by Siri Carlen
Published by Weldon Owen on June 7th 2016
Style: single page illustrations
Pages: 96
Format: Card cover, Glue Binding
Goodreads
One Calm Day gives you the opportunity to spend an ordinary day doing something a little out of the ordinary. This adult coloring book is a collection of 48 beautiful designs.
These inspirational images will form an entire day, from when your alarm clock rings in the morning to sunset and your dreams.
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One Calm Day Coloring Book Review
One Calm Day illustrated by Swedish illustrator, Siri Carlen was originally released in Sweden under the title of En Dag. The English version of this coloring book was released in June 2016. I have to admit that I was enticed by the black and pink cover of this book. I had originally planned to buy the Swedish copy, but as the shipping to Australia is so high, I decided to wait for the English version.
The Swedish version has the appearance online that it is a hard back coloring book, similar to Dagdrommar and Sommernatt. The English version is card cover. On the Swedish version the pink appears to be a “hot pink” or “fuchsia” tone.
I have to say when I opened the envelope containing this book today, I was nearly blinded by the pink neon highlights of the cover. The online image does not show how bright this pink really is. The pink looks nice up against the glossy black of the cover, but I have to say I find the neon pink a bit too much 🙂 I’m reminded of traffic control or construction workers with their fluro workgear when I look at the cover. Whilst Imagimorphia has neon highlights it is far more subtle as it is used sparingly. The title has an embossed/raised feel to it which is a nice touch.
The book measures 26cm x 21.5 cm approximately (10 1/4 in x 7 1/2 in approximately) and is compact. It would make a good book to travel with as it is not too small to be fiddly but not so large to be cumbersome. The inner and back matt cover feature a bright pink gradient color. It is lighter at the bottom of the cover then turns a deeper bright pink at the top. Thankfully, it is not a bright neon pink.
Initially, I was not charmed by the book on a quick flip through. Later, when I had time to go through it page by page I started to enjoy the quirkiness of the book. On each page, there is a time of the day and a message which is quite meditative in an urban way. You experience a day over 48 illustrations where you can become enamoured by the world that you live in and color it in.
I find these messages quite therapeutic. So often we are so busy running from here and there that we never have time to stop and truly appreciate what we have. Coloring, for a lot of people is finding time to focus on the act of coloring as a form of therapy. For some, this can be a zen like experience for others, like me, it can be fun, relaxing, sometimes frustrating and sometimes rewarding 🙂
Often the truly meditative coloring books as art therapy do not appeal to me. I do not have the quiet, contemplative and reflective personality needed to get the most out of books like One Year Wiser.
I like the cuteness of “9.00 a.m. – Make Decisions” when faced with a wardrobe full of clothes and the decision of what to wear on the day. Without being overly analytical, the “make decisions” even for a small thing like choosing clothes to wear for the day can be a major event for those that are suffering illnesses including mental illness.
One Calm Day takes us through the 24 hours of a day ending before the dawn of the next day. The messages are accompanied by an illustration of an area of our life during the day that it can be applied to.
Choose Your Path – One Calm Day
One Calm Day took me on a journey writing this review, and I ended up falling for the quirky little book filled with illustrations I would not normally gravitate to.
The paper is white, smooth and of a medium weight. The main illustrations are printed on a single side of the paper. The facing page contains the time of the day and the message.
Illustrations are outlined in dull, black with a medium line weight on the whole. There are some illustrations that have a finer line but these are in the minority. I had no difficulty seeing the outline without my glasses on.
The images in One Calm Day are varied, showing the day of a girl that lives in an urban, modern environment. You will meet her at 6.30 a.m. when she is tucked in bed 🙂 You will see her day, visiting a cafe, contemplating the urban landscape and her day to day surroundings. I would not normally find these images intriguing at all. Somehow, this book grows on you, and you feel more relaxed and contemplative just looking at it. I can’t explain it 🙂
I like the simple, naive style of images as they are easy to color for colorists of all levels. The larger areas of space on many images also are appealing to those with visual, arthritic or motor issues.
The book lays down flat with just a gentle push. As most of the images run to the spine of the book you will need to press it flat in order to color the fiddly bits near the spine.
One Calm Day Coloring Book Flip Through Review
Enjoy the video flip through of the fun, quirky One Calm Day below:
Note: my audio appears to have disappeared on uploading to You Tube 🙁
Where to Buy One Calm Day Coloring Book
| Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | Book Depository |
Happy coloring x
Lea
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