West Lafayette Library to feature coloring art in January
Janice Hyson will have her work shown at the West Lafayette Library during the month of January. These are just a few examples of her artwork that hang in her room at Lafayette Point.
WEST LAFAYETTE – Janice Hyson has had a lot of hardships during her life, but she doesn’t let that get her down. The Lafayette Pointe resident spends a lot of her time doing something that she has done since she was a child. She colors, and some of her vibrant artwork will be shown at the West Lafayette Library during the month of January.
“I used to color with my children,” said Hyson. “We would lay on our tummies in the front room ad they had their coloring books and crayons and I had my coloring book and crayons.”
Christy Mosier thought that Hyson’s colorful pictures would make a beautiful display at the West Lafayette Library. They chose 25 of Hyson’s colorings to display at the library during the month of January.
“The first time she came here, she went on about my pictures,” said Hyson. “I’m just doing these things for pleasure. I never thought about being an artist. It’s just something that I’ve been doing all my life.”
Hyson also does other artistic work. For years, she enjoyed painting by number activities, although she can no longer do them.
“I loved doing those, and I cross-stitched for years,” said Hyson.
Hyson has a cross-stitch picture she created of cats hanging on the wall of her room that she made for her mother years ago.
“As the years went by, I did so many different kinds of needlework, and now in the mornings, I do afghans,” said Hyson.
She is famous for decorating the furniture in the nursing home with her many afghans.
Five years ago, Hyson was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease and said that coloring is therapeutic to her.
“It keeps my brain busy, which is adamant with this disease,” she said.
Hyson likes to color with colored pencils and enjoys coloring animals, especially birds and owls.
“You can do more with colored pencils than you can do with crayons or markers,” said Hyson.
She also colors mandalas. Mandalas can be very elaborate, but basically, they are a series of circles within a square and arranged into sections around a central point.
“They are beautifully done,” said Hyson. “I don’t know the pattern or how it’s going to look until I start. I’m working on making a statement with them. The one that surprised me the most was a drawing of what looked like was going to be abstract, but when I got one part done, it was a 3-D box. When I got one done, I knew what I was going to do to the other boxes to make them stand out.”
Hyson said when she gets tired of working on one type of art medium, she will put it to the side and start another.
“Sometimes I get stumped on them, so what I do is put them in the drawer and work on another one,” said Hyson.
Hyson said she enjoys coloring because it gives her something do to and keeps her busy during the day.
The West Lafayette Library is open Monday through Wednesday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. The public is invited to come view Hyson’s artwork during normal business hours.
Category: People & Places
