TCBs

Imagine a group of university professors huddled in serious discussion. You come closer and catch snatches of the conversation—different colors are mentioned—and then you realize they’re talking about … coloring books, not their children’s or grandchildren’s, but their own.

In 2014 loom bands were the craze, mainly for children, with a few adults dabbling. Last year it was coloring books, for both adults and children, with more of the former.

Now if you don’t like the term “adult coloring book,” which sounds almost X-rated, you can call them TCBs. The abbreviation sounds like a toxic chemical but isn’t; it stands for “therapeutic coloring books” because the books are sold with claims that they can have a calming effect on people using them.

I picked up on TCBs from an article, “Thinking Inside the Lines,” in the magazine Taiwan Panorama. These TCBs are bestsellers in Taiwan, with “Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt and Colouring Book” apparently being the most popular, having sold 10 million copies worldwide. “Secret Garden” comes from a British writer and artist, Johanna Basford, with several translations, and the top sales have been in mainland China, with some 3 million copies sold, and in Brazil, with 1 million. One edition, in traditional Chinese script, was produced just for Taiwan and between February and October 2015 had sold 500,000 copies. Remember, Taiwan’s population is only 24 million.

Zen

I did notice these TCBs in local bookstores early last year and was not surprised at the marketing blurbs comparing coloring to Zen meditation. Calligraphy—writing Chinese characters—have long been part of Zen practice together with the meditation. You can buy calligraphy books where the outlines of the Chinese characters are printed out and you “color” them with a brush pen. What you “color” are sutras or prayers, and there are some informal rules about how you go about it: sitting up straight, holding the pen properly, and going into a mental state that is similar to what you have during meditation or prayer.

It’s logical that this Zen practice would be transferred to the West for coloring books, making you relax by becoming focused.  The themes are diverse, with lots of flora and fauna, but there are also complicated ones that look like puzzles, in the tradition of the artist Escher (for examples, ascending and descending staircases).

Sometime last year at a book fair, I ran into playwright Rody Vera loaded with artists’ pens and TCBs.  I teased him: “Ha! So you’re into the comic books. Do they really relieve stress?”

Rody laughed back and said that sometimes, the coloring books stress him even more because he gets so obsessed trying to color within the lines.

I knew he was saying that half in jest, and he did get me thinking about the possibilities of a UP Diliman coloring book. Every year, before the Christmas break, the Office of the Chancellor has to distribute something to the faculty members, and I thought then and there that coloring books featuring UP Diliman would be such a different gift, especially with UP faculty stereotyped as being ever so serious.

Within a few weeks, our Diliman Information Office director, Anril Tiatco, showed me studies for the coloring book, produced by students from our College of Fine Arts. The illustrations were so UP Diliman, featuring the most iconic of images from Palma Hall (AS) to cats, from varsity players to the Oblation.

After these TCBs were distributed to faculty members, I was deluged with requests for more copies, including from alumni and even people not connected with UP. We did a second print run, this time selling the books at P299 each.

Meanwhile, I get all kinds of stories from the faculty who are using them. There are stories about the entire family doing the coloring and, in two cases, an entire office launching a contest among staff and faculty for the best coloring!

One college official handling student issues put the coloring book in the reception room, and says this helps to calm anxious students. I’ve thought about bringing copies next time there’s a student rally.

Second childhood

The article in Taiwan Panorama proposed several theories as to why the TCBs are selling so well.  Besides the destressing function, there is a “pop-media synergy effect,” where the books produced in Korea are promoted through popular Korean telenovelas.  Early in 2015, “Blood,” whose lead character is a vampire-physician (smile—we have our share) who distracts himself with coloring books whenever he becomes, well, blood-thirsty. Another telenovela, “The Producers,” had scenes showing the lead actress with coloring books.

Key, part of the Korean pop group SHINee, also posted his coloring book products on his Facebook site, explaining that the coloring helped him when he was trying to get over a grandmother’s death.

Yuan Liou, a Taiwanese publishing firm that came out with TCBs, has a Facebook page where people can post their “masterpieces” and share their experiences. I knew crayons were not suitable, being too thick, and that you should use pencils instead, but it seems markers (oil- or water-based) are fine, too. And one Taiwanese hair stylist posted one of his works on the Yuan Liou Facebook, where he used—get this—eyeliner for some of the shading.

That’s probably the key to the therapeutic qualities of these coloring books. While children’s coloring books are intended to help them develop their fine motor skills as adults gently guide them to color within the lines, adult coloring books are more flexible.  Yes, you’re urged to color within the lines, but not to worry too much if you don’t. You’re also given the freedom to choose the colors, and the medium. You can color a dog green (as the Spanish perro verde goes, someone, something different), do purple skies, or just leave spaces uncolored.

For teachers and others whose work can become routine and tedious, TCBs relieve stress by forcing you to have a second childhood in a positive way, meaning not to be afraid to be imaginative again.

Last weekend I saw TCBs being sold at 50 percent off in Fully Booked. I was happy I could get several for my kids, but also wondered if perhaps we’re seeing a fad beginning to decline.

But the next day at Rustan’s supermarket, I saw a colorful cover, “Hue Can Do It! Manila,” published by Summit Media and featuring heritage buildings.  I was reminded that an added intention with the UP Diliman coloring book was creating more pride of place, reminding the UP community of all the spaces and places we have, and the stories, the feelings, attached to each of those places.

Being a home-schooling parent, I thought the “Hue Can Do It! Manila” coloring book would be perfect for social studies, bringing my kids to see the buildings and then have them do the coloring book. Or it could work the other way around—sight unseen, what might they imagine the building to look like.  Both ways, we’d end up talking about heritage and its importance, how it’s easily lost, and how, too, we might regain it, even from something like a coloring book.

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mtan@inquirer.com.ph