DALLAS — It was a busy week and I was excited to end it by covering a Color Therapy event at the Back Mountain Memorial Library on March 3.
I walked into the library’s Community Room at 11 a.m. and was greeted by three friendly women, Barbara Anne Evans, of Dallas, Denise Schnars, of Taylor, and Betty Ann Watkin, also of Dallas, who were already seated around a table.
They brought with them their coloring books and markers. As the novice of the group, I was armed with my son’s Crayola Twist color pencils.
The purpose of the small bi-weekly group is to meet and color. Simple enough.
Coloring has grown from a traditional children’s activity into a calming exercise for adults.
I have seen adult coloring books on newsstands and bookstores and recently bought one for my mother. I was tempted to buy one for myself but never did.
When my son was younger, I would borrow his coloring books at night and color in a page or two.
But the designs provided for adults are much more complicated than a kid-friendly Disney character like Lighting McQueen from the “Cars” movie.
Martha Butler, head librarian at the Back Mountain Memorial Library, offered a variety of adult coloring books, pages and even postcards to choose from for my first design.
Patterns ranged from elegant florals, ornate medallions, beautiful butterflies and even fish, but since it was my first time, I decided to keep it simple and chose a postcard with three medallions.
Barbara Anne colors on a regular basis and worked on a larger floral pattern that was part of a calendar.
Denise was coloring a smaller floral print and Betty Ann was artistically coloring in a dog with select shades of brown.
Much of my time with these three women was spent in silence.
I quickly found myself becoming absorbed in the coloring process. I was thinking what colors to use, making sure the colors blend well together and making sure my hand did not smear what I already colored.
I did learn sharp pencils work best at getting into the tiny areas of any design.
I was relaxed and found my daily concerns melting away.
Occasional conversations sparked among us about area history, where to buy adult coloring books and what type of coloring medium was preferred such as colored pencils, markers or crayons.
Martha said the little group was sparked from Reaching Beyond Limits, a day program in Kingston for intellectually challenged adults that brings in clients for a separate coloring group on a regular basis.
I could see why. The activity released tension built up from the daily grind.
The hour-long session was just long enough to finish my postcard.
We were all proud of our efforts and shared our accomplishments with each other.
Betty Ann held up the dog she was coloring and we saw how he stood out from the page.
Denise finished up some remaining leaves on her flowers and Barbara Anne showed her floral pattern, revealing more was colored on the page.
I colored my three medallions with blue, yellow, pink and purple. I thought they looked pretty good and now I’m left wondering to whom I should mail it.
