creating | anntogether

A Crayon Crime

It seemed in 1973 everyone in school had 64 crayons – everyone – except me. On the day in question, desperation had clouded my judgement. It had corrupted my creative sensibility. I was ten at the time and in dire need of 64 colors. I had Crayola’s 24 pack which included colors for growing robust apple trees, fluid blue skies and abstract butterflies. It wasn’t enough. I needed more pigment. I coveted the built-in sharpener too.

One day while shopping with my mother and 2 other siblings, fate waxing at my feet, divine intervention struck. On this ominous morning, I glanced down at the beige store tiles. My disbelieving eyes engaged my sleeping brain. My little fingers snatched up the crumpled dollar on the floor. Much to my horror I discovered it was one-half of a paper dollar, and the other half was nowhere in sight. Nothing mattered. My heart was jolting in 64 magnificent colors. My brain was a prism of planning. “Art cannot be stopped,” my greying conscience defended. While Mom busied herself shopping and shepherding my two younger siblings around cans of tomatoes, I cleverly rolled the dollar into a cylinder.

There wasn’t much time. Grocery cart loading for a family of eight was nearly done. I told Mom I needed the bathroom. I flew to the school supply section, grabbed Crayola’s 64 box then sprinted to the register hoping to make an express purchase. I handed the masterfully rolled dollar to a young cashier. I didn’t know how much the crayons cost and I didn’t wait. I grabbed my fabulous box and bolted toward the exit doors.

In hindsight, I should’ve selected the silver-haired cashier. The swift employee ran after me as did my mother. My crime was foiled on the spot. I had to return the crayons. I had to write a letter of apology. And, I was grounded.

So there I was stuck in my room with just 24 crayons and two weeks to think about all the colors I didn’t have.

Dear Friends,
Designing and painting a wall mural is a formidable process. The execution is simply an expanded version of what one would do on canvas. This is not the arduous part. The difficulty comes with the passage of time. What happens when a room gets redecorated or repurposed? The mural is often a victim of circumstance. Many wall paintings are eventually covered over with contemporary hues. The delicate daughter’s carousel had its day in the sun too. I created it years ago when she loved playing with dollhouses and reading picture books. This mural was painted over with Georgian Gold when it became the guest room.

I began this Merry-Go-Round with research and the painting of this wooden sign-

Next, came the animals-

The Paint horse below was created in homage to the animated movie, Spirit. Her name is Rain. She is Spirit’s horse girlfriend-

Then of course, there’s the proud Mustang stallion, Spirit-

See how the equine pair frolic about the Wild West-

And what’s a carousel without a doting cherub –

Cupid/mural detail

One must have an animal menagerie to bounce upon too-

There can’t be a carousel kingdom without a prince of the forest and a king of the jungle –

So merrily life goes ’round and carousels spin. We ride and laugh aloud. Sometimes we even get sick. The Merry-Go-Round stops and waits for the next group of riders.