Julie Daigle Whitecotton and Claire Theriot Mestepey are the partners of www.loveofcoloring.com and despite their different reasons, they both are obsessed with coloring! And judging from the trends, they are not the only ones.
The popularity of coloring books have recently grown by leaps and bounds. Coloring books are no longer only loved by children, adults are finding themselves pulling out the crayons too. So much so that a few are currently ranked in Amazon’s top 20 best-seller list. These coloring books range from simple patterns to Game of Thrones themed books.
In the age of multi-tasking and juggling young children and aging parents, more people are taking time out to sit down, quieten their worlds, and color.
It might not be widely known, but psychologists have been using coloring books as relaxing techniques since the early 20th century. When we color, we are using multiple parts of our brain. By mixing and matching colors, we are using the creative part in our brain. When we are using coordination and “coloring within the lines”, we are using the logical part of our brain. During this process, coloring lowers other functions of the brain which allows us to relax.
Julie is a professional artist and Claire is a professional writer. Julie is passionate about coloring because it’s a simple exercise of creativity. Claire has cerebral palsy. Her body is constantly in motion but she says coloring makes her focus and with every stroke, her body feels a little lighter. Coloring quiets her mind, and relaxes her muscles.
Although their styles are night and day, a few months ago they decided to combine their powers for the greater good and start publishing coloring books. Claire describes Julie’s style as all hand drawn, smooth, and elegant. Julie describes Claire’s as a hodgepodge of clever word play, and a mixture of clipart with her unique flair. Whereas Julie’s drawings have always come naturally to her, Claire’s disability forces her to carefully calculate each command while creating her art using Adobe’s Illustrator.
For their Kickstarter campaign, the two coloring books that will be featured are: Claire’s “Word Art, Volume 1, Life in Motion. As well as, Julie’s ”Whimsy, Volume 1, a fanciful or fantastic device, object, or creation especially in writing or art.”
As different as their techniques are, they both truly know why thousands of people are putting down their electronic devices and are picking up coloring books. Coloring relaxes you, taking away from the stress of the day. And whether you enjoy coloring within the lines like Julie, or outside the lines like Claire, the health benefits are the same, a wonderful relaxing technique that some psychologists have been using for hundreds of years, which has been a well-kept secret until recently.
Julie and Claire want to share their love of coloring with the world, but especially those who might need it the most, patients in hospitals. With their kickstarter project, for every coloring book you order, they will donate one to a hospital. Coloring might not be able to save the world, but maybe it can quiet the world for a little while. www.kickstarter.com.
Contact Information
Claire Theriot Mestepey, clairetheriotmestepey@comcast.net
Julie Whitecotton, (970) 819-2156
