The name may remind you of a green and yellow box of Crayolas — or a rainy afternoon in childhood. But the members of the Cornwall Coloring Club don’t use crayons and they’re not children. If the turnout on July 14 is an indication, they may be the fastest growing group in the area.
Jean Roberts founded the group in June. She was lonely coloring by herself so she reached out to the community on Facebook. She figured there were a lot of “closet colorers.”
Only five women showed up for the first session on June 9. But a month later, attendance more than tripled. There were 16 people for the club’s second meeting at Two Alices in Cornwall-on-Hudson. “There was no one brave enough to do it in public,” Mrs. Roberts smiled, “until we put the club together.”
The word “we” includes Carol Castellano, who has been involved from the start. “It’s very relaxing,” she said during the July 14 session. “I have high blood pressure and it calms me.”
For a while, Mrs. Castellano would read before going to bed. But books kept her up late, because she couldn’t stop in the middle of a chapter. So she started coloring, and found that when she got tired the work was easier to put down.
Adults addicted to the pastime use colored pencils rather than crayons, and purchase coloring books with intricate patterns. The hobby has spread far beyond Cornwall. On Aug. 2, the nation will observe National Coloring Book Day
At the Cornwall club’s most recent session, the members were grouped around tables. Some sipped coffee, but most of the people were engrossed in their work. They had started at 7 p.m., and near the end of the two-hour session they were still busy. As our camera flashed, they didn’t even look up.
People interested in joining the club, or seeing the work done by members, can visit www.facebook.com/groups/cornwall.coloring.club.
“This group,” Mrs. Roberts says on the page, “is for people in the Cornwall area (adults only please) who like to color and would like to meet on a monthly basis to color, chat and relax together.”
By the way, men are welcome — although they haven’t shown up yet.
