It’s a thing. Coloring books for adults. I have seen some AMAZING pages and books for adults (like this one that makes me laugh!). My Studio Assistant, Mollee, finds peace in focusing on the quiet, pretty, colorful expression of art that these coloring pages offer. Can’t say it’s for me, though.
I have a very vivid “coloring” memory from kindergarten. Maybe that sounds strange, but it stuck with me. Everyone colored their page– I LOVED it!– and then we were taken into the hall (the gallery of all our work) to be “critiqued.” (In retrospect, what kind of lesson was this?!). And critiqued I was. In front of everyone, I was told my page wasn’t good because I needed to color in the lines. Not gonna lie, I was embarrassed– so embarrassed that it’s affecting me even as I’ve turned 40– but looking back.
I think that was the first time I realized I’d never be the kind of girl who stays inside the lines. Instead, I became the kind of girl who, when told I couldn’t do something, decided to do it twice and take pictures. 😉
For me, at some point I swapped out the crayon for a camera and suddenly I was a business owner with no spare time on my hands. But that kid who loved to color–she was alive inside my son who, like Mollee, also enjoys coloring and designing everything from cartoons to his own band’s logo. I realized that the coloring my kindergarten teacher encouraged was about being “right” or “in order.” But my son and Mollee, their coloring is about creation and expression. And that doesn’t have to be within the lines.
So maybe coloring isn’t just the physical act of putting crayon to page. It’s putting your emotions into the world in the best way you know how. There’s a world on the page, but it’s yours to create. And it doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. So, even though physically coloring isn’t my forte, it’s still something I see as valuable for the benefits for your mental health.
Too often, coloring is reserved for children or artists, but trust me—you can and should color every once in a while! So, I’m going to take this coloring page that we designed and do it. Create a new memory, a positive experience, from coloring outside the lines.
Pick up a crayon and color away, my friend. Let’s compare the unique expressions we create. With no critiques!