Arts groups offer specialty coloring sheets during pandemic
Growing up, Joshua Boydston associated road trips with the new coloring books his mom would buy to keep him occupied along the way.
“(It was) all of our favorites, X-Men or Ninja Turtles or whatever it was at the time. My mom was always really big on kind of fostering that creative spirit in me and supporting that,” he recalled. “It was kind of fun to give a little nod back toward that.”
When the coronavirus outbreak hit Oklahoma this spring, Boydston, a visual artist and associate director of the Norman Arts Council, used his childhood love and artistic skills to create a series of customized color sheets. Released for free through the Norman Arts Council website, they depict local public art landmarks like Rick Sinnett's “Norman Red Tail Hawk” mural and Paul Cocksedge's “Unbound” sculpture, as well as events affected by the pandemic, including the canceled Medieval Fair of Norman and the postponed Jazz in June and Norman Music Festival.
“I wanted to keep it around all the cool things that we have in Norman and want to keep supporting after this,” he said. “It was definitely that thought of `what's something we can do to have fun and also just support our mission but in a new way.' I think that's what a lot of people are still working on right now ... because the normal way of doing things isn't going to work for a little bit.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic has canceled events, temporarily shuttered attractions and kept families at home, several Oklahoma arts organizations have released customized color sheets to occupy adults and children. Even as the state's phased reopening continues, the summer heat may continue to keep Oklahomans inside their houses and looking for new ways to fill their days.
“I know that there will be some families that go out and
feel OK and feel safe doing so, but for a lot, they won't. There are plenty of kids who are immuno-compromised and really can't afford to go out or live with those family members who have those issues,” Boydston said. “So, it's not going to be good ol', same ol' summer for essentially anyone. ... It is going to be a lot more spending time at home.
Coloring through closures
State organizations that offer free specialty color sheets include Jenks' Oklahoma Aquarium, the Tulsa Botanic Garden and the Oklahoma Historical Society, which have all reopened after their COVID-19 closures.
The Oklahoma City artist collective Factory Obscura and the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, which are in the early stages of their multiphased reopening plans, also are offering complimentary coloring pages.
The Norman Arts Council's MAINSITE Art Gallery welcomed back the public Wednesday. Although the monthly 2nd Friday Gallery Walks the council helps to organize have been canceled the past three months, Boydston said a virtual art walk is planned this weekend with gallery tours, artist chats and live music starting at 6 p.m. Friday at www.facebook. com/2ndFridayNorman.
“I've had my second Fridays booked for eight consecutive years, so it's been weird not having anything going on those days,” Boydston said.
“What we do best are those art walks and supporting those festivals and all these big kind of communal experiences, so it's been really hard to try to figure out how to reimagine that in a way that still creates that sort of experience for people but does so in a safe way. ... Between the arts council closing and Norman Music Festival (being postponed to August), I was kind of running on crazy, high energy at the time and needed a creative thing to put that in to. The coloring sheets seemed like an easy thing for me to do something where people are still having that kind of communal fun arts experience.”
When he debuted the color sheets on the Norman Arts Council website, the response was positive. “It was the most website traffic we've had since I started working at Norman Arts all those years ago. So, it was cool to kind of see ... knowing that people, even if it's just for a few moments, got to have some fun doing that and keep connected to our events and our festivals and our public art,” Boydston said.
“I wanted to do something that obviously was connected to the moment, but also something that still has use even as things start to reopen. ... Obviously, it's not going to be full-on back to normal any time soon.”
Making a difference
Although she knew her high-risk family members would keep her on tight lockdown against COVID-19, Renee Lawrence wanted to make a difference during the pandemic. So, the Oklahoma City artist launched a public Facebook group called “Coloring with Renee,” where she has released a wide array of free color sheets since March. “When this all started and they shut down the schools, I knew people were trying to find things to do with their kids. I thought the coloring pages would be perfect for that, because I
know coloring books can be kind of expensive, too. So, it's just to create a fun distraction for people,” Lawrence said.
Her color sheets range from intricate geometric patterns she calls doodles (an example shown at top) and inspirational slogans and designs to more traditional pictures of plants, animals and even a portrait of former OKC Thunder star Russell Westbrook.
Recent posts on her Facebook group include her depiction of legendary Oklahoman Will Rogers with some of his famous quotes. She has even taken a few requests, posting a tiger, a hippo and a leprechaun rabbit at the suggestion of group members. “I wanted to have something that even small kids could do. Most of them tend, I think, a little toward older age — older kids or adults — but I wanted
to provide something for everybody,” she said, noting that grownups coloring books have been a popular trend in recent years.
“It's kind of meditative ... whether you're creating it or coloring it.”
The coloring project has helped keep her occupied while Contemporary Art Gallery, the co-op gallery in the Paseo Arts District where she is a member, has been closed. The gallery is reopening Saturday, but Lawrence said she hopes to continue to create color pages.
“I'm already thinking that maybe I should look at compiling them into coloring books, based on the different themes perhaps,” she said.
“It just keeps you in touch with that little bit of creativity, too, and keeps you going every day. So, it's been fantastic.”