,”
“feeling blue,” “rose-colored glasses,” and “jaundiced view.”

Mayer discusses the basis of color theory and its methodology, as well as
the importance of color in everyday life and health. It is as fundamental to
the soul as air is to the body. By increasing our awareness of the spiritual
laws of color, we can acquire a balanced and enriched life of soul. Color
can be a healing force in our life, enabling us to tackle the deadening,
colorless aspects of our mechanized technological civilization.

Based on the work of Rudolf Steiner, which she studied intensively for
many years, Mayer offers an approach to color that is of value to painters
and artists, as well as anyone interested in psychology, health and healing,
spirituality, and personal development.