Artist’s love of felines catapults her into adult coloring market.

The question was whether the brightest designs were in her newly purchased book, or in her mind.

Sixty-four-year-old Judith Black Horn had attended her friend Carole Stevens Bibisi's adult coloring book party at the Elixir Tea House in Sarasota and it was fair to say the activity was not on her radar.

"Oh my gosh, no," Black Horn said when asked if she ever expected to be playing with a coloring book again. "It reverts me back to my childhood. Those were happy times."

If Black Horn's memories were more vivid than her artwork, she was giving it her best shot. She was, indeed, entrenched in Stevens Bibisi's new book, "Lucky Black Cats."

The book is nothing like the coloring books that accompany crayons and are presented to kids at the local chain restaurant. Every masterfully-crafted drawing is defined with tiny lines that produce hundreds of areas on which adults can put their personal stamp. Stow away those broad strokes, though. 

To deal with Stevens Bibisi's designs takes concentration. Thus comes the adult infatuation. 

"I just put my own spin on it," Black Horn said of the creations that Stevens Bibisi, an East County resident, calls "cattitude." "It's whatever comes to mind."

Black Horn has an artistic eye as she is a photographer, but she admits having a lot to learn when she picks up coloring pencils.

"I have to learn more about blending," she said.

She was one of about eight people who were trying to improve their coloring skills at the party. So why are they being swept up in an adult coloring book craze?

"It's all about relaxation and stress relief," Black Horn said. "And sometimes we get bored as adults."

Stevens Bibisi, a native New Zealander who also lived in Australia, was ready to produce adult coloring books long before the craze began. A walk around her home revealed amazing pieces of art hanging from many of her walls, much of it done with colored pencils.

To think Stevens Bibisi, a "60-something" ball of far, is one dimensional would be folly. She has more nooks and crannies in her personal artistic makeup than her designs. She grew up in a family where "music took over our lives." But she never limited herself to the piano or singing as she grew into an adult.

A natural artist, she mixed her singing skills with other endeavors, such as designing retail shop windows. She managed a chain of fashion stores and eventually got a job designing windows for Farrys Fashions retail outlet. Eventually, she made a living as a professional singer.

"I create art and music in rainbow colors," she said, laughing as she moved toward another piece of art in her home.

After moving to America in 2002, her attention turned to writing. She wrote three children's books, the last being "The Rainbow's Dream and Sing" in 2015. The same year she decided to jump into the coloring book market.

She decided to stay with her theme of cats while donating a percentage of her sales to cat shelter adoption. She has a special place in her heart for black cats.

"The image of a black cat should be fun, magical and whimsical," she said. "That's how it was in New Zealand. An old wives' tale stated that the fishermen's wives kept black cats because having them around meant their husbands would come home.

That feeling was different when she came to America, where it is considered unlucky to have a black cat cross your path.

Her artwork was a way of raising money to benefit cats and to spread the word that they are beautiful creatures.

But how to make their feelings come across in a book?

"I cheated," Stevens Bibisi said. "Cats don't have eyebrows, so how do you see their facial expressions? I put eyebrows on them."

Now adults are coloring her "pop art with cattitude."

"It's kind of amazing," said Dan Christian, the manager at A. Parker's Books in Sarasota. "I am glad to see it, though."

Like the Elixir Tea House, A. Parker's Books gives support to local artists. Stevens Bibisi displays her books and artwork at times in front of A. Parker's Books.

Janice Lauterbach, 57, attended the party at Elixir Tea House. "I've always loved coloring," she said. "It's just a form of artistic expression. It goes across all ages. I took my 3-year-old grandson (Allen Lauterbach) with me."

And whether it is a 3-year-old or an adult, nobody has to be perfect when it comes to coloring.

"I'm not someone you would consider to be a person who colors inside the lines," she said. "I like to use different kinds of pencils, pastels and charcoals. My work will look like my work.

"There is a lot of diversity in this."

It's more than diversity to Stevens Bibisi.

"My art has a sense of the metaphysical, the spiritual," she said. "I'm doing what I'm really good at."

So will the adult coloring craze continue? She believes it will

"When you are working with color, you can't help but feel joyful," she said.