Delaware Coloring Book is a Success!

A Portrait of Delaware, A Coloring Book Meet and Greet has been an official success! Over 100 artists participated in the Delaware Fun-A-Day exhibit, and I am delighted that my coloring book was part of the show. The book was so popular, I have decided to make it available for purchase online! You can buy it at Gallerymaia, or you can find them at The Delaware Contemporary gift shop or The Oddporium.

For the opening event, I set up a table for people to peruse through my book, and also a little "coloring nook" for visitors to color in their own page and hang it up for display. Adults and kids alike were engrossed in the activity, and I was especially pleased that so many of my 'models' for the book came to the exhibit! Below are more of the pages and photos from the actual event. 

One of my favorite aspects of this project was the element of interaction for both the people IN the book, and the people who colored in the book! I loved talking to strangers in some of my favorite stores and getting to learn about them! It was definitely a little nerveracking to go up to random people and convince them that I was a legit artist and that I wanted to draw their portraits. I think most people like the attention - who doesn't like to know that they have been noticed? We all feel good when someone says, "You are interesting and important!"  I like to think that this project brought a little bit of joy to my participants :)

Admittedly, probably 50% of the people in the book I know through salsa dancing - who knew there was such a strong dance community in northern Delaware?! I also included several family members, and even one of my amazing freshman art students! Now that I'm done, I feel like this could be just the beginning. There are so many interesting people in Delaware - everyone has a story! Will YOU be in it?!?! Feel free to contact me if you'd like to be included! I'm thinking I might add some location drawings and maybe some fun trivia games (coloring book style of course) for the next one.

And lastly, a GIANT thanks to everyone who participated! I couldn't have done it without you! And also a shout-out to all the dedicated volunteers with Delaware Fun-A-Day who organized the event, and The Delaware Contemporary for hosting it! I can't wait for next year :)