By KATIE KIERSTEAD
Arts Editor
Coloring books are a treasured part of practically everyone’s childhood. The waxy scent of crayons evokes long-lost memories of kindergarten and of innocent youth. But coloring’s not just for kids anymore. Adults are now turning to coloring as a form of stress relief.
Art has been a tried-and-true form of therapy over the years. Coloring is just one way people can reduce stress, relieve anxiety, and lift the mood, according to art therapist and coloring book publisher Susanne Fincher.
The adult coloring craze began in 2013, when Swedish artist Johanna Bamford released a quaint and sophisticated coloring book titled “Secret Garden.” Since then, the nature-themed trendsetter has sold nearly six million copies.
Walk into Barnes & Noble and you’ll find tables and shelves filled with coloring books with titles from “Color Me Calm” to “Balance,” their covers boasting intricate mandalas, flowers, and vast cityscapes appealing to grown-up people of all genders.
The collections of complex illustrations take the familiar pastime of coloring and elevate its intricacy for a new audience. There are many lines and tiny spaces, so as to let the colorer spend a lot of time on one picture, relieving stress as they create beautiful artwork.
But why coloring for therapy? And why now?
Instead of saving up for the newest gadget, invest in some high-quality colored pencils. Melonyce McAfee at CNN hypothesizes that online access and the “desire to unplug” are the keys to the recent success of adult coloring books.
In a report for The Guardian, novelist Matt Cain proclaims his love for coloring: “If I switch off the phone, computer, and TV and concentrate solely on choosing the right shade of blue, avoiding going over the lines and slowly filling up my page with colour, all my other concerns, I’ve discovered, fade to nothing.”
Amazon and other online retailers allow many people to easily order coloring books at will. Additionally, Pinterest is a gold mine of printable adult coloring pages. Ironically, the consumer’s ultimate goal is to get away from the screen and spend their time cultivating their own creativity on paper.
Social media has encouraged the craze to spread around, but clubs and bookstores have hosted coloring events and parties for people to bond over their newfound zen.
One benefit of this trend is the heightened exposure of artists to the general public. Steve McDonald, a Canadian artist, used to display his artwork in galleries for a crowd of about a thousand, according to Yahoo! News; with his coloring book “Fantastic Cities,” he is reaching a much wider audience and inviting them to interact with his work.
However, not everyone is a proponent of the trend. Licensed therapists have been the biggest critics of the coloring books: they argue that the difference lies between coloring in someone else’s artwork and exercising your own originality and creativity and drawing something yourself. Coloring may be therapeutic, but it is not therapy, according to art therapist Drena Fagen.
Nevertheless, those who color report lower levels of stress and reduced anxiety while coloring.
My own personal experience with grown-up coloring books has been very positive. I find that coloring lifts my mood and improves my focus; plus, I can display my artwork around the house after I finish coloring something. It’s also a great group activity after a stressful day at school.
Sometimes returning to your roots is the best way to de-stress and find yourself again. For this generation of work-laden adults, turning away from the screens and turning a new page in a coloring book is a creative answer to the demands of everyday life.
