Magical Journeys Through Coloring

Artwork (c) Daria Song

There’s a phase/crazy/attitude/fun adventure sweeping bookshelves lately…have you noticed? Coloring books for adults are everywhere.

There are adult coloring books of all sizes, shapes, forms and varieties. There are coloring books for almost anything you can image.

Today I want to tell you about two coloring books that caught my attention earlier this year. They are THE TIME GARDEN: A Magical Journey and Coloring Book and THE TIME CHAMBER: A Magical Journey and Coloring Book. Both are by Korean artist Daria Song.

In THE TIME GARDEN, the author takes readers (and colorers) through a dream-like escapade alongside a little girl whose father brings home an antique cuckoo clock from a faraway land. That night, when everyone is asleep, she enters the cuckoo clock to see how it works, and finds herself in a series of fantasy worlds, each one more beautiful and mysterious than the last. When night is over and she steps through the door back to reality, she wonders, was it all a dream?

The author has created such fascinating scenes of clock gears, starry skies, rooftops and magical owls throughout the book. The book is filled with captivating details perfect for coloring whatever your imagination inspires.

The gorgeous spreads invite readers/colorers to lose themselves in the moment and create their own magical world.

Artwork (c) Daria Song

In the sequel, THE TIME CHAMBER, the author takes readers on a visual journey into a magical nighttime world seen through the eyes of a fairy.

Still using the cuckoo clock as a backdrop, readers/colorers are taken on a voyage by a red-haired fairy who, when the cuckoo clock chimes midnight, enters the human world. To the tiny fairy, everything seems enormous and magical, from the curtains to the chandelier to a mystical rowboat that takes her further into an inky adventure. With her she packs her favorite items, which colorers can find throughout the book’s pages: an owl-feathered pen, a star-scented spray, a time tape measure…even the key to the time chamber itself!

This mesmerizing coloring book is filled with such intricately detailed illustrations just waiting for color. Readers/colorers will be transported to a different time and place making them feel young again as they try to color within the lines (or not).

Through a glitch I wasn’t able to view the printed formats of these books so I’m unable to tell you about the quality of the paper and such. However, after viewing these images I have no doubt the books are even more amazing in print. 

Both of these adult coloring books are wonderful outlets for your imagination to run wild. The pen and ink designs will delight you while bringing out that inner child you forgot was there.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Author Daria Song

DARIA SONG is an author, artist, and curator with a master's degree in fiber arts from the Ewha Womans University Graduate School of Fine Arts. Winner of the Kyung Hyang Arts Contest, Song has exhibited at numerous galleries in Korea, Singapore, Turkey, and Hong Kong including Imazoo Gallery, Young Gallery, Sun Gallery, and Seoho Museum of Art. 

She lived and studied in San Francisco for three years before returning to Korea to create the art for the internationally best-selling adult coloring book, The Time Garden. She lives in Seoul, Korea.

Here’s some additional information on the books as they were a bit difference from my typical book reviews.

The Time Garden: A Magical Journey and Coloring Book by Daria Song, $15.99 trade paper with jacket flaps (Can $20.99) ● 80 pages ● 10x 10 inches ● fully-illustrated, ISBN 978-1-60774-960-8 ● Watson-Guptill Publications

This book can be purchased at Amazon and Barnesand Noble, as well as numerous other book locations.

The Time Chamber: A Magical Story and Coloring Book by Daria Song, $15.99 trade paper with jacket flaps (Can $20.99), 80 pages ● 10x 10 inches ● fully-illustrated, ISBN 978-1-60774-961-5 ● Watson-Guptill Publications

This book can be purchased at Amazon and Barnesand Noble, as well as numerous other book locations.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope I’ve enticed you to try one or both of these fascinating coloring books. Have you tried your hand at coloring in an adult coloring book lately? What do you think of coloring books for adults?

* Reprinted with permission from The Time Garden by Daria Song, copyright (c) 2015. Published by Watson-Guptill, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.

*Reprinted with permission from The Time Chamber by Daria Song, copyright (c) 2015. Published by Watson-Guptill, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.