Is your duck blue?
Excellent! Minimalism is not all it's cracked up to be. ;-)
It seems to be all the rage right now. Adult coloring books are hitting Amazon’s best sellers list. They’ve taken over tables in real world bookstores, Pinterest and Facebook, too. Some of them are pretty amazing, intricate and fantastically detailed, but what exactly has made coloring such a thing these days?
Well, the general consensus is that colouring can be relaxing and a great stress reliever. Some professionals call it a form of active meditation. Others point out that it encourages mindfulness; it forces you to stay in the here and now. Still others say that it’s just plain fun. I mean when was the last time you colored? Did your kids get mad when you got too involved in the picture they were coloring?
I’m sure lots of you will say that you’d rather create something from scratch, but for us less talented or creative creatures, these coloring books offer us a peak into your world and bring a little color into our lives. For whatever time it takes to finish an image, we can pretend, be spontaneous and let our imaginations fly. And yes, we can make that duck blue or green or pink with purple polka dots.
The variety of choice is something else, too. Everything from intricate patterns to detailed dream-like scenes to hybrid animals and Eddy Redmayne or Bill Murray. I think the one that really caught my attention, was one of swear words, beautifully scripted and embellished, just waiting for you to put color to paper. Imagine what that would do to your bad mood when you’re in one. 😉
Oh, and think of the tools – colored pencils, gel pens, markers. So much to choose from. Remember the smell of a fresh box of crayons from when you were a kid? All lined up in perfect color order. None of them broken. Your box safely hidden away from your kid brother, waiting for you and you alone to make the first stroke. Maybe it’s really that simple, coloring stirs the inner child and piques some lovely childhood memories. That sounds like a great reason to me.
How about you? Are you going to give coloring a try? Share some of your handiwork in the comments below. If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine.
Photo credit: beautyfromashes via Visual Hunt / CC BY-NC-ND
I love colouring. I do it almost every day. My own stuff mostly. I record dreams and use a coloured sketch as a prompt for remembering them.
I recommend it highly. Especially with these wonderful colouring books that are out there. I plan to try one of those soon. A gardening one, perhaps.
Wonderful! I’m sure your stuff is fabulous! Gardening would be great. Or perhaps Alice in Wonderland?
Alice in Wonderland is perfect! In fact, I have a colouring book of that very title which I forgot about until you said that! Amazing what gems some homes contain. I am not a minimalist, as you can tell.
Excellent! Minimalism is not all it’s cracked up to be. 😉
Colouring swear words? I will definitely check that out! 🙂
I knew somebody would catch that! 😉 It’s actually really cool. The words are so beautifully scripted and embellished, you sort of do a double take when you realize what it actually says. Have fun!