A few months back, I caught my daughter coloring in a coloring book.

I suppose “caught” is a strong word for such a seemingly benign activity. But the thing you need to understand is that this daughter is in her mid-20s, has a responsible job and is in a stable relationship. And she colors in a coloring book.

An adult. Using coloring books.

Turns out, that’s a thing nowadays.

So much of a thing, in fact, that the Southwest Branch of the Weber County Library is hosting monthly adult coloring art classes this summer. Called “Adult Coloring Club,” the first event was held last Wednesday, June 15, at the Roy library. Additional sessions are planned for 7 p.m. July 20 and Aug. 17. Admission is free; no pre-registration is required.

Amanda Bryson, who works at the Southwest Branch, is also an artist. She was asked to teach the inaugural adult coloring art class at the library. To her knowledge, “Adult Coloring Club” is the first such class offered in the Weber County Library system.

First things first: Apparently, adult coloring isn’t anything like the juvenile variety. It uses much more detailed patterns to color, and usually involves colored pencils or felt-tip markers, as opposed to crayons, according to Bryson.

“They’re less cartoony,” Bryson said. “Most are in intricate patterns, like Zendoodles or Zentangles, and then you color them in.”

Bryson says plenty of stores sell adult coloring books, covering subjects on a number of decidedly adult themes — including such trendy adult topics as “Game of Thrones” and “Dr. Who.”

“On Amazon, there’s even some adult coloring books that have swear words,” she said. “I suppose that’s for if you had a bad day at work.”

Sure enough, on websites like Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, available titles include “Swear Word Coloring Book,” “Swear Word Mandala Coloring Book,” and my personal favorite, “Calm the F*** Down: An Irreverent Adult Coloring Book.”

“Obviously we don’t have any of those coloring books here for this class,” Bryson explained.

An artist who says “color is my thing,” Bryson insists that coloring is a good way to cope with the pressures of modern society.

“Adult coloring has become the new de-stresser,” she said. “You don’t even have to focus, you just pick up colored pencils or markers and start coloring.”

Bryson says crayons aren’t normally used in adult coloring.

“I prefer pencils, you can blend them better,” she said.

It’s hard to imagine what an art teacher like Bryson could possibly teach a room full of grownups about coloring — an activity most of us started at a very young age and lost interest in just a few years after that. I mean, what possible advice could she give? “Stay inside the lines”?

Hardly, Bryson says.

“There are no rules in coloring,” she said. “If it makes you happy, color outside the lines.”

Bryson can’t even imagine why a teacher would tell her students to stay inside the lines when coloring.

“If they told me to color inside the lines, I’d ignore it,” she said. “I never colored inside the lines. The idea is to enjoy yourself.”

Just before the start of the library’s very first adult coloring class, Bryson laid out the plan for the hour-long session.

“We’ll talk about the idea of adult coloring being the new de-stresser, how it’s a way to chill out after a long day at work,” she said. “And then we’ll hand out supplies and let them start coloring. Maybe we’ll play a little music, too, although something not too distracting.

“I’m going to color, too,” she added with a smile.

Afterward, Bryson declared Wednesday’s “Adult Coloring Club” a rousing success. It attracted a dozen students, all of whom said they’d be returning next month and bringing more people with them.

Color me impressed.

Contact Mark Saal at 801-625-4272, or msaal@standard.net. Follow him on Twitter at @Saalman. Like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SEMarkSaal.