Muse for Monday

CrayonsCreativity is part of our curious nature. What does the picture bring to mind?

Mantra had crayons on the brain. Yes, those little wax wonders which unlock the our imaginations in 8, 16, 24, 48, 64, 96 or 120 colors. Whether we had a coloring book of our favorite cartoon or a book filled with landscapes and animals, hours could be sucked into pushing the crayon with just enough pressure to create something other than what the label professed.

crayon mantra

Maybe you were the one with the inner chemist who wanted to color layers of different colors to create new ones. Or were you the Bunsen burner type who melted them together to make new colors? (Sheepishly grins.)

What was there about the diversity in the box we found lacking no matter how many crayons there were?

There were others who only wanted the box with eight. Maybe, they were not ready to trust the dreams which form just outside the lines.

Our little pixie comes counterpoint in this conversational poem to the dreams the box unlocks, and she represents those whose wings may not be mature enough to float out over the sea of differences.

Simply named Crayons, let’s explore how color can influence mood… and change optimism and pessimism.

Crayons

Do you think it would be fun
To live in a box of crayons?
Nestled between the smooth wax shafts
Of hand-eye coordination
Awaiting imagination.

Between green and aquamarine,
The ebb and flow of the ocean
Would be the nightly lullaby…
Until orcas came on the scene.
No, ocean colors are not keen.

Between yellow and violet,
Like colorful pansies
And cheerleader pompons, “Rah, Team!”
Yellow is cowardly regret.
Purple syrup, who could forget?

Between the bright red and cool blue,
Flags and fireworks, cars and shoes,
Bonfires, moonlight and swimming pools.
Fiery tempers spit and spew.
Mournful melodies are the blues.

Harrumph. Who wants to live in a box?

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What color in the crayon box would you be and why? Are you one who outlined the picture before coloring in the center? Do you still play with crayons? Do you have color on the wall or just in the frame?

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41 Comments

  1. It’s been decades since I used a crayon, let alone a colouring pencil set! 🙁

    My favourite colour has to be Gold – just to be awkward! LoL!!! 🙂

    Love and hugs!

    Prenin.
    prenin recently posted..Monday – Quiet day.My Profile

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  2. I love colors. When someone asks me what my favorite color is I will answer “For What?” My favorite color for grass is green but I prefer that my meat not be green.
    When I was a printer we had a book for mixing ink and I was amazed at the difference a gram of black or a touch of some other color would make.
    I think it was called the Pantone mixing system. Everyone else hated it so I usually had to mix the inks.
    When I was a kid only the rich kids had a box of colors with more than 16.
    Bo Lumpkin recently posted..Mildred’s Happy Thoughts 2My Profile

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    • I could spend hours just with the Pantone book. I loved when they came out with the color palette in on the ring with six colors on each “sheet” and the recipes on the back. I used to mix paint and know exactly how different colors can be with just a dram of thalo blue or green or black.

      Reply
  3. When I was small and had my big box of 64 that I had to share with my siblings, I used to think I wanted to grow up and color for a living. Mayhap I did!!
    I too love the scent of those semi-soft and oily waxy stix. And favorite color – I never could figure how someone could select one favorite from so many beautiful colors… but I do remember being totally in love with burnt sienna…
    thanks for the memories, Red and Mantra!

    🙂
    BuddhaKat recently posted..Full Flavor Fractals Favor Fortune…My Profile

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    • I did not ever pick just one. I may have one today, but it would never stick. Glad you liked this one 😉

      Reply
  4. Nothing brought me more pleasure as a child than a huge box of crayons and a fun coloring book. Spent hours coloring. Which is good, because I could never draw a thing. 🙂
    Carrie Rubin recently posted..15 Steps For Dealing With A Bad Book ReviewMy Profile

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    • My drawing skills are not the best in the west either. We still spend a lot of time coloring. It is just as relaxing as it was then.

      Reply
  5. Ah, memories.

    Crimson between my little kid fingers, and bright blue. I never traced the outline, just launched into colouring in. And a picture was COMPLETELY RUINED if the crayon accidentally streaked outside the lines.
    Noeleen recently posted..C’mon WordPress: show us the LUUUUUURV and ‘How One Philosophises with a Hammer’My Profile

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    • I think there is an even mix between those who thought it was ruined and those who did not care 😉 Great to see you this morning!

      Reply
  6. I wasn’t allowed to play with the bunsen burner
    Bearman Cartoons recently posted..The End?My Profile

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  7. Here’s the thing, Red. It seemed I never had the right color of crayon. I never had one of those 152 packs, but only 24 at the most. Even coloring over a color wouldn’t make the hue that I imagined. So crayons kind of frustrated me.
    I loved the wax-paper/iron/crayon art, but it wasn’t until I was an adult that I got to melt crayons. How extravagant. I put multiple colors in muffin tins and cooked them just until they ran together. When hardened, I popped them out and colored with the disc. One stroke leaves a trail of colors. It wasn’t as satisfying as I thought it would be…but I wouldn’t know unless I tried. Now my big indulgence would be to break off sticks of lipstick and melt and blend them. OOOOOhhh…wicked.
    Barb recently posted..The Gift for Someone Who Doesn’t Need AnythingMy Profile

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    • I admit to mixing lipstick in a palette. As to the crayons, I usually grate them with a fine wheel cheese grater and add the flakes until it is just the right color. If you pour them into large straws (If you aim is bad, halve the straw for a longer target.) to create crayons the colors the mainstream may not find marketable 😉 Naming them is fun! xxx Very glad to see you today. <3

      Reply
  8. I am one of those strange colors in the big boxes you could never pronounce as a kid! You know, one of those ones your parents told you didn’t happen in nature?

    I never liked coloring much. My grandparents always bought me stupid girl coloring books. I would anger color them.

    Pretty, the poem makes one consider our steps between childhood and adult.

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    • I loved the ones which challenged my enunciation. I was never content until I could find a picture showcasing said color. Perhaps, even then, I was at war with the Missourians. xxx

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  9. arrgh now I only used Crayons yesterday with my 2 yr old Granddaughter Red, and what a delightful day I had, in her imaginary world of colour and make-believe..

    For me if I had to choose a colour it would be Orange.. that tangy colour of Sunshine, the shade of my Marigolds in my garden that re-seed each year.. The colour that says Hey world wake up, that is full of energy the Sun is out today .. The colour of Vitamin C squeezed into a glass, The colour of the yolk of a Free Range Egg 🙂 ..

    Loved your Poem Red, and each colour we hold produces the Kaleidoscope that makes up Life..
    Wishing you a wonderful Wednesday! 🙂
    Hugs ~Sue

    Reply
    • So very true. Our colors blend into one another where we share. <3 So very glad to see you today! xxx

      Reply
  10. I love crayons.. big surprise right? I loved getting a new box every school year and then suffered some discomfort between the first one breaking or peeling and the last but when the all or most were in pieces with no paper.. that was fun too. I wanted to get my kids a crayon melter thingy. Yea my kids. I think I would hang out in the darker purples.. up to the blues.. maybe into the aquamarines.. my favotite part of the color wheel that section ..occasinally I am known to go farther than
    Love this one very much 🙂
    ♥ Lizzie
    Lizzie Cracked recently posted..Morning Mental MomentMy Profile

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