This is a place to share drawings created by students on classic classroom Etch A Sketches.

The Etch A Sketch, originally called L’Ecran Magique (The Magic Screen) was created in France by an electrical technician André Cassagnes. It did not do well at the International Toy Fair in Germany in 1959, but The Ohio Art Company bought the license to create it, made revisions, renamed it

Etch A Sketch, and released it in time for Christmas in 1960.

Static charges hold a mixture of aluminum powder and tiny plastic beads to the inside of a clear plastic screen. Two knobs control horizontal and vertical rods, that etches a line across the screen’s reverse side. It takes practice to master creating curves with the straight rods. Turning the screen over and giving it a shake erases the picture.

Art can be created using so many different types of media, and some artists have chosen the Etch A Sketch as their preferred art medium.