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Keeping Busy In Quarantine: Davis Arts Nonprofit Selling Homemade Coloring Books To Get By

DAVIS (CBS13) - After weeks of quarantine, sometimes the daily routine gets old. A Davis nonprofit hopes people think of them to keep busy as a way for them to keep their lights on.

While many of us are stuck on a blank page in life, Couleurs Vives artist Alex sees the color. In many ways – she uses art to communicate. The reason she loves it is simple.

"To make friends," Alex said.

She's made many of them at Couleurs Vives, a small Davis-based art nonprofit.

Alex is on the autism spectrum. Many of her friends are of all abilities. At the studio, they create works of art to promote inclusion and a majority of the pieces are made by members of the community with disabilities. Alex's mom, Kim Nguyen, says being away from them is tough.

"They cannot come and do their art and meet and socialize," Nguyen said.

While all of us are in isolation, the nonprofit had to shut their doors amid the pandemic. Normally foot traffic in their store and at art markets would bring in funds to keep their art programs going. Instead, the nonprofit is now relying on money made from a different creative endeavor.

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"It really helps you focus on something very specific for a moment in time and let go of all these other stresses we have," Gerrit Mulholland said, one of the nonprofit's board members.

Couleurs Vives is selling coloring books made of drawings created by their artists, like Alex, as well as some made by local elementary kids.

"Because it's possible," Mulholland said. "We don't know how long this is going to be."

Each picture features a different depiction of Davis and some of the landmarks they're known for. The hope is to keep people busy during quarantine while supporting a cause.

"To build awareness and build inclusion," Nguyen said." So we can hopefully continue."

They're building an outline for their future, one they hope is just as vibrant as before.

Couleurs Vives said they're delivering these coloring books to the community for $10. You can contact them through their Facebook page if you'd like to purchase.

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