The Coloring Craze: Adult Coloring Books
Have you ever had a long day at work, one of those endless workdays where morning leaks into afternoon like drops of rainwater in a steel bucket?
When the clock finally hits quitting time, do you look forward to going home, changing into comfy clothes, and relaxing with a glass of wine and an adult coloring book?
Wait. Did she just say “adult coloring book?”
Yes. Yes, I did.
In an article for Flavorwire, Sarah Seltzer recalls the peace she experienced as a child, creating with acrylic paints and shoebox dioramas. “When we’re working on art, our brain’s right side takes over,” she said, “and we lose track of numerical, left-sided concepts like time.”
[caption id=”attachment_6616" align=”alignleft” width=”300"]
Source: www.wendypiersall.com[/caption]
When was the last time you had the pleasure of losing track of time? As adults, we lived in a regimented world with bills to pay and work to do, and it is a struggle to replicate the “blissful” experience of arts and crafts as children evolve into grown-ups.
“This evident lack of a creative outlet provides an easy explanation for the adult color books craze,” Seltzer said, “a phenomenon that is taking the publishing world by storm.”
The popularity of young adult books like The Hunger Games and Harry Potter among adult audiences inspired people like Johanna Basford to create adult coloring books with “intricate, hand-drawn illustrations predominately…in black and white.”
Bashford’s books, The Enchanted Forest and The Secret Garden have sold millions of copies worldwide, and she will be releasing her next book, Lost Ocean, through Penguin in October.
“The trend has been fuelled to some degree by social media, [when] colorists post their elaborate creations on Facebook and Pinterest,” said Adrienne Raphel, reporter for The New Yorker. “But it is also [fueled] by marketing that associates them with such therapeutic ends as anxiety-reduction and stress-reduction.”
Coloring supposedly helps adults achieve a state of mindlessness, of happiness. It banishes anxiety, and can even assist in dealing with trauma. But, not everyone is buying into this theory.
“This year, there have been several really good studies about why people should engage in creative activity, which doesn’t involve coloring in someone else’s designs,” said Cathy Malchiodi, an art therapist. “It involves actually pursuing some form of art-making. It can be very helpful to people’s mental health and physical health.”
“I don’t consider the color books as art therapy,” said Drena Fagen, an art therapist and an adjunct instructor at NYU’s Steinhardt School. “I consider coloring books therapeutic, which is not the same thing.”
Adults in America are increasingly becoming “both digital and artisanal,” reliant on gadgets and devices that keep them connected while writing in Moleskines in their free time to “counteract the digital incursion.”
“Coloring seems to me to be the sedentary equivalent of taking a walk, a chance to preoccupy yourself on a basic level while your mind runs free, within parameters,” Seltzer said. “My hope is that coloring fanatics might eventually move outside the lines, to work with their own imaginations and create their own artistic projects, playing with drawing or designing things themselves.”
It is no secret that adults today are accused of a resounding lack of creativity in their everyday lives. It is hard to make time to paint with acrylics or make dioramas in between working, exercising, socializing, and living. The coloring craze is about more than reconnecting with your inner child. It is an opportunity to create simply for the sake of creating, without worrying about the results.
Source:
Raphel, Adrienne. “Why Adults Are Buying Coloring Books (For Themselves).” The New Yorker. Condé Nast, 12 July 2015. Web. 26 August 2015.
Schwedel, Heather. “Coloring Books for Adults: We Asked Therapists for Their Opinions.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited, 17 August 2015. Web. 26 August 2015.
Seltzer, Sarah. “Are Grown-Up Coloring Books the Future of Publishing?” Flavorwire. Flavorpill Media, 19 August 2015. Web. 26 August 2015.
