Coloring

Coloring.

I have always liked to color. It is the type of thing that I seem to latch right on to. There are rules, rather you decide to follow them or not is entirely up to the color-er. It is easy to scribble about the page and make a modern design and find some way to over analyze and provide some psychobabble about what it really means. Or, one may find comfort in following the lines and coloring within them. It think this is good practice for lots of things. We have to stay within metaphorical lines and physical ones all the time. I still wonder why I’ve never been pulled over for drunken driving, as I struggle on the best of days.

But, I love to blend colors and pressure to my coloring. I love the smell of the crayon dust and how little specks get caught in other areas making a streak. I went to a break out session at a conference once with Wendy Anderson that I found the art of coloring in a whole new realm of the adult art world. I was able to create ART…

When I was a child, my favorite aunt, Aunt Wendy, would buy my coloring books often as gifts. I liked the gifts, but the best gift she gave was when she would sit with me and color for hours, discussing color choice and pressure. She liked to outline the entire picture with the color she chose, while I kept a soft hand. Later, for school projects I would mimic her style because it was so expert.

Recently, Susan, my best friend bought me a gift that was well needed and appreciated. It was a book of lots of different ways to avoid anxiety and to de-stress. I had the busiest spring ever and could really use any help I could get. But, the book came with toys and things. Several of her favorite ideas in the book, she bought the corresponding items to make my stress levels plummet. One such item was a coloring book and good Crayola crayons. She was good to keep it simple to the primary pack and I could blend my own colors. I keep the book and box in the kitchen, right next to the potholders and tea towels. When I get overwhelmed with everything on my plate, I pull them out and color. The soft rhythmic motion and the methodical rules and design features allow me to be an artist for a moment, but I can too float away into the world on the page for a few minutes.