Eight years ago, I set out on a mission to make a digital short internet series, using scenes from a narrative home movie I made when I was 12-years-old. As a lifelong filmmaker, I’ve always had the itch to flex my creative muscles, but this new project led me on an exploration to discover ways that we, as adults, can exercise our childlike creative instincts, and apply the positive outcomes to our daily lives. A psychological strategy of innocence designed to bring moments of calm and soothing to our frantic adult worlds, all too often consumed by work, relationships, responsibilities, and putting food on the table. But when we were kids and life was simpler, we were ALL creative and we were creative just for the sake of being creative. Who says that this must stop when we grow up? Why can we not reconnect with our inner creative child through the things that we loved to do when we were young? With Growing Up Movies, I hope to inspire others to wake up and work out our creative muscles, not for money or to impress others, but for the calming satisfaction of doing so.
One simple, relatable, and widely available way is through ADULT COLORING BOOKS. This has been a growing trend over recent years and a testament to the notion of reconnecting to our creative childlike selves through a familiar activity we all performed when we were young. The reviews and testimonials are all over the internet, proving that this method of relaxation really works and you don’t have to be self-conscious about your own artistic abilities because all you have to do is stay within the lines! Or not 😉 There are a slew of these coloring books out there, ranging wide in subjects, attracting our adult eyes, but also cultivating our childlike sensibilities. A handful of these subjects are: animals, scenic, design, art deco, swear words, sex, patterns, mindfulness, cars, fashion, and of course – pop culture nostalgia.
ACBs also provide examples of how our young creative selves can bask in the pop culture iconography that nurtured us when we were growing up. I was surprised (but not really) to find numerous ACBs out there that cover all kinds of 1980s and 1990s trends, from toys to cartoon characters, pop music, hair styles, technologies, and other fun stuff that can bring back positive memories. This is a powerful combination. It’s not that we all had awesome childhoods we want to relive. For many of us, childhood was difficult and packed with trauma. But there were always those areas of love and escape. And the physical things we grew up with like toys, candy, Halloween Costumes, and roller skates can embody this sense of escape and freedom. As does the natural instinct to be creative just for the joy of it. So pick up some crayons, coloring pencils, or markers – find a few minutes and ideally, a quite space - and get some of that stress out on paper, in this healthy, therapeutic, and ultimately just FUN way!
For more fun, please check out the Growing Up Movies videosode about Adult Coloring Books along with a few links I came across in my research on the topic. Enjoy and Stay Creative!!
From Growing Up Movies:
Latoya Nicole – LOVE what she does:
Funny and unique selection here:
Best ACBs of 2022 reviewed:
I watched your video and thought "I should give coloring books another chance". I tried to color mandalas but got even more stressed out than when I started but maybe if I make it fun with things I can connect with... It'd make it easier. Thank you for your videos!!! 😍