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Features · Sharpen your crayons
llow yourself to take a step back in time.
Back to the time you picked up the crayons and
got lost in your own imagination of different
shapes and colours.
Colouring for adults has become a sought-after
therapeutic technique. It is a widespread trend where
screens and gadgets are replaced with pens and papers.
“Tumble down the rabbit hole and find yourself in my inky
black and white Wonderland” is what the introduction
reads of Johanna Basford’s colouring book for adults, in
which she has given the title ‘Secret Garden.’
“I look at it as a collaboration. I draw the lines and
whoever buys the book brings the colours”, Basford
says in one of her ‘behind-the-scenes’ videos she has
posted on her personal blog. What makes these kinds of
colouring books brilliant is that you do not have to be a
born artist or blossom with creativity. They are perfect for
pure relaxation and to de-stress, as all you need to do is
colour within the lines.
Colouring provides us with a sense of escapism.
Immersing in a drawing allows us to work at a slower pace
and for our minds to become more clear. “I feel like I can
switch off when colouring. There is a set design so I won’t
need to worry about creating something new”, says Cecilie
Edholm, who is a colouring enthusiast.
Edholm has been struggling with chronic migraine for
almost four years. However, she enjoys finding herself
strolling down memory lane to when she was younger by
pulling out her colouring book.
“I don’t need to think and I can just
zone out and relax. It’s easy and it feels
satisfying to finish a picture like that.”
Getting lost in the world