Gadget Lovers Unite!

Some day you might come to my estate sale. I can’t predict the end, and I hope it’s not soon, but someday you could be at my estate sale.

What will you see there? If you have been reading my Patch posts and my personal blog posts, you may be expecting abundance of old documents, ads, money, photos, postcards, etc. However, there’s more to my penchant for dusty attics and ancient basements than old papers.

I have been drawing cartoons and doodling for several years. If you have ever grabbed a pen or pencil to draw something, either in the margin of a notebook or to share in a gallery, then you might know where this story is going.

There are some sales where I have discovered either unique writing implements, expensive drawing paper, or other useful art accessories.

There’s something about the way certain tools allow you to lay down a line or curve. The art comes from within, but part of my skill comes from the medium in front of me.

When I arrive at a sale and I see it is or was the home of an artist, I look more closely to see if we share similar interests in expression. At a sale this weekend I was fortunate to find the home of an artist, a craftsman whose woodshop had clearly seen its share of many successful projects over the years. Some of these projects had begun from a simple design drafted on a simple surface.

The images above are of the Draftette 300 a 12” x 14” vinyl covered folder. Inspecting it caused the gadget lover in me to light up. Though I draw mainly free hand, there are many times when I wish I could create proper perspective so I can add more depth and dimension to my cartoons.    

Because I look for anything that catches my eye, many of my discoveries have been gadgets. Some that I could immediately identify, some that I still don’t have an answer for. This chain driven steampunk hand-held machine has no known origin. Click here to help me figure it out.

Oh, and if you want to see my cartoons, click here.