Mary Engels perks up whenever she gets a chance to show off her coloring books.

On a recent visit, the 92-year-old Redmond resident took out a mandala, a round symbol used in Hinduism and Buddhism, and declared it the favorite picture she’s colored. A few minutes later she said a picture of a woman in a flowery dress is her favorite, or maybe it’s a picture of an old church.

Engels has good reason to be proud of her drawings. She recently won first place in a coloring contest in The Bulletin that was sponsored by the Downtown Bend Association’s Bend JOY Project, “an experiment and a mission to bring joy in meaningful ways to keep our community happy, strong and beautiful.”

Coloring has brought Engels joy since she took it up a couple years ago. She doesn’t move around much, so coloring allows her to go on adventures from her easy chair.

“I thought, oh my gosh, this is the most wonderful thing,” Engels recalled of taking up coloring.

Now she has “books and books and books” to color, but they’re a far cry from books people might remember coloring as children. She said they can cost more than $15, though her daughter can get them cheaper at Costco, and present intricate designs. Even the pencils Engels colors with are advanced, with hues such as “Back to the Fuchsia,” “Water you up to?” and “Atomic Orange.”

Engels works on a hard-top pillow, always staying within the lines and coloring evenly throughout the picture.

Engels, who worked as a homemaker, moved from California to Central Oregon after her husband retired in 1986 to La Pine and then moved to Redmond in 1997. She moved into Central Oregon Adult Foster Care on NW Jackpine Avenue after her husband died a couple of years ago. She still has her family nearby — Engels encouraged her three surviving children to move to the area shortly after Sept. 11, 2001.

“I live here waiting for the good Lord to call me, just like the four ladies I live with,” she said.

The coloring contest invigorated some excitement into Engel’s routine. She was encouraged to enter by Carlene Kitchin, the owner of the foster home.

“I was hoping that it would lift her spirits if she won,” Kitchin said.

Engels was initially reluctant to enter the contest but decided to listen to Kitchin.

“She told me to do it; I had no interest in doing it,” Engels said. “I didn’t think anything would come of it, but she’s always pushing people to do things.”

Engels’ daughters encouraged their co-workers to take part in the online voting. She even did some campaigning with out-of-state voters.

“I called my friends in California,” she said. “They got it up on the internet, or whatever, and all voted for me.”

And did Engels’ victory have the desired effect of lifting her up?

“Heck yeah,” Kitchin said. “It was crazy around here.”

Engels has encouraged the other residents of the foster home to take up coloring, but they are more interested in reading or sleeping, she said.

But the hobby is becoming more popular, Kitchin said.

“It’s all the rage — everybody colors,” she said. “All the seniors do it.”

Coloring might be getting a bit too popular, Engels said.

“When it came out, the books were really cheap,” she said. “When the owners of the book companies found out how popular it was, you know what happened? The prices went up.”

— Reporter: 541-548-2186, gfolsom@redmond spokesman.com