Coloring helps to de-stress…go figure!

Lately, I’ve been seeing a number of posts on Facebook and Pinterest where people are proclaiming their love of coloring and how it helps them to de-stress from the day. Their comments and photos remind me of the simpler time of childhood where our parents threw coloring books and crayons at us to occupy our time so they could get a few things done.

You can get coloring pages on just about any subject, including free coloring pages on the internet, which, by the time you print them out, aren’t really free because you had to pay for the ink.

There is no doubt that, even in a relaxed community like Malta and Phillips County, there is stress from work and family and having some “coloring time” can be a big bonus. But, after a while, when you keep doing the same thing – coloring with crayons can get boring! I can remember thinking that I was going to color one of my coloring books from front to back and not skip a page when I was younger (I had five sisters to compete with) and, by the time I got to the fifth page, I was BORED TO DEATH.

When I was younger, I also had to deal with crossed eyes and the inevitable patch which helped to strengthen the weaker muscles. My mother and ophthalmologist gave me oil paints – paint by numbers – and I painted those and then took the extra paint and painted my own creations. Playing with paint is definitely a relaxing and freeing event. Just ask the four year old who comes to see me every week! She’s painted with brushes, with fingers, and this past week, she used rubber bands in combination with splattered and stroked paint to create a unique abstract look!

Instead of thinking about painting as being something that has to conform to the masters paintings, think of paint like your coloring book and crayons – create lines and shapes of your own and fill in the blanks with color! Using different tools to apply your paint to different surfaces also provides some freedom of expression. There is an Eastern Montana artist named Robert Watts who started painting with crowbars to give some pizzazz to his work and attract attention to his art. It worked! His wall murals in Forsyth are a very proud example of his “coloring”.

You don’t have to invest a lot in crayons or markers and coloring books. And you don’t have to have the objective of becoming an artist in mind to involve yourself in “coloring”. You can come to our local Art Spot and have many tools and objects at your fingertips to help you explore and de-stress. The Art Spot is open every day of the week and, if you’re unsure of the schedule, just call Kathy at 654-1523 and let her know you want to come in and play (or de-stress). The clean up is on her too!