Crushed crayons became waxy coloured globs on the carpet, felt pen scribbles redesigned the sofa and decorated the walls, all an extension of her imagination, created outside the lines of the colouring books she was given, for not only did she scribble outside the lines of the page but onto the floors, walls and even herself.
Her creativity knew no bounds, but of course it was never considered. It was play, just something she did, with no thought of right or wrong, only the joy of being immersed in the moment. Going with the flow.
And though at times she was chastised, and the crayons were put away and she was given a bucket of water to paint the stairs with (which she would spend hours doing) her world was still full of colour and creativity. And she felt happy and free.
Her mother would give her colouring books to colour in or butcher’s paper just to draw, which she would scribble upon, with no heed for line and shape. Anything went. Though later she made thick lines around the images she was colouring, when she was told to take more care to colour inside the lines, to keep them true and strong, because you know, that’s how it’s done.
And then when she tired of what was in the colouring books she would trace pictures from her favourite stories and compose her own scenes, where My Little Ponies shared the same world as Transformers and Big Red hung out with characters from the The Little Golden Books.
And then she stopped tracing, she had built up the muscle memory of drawing day in and day out. And she decided not to stick with the characters and the way they were suppose to be. She added wings on horses and extra arms on knights and built castles with puff paint.
And when she got older, when she ‘grew up,’ colouring became something she didn’t do as often, but a place she still liked to go back to.
BUT ISN’T IT CHILD’S PLAY?
So what if it is child’s play (not the movie reference) or even childish? If only more of us reconnected with this simple creative activity and looked at the world through the eyes of a child and their ability to play without judgement or worry about outcome, we might learn something.
I mean, if anyone knows how to get lost in another world, it‘s kids right?
Colouring in, even though it’s seems to be the most basic of things, is developmental, it creates a hand and mind connection, brings together the logical and the creative parts of our brains. It even hones fine motor skills.
It can open you up to more, because even for a moment you have a release from the worries and burdens of the world, so it can set your mind ablaze, can transport you elsewhere, can take a journey into your imagination. You can become, even for a second, free.
Stress and anxiety seep out in colours onto the page, the perfect release, the perfect transportation, the same way books take us to new places, if you just let it go.
A LITTLE BIT OF FREEDOM.
When I taught in prison there would be days where I would pull out the coloured pencils, bring in mandalas or intricate images for them to colour and let them go. Some, initially, fought it, thinking it was dumb and stupid. But in a place where tensions could rise at any moment it brought a sense of calm and even community.
As the boys coloured and shared pencils they chatted and talked and told stories. They compared images and laughed at each other. Sometimes they were so intent on making sure every colour was down perfectly they never spoke, it brought focus where maybe before there was none.
And then sometimes they asked for the same image again, and really began to think it out, how they wanted it to be, instead of just randomly assigning colours and taking a careless approach. They considered what colours to use, and thought about the contrast and composition, and sometimes they would add their own elements to the images so that in some ways each new image told another story about them.
It showed them that a time out just to get away from the real world could provide them with focus. They started off rough, most of the time, but then started to colour with care. They would then decide that the design they were given may not match what they were thinking or feeling so they changed that.
In a place where they were governed by rules, they found a place where they now had freedom of choice, and all they needed was time (of which they had plenty) some paper and coloured pencils.
SO, HOW DO YOU COLOUR IN?
What’s your process?
Do you colour in the lines? Layer the colours perfectly so no white from the page shows through? Or do you go in hapharzardly, speed colour, just to get an impression down?
Do you keep to the colours as they should be, true to life, or do you go with whatever you feel at the time?
Do the colours you use change depending on your mood? Or do you have favourites you always go back to? Do you colour in rainbows or do you keep more monochromatic or high contrast?
Do you think the way you colour in reflects who you are? What do you think it says about you?
Will you try something different?
There are so many states that can be entered into when you just take an image and colour. One of peace and calm, one of focus and precision, one of experimentation. And one of just going with the flow and seeing what happens.
So go on and put on some music and let it take you away for awhile. The world can wait.
For more free printable Mandalas follow the link below.