Just in case you think we do nothing all day except twiddle about with bits of string, here’s my latest effort on the Etch A Sketch. In case you’re not familiar with the original, it’s a version of Edvard Munch’s expressionist classic, ‘The Scream‘. Go on, admit it: you’re lost for words, aren’t you?
The Etch A Sketch is fine for drawing straight lines, but curves and circles (especially if you want them to be at all regular in shape) present more of a challenge. After only a couple of days’ practice, I have now mastered the art of manipulating the aluminum powders hidden within the device and have produced the holy grail of Etch A Sketch users: an ampersand. I shall leave it to you to fathom exactly how I accomplished this feat. It could’ve been sheer artistic skill; or fantastic hand-eye coordination.
Or maybe it was all down to great knob control!
[Next week: the Mona Lisa.]
With only fifteen days to go before you realise you’ve left your present-buying expedition too late, some might say it’s still too early to wish people a merry Xmas. So I’ll wish all our readers a merry Etch-mas instead. I’ve opened my prezzie early this year. There didn’t seem much point wrapping it up after it arrived this morning, only to unwrap it again five minutes later. But why the hurry? Well, my excuse is that not only would the present in question not fit under the Christmas tree, but that it’s actually bigger than the tree itself. Having said that, I should point out that we’ve gone for a little diddy minimalist tree this year; next year we’re getting one small enough to go in a doll’s house — let’s just hope the festive turkey doesn’t undergo a similar reduction in scale!
Shana has been keeping schtumm about my surprise present (an Etch A Sketch, in case you haven’t notice the photo below) for the past few weeks. Now that I finally have the thing, I hope she’ll be suitably impressed with my artistic efforts. I decided a picture of a Christmas tree would be kind of appropriate to begin with. And if you’re wondering, yes, it is done in the ‘naive’ style. Easily as good as anything Kandinsky ever managed, I’d say.
