Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Festival of the Crayons enters its 12th season

Gerald Garner Jr. El Defensor Chieftain Editor

It's safe to say that Rebecca Titus Taylor has a colorful imagination.

What began as a periwinkle twinkle in her eye some 12 years ago, has blossomed into one of Socorro's most beloved, albeit quirky, annual attractions — the Festival of the Crayons.

A total of 40 larger-than-life offerings — including the "crayon" jewel, a 12-foot-plus "whooping crayon" — comprise this year's colorful cast now on display in the front yard of Titus Taylor's School of Mines Road home.

Waxing artistic

Titus Taylor's love for art — fueled by a barstool conversation with friend, Ed Pencak — would provide the impetus for the festival's creation more than a decade ago.

A versatile artist who worked with various mediums, including colored pencils, Titus Taylor was a frequent contributor to Gwen Roath's popular Steppin' Out publication's Color Me! page. There, a Mr. Squiggly — a "looping tangly fellow who playfully celebrated the holidays and seasons each year" — was developed.

Pencak's input and Titus Taylor's shared love with her "sketchy" subject for whimsical and playful celebration of the holidays proved the perfect artistic blend and a festival was born.

So Titus Taylor sketched out a rudimentary plan, which was eventually taken from the scribble pad to the drawing board and finally to her and her husband, Mark Taylor's, front yard.

'Crayoning' achievement

It was no small feat to get the Festival of the Crayons from conception to creation. Countless hours were spent trying to determine the best course of action to construct the colorful display.

Each crayon body is fashioned using a specialized cardboard tube, like those used for pouring concrete. Next, tips are fashioned out of hardware cloth and plaster or Styrofoam cones, handcrafted in Albuquerque then proportionally shaped to look like those timeless tools for creating childrens' artistic masterpieces.

Over the years, the technology for creating the crayons has remained relatively constant. The one thing that has changed is the tubes hues.

"When I started choosing colors, I decided to go with the eight original colors that came in a box of Crayolas," Titus Taylor said. "Over the years, my plan has been to complete a total of 64 crayons complete with a big colorful box and a sharpener."

This year's display boasts 40 crayons. Although more than half way to her goal, Titus Taylor said you will not find the full complement of traditional crayon colors in her collection.

"We decided to make our own colors," the artist said. "In addition to some of the traditional offerings, our box has colors like sandhill, grass, adobe and Spam."

With two-dozen colors still to finalize, festival fanatics are sure to find a surprise or two when they come back in future years.

While adding 24 more crayons to the mix remains the goal, two things forced her to deviate from the plan.

"My husband and I moved to the Jemez area and that really slowed down the process," she noted.

The other hindrance — thieves.

"We started having trouble with people coming in and stealing the crayons," Titus Taylor said. "We've had at least 6 or 7 stolen and I won't make anymore new ones until the property is secure."

Secure means fortifying an encompassing fence and installing a security system. It also means that — much like the community effort that's required to put on the festival each year — a community policing effort is required if the past or would-be crayon thieves are to be caught red-handed.

To that end, Titus Taylor asks that anyone who notices suspicious activity or outright theft to call her at 575-829-3272, e-mail her at crayons@mrsquiggly.com or call the Socorro Police Department.

A community canvas

While Titus Taylor is credited with the festival's birth and maturation, she said a community effort is required to make the festival fly.

I have a fine group of friends who help me put up the festival every year," she said. "There's no way I could do all of this without all of this help."

Burt Taylor, Pam and James Robnett, Terry and J.P. Moore and family, Ted Kase, Susan and Bob Eveleth, Greg Titus, Spaight Thompson, Jim Balfour and Pam Miller, Paul Bauer and Peggy Johnson, Jody and David Beatty, Luana Berger, Larry Brothers, Kate and Dave Burleigh and family, Auggie Carbajal, Larry Cary, Gene Cole, Gina DelloRusso, Natasha Isenhour and Jodi Clark, Jeff Long, Jane and Dave Love, Dan Lunceford, Ronna Kalish, Ed Pencak, Ray Piworunas, Gwen Roath and Kenny Brothers, Mary and Jim Ruff and family, Jan Thomas and Peter Mozley and family, Holly and Don Weinkauf and family, Karin Williams and Michael Hanauer, and her husband, Mark Taylor, are among the faithful who helped out.

ggarner@dchieftain.com

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