Get your crayons ready: Adults are coloring
Grown-ups embrace a childhood pastime.
Michael Yusah, 33, of Boston, was meeting friends for dinner on a Friday night.
He had some time to kill, so he ducked into Barnes & Noble in Burlington. But instead of browsing books, he wound up doing something completely unexpected: He sat with a group of strangers and colored.
It’s a scene playing out across the country — and the world: Adults are spending their downtime with coloring books and crayons.
[fragment number=0]
Click here to download a full-size version of this Boston-themed coloring sheet.
“I have been hosting coloring circles for over 20 years,’’ Carol Omer, certified Australian life coach and author of The Big Girls Little Coloring Book, due for release later this year, told Boston.com in an e-mail. “As you can imagine, I am thrilled to see that one of the best kept ‘secrets’ in women’s health and well-being is gaining in recognition and popularity.’’
And, as Yusah shows, it’s not just women reaping the benefits.
“Coloring is very therapeutic,’’ said Yusah, a student and former daycare teacher.
The trend
“The coloring trend has exploded,’’ said Tracy Moniak, merchandise manager at Barnes & Noble in Burlington. “It predominantly started with the Secret Garden and Enchanted Forest.’’
Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Coloring Book, published in 2013 and created by 31-year-old Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford, has sold more than 1 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 14 different languages. Basford’s books, which are on Amazon’s best-seller list , have sold out, triggering the following apology on her website April 29: “This is entirely our fault, we just didn’t anticipate the massive global demand for the books.’’ Her publisher has ordered more.
Lisa Congdon, an illustrator from Portland, Oregon, has also experienced sell-out success with her “Just Add Color’’ books. She tweeted this on April 30:
[fragment number=1]
Basford is working on two new books as well. She’s not doing interviews while finishing the books, but her office sent along Basford’s thoughts on her success.
“Chances are the last time most people did a spot of colouring in they didn’t have a mortgage, a mean boss or worries about the fiscal debt,’’ wrote Basford. “Colouring gives hard-working grown-ups the opportunity to play and to indulge themselves in an activity which likely reminds them of more carefree days.’’
Tracy Moniak, a manager at Barnes & Noble in Burlington, created this adult coloring book display near the registers at Barnes & Noble.
Moniak knew she had to respond to the coloring trend at her book store.
“We ended up creating a whole table of coloring books,’’ said Moniak. “And that has just been exploding.’’
She also launched the store’s first-ever coloring meet-up on May 15, called “Adult Coloring Night.’’ About a dozen folks ranging in age from 12 to 87 years old attended the event. Some drove to Barnes & Noble specifically for the group, which was advertised weeks ahead of time. Others were customers in the store that night who, intrigued, took a seat.
The colorers
Phyllis Sharon, 57, a writer/editor from Arlington, hates malls.
So after shopping with her niece Rachel Sharon, 24, she made a beeline for the coloring group when they arrived at Barnes & Noble.
Three long tables with blue tablecloths were set up in a nook of the bookshelves on the upstairs floor. Photocopied packets of adult coloring book pages sat on the tables beside colored pencils. Included in the packets was Basford’s work as well as pages from The Celtic Colouring Book by Lesley Davis, The Mandala Coloring Book by Jim Gogarty, and Creative Doodling & Beyond by Stephanie Corfee. A worker from the cafe downstairs served complimentary cookies and drinks to colorers, and the Sharons settled right in.
“It’s adult play,’’ said Phyllis. “And adults don’t have enough play time. This is no-fail art. But the key is to not let yourself become a perfectionist with it.’’
Rachel, a counselor, said she uses coloring during group therapy sessions.
“It helps them concentrate,’’ she said.
People color during the first “Adult Coloring Night’’ at Barnes & Noble in Burlington.
Linda Hair-Sullivan, a retired guidance counselor from Lowell, her sister Patricia Hair, a nurse from Lexington, and friend Lydia Breen, a retired biology teacher from Burlington, decided a coloring group was the perfect way to spend a girls’ night out.
“Oh, this is gorgeous,’’ Hair-Sullivan said to her group, holding up one of the black-and-white designs.
When asked the last time she colored, Breen said, “Good question.’’
“It’s very relaxing,’’ said Hair-Sullivan, the former counselor. “I’ve colored with some of my students.’’
“It’s been a stressful day,’’ said Vreen after coloring for a while. “I need this.’’
Marlena Ellender, 30, sat down to color after her 12-year-old daughter, Harmony, suggested it. The mother and daughter, who live on the Hanscom Air Force Base, set to work, heads bowed.
“I don’t feel like a stranger to it,’’ said Marlena after coloring for a while. “But I guess I’ve never sought out a coloring book for myself … It just reminds you of being a kid again. You can’t argue with that.’’
Meet the Burlington coloring group:
[bdc-gallery id=”317493″]
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com