Rolling into a new school year is a tide of highs and lows. I’m eager to teach and work with my students again. As much as I will miss getting to spend daytimes with my partner. Sun and shade. Bright and dark.

This week, I’m leaning into the contrast between light and dark. I chose one bright ink and one dark ink color for each color family. For a total for seven pairings — because grey.

This week’s currently inked returns to basics. I have a pen and ink combination for fast writing while seated and for jotting notes while standing. All balanced against options for slower writing tasks at my desk.

Round nibs are well-suited to fast writing tasks — and at odd angles. The rounded tipping writes smoothly, even when the nib is mistakenly rotated.