Writing Corner

Far Eastern calligraphy is an art within art, a way of life, and a path to immortality. Just like love fills the heart, calligraphy fills our souls, nourishing a new sense of life born out of selflessness, absence of pride in the fertile soil of a pure mind. It can intrigue you by stimulating the deepest layers of sensitivity accessible to a human being. Life experience adds a lot of flavor to one’s work. In this capacity, it cannot be learned, and it ought to be experienced, it cannot be rushed, but it must be earned.

The importance of choosing the ink, whether using a calligraphy brush, calligraphy pen or an everyday fine instrument, is also held in high regard as a critical element in Far Eastern calligraphy and writing. Two of the most popular ink bottle brands that are mainstays in today’s eastern and western cultures are Sailor and Pilot Namiki Iroshizuku, both originating from Japan.
You too can embrace the Eastern way of mindful thoughtfulness is by choosing these captivating inks.

http://www.penboutique.com/search?q=+Pilot+Namiki+Iroshizuku%2C

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Spring with MontBlanc’s Pink Ink

Celebrate spring with Mont Blanc’s Pink Ink. It is the perfect ink to spruce up any diary or journal and get your doodling juices flowing.

The bright pink box that the ink comes in is a departure from Mont Blanc’s typically understated packaging, but that is part of the fun with this ink.

Mont Blanc Pink is probably not going to be an everyday carry for most folks, but if you like pink you will like this shade. It is a fun ink to doodle with as it shades well and dries fairly quickly. I inked up my Hot Pink Safari so I could test different nib sizes. The larger the nib, the darker the ink appears.

I also compared it to another popular pink ink, Iroshizuku  Kosumosu (Pink). The Mont Blanc Pink is a tad brighter and a slightly deeper shade of pink than the Kosumosu.

Pen used for the Mont Blanc Pink Ink is a Pilot Prera Pink, with a Calligraphy (CM) nib. Pen used for Iroshizuku Kusomosu is a Pilot demonstrator with a Calligraphy (CM) nib.

-Linda, Pen Boutique Ltd, Columbia Store.

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Monks Contributions to Calligraphy

Medieval monasteries were the refuges for book copying during the Middle Ages. The burning of the library at Alexandria in the 5th century had been a terrible blow to humanity. Countless scrolls containing scientific, philosophical, artistic and mathematical knowledge were destroyed out of ignorance. Surviving documents were rare, and were often brought to monasteries to be copied for future generations.

The Bible was certainly the most copied book of the Middle Ages. Not only was the Church interested in using these Bibles to spread its gospel throughout the land, these volumes were to be a veneration of beauty. Monks would often work in large rooms called a scriptorium, and only those working on texts would be allowed in this room.

Monks became specialists. The antiquaries were masters of calligraphy. Rubricatores illuminated the large initials at the beginning of a page while miniatores illustrated the margins. Monks called illuminators painted intricate designs and biblical scenes on pages, to supplement the text. One of the most famous of these, the Book of Kells, was written around 800 a.d. and can still be seen in the library at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.

Some monks made tremendous strides in changing the acceptance of non-biblical writing. Thomas Aquinas rattled the foundations of the Church when, instead of denouncing early Greek thinkers, he read ancient texts to reconcile their philosophies with Christianity. The illuminations also went against the convention of "never paint a picture of Christ." These illustrated scenes became masterpieces, and aided in the peasants' understanding of biblical stories.

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Cursive Corner

Penmanship is the technique of writing with the hand using a writing instrument. The various generic and formal historical styles of writing are called "hands" whilst an individual's style of penmanship is referred to as "handwriting".

The biggest controversy to take place in the world of penmanship is happening right now: The Common Core education standards dictate that cursive will no longer be taught in elementary schools. And things are getting pretty heated. Seven states—California, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Utah—are now fighting to keep cursive in the curriculum.

I remember being so excited for third grade when I would FINALLY be able to learn fancy handwriting like all the “big kids.” Cursive was presented as something special and advanced and we all wanted to know how to do it. As our teacher handed out our new writing instruments I was thrilled to have my very own ballpoint pen. Being a student of Catholic schools in the 1960s I was subject to hours of the Palmer method of writing practicing my ovals and squiggles. I, for one, hope this time honored tradition continues as it gives me an excuse to use my finest pens!

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Calligraphy Definition

1.) Fancy penmanship, especially highly decorative handwriting, as with a great many flourishes.

2.) Handwriting; penmanship.

3.) The art of writing beautifully

4.) A script, usually cursive, although sometimes angular, produced chiefly by brush, especially Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic writing of high aesthetic value.

5.) Fine Arts. A line or a group of lines either derived from or resembling letter forms and characterized by qualities usually associated with cursive writing especially produced with a brush or pen.

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Back to school…Labor Day ,End of Summer..

Despite it having no inherent celebratory traditions that I am aware of, Labor Day manages to be one of the most widely recognized holidays in North America. Not because anyone actually spends time to appreciate the working class (which I think is the actual point), but because it is the official “end” of summer. There are no more family reunions, bonfires, impromptu visits to the beach, amusement parks, pool parties, road trips and all the other things that make summers the highlight of the year. Like the dull feeling of dread you get before you go to bed on a Sunday night, Labor Day heralds forth a new season that crams together and intensifies feelings of stress and worry into one shopping-packed month that will make you never want to set foot into a WalMart or Target ever again.
Buying supplies for young ones is easy. Other than new clothes and a backpack to replace the ruined one from last year, the usual materials will be pens, pencils, colored pencils, notebooks, marble notebooks, and just to be safe a pack of markers. When kids get older, say High School, teachers inexplicably get the urge to send you and your kids on a city-wide hunt to collect the most absurd and utterly arbitrary materials you have ever seen listed on a sheet of paper titled School Supplies. This tiring crusade, which could take a couple days to complete, is so time-consuming and exhausting that it makes you want to drive down to the schoolhouse and demand to know what your kids could possibly be doing with the items requested. (Why is it mandatory for them to have HB-H1 drawing pencils in Art 1? A shaded baseball should be the most complicated thing they’re drawing at that point, and it certainly doesn’t require the aforementioned materials.).
College students, on the other hand, face a whole other type of monster. In their case, it’s not so much the amount of off-the-wall materials or the time it takes to acquire them, it’s the cost. It’s my personal opinion that a major reasons kids don’t go to college is because no one in their right mind wants to pay $145.00 to rent a textbook on Medical Transcription Techniques that they will use, hopefully, at least three times before having to give it back.
Despite all of these seasonal stresses, there is undeniably something a little bit exciting – in the beginning, anyway – about restocking your shelves, backpacks and briefcases with Back-To-School materials. There will always be something gratifying about the smell and feel of crisp, factory manufactured, paper crinkling softly as you leaf through the pages. There will always be something comforting about opening a new pack of multi-colored pencils and momentarily debating which one you want to write with first. There will always – and this is as close as I can get to a guarantee – be a freeing feeling when your pen glides across your papers and leaves a distinctive flourish with every swish and swipe of the nib.
For the little ones, the Pelikano Starter Nib Fountain Pen’s light heft, sturdiness and eye-catching fluorescent colors make it a perfect starter for their journey into the world of education and fine penmanship. The Lamy Safari Lime Green Fountain Pen is a little narrower and more sophisticated, but its bright green barrel doesn’t let it lose an ounce of playfulness. For those who want something a little more sleek and chic, the Joy Calligraphy Fountain pen is the way to go. This beautiful expression of personality and individuality boasts a shiny black plastic body that is stylishly complimented by a bright red spring brass wire clip and a stainless steel nib. For the more conservative spenders, the Sheaffer Calligraphy Maxikit possesses everything you will need to be a master calligrapher. There are three pen color-coded nib grades (fine, medium and broad) and two ink cartridges per pen that all come together to create a product containing all the ideal instruments for calligraphers of every level. For those who wish to spend a little extra in a gift for a loved one going off to college or starting a new corporate job this fall, the Visconti Rembrandt Calligraphy Pen Set is a truly heartwarming gift. The set includes 2 German made palladium-plated nib sections (italic 0.5, italic 1.5 and medium), a bottle of black Visconti ink, 2 pen holders, a Visconti calligraphy booklet, Visconti blotting paper and three converters. Made from variegated resin, each pen is made unique through subtle marbling of color in a stunning replication of the Rembrandt painting technique, Chiaroscuro. No matter what you get – or don’t get, depending on how frustrated you end up getting – this Back-To-School season, make sure they’re items that make you feel just a little bit warmer inside when you pull them out on the first day of school. Items that make you feel, secretly, somewhere in a tiny long-lost corner of your heart, that you actually genuinely enjoyed supply shopping.
Until Labor Day rolls around again, that is.

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