Frankencrayons and the importance of nostalgic Inconvenience

# of crayon boxes purchased so far: 3


Just one week, and I'm already up to three crayon packs. Of course, one pack was a cheapo product that crumbled when you so much as thought about a something hard or sharp. In Crayon's defense, I'm loading up on extra packs so I can always have them at the ready.


Just about the time I wondered if it were possible to buy just black and blue crayons, (they're the ones I use the most), I run into a modern product that helps me better define my project.  

Crayola® Twistables® Slick Stix™

"These super-smooth crayons are formulated to glide across the page for a fun new coloring experience. Includes 12 different rich, brilliant colors, in durable plastic barrels that kids can twist. No more crayons breaking or sharpening needed. Crayola Twistables Slick Stix come in a reusable storage pouch and each has a child-safe snap on cap to prevent drying."


Wait, these dry out?? How can a crayon dry out? This is like some genetically altered crayon that performs more like a marker. 


When I originally found this, I became very excited about how easy and convenient the Crayola people have made it for me to carry out my year-long project. Then I realized how horrible this would be, because it would be easy and convenient, which is exactly the opposite of what I want. 


I may not know exactly what I'm doing yet or why, but I now know this much: I need to be extremely inconvenienced. I need to loiter in the process and be made aware of everything I write, and to do it with a waxy crayon with its familiar texture, matted wrapper, and comforting smell that evokes nostalgic memories of a simpler, happier time.


The experience of the crayon is a big part of the project. This product seems to take the crayon-ness out of the crayon experience and, consequently, my crayon experiment.