To Relieve Stress Try Coloring!

I’ve been noticing a new trend lately that keeps growing by the minute.  Adult coloring books.  Seen on the shelves of my local art store, JoAnn’s Fabric store, Target, Amazon, there are dozens of titles suddenly appearing everywhere.

So what is driving this trend?  According to artist/blogger Joan Beiriger, publishers such as Dover Publications began marketing their coloring books by pointing out that coloring has therapeutic value.  Joan’s blog post led me to another blog, Quartz to read more about coloring in its post, “Color Me Happy”.  It says and I quote here:

“Many adult colorists have latched onto the idea that coloring promotes mindfulness, and can help reduce stress. They are right, judging by the latest expert thinking. Though there aren’t studies specifically on the benefits of adult coloring, play is important for both adults and children. Coloring can act as a de-stressor, art therapist Saba Harouni tells Quartz.

These coloring books can act as a reset button for adults who are moving too quickly from one responsibility to the next, or trying to do them all at once. The repetitive motion of coloring can be both cathartic and meditative, and you can focus on filling in the lines on the page. “You’re giving your brain some some space and something to focus on that’s meditative, that’s containing,” Harouni says.”

So, it’s not surprising that artists see this as another opportunity to find ways to put their art out there and have it be interactive with consumers.  Spread the joy!  My good friend Debra Valencia just released three wonderful adult coloring books on Amazon.com and is working on several more for later release.  They feature some of her signature patterns that she has successfully licensed to a multitude of surface design applications.

Artist Spotlight in Annie Troe’s Art Licensing Blog

I’m honored to appear on Annie Troe’s Art Licensing Blog, Artist Spotlight feature.  You can read it here.

Look at you Hello Kitty!!!!

I haven’t seen the Hello Kitty 40th Anniversary exhibit in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo yet and definitely plan on catching it soon.  But today I stumbled on the Flickr site of  Joseph Senior, an illustrator living in New Zealand.  Miss Hello Kitty takes on all kind of celebrity personality types.  Check out the whole collection here.    Fun Stuff!

Members of KISS

a SMURF

He calls this one Hello Gangsta Kitty

Vote for me! Please.

I’ve entered a design contest at Spoonflower.com and if you are so inclined, please vote for me at this link.  The theme this week is ‘Penguins’ and I’ve entered my pattern “Penguin’s Snow Day”.  There are quite a few entries, so I apologize that you’ll have to scroll through dozens of designs.  Be prepared for a big dose of cuteness.  You can vote for as many as you like, but I’d appreciate a vote for me and tell your friends!  My shop name is listed with the design as Popfortune which I will explain at another time why I chose that name.

 

 

 

Year In Review Part One

Some one needs to scold this negligent artist for not keeping up with her blog!  Not only that, but this artist also does not keep up with her press and online presence very well.  Bad artist!  Does this mean I will get a lump of coal for Christmas?

So to make up for it, this artist, ahem, ME, will post several bits of news from the year in review.  To begin with, I JUST today discovered that Oklahoma Embroidery Supply and Design, aka OESD featured me on their blog way back in JANUARY!  This was my very first collection, Cupid and Hearts Floral embroidery collection.  I will continue to post more news every few days until the end of the year.  Then I vow to be much better at this in 2015!

http://blog.embroideryonline.com/Home/Article/14/Artist-Bio-Teresa-Woo-Murray

Year Of The Horse

Happy Chinese New Year 2014!   Wishing you joy, peace, hope and prosperity in the auspicious Year Of The Horse.  I hope you will surmount the challenges you face and enjoy the successes you’ve worked for and earned! Every Chinese New Year, I enjoy coming up with an illustration to celebrate the particular animal that is represented in that year by the Chinese Zodiac.  While I’m not an expert on Chinese Astrology, I like to think that creating this annual illustration makes me feel that I’m a little connected to my Chinese Heritage, in spite of being a 6th generation Chinese American!  Sometimes it’s very difficult to draw certain animals I might not be so fond of and is for me a challenge to find the beauty that nature created.  For instance, last year the 2013 animal was the Snake.  My snake illustration surprised me because it came out beautifully, I thought.  Here is last years Chinese New Year greeting.  If you’d like to learn more about Chinese Astrology you can click here or do an online search where there is a plethora of information on the subject!