You may be wondering what attracts people to colouring. Colouring is now considered to be an effective de-stressor. The calming effects of colouring have been noted by psychiatrists and psychologists; even the well-known psychiatrist Carl Jung reportedly had his patients colour mandalas to help them de stress. Colouring has therapeutic effects for people with anxiety, and may help alleviate epileptic attacks. And colouring is similar to meditation because it makes your whole brain focus on the here-and-now.
Besides being an effective way to relax, colouring is also said to be a great way to boost your creativity by many people online. But just as many people (mainly psychologists and psychiatrists) disagree with this viewpoint; in particular these experts disagree with the notion that colouring can be likened to art therapy. Art therapy gets patients to create art to improve their physical, mental, and emotional well being. From that basic definition, you can see how colouring is not art therapy - you’re not creating anything, you’re simply filling in someone else’s picture. Be that as it may, there is still some creativity involved in colouring, specifically in choosing the colours you use on a picture (your colour palette) and blending those colours together.
But anecdotally, colouring has functioned as a gateway to being even more creative. Cortney Clift wrote an article titled “Here’s What Happens When You Color Instead of Watch TV for a Week” on Brit + Co. After her week of colouring, she found herself inspired to try other creative activities; she credits colouring with sparking this interest. In a similar vein, in the article “Coloring books for adults: we asked therapists for their opinions” on The Guardian, active colourist Cari Schofield credits colouring with helping her get back to drawing. Schofield used to paint and draw, but had to stop due to her epilepsy, which caused her hand to jerk. To her delight, she found that she was able to add a drawing into the picture she was colouring in one of Johanna Basford’s books. So while colouring may not be very “creative” on its own, it can lead you to a more creative life.
Oh, and if you’re unfamiliar with the name, Basford is credited with starting the current colouring craze when she convinced her publisher to let her create a colouring book for adults rather than children. That book, Secret Garden: an Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book, has since sold over two million copies.
Many people colour at home, but there’s no reason why colouring can’t be a social event; that’s where Colour Me Calm comes in. Last fall, we had people of all colouring abilities attending the bi-weekly program. There are pencil crayons and colouring sheets provided, but you’re also welcome to bring your own materials. And you are not restricted to bringing only traditional colouring supplies; last fall we had someone who was making her own stationery with rubber stamps, stencils, and pencil crayons.
Oh, and I forgot to mention: there’s always coffee, a herbal tea, and cookies every week.
So I hope we’ll see you at Colour Me Calm this month. Our first meeting is Thursday, February 9th at 7pm. If you’d like more information, visit www.tbpl.ca/colouring, email wavcolouringclub@tbpl.ca, or give me a call at 345-8275 ext 6814.
Shauna Kosoris
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