Sketch-a-Palooza Breaks World Record for "Largest Mass of People Drawing On Etch A Sketch ® at Once

Online, July 6, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The magic number was 250 and Lyons, Colorado locals beat it by a long shot. Exactly 372 attendees participated in the Sketch-a-Palooza event on June 25th to re-set the otherwise unchallenged Guinness Book of World Records for most people drawing on an Etch A Sketch at once.

Despite a tragic incident last year that abruptly ended his unique artistic career, sketch phenomenon Jeff Gagliardi, whose 35 years of work have appeared in People Magazine, Omni, USA Today, and Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not, organized the charity event from the sidelines. Five resulting surgeries from the incident have limited the artist's dexterity but his love for the classic American art form materialized with the recording breaking crowd.

To earn the world record, participants drew the same subject, at the same time, on identical full-sized Etch A Sketch toys. Since 1960, these iconic American toys have been a staple of youthful creativity throughout the world.

"Etch A Sketch Art is a quintessential American art form where the medium is truly the message. Everyone's familiar with it and I love creating works that you wouldn't expect to see on an Etch A Sketch", says Gagliardi who has recreated famous works like Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night" and Leonardo Da Vinci's "Mona Lisa." His works generally takes anywhere from 5 to 25 hours.

Fellow Etch A Sketch enthusiast Clark Hodge described the motivation behind the world record attempt: "We're following in the steps of those greats that have been to the moon, and summated Mount Everest. This is just something we needed to do."

Proceeds from the event were distributed among Lyons schools and excess Etch A Sketch toys were donated to elementary schools, children's hospitals, and other charitable organizations throughout the region.

"We congratulate Jeff and Lyons on this amazing accomplishment and thank him for his continued support of Etch A Sketch," says Martin Killgallon, Senior Vice President at the Ohio Art Company. "We are proud that Etch A Sketch has found a place in the hearts of many generations of consumers, both young and old and look forward to continuing to support endeavors such as this one organized by Jeff and his team," he adds.

To see samples of Gagliardi's work visit www.JeffSketch.com or for video footage of Sketch-a-Palooza go to http://www.gcreativedesign.com/clients/files/sketchapalooza.zip (zipped version).

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About Ohio Art

Creators of the famous Etch A Sketch® drawing toy, The Ohio Art Company remains one of the world's most widely recognized toy companies since its establishment in 1908. The Ohio Art Company is committed to developing toys that encourage creativity and learning while providing hours of enjoyment, encouraging self-expression and promoting positive development. The company also proudly markets specialty toys including K's Kids®, a line of toys specially developed for babies and toddlers. Visit the Ohio Art website at www.ohioart.com.