<p>We&#39;ve somehow managed to acquire quite the collection of art supplies for wimps - the &quot;mess-free&quot; chemically-laden stuff that promises all the fun of art without the mess.</p>

<p>As far as I can tell, the stuff works because it&#39;s too boring to use.&#0160; Voila! No mess!&#0160; The <a href="http://www.crayolastore.com/category.asp?NAV=COLOR">Color Wonder </a>coloring books don&#39;t let you color outside of the lines, <a href="http://www.aquadoodletoys.com/proddetail.php?prod=70678">Aquadoodle</a> lets you express yourself anyway you want as long as it&#39;s in blue and those <a href="http://www.lavrentyeva.com/portfolio.html?pageNum=0&amp;imageIdx=5&amp;cat=design">paint with water </a>books manage to be messy and yawn-inducing.</p>

<p>I can&#39;t bring myself to use this stuff with my kid even tough we have it at home.&#0160; It&#39;s boring for me and for him.&#0160; But give him plain old paper and pencil and he can entertain himself for a while.</p>

<p>Hmm.</p>

<p>I wonder if Van Gogh&#39;s mom worried about the mess when he was a kid?</p>
