Post Square 12.25.13 ~ The Wrong Toy
The cover photo for the Post this Christmas is an image of a
group of people singing carols on Christmas Eve. Their faces glow with candlelight.
They wear nice clothes, jewelry. In contrast, the cover story is about a child
named Christmas, who lives in a homeless shelter.
Christmas, the 11-year-old girl, wants nothing more than a
paint set. She had one before she and her mom were evicted from their
one-bedroom apartment. She also has memories of trees with lights and bicycles
and skates ~ all stuff that had to be left behind.
On Christmas day, Christmas the child, along with the over
500 other children in the D.C. General Shelter, were allowed to choose just one
toy from the pile of donated items in the cafeteria. When she ran up to the
table and searched with excitement for the paint set she wanted, in her haste
she grabbed a cake-pops maker, which requires a refrigerator. She doesn’t have
a refrigerator.
The drawing is a detail from the caroling crowd. I used
charcoal for the outlines first, then added the color pencil. I like the effect
of the smeared charcoal in the color. I burnished it with a tissue, which gives
it a patina and emphasizes the smearing.
I can’t imagine not being able to color.
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