Calming winter shades
Ongoing events in the US have me reflecting and writing on politics. In particular, I have converted my journaling time into focused reflections on essays being posted by constitutional scholars. And I’ve returned to Jacques Ranciere’s philosophy on disagreement and politics. Ranciere is the man.
Writing my ideas out on paper before converting them into a typed draft helps me to feel through the shape of my thinking. I get to literally form the shapes of the words with my pen as I string thoughts together. Writing analog creates more integrated thinking; and fountain pens are cool.
Clearly I’ve "returned” once or twice before
Nerves rattled by recent events, I opted to stay within the calm wintry colors of last week’s currently inked. Three blues, the dusty purple-pink of Lady Rose for accent notes, and two muted browns.
No new additions. All six combinations are carry-overs from last week. And, notably, this is my first week without a grey ink to-hand since I started writing with fountain pens. I aim to empty these six pens by week’s end.
Grey/Black
No true grey or black inks. Is my subconscious making a statement?
Blue/Teal
Kaweco Skyline Sport Mint (F). Robert Oster Summer Storm. My second daily driver. I’m digging the contrast of SS with Cat at Midnight. Wet, unsaturated, and well-behaved. I am using the two inks interchangeably to liven up my spreads this week. Daily driver, task management, scratch notes, and pocket carry.
TWSBI 580-ALR Prussian Blue (EF/M Predator Hybrid, by Nibgrinder). Rohrer & Klingner Verdigris. A fantastic combination brings out the strengths in both the pen and the ink. Verdigris sheens in the M and writes wet and contained in EF. Meeting notes, manuscript editing, grading, lesson plans.
Sailor Pro Gear Imperial Black (F). Ink Institute Cat Daily, Cat at Midnight. The ink is so dark in this F nib that it reads as black on the page. Daily driver. Task management, scratch notes, meeting notes, and journaling.
Earth Tones
Nakaya Neostandard Heki-tamenuri (B). Taccia Ukiyo-e Sharaku-Koiame. This pair stays home. The pen has sentimental meaning that outweighs using it at work. Journaling, letter writing, and some reading notes.
Visconti Homo Sapiens Silver Age (F). Kyo-iro Higashiyama Moonlight, 4. Stark shading makes this combo a lovely pairing. I dig an orange that is bright orange where it shades lightly and is full-on brown where is shades deeply. Lesson plans, meeting notes, and journaling.
Wild Cards
Sailor Pro Gear Slate (Z Architect, by Custom Nib Studio). Ferris Wheel Press Lady Rose. Pale, dusty colors like Lady Rose function best as accents in notes spreads and in personal writing like pen pal letters. The Z/A grind ensures the ink remains readable.
