Art Therapy

Art Therapy

While on vacation visiting my New Zealand relatives, I mentioned to my sister-in-law that I really needed the vacation.  Sensing some degree of stress on my part, she told me about an adult coloring book that was given to my mother-in-law for Christmas.  Apparently, I was the only person who had not heard of this trend to eliminate anxiety and stress.  While shopping at her favorite book/gift shop, my sister-in-law introduced me to a large selection of these art books.  I was amazed at the intricacy and variety of designs, so much so that I bought several different “Adult Coloring Books”. Amongst my selections were two books of textile designs and one of traditional Japanese designs.

I began with a book of William Morris wallpaper designs. (See my blog about Morris- William Morris, Textiles and Interior Design, 6/18/14)

Brooklyn Museum, Pomegranate Publications, 2009

I decided upon one of his monotone designs which I wanted to reproduce, as much as possible, in the original colorway.

Illustrated coloring page – Arcadia Pattern

Original Pattern and colorway

My effort

My other textile book presents Liberty of London fabrics ( see my blog, Liberty Style, 2/16/14) and I am researching the original fabrics chosen for the book.

While this might seem a frivolous use of time, I found the degree of concentration necessary to complete these designs actually provided  stress relief.  One of the most challenging aspects of this activity is choosing the art materials to use (I selected ink and brush for my first efforts.  Next, I will try watercolor pencils.)    Of course, changing the color palette creates an entirely different look and this would be a good exercise for any textile student.