![\"Spirograph-tools_9742\"](\"https:\/\/www.alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Spirograph-tools_9742.jpg\" "\\"Spirograph-tools_9742\\"")
\n![\"Spirograph_9740\"](\"https:\/\/www.alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Spirograph_9740.jpg\" "\\"Spirograph_9740\\"")
\n![\"Spirograph_9745\"](\"https:\/\/www.alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Spirograph_9745.jpg\" "\\"Spirograph_9745\\"")
\n![\"Spirograph_9746\"](\"https:\/\/www.alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Spirograph_9746.jpg\" "\\"Spirograph_9746\\"")
\n![\"Spirograph-box\"](\"https:\/\/www.alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Spirograph-box.jpg\" "\\"Spirograph-box\\"")
\nThis is the real deal, vintage 1967 original Spirograph by Kenner No. 401. Although the resulting art was too precise and anal looking for me – zillions of geometric combinations looking like they’re made from little spiders’ legs – I recognize the Spirograph as an icon in Pop Culture. Just like those string art paintings of owls, ships and such that I passionately collect but never felt drawn to create.<\/p>\n
Made by locking gears and rotating plastic wheels inside other plastic wheels and tracing with a pen as they move, the rules of this are too rigid for me. Hell, I can’t even paint inside the lines so something demanding precision and this much repetition definitely falls outside my scope. I was always the free form type. But I love that Spirographs make non-artists feel like artists, proud enough to hang their creations on their walls and refrigerators. I’ve always looked at art – any form of it – as something social and a crash course in self expression. So if a series of little curves, technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids, turn most people on who am I to argue?<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
1960’s Spirograph commercial:<\/p>\n 1970’s Spiromania commercial:<\/p>\n This is the real deal, vintage 1967 original Spirograph by Kenner No. 401. Although the resulting art was too precise and anal looking for me – zillions of geometric combinations looking like they’re made from little spiders’ legs – I recognize the Spirograph as an icon in Pop Culture. Just like those string art paintings … read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,207,239,53,411,87,193,201,81],"tags":[61,3232,3245,571],"class_list":["post-5809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-bad-art","category-crafts","category-creative-process","category-games","category-kitsch","category-kitsch-o-the-day","category-painting","category-products","tag-allee-willis","tag-kitsch","tag-kitsch-o-the-day","tag-spirograph"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5809\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Spirograph-commercial-1960's\"](\"https:\/\/www.alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Spirograph-commercial-1960s.jpg\" "\\"Spirograph-commercial-1960's\\"")
<\/a>\n![\"Spirograph-commercial-1970's\"](\"https:\/\/www.alleewillis.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/08\/Spirograph-commercial-1970s.jpg\" "\\"Spirograph-commercial-1970's\\"")
<\/a>\nThis is the real deal, vintage 1967 original Spirograph by Kenner No. 401. Although the resulting art was too precise and anal looking for me – zillions of geometric combinations looking like they’re made from little spiders’ legs – I recognize the Spirograph as an icon in Pop Culture. Just like those string art paintings – owls, ships and such – that I passionately collect but never felt drawn to create.<\/div>\nCreated by locking gears and rotating plastic wheels inside other plastic wheels and tracing with a pen as they move, the rules of this are too rigid for me. Hell, I can’t even paint within the lines so something demanding precision and this much repetition definitely falls outside my scope. I was always the free form. But I love that Spirographs make non-artists feel like artists, proud enough to hang their creations on their walls and refrigerators. I’ve always looked at art – any form of it – as something social and a crash course in self expression. So if a series of little curves, technically known as hypotrochoids and epitrochoids, turn most people on who am I to argue?<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"