I was really interested to see a recent article explaining that millions of women and some men of all ages have become hooked on the new enjoyable and totally stressless craze of ‘Adult coloring.’ Apparently, this unique hobby and casual pastime started way back in the 1960s, and booming sales are now being realized for the intricately designed coloring books that have been designed especially for adults only. These quality and artfully laid out books come in all subjects and cultures to suit the creator, and these include nature and wildlife scapes, themes, characters and heroes from at home or throughout the world.
The colors of our youth
No matter how old or in which generation we may now be, absolutely all of us will fondly remember the early adventures of our youth when we colored and scribbled for countless hours, especially on those cold, wet or sick stay-indoor days. As little duffers just out of diapers, we colored, drew, painted and dribbled on everything in sight, including paper, pets, magazines,walls, books, toilet paper and all the rest. Occasionally, we may have even tried to eat those crayons or stuff them up our nose, but we quickly learned that this was a no-no, and that treats tasted much better. It was always a special reward to be able to glue our very own creations in the family scrapbook or tape it on the frig, especially those really neat cards that we so carefully drew and colored at home or in school, especially for family birthdays, Valentine’s and Christmas.
Later we got to tackle those magnificent coloring books, which contained so many pages of cartoons, action heroes, Disney characters, cars, trucks, birds, animals and so much more on which we spent hours alone or with friends transforming them into lots of neat pictures and characters in the wild and wonderful colors of our own choice. I will always recall at our house that my dad loved to dabble in ‘Paint by numbers’, where you really had to stay within the lines, be neat, and clean up the brushes after each color. On nice days, we would dash outside, join the gang and use colored chalk to design amazing pictures and designs on the neighbourhood’s sidewalks, walls and playgrounds, which were likely the humble beginnings of the now popular and really wild graffiti era?
The drop-in coloring sessions that have been formed are now being hosted at libraries, club-rooms or at the homes of the participants, but can also be organized for gatherings at long-term care centres, hospitals, clubs and on and on. Many who take part have whole-heartedly agreed that these ‘coloring sessions’ are ideal for changing mental gears, relaxing and exploring their creative sides while also enjoying some quality time for coffee, cookies and keen camaraderie with friends and neighbours. Maybe a few neat ideas for some future adult coloring get-togethers could include color the next U.S.A. President in naughty and wild colors of Hilary and Trump, color our Canadian Government in shades of dark red and long strokes of free-spending, and color our Alberta economy in shaky tones of black and blue, but eventually in the red with the NDP…Check the library for more info on the ‘coloring set’, and now that it looks like spring is just around the next slushy corner,just go ahead and have a great week, all of you.