Crayon 46415 225432954 2008-07-13T17:49:01Z Dave Andrew 3061718 Removed "are" before "available" in 2nd paragraph for parallel structure {{otheruses}} [[Image:Crayola 24pack 2005.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Crayola crayons, 24 pack, 2005.]] A '''crayon''' is a stick of colored [[wax]], [[charcoal]], [[chalk]], or other materials used for writing and [[drawing]]. A crayon made of '''oiled chalk''' is called an [[oil pastel]]; when made of [[pigment]] with a dry binder, it is simply a [[pastel]]. A [[grease pencil]] or '''china marker''' (UK '''chinagraph pencil''') is made of colored hardened [[petroleum|grease]] and is useful for marking on hard, [[glossy]] surfaces such as [[porcelain]] or [[glass]]. [[Image:Crayones cera.jpg|thumb|left|Wax crayons]] Wax crayons are commonly used for drawing and coloring by children. Crayons are a staple at most schools worldwide. They are easy to work with, not messy (as are paint and markers), blunt (removing the risk of sharp points present when using a pencil or pen), non-toxic, and available in a wide variety of colors. ==History== Europe was the birthplace of the “modern” crayon, a man-made cylinder that resembled contemporary sticks. The first such crayons are purported to have consisted of a mixture of charcoal and oil. Through time, powdered pigments of various hues replaced the charcoal. It was subsequently discovered that substituting wax for the oil in the mixture made the resulting sticks sturdier and easier to handle and to use. [[Image:girlwithcrayons.jpg|thumb|right|A girl draws with crayons in a toy store.]] The world's largest manufacturer and inventor of wax crayons is [[Crayola LLC]] (formerly Binney & Smith Inc.), the manufacturer of [[Crayola]] crayons, which are made of [[paraffin wax]], a petroleum product. [[Soybean]] oil can also be used to make crayons, although this is not as common. The brand's first box of eight Crayola crayons made its debut in 1903, and was the first non-toxic crayon, aimed at children. The crayons were sold for a nickel and the colors were: black, brown, blue, red, purple, orange, yellow, and green. The word Crayola was created by Alice Stead Binney, wife of Edwin Binney, who took the French words for chalk, ''craie'', and oily, ''oléagineux'', and combined them.<ref name="crayola">[http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/crayons.htm The History of Crayola Crayons]</ref> ==Art== Some fine arts companies such as Swiss [[Caran d'Ache (company)|Caran d'Ache]] manufacture water-soluble crayons. With or without water, once applied to media the crayons' colors are easily mixed. [[Jean-François Millet]] is an example of one artist who used conté crayon in his work.<ref>[http://www.artrenewal.org/asp/database/image.asp?id=4594 ARC :: Jean-François Millet :: Le Nourrisson or L'enfant Malade<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.vggallery.com/influences/millet/m_0668.htm Jean-François Millet<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> ==References== {{Refimprove|date=September 2007}} {{reflist}} == External links == {{commons|Category:Crayons}} * [http://pbskids.org/rogers/R_house/picpic.htm PBS Kids movie about how crayons are made] * [http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0872797.html Timeline of Crayola crayon colors] * [http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blcrayon.htm Inventors of crayons] [[Category:Art materials]] [[da:Pastelkridt]] [[de:Wachsmalstift]] [[es:Crayón]] [[he:עיפרון צבעוני]] [[lt:Kreidelės]] [[nl:Waskrijt]] [[ja:クレヨン]] [[ko:크레용]] [[pl:Kredka]] [[simple:Crayon]] [[sv:Kritor]] [[zh:蠟筆]]