I didn’t see any at Dick Blick when I was there the other day. They did have Martha Stewart glitter. I’m told it sets a new standard for glitter. Pens were in abundance, too. I snagged a couple Coptic Multiliners, which come in the most amazing colors- wine, sepia and sky blue. Blank books, ones I dreamed they would make back in the day when sketchbook choices were limited, filled display cases. I bought one of my favorites, a Beinfang hybrid called NoteSketch book, which pretty much defines how I will use it. I scanned the glue aisle, studying the offerings, hoping I might find it there. But even in this age of reverence for all things vintage, a glass jar of glue remains a memory.
Back in the 60’s, our school glue, the consistency of today's Elmer’s school glue, came in glass jars, with a brush conveniently fit in the center of the lid. Used for all our grammar art projects, we lathered it on construction paper leaves and feathers. The plastic jars, and the plastic spatula replacing the brush, came later. They contained paste. A sticky concoction that had a distinctive sweet smell. Sweet enough for a subclass of the student population to indulge in more than just a taste. The glue eaters. They probably got hooked early on with school glue’s close cousin--play dough.
Glass jars of glue. Brush in lid. Perhaps somewhere, in a cosmic corner of our new global retail structure, there’s a stash. Till then, we are stuck with glue sticks.
Notes:
Googling hopefully about for this product from the past, I did find a source for glue jars with brushes. Plastic, of course. But they are sold by the dozen, and you could make your own glue and pour it into the jar. A sweet hand drawn label on the front, a block of construction paper and some decent scissors would make a nice holiday gift for a young and old alike. I know I’d like one.