By JAN LARSON McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
With soothing music playing in the background, the women worked intently on their art. They weren’t painting, sculpting or sewing. Their art was not destined for exhibits beyond the front of their refrigerators.
These grown women, sitting around tables at the library, were unabashedly revisiting the childhood activity of coloring pictures.
“There is a kid side in all of us that wants to come out and play,” said Theresa Howard as she colored a picture. “So I am making time to play.”
The Wood County District Public Library has been hosting a monthly program called “Coloring: It’s Not Just for Kids.”
Adult coloring has become a trend in recent years, evidenced by the number of adult coloring books for sale in stores and online. The hobby is relaxing, therapeutic and easier than other art forms like quilting, said the women at the most recent coloring program at the library.
“I’m not artistic, but I’ve always liked coloring. I like things that have a pattern,” said Janet Sorrells. “There’s something about the rhythm of coloring.”
As children, all the women spent hours coloring.
“I got curious when I saw this,” Sorrells said of the library program. “I bought a coloring book about a year ago and haven’t used it. It sits in my living room.”
Sitting next to Sorrells was Karen Edstrom, who quoted research finding that coloring offers true benefits by allowing people to unplug themselves from technology and just create with crayons or colored pencils.
“There are benefits to just take time, sit and breathe,” Edstrom said. “It’s supposed to be so good for your brain.”
And it may be good for other parts of the body, too – such as the waistline.
“I like keeping my hands busy and out of the refrigerator,” Edstrom said.
Theresa Howard and Ercella Somerville work on pictures.
Ercella Somerville received her first adult coloring book as a gift from her mother-in-law. She admitted that initially she was not thrilled.
“Actually, I was disappointed because she usually gets me a spa visit,” Somerville said. But she soon realized that coloring was its own form of self therapy.
“It’s very relaxing,” she said. “Usually I do it when I’m doing something else, like watching TV.”
While some of the artwork shows up on refrigerator doors, Somerville turns her coloring into cards and has even colored a picture for her husband’s office.
The hobby can be addicting, Edstrom said. When she first tried coloring again, Edstrom thought she would just give it a try. “Two and a half hours later….,” she was hooked.
Howard said she gave her granddaughter a coloring book for her birthday last year. “We enjoy coloring together,” she said.
And Howard isn’t alone in revisiting the childhood activity. “My husband will color with our granddaughter,” she said.
Though no men were in the library coloring program, Sorrells suspects they would also enjoy picking up crayons and giving it a try.
“I think there are a lot of men who do that – but it’s sort of a closet hobby,” she said, smiling.
