“Hopeful and supportive messages become the creative sign-posts that light up our collective humanity. Although uncertain in the present, we are hopeful for the future, reaching out and sharing with others our creativity and messages when sheltering apart.”
Sharing Hope
Colouring and Connection during the Pandemic
A Spring-Summer 2020 Art Story
Inspiration.
Words and messages inspired the creation of these colouring page designs and postcards in the spring. A universal theme of hope was shared within many of the uplifting stories I heard, and through images I viewed of window art around the world.
These caring messages shared on news channels and other forms of social media often followed overwhelming and bleak updates. Whether thoughts were expressed through words, art materials, humour, songs, or dance, creative expression became this heartfelt, visual and/or sensory communication tool to reach out to others in 2020.
Rainbows.
As mentioned above, in addition to supportive messages a common symbol displayed around the world in 2020 was the rainbow. This universal image became both a visual cue and a collective metaphor of hope and concern. This global display of creativity and care through the sharing of colourful imagery and visual messages, provided a glimmer of hope, suggesting that after this storm a rainbow would appear. And, we would somehow get to the other side of this pandemic crisis to a restored sense of health, healing and safety.
Colouring Pages.
As I connected with my artist-friend Maggie Kat, and we started to sketch together in the virtual space, I decided to create colouring page templates of meaningful words and rainbows to share with others. A small gesture and fun art-with-a-purpose project to do together, and a way to remain connected with others in these strange times.
As I have witnessed firsthand how colouring pages can be a soothing, relaxing and non-threatening way to be creative, I figured that during worrisome times such as these, lessening anxiety through creative self-care activities such as colouring could be beneficial and very much needed!
From the colouring-page project with Maggie Kat came my own printed rainbow cards, and a means to connect in a more tactile non-digital way with friends and colleagues around the country.
An unforeseen ‘wrench in my master plan’ for a surprise and far-reaching card mailing was that current addresses were a challenge to find (these are the times of phased-out hardcopy phonebooks, shifts from old landlines to only cell phone usage, and the complete immersion into virtual connection via email and texting apps - and none of this had crossed my mind at the beginning of this project…).
Hopefully, these rainbow postcards with messages of hope provided a ‘happy mail moment’ for those who received them! … (and a change from the usual flyers and bills).
“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul and sings the tune without the words and never stops at all.”
Art Notes
PDF templates of these free colouring pages are available for viewing and download here.
Maggie Kat will also be sharing her colouring page templates soon.
Other Rainbow Art…
The artist Marc Johns has created some fun and whimsical rainbow and pandemic related illustrations in 2020.