Christmas Eve and its 11:30 in the morning and I am just about to begin my annual Christmas shopping campaign. Essentially I am in the city to pick up number three son but the plan is to do my shopping on this trip. I had come to the Bay to look for a particular product and then. . . well I just happen to wander off and passed through the toy department on my way to check out the electronics.
Bonnie Stevens is doing a demo, just at the boundary to the toy area, things are peaceful, as is often the case there are very few shoppers and many are like me taking their time and enjoying the experience. G. Rundle Enterprises is a company based in Richmond B.C. and Bonnie is out showing off the company's remarkable products and enjoying her work on this day before Christmas. The drawing on this page were all made as she explained to Matthew and I the features of these markers. Instant drying, nontoxic, colour changing truly fun to watch her make them create this images, wishing all the while I was a kid again and could play with them. Like the world's greatest drawing instrument, the crayon, which does the same thing only you have to do a lot more scratching and messing about, these
markers were
very nearly as marvelous as the young and enthusiastic young woman showing us how they worked.
Her most spectacular feat was in the middle of the picture on the right. With out warning she slammed the blue pen into the drawing right in the middle of the page with extreme force to show how durable the nylon tip was and brought laughter to both Matthew and I. $19.95 would get us this set of pens. My niece would love these but would she think we were ignoring that she was a teenager if we bought such a truly fun article for her? Such is what we have done to joy, and play for its own sake.
If you remember in the strange movie with Mel Gibson and Robert Downey Jr. called "Air America" while flying in combat and serious weather they whipped out their crayons and lost themselves in their creations. Mistake, we should have bought them for her, they looked like fun.
I am saving the best of the demonstration until the last, but in fact our delightful
demo lady
did the picture on the rightfirst. Using a similar product to the pens she was selling (also for $19.95) a set of pipes with paint in them which by blowing into what looked like a large pen you could in fact do air brush work. This was a clear "wow" product and my regret is that I had not seem these earlier and could have told you about them "before" Christmas. But alas dear friends I left my shopping until the last day.
Using templates and cut out decals instant images could be created and modified with this set and colour appeared and changed before our eyes on the paper. At my middle age I was fascinated and the joy the young woman had showing us this told me that there is so much joy to be had in blowing colour from a pipe on a page to make images then change those images. This was a little wonder in itself.
I took Bonnie's picture, gave her my card and I am sharing this experience with you, but it was truly one of those precious little moments in a busy and fun day.