Since the 1980s, Crayola has collaborated with schools across the U.S. to collect, show and store childhood masterpieces drawn with crayons. This year, the company started reuniting the artworks with their now grown-up creators in its “Campaign for Creativity.”
“Chris from Stowe” was 11 when he drew a piece titled “Merrel II” at Stowe Elementary School in 1989. It depicts a jet-powered shoe-craft of sorts, with propellers and plenty of gadgets. He attached a short description that said the creation could “go at 1,000 miles per hour, [and] since it has plungers on the bottom it can walk up walls.”
Chris’ piece has been published on Crayola’s website and was even displayed on a billboard in New York City’s Times Square – but the company has yet to find the elusive artist.
The project is a way of “showcasing [and] celebrating children’s creativity,” said Vicky Lozano, Crayola’s head of marketing. So far, the campaign has reunited 20 to 30 pieces with their artists. The company, which has more than 1,000 drawings archived, wants to increase that to 50 this year.
The pieces have made their rounds through the years: exhibits, state buildings, schools and back into Crayola’s collection, where they have been “kept safe since,” Lozano said. As Crayola reconnects with childhood artists, staff have been delighted to find they’ve taken “vastly different walks of life and careers,” Lozano said.
She indicated there’s a common thread: creativity.
This article appears in Aug 28 – Sep 3, 2024.
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