A giant frilled-neck lizard-butterfly-slug is waddling menacingly toward me in an array of colors that seem so wrong—and I can’t unsee it. That’s because I created it. Out of doodles. And the craft alarm has not shut up since.
Years ago, probably when I was a child in some kind of summer program, a teacher introduced me to doodle/squiggle art. Basically, you start with a large sheet of blank paper, draw squiggles all over, and then choose which shapes you want to color in. I thought it was great fun, so I revisited this memory, but no one ever told me to be careful about which shapes to color in because a Rorschach test of the horror movie kind is somewhere in the details.
Those eyes! They seem both dead and alive at the same time. And I can hear its feet slap-sloshing on the ground. It’s like it hates me for creating it, but all I can say is, at least I gave it pretty colors.
Also, I’m not sure if it has wings or some kind of poison neck frill appendage on the back, but I’m guessing it’s both and neither at the same time. I wouldn’t get too close to it.
I suppose I could solve the whole problem by turning the picture the other way, but I still see the original one, no matter what I do—even if I turn it around, the color bleeds onto the other side, and those weird purple/red shifty eyes just follow me.
If I had a 3D printer, I might be tempted to make it into a collectible figurine. If I were a coder, I might be tempted to animate it on a screen and bring it to life. Thank goodness I am rendered incapable of these things due to lack of resources and math skills. However, if anyone wants to know how I’ve been getting along at the Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Summer Camp, which I just invented now, I have this picture to show for it.
It was rather therapeutic to look for shapes and color them in, but I’ll need further therapy to deal with the night terrors, night sweats, and extreme feelings of doom that linger as a result of this picture. The best thing I can do for now is share it with you, so I won’t have to bear this burden alone. You’re welcome.
Your Turn: Do you have any favorite memories of summer camp and/or arts and crafts classes at school?
Fixin' Leaks and Leeks 
Growing up, there wasn’t any tradition of summer camp or anything like that in Australia. We would just ride our bikes, go swimming, play cricket in the backyard. The only arts and crafts I can remember as a child was Mum teaching me how to make a reinforced cardboard boomerang that worked.
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Love that boomerang project! I didn’t go to summer camp often. Most of the time, like you, I was playing outside. So much fun!
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At summer camp, I made a lighthouse doorstop and embroidered a dog on a little mat.
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Wow! That’s a lot in one summer!
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🙂 It was a very fun summer!
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I did some summer camps but mostly I just hung out, did a lot swimming, biking, reading and family camping. It was wonderful. When I got older summer jobs took over, of course. I didn’t realise at the time how precious those summers were. Your monster looks drunk to me. Then he fell into a trunk of old clothes and barely escaped with his life. 😉
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Yes! Summers were so much fun!
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That actually does sound therapeutic, sort of like the adult coloring book craze. Animated or 3D printed sounds good, but not quite as good as a glass blower creating it for you. That should be translucent glass on your mantle or table centerpiece.
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Ooh! Glass would be cool!
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Right?
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I remember doing these with my students! I remember very few arts and crafts projects from camp or school. I do remember the little craft activities from Vacation Bible School that accompanied the stories. Those were always a pleasant surprise:)
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These were so fun to do! 🙂
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We had six weeks summer school break in Australia with two more short breaks throughout the year. Summer camps were almost unheard of in those days, and these days too. Because the summer breaks were around Christmas time it usually meant kids played with their Chrissy gifts like bikes, roller skates – things that got us outside, playing with neighbourhood friends. Good memories… I love your puppy, butterfly, lizard ‘thingy’. The colours are fabulous – not at all scary to me. My first thought was that it was a funny puppy hand muppet…
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So glad the doodle isn’t that scary! Yes! Summer camps were unusual for me–usually I was outside playing–such wonderful memories!
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Off from school, and summer art projects are always the best!
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