Escape the stress of daily life and enter a world of smiling whales, mandala-eyed owls, and peculiar plants, all found in the playful realm of “Pandala Islands” – Hungary’s first coloring book designed for adults. This unique new creation by an imaginative Magyar artist welcomes everyone to reach a meditative state while filling a fairy-tale archipelago with life by applying various hues of creativity into the charmingly intricate drawings found on every page, portraying amusing tropical flora and fauna for experimental souls who want to embark on a journey to the fascination of childhood.
In “Pandala Islands”, meticulously designed hand-drawn art presents fanciful characters amid the ancient biosphere of a dreamy island, inhabited by the adorably imagined ancestors of koalas and pandas and an abundance of tropical wildlife, all sharing this peaceful domain in perfect harmony. We can find this fairy-tale scenery within the first Hungarian-made coloring book designed for adults, created by Budapest-based Magyar artist Orsolya Parádi. With the title of “Pandala Islands” being a playful mash-up of the Greek word “pan” and the Sanskrit word “mandala”, the book aims to highlight the presence of divinity in everything that surrounds us.
By filling the highly detailed designs with vibrant colors, our artistic inner souls inevitably notice the beauty within all living beings appearing on the pages, from a geometrically eyed owl to graceful butterflies to tropical trees to a single leaf. As we bring the images to life with hues of our choosing, the focus on these images deepens our thoughts and we imperceptibly fall in a meditative state of mind, embarking on a time-transcending journey to our high-spirited childhood, when no social obligations restricted us from the pure joy of life.
We are free to use colored pencils, crayons, markers, or any combination of them to express our creativity in this book; there are no rules or guidelines, all that matters is the instinctive creation that gushes from deep inside to form plentiful hues on paper, all bearing distinct meanings.
The author of the book, Orsolya Parádi, frequently organizes various workshops for children in Hungary and abroad, taking kids to her popular “Mesekavics” world of creatively painted stones affixed to magnets to create interactive artworks, comprising a diverse cast of fairy-tale characters in varied settings. This gave her the inspiration to create her own booklet with drawings, using the motifs and figures that she previously applied to stones. With no previous concept behind some of the designs, the quality and value lie in the uneven lines, spiced with pinches of humor and smiles to fill the author’s own tropical paradise.
“Pandala Islands” is available in Hungarian and English versions (although only the cover text is different), providing anyone from kids to teenagers to adults to the elderly with ample entertainment and relaxing times, as long as they are willing to slow down in this fast-paced world and unwind their minds.
The English version of the book is currently available at the FIAN KONCEPT stores within the Buda Castle, at the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, at Játék 3 at the Gozsdu Courtyard, and at the Bestsellers bookstore in Budapest's District V.
