Creativity for kids: just add imagination

USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), Sept, 2004

If ever a line of products was aptly named, it's the Creativity for Kids line from Faber-Castell USA, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. For years, consumers and their children have enjoyed the plethora of innovative and imaginative arts and crafts ideas that just keep on coming from the company's research and development department. Happily, it's more of the same this year with Creativity's promotion of "New Products Galore for 2004." The list is wonderfully long, so we'll just concentrate on a small handful of back-to-school selections.

Create a Coot Corkboard ($14.99) allows students to paint and personalize the frame and cork surface of a ready-to-hang corkboard. Plus, they can produce a stunning set of eye-popping "Opti Art" tacks using the reverse glass painting technique. The kit comes with a 11 1/2" x 9 1/2" wood-framed corkboard, seven colors of acrylic paint and varnish, fine point art brush, six Opti Art flat glass stones and tack& and bond glue.

The Wake Up! Alarm Clock ($17.99), meanwhile, contains the same instructions as the entire Creativity for Kids line: "Just Add Imagination ... there are no rules to follow, no right or wrong way to do things...." Children simply should "create, pretend, have fun, and learn." The clock itself is a retro-style model with a white metal surface and a pair of old-fashioned ringers on top. Six different acrylic paints and a fine point brush are included.

Finally, your child can be the star of art class with Totally Awesome Art ($14.99), a multi-media kit with 10 different techniques. Enclosed are black velvet, metallic, colored, and white paper; glitter glue; magnet tape; six markers; cardboard frame; and eight silky pastel colors (plus silver and gold).

Now, for those serious about their colored pencils, Faber-Castell's new Art Grip and Art Grip Aquarelle are available in tins of 12 ($16.95), 24 ($33.95), and 36 ($50.95). This studio line is designed for students and hobbyists. They feature a soft-dot grip zone and ergonomic triangular shape that makes them a pleasure to use. The leads are SV-bonded to prevent breakage and the varnish is water-based and eco-friendly.

Art Grip--with a stunning dark gray varnish with lighter gray for the grip zone--is available in 36 colors that contain high-quality pigments that yield bright, saturated hues. The leads are 3.3mm thick, waterproof, and do not smudge--resulting in permanent color. The laydown is rich and smooth, and the colors can be layered to achieve different effects.

Aquarelle pencils have a striking deep blue varnish with bright blue dots for the grip zone--and are the newest way to do watercolor art. The 36 colors are fully water-soluble and fade resistant.

Okay, kids--have at it!

Faber-Castell products are sold wherever art supplies are found. For the nearest location, visit www.faber-castellusa.com.