By Renee Larr
There is a new trend in relaxation for adults. Coloring. No, it’s not just for kids anymore. Fishers resident Kimberly Garvey has designed and published four of her own adult coloring books. Garvey has always been an artist, and was urged by a friend’s daughter to create the books.
“I was just doing a lot of doodles in my sketch books. I had a couple of years’ worth of black and white drawings. I was at a party, and a friend’s daughter came up to me. She said she saw my drawings on Facebook. She said she knew someone who has an adult coloring book, and it reminded her of my artwork. She said she thought I should get my pictures together, and publish an adult coloring book. So, that gave me the idea,” said Garvey.
While she already had the artwork, Garvey wasn’t sure how to go about publishing the books. She did her homework, and found a way to publish the books herself.
“I thought it was a great idea but I didn’t have a clue how I was going to go about doing it. So, I started doing research on publishers. I found out I could do self-publishing through Amazon through their service called CreateSpace. Through CreateSpace, you can publish a book, and they take a cut of every book sold. There is no upfront cost on it. I decided to go that route instead of trying to contact a publisher,” said Garvey.
Ever since the books were published in April they have been flying off the shelves. Garvey published four different adult coloring books for any skill level.
“I’ve done four books. One is average skill level – some really easy pages and some more difficult. I did one called Simple Designs. They’re really easy pages to color. There are a lot of older people with eye problems or people with Parkinson’s Disease who have been interested in the simple design book. I’ve created different kinds of books for different people. I’m always trying to think of something new to do with the books. I’ve made a small traveling coloring book,” said Garvey.
She feels adults are drawn to color for relaxation or as a creative outlet.
“I think it has just recently boomed into a big deal. I notice it’s a real stress reliever for adults. It really helps calm people down. It’s a way to escape and relax. I think it’s a good relaxation tool. It’s also a really good creative outlet for people who aren’t artists. So, someone who has never been able to draw or paint, now has pictures in front of them they can color any way they want. When they get done with it they have something nice that they actually did. So, it kind of makes an artist out of someone who isn’t really an artist,” she said.
Garvey feels the trend isn’t going to be here today and gone tomorrow.
“I wasn’t expecting that this would be so huge. I don’t think it will be a short fad. I think it’s going to be really big and growing. The coloring book groups I hang out in on Facebook have doubled in size in the last couple of months,” she said.
Garvey has plans to publish more coloring books in the near future.
“I’m working on two more books. I seem to always be working on a book. I didn’t even know I was drawing a coloring book when I drew it. Ever since then, everything I’m drawing is for a coloring book. I think I will continue to make these all long as people keep wanting them. I keep getting requests. So, it’s kind of fun,” said Garvey.
About Kim Garvey
Family: Spouse, Patrick Garvey 49. Kids, Cassidy Atkins, 15, Nathaniel Atkins 17
Pets: Roxy – She’s a rescue dog. Mixed breed.
Favorite thing about living in Fishers: I love the school district and Fishers is just a wonderful place to raise a family.
Favorite restaurant in Fishers: Thai Kitchen and The Nickel Plate (Can’t decide between them)
Dream vacation destination: England
Favorite quote: “Anything’s Possible.” (A quote from my daughter)
Favorite period in art history: Postmodern
Favorite style of art: Abstract and Doodles
