Flintridge Bookstore stocks coloring book encouraging adults to ‘Let It Go’

La Cañada artist Sherise Seven always had a penchant for creating highly detailed black and white line drawings intended to bewilder the eye and intrigue the mind.

But it wasn’t until she began getting commissions from adult coloring book publishers, and learned a little more about a burgeoning art form, that she began to see her work in a new way.

“I started doing this and thought, this is funny. This is what I do all the time,” she recalled.

With husband Scott Gordon, a graphic designer, Seven researched adult coloring books to find out what users liked about them and what they felt was missing.

Using that feedback, they created “Let it Go! Coloring and Activities to Awaken Your Mind and Relieve Stress,” a compilation of 40 art pieces and 11 mindfulness activities designed to help people relax through drawing and coloring.

Released last month, “Let it Go!” is in local bookstores and is already receiving raves on Amazon.com. On Nov. 28, from 1 to 4 p.m., Seven and Gordon will appear at Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse, where they will lead a free coloring session as part of the store’s Small Business Saturday event.

“It is really relaxing,” Gordon said of coloring’s appeal. “That focus and concentration just takes you out of whatever you were worrying about 10 minutes ago.”

What sets the book apart from others like it is the inclusion of several affirmations and positive messages, which often relate to the adjacent art pieces, and activities that encourage readers to explore their inner world through the art of doodling.

Circle meditation, for example, challenges users to fill a page with contiguous rings. Doodling in the dark instructs readers to close their eyes or draw in darkness and then see what they might intuit from the pattern. Each activity came from Seven, inspired by drawing’s inherent sense of freedom and creativity.

“There’s something about the feeling of a pen or a pencil on paper. I just think it releases something in the brain,” she said

The rising popularity of the books seems to suggest coloring isn’t mere child’s play, but rather a kind of art therapy for world-weary adults looking to enjoy a meditative moment and embrace their inner kid.

Gail Mishkin, a marketing manager for Flintridge Bookstore & Coffeehouse, says the appetite for adult coloring books has grown since the store began carrying them about five months ago. Now, a display table with at least 20 different titles — from Tibetan-styled mandalas and garden scenes to “Game of Thrones” and “Outlander”-based books — frequently needs restocking.

“It really has become huge here,” says Mishkin, who immediately purchased copies of “Let it Go!” when it came out. “It’s an unintimidating way of channeling your creativity — you don’t have to be an artist to create something beautiful.”

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine