I'm a sucker for good pensmanship and poetry.  Sharing to you some of them that I found on Instragam. 

I need to get back on the track. 

Note: Photos are not of the writer. Photos are taken from various sites. 

Getting Back

I long for the days when I can sit for long hours and do nothing but get back to this. 

The Trouble With Shimmering Inks

In as much as I love inks with sheen, they somehow tend to clog my pen. And it is so irritating.

I find myself forcing the ink out by waving my hand hard downward hoping to flush the ink. Or I have to disassemble my nib and wash it just so it'll take the clog out. And I have to choose a pen that I can diassemble the nib so that I can wash and brush the sheen out of it. Kinda frustrating really.

I now have a love-hate relationship with them. But they just makes writing more interesting.

Mixed Script

Finally, I got time to do this. Trembling hands plus a flexible nib. 

Songs playing at home. 

Nib: Hunt 41

Ink: Sumi black

Goulet Pens Blog: Noodler's Flex Pen Cleaning and Disassembly

I bought a Noodler's flex pen last year from The Craft Central and was disappointed because the ink was dripping when I pressed hard on the paper. So when I finished the ink, I cleaned it and just kept it. A few days ago, I decided to ink it up again and use it with my journal. I was browsing thru the net looking for great flex pens and to understand more about fountain pens (since I love "hoarding" them) and stumbled upon this video. It's a wake up call, making me love my Noodler's Flex Pen.

Goulet Pens Blog: Noodler's Flex Pen Cleaning and Disassembly:

I was able to adjust the nib, the ink flow and started to doodle with it.

The paper is not fountain pen friendly but notice the thickness of the lines? Meaning I was able to press hard on the paper without the ink dripping from the pen. I browse thru The Craft Central last night and they don't sell fountain pens as of the moment. But I'm happy I got to work with my Noodler's. If you need some tips and tricks, there are a lot of blogs that teaches you so. There's the Pinoy Penman, Goulet Pen, Leigh Reyes' Blog is also a good resource for your questions.



There are infinite possibilities on the net. Go....

Morning Musing

Carpe Diem

Trying to write carpe diem in various ways. Been wondering what these words mean. Now I know. 

On Writing

There are still those who ask me why I do what I do. If you're reading this, please let this be the last time you ask me about what I do. Imagine the feeling of playing basketball because that's what you like to do, or say reading a book of your favorite author, or eating your most favorite food. It's the same feeling I have when I do what I do... I love to write.

If you've been following my blog then you would probably know that my grandmother was my biggest influence. At an early age she has taught me the need to have a good penmanship. Whoever I wanted to be when I grow up, good penmanship is always important (aside from having good qualities). People will respect you more if you have good penmanship, that's what she kept telling me.

Over the years I had developed different styles of penmanship. Sometimes I find myself just making repetitive strokes of certain letters. I collected different types of pens too. A pen for a christmas present always made me giddy like a kid. And after a long day at work, I try to look for my own time to just write.

Sometimes I sketch. When I want to remember something I make sketches too.

I'm trying out different styles of writing. I'm still looking for my own style. I may adapt different styles but there will always be my own style of writing.

In the end, we do things that we love. I do not mind what other people do on their spare time, I do not stop to look at somebody's page or blog when I don't like them, I do not badmouth others to make myself feel good, nor do I care what people say about me. As what I have constantly said, we do what we can. At the end of the day, what matters is the lives we have changed. And if I have done just that, then let me basked in the quiet of the night and go on with my writing.

Calligraphy pads

While at SM Department store last week, I happen to stumble upon these pads. And boy was I like a kid who bought the biggest lollipop at a candy store.I was surprised to see these since its hard to find pads that really goes well with calligraphy inks. And since I couldn't decide which one to buy, I just had to buy each one. I chose the smaller ones. Although these came in both small and big sizes, I decided to get the smaller ones so I can easily bring them along.

Guidelined Sheets

Plain sheets smooth, 100 gsm

Plain Sheets Smooth, 200 gsm

If you noticed, each one is different from the other.  

You can always look at the back to get a clue of what kind of paper you're holding on to. 

So there you have it. Showed you the different pads available. I hope SM still has some more stocks of these.

New loot from the Artisan

So I hoarded more notebooks and sketch pads from i_am_artisan. What can I say, I love writing and sketching. 

I just had to try out the monologue notebook. Although its for sketching, I wanted to see if I could write calligraphy in it. The paper was not smooth. In fact it had a rough texture which made me more curious. 

I loved the effect of the ink with the rough texture. It's more unique. 

Thank you Madam E!

A dear friend of mine happened to remember me on her vacation when she saw this ;) No words could ever express how much this means to me. I used to collect all sorts of pen. So this is very much appreciated. I could not thank you enough. Will try this one out when I'm all alone. I bet I won't be able to stop once I begin. hehehe

My Latest Loot

We discovered this new go-to-place for art supplies, Morning Light Art Gallery and Shop. For an art enthusiast, this is paradise. You'll find just about everything you need for paintings, whether watercolour or oil, different brushes, different containers and so much more. For someone like me who is more on sketches, just found different kinds of pencils and papers. She also sells painting and woodcrafts. 

I recommended it to a friend and she loves the place. You can try browsing them in Facebook as well, if you jsut wanna check out her items first before going to the area. A word of advice though, bring lots of money. hahahaha

Another place to go for art supplies and calligraphy is the Artisan, located beside the Yellow Hauz Coffee Shop. She also carries other craft items. Drop by her place to see if she has what you've been looking for.

Sharing to you some of my loot:

The water colour sketch pad, the bottle with the red dropper and the brush was from Morning Light. The nibs, the oblique holder and the cocoiro holder and refill and the walnut ink are from the Artisan.

Modern Calligraphy Workshop with Icka Santos of Ickagraphs

It was  a privilege to be able to attend this workshop. It was different from doing the Copperplate which I am accustomed to. This is finding out one's own style of writing. Thank you ma'am Icka. I had so much fun. Thank you Eshma for tagging me on her post.

Ms. Icka Santos

Allow me to share with you a photo of the snacks they served.

Even my alphabets are in Copperplate.

A few versions of my "hello"

The most beautiful "Anne" I have ever made thus far, with my own style of writing

Photo-op with some of the participants. Too bad our works can't be seen clearly here. All are beautiful.

This one is my work at home. Before using nibs, I wanted to practice with pencil. Will do flourish next time.

My Road to Practicing Patience

It has been almost a year, I think, since I started practicing calligraphy. I have always been asked why the need to practice. I kept telling them I just wanted to perfect my handwriting. 

But over the past few weeks, I realized that I wasn't only practicing strokes, I was extending my patience as well. Calligraphy if done in a flash, is I guess okay. But the result isn't great. But when it is done right, without the need to rush, is a beautiful work of art. 

Let me share a few of my work. They are not perfect, but they are a work in progress. These are posted in order from the most recent work I've done.