GRIZZLY PEAR

written snapshots

Category: Drawings

  • compass

    I used up the last of the Waterman blue my dad gave me years ago. My guess is that this ink is half a century old. The boy helped me fill the cartridge so there’s three generations in this pen.

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    In my recent search for pens, I’ve tried up a bunch of cheap pens. It’s fun to explore each assemblage of plastic and steel.

    As I mentioned a few weeks ago, if I could only pick two it would be the Pilot Kakuno and Pilot Parallel. The Kakuno with an extra fine nib is a tight writing instrument, and the Parallel is a unique tool that is creates an expressive line and suited for calligraphy.

    If I could to create a second pairing, the Sailor Fude Nib Pen is a similarly wide pen that goes great with the Sailor Compass. At $30, its twice as expensive as the other pens, but the build quality is noticeably better than cheaper pens.

    After graduating college, I treated myself to a Pelikan M600 which now sells for about half a grand. Even accounting for the piston mechanism (that has survived two decades of neglect) and the butter smooth gold nib, I don’t see how the M600 is $470 better than the Compass.

    As with many things in this world, the first few bucks makes a huge difference in quality. After that, the extra dollars only temporarily mollifies the ravenous criticism of a connoisseur.

  • blizzard

    We went to hallOVeen at the Magical Forest, a little amusement park that the non-profit Opportunity Village opens up for fundraising during the Halloween and Christmas holidays.

    The kids enjoyed the Blizzard. Mama and I only lasted once each. So we let them sit together for another spin around and around and around and around and around…

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    The kids are growing up fast. Only yesterday, they needed us to play with them. Now they keep each other amused (when they aren’t arguing!). And she’s got books. The whole world on her Kobo with a Libby account. She’s read through the Harry Potter series at least twice and was Hermione this Halloween (he was Pikachu).

    Right now they’re watching Harry Potter #2 downstairs. I can’t do it. I don’t have anything against the series. I was just old enough to miss the excitement over the series as it came out. We watched the first movie and it did nothing for me. And the thought of spending 283 minutes on the second film pains my soul.

    I’ve never been good at entertainment if I wasn’t in the mood for it. I wish I could be a little less judgemental when watching TV, but instead I’m up here writing notes about my finicky media habits.

  • atelier

    The kids helped Pikachu make a little candy shack, turned off the lights, and lit the room with a red plastic cup over a flashlight.

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    As the first letter of the alphabet I have a lot of A’s. There won’t be as many for future letters, and even less when I hit the numbers. But hey, let’s start with a bAng!

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    One of the best firm names I’ve come across is “Atelier One”, a British structural engineering company. Why? Cause I still remember it nineteen years after I saw them give a lecture at Rice. Can I remember anything they did? Nope. But what a sticky name to stay in my consciousness after all these years.

  • Alphabet Magic (2022-2023)

    Last week, I uploaded the letter “Z” of Alphabet Magic, pairing photos of everyday life with sketches of my hand forming the ASL manual alphabet.

    Just another post, but I couldn’t let it pass without comment.

    I took more art studios than architecture studios in college, but stopped drawing over the past two decades; constipated with perfection. After turning forty, I eliminated drawing from of my list of future projects (along with reading Chinese and the Guan Dao kung fu form).

    Then Post came online last year. I wanted to help make the place that I wanted to see, so this alphabet series was my contribution. The winter of 2022-2023 was a magical season when quirky artists came together for a mass experiment. (Much as Substack has become a beautiful writer’s oasis).

    When it became clear Post management was focused on news and opinion, I hopped over to Substack and turned the drawings into a formal series, pairing it with my contributions to Charlene Storey’s weekly thread of “everyday magic”.

    Twenty-six weeks later I’ve posted half a year of hands and magic.

    So what next? Well I have plenty more hands. After joining Substack, Wendy MacNaughton hosted a 30 day sketching challenge around the same time Ashlyn Ashantee got me really into fountain pens. So I kept drawing with hatching and new wacky nibs.

    Next week, I’ll start the second series, with a bit more variety, still with a pop of everyday magic, but with less alliterative titles. Maybe I’ll throw in the occasional calligraphy experiment and zine (inspired by a conversation with d.w. and John Ward on Notes).

    In home, school, or work, I’ve learned that projects start with promise, grind through midlife, and shutter with little fanfare. But I’ve also learned that the anticipation of triumph will eventually realized in retrospect long after the moment has faded.

    As I mature, I’m slowly embracing the process. It’s a privilege to draw. It’s a privilege to do anything beyond the bare necessities. It’s a privilege to share — thanks for reading!

    The results are up to the fickle gods, but we can always exhilarate in the chase.

  • Zydeco zebras zestfully zapped a zillion zig-zag zucchinis at zealous zombie zoologists.

    An outline handsketch of a hand shaping the ASL American manual letter “Z”, in red ink on a yellow spiral bound steno notebook.

    The boy made a potion with sugar (flowers) and salt (sand) to put out a fire (thorny weeds) in the backyard. His hands were stained with red ink from doodling with my flexy fountain pen.

  • Yesterday, yodeling yaks yarned yellow yo-yo’s yodeling youthful yelps to yonder yugoslav yearlings.

    An outline handsketch of a hand shaping the ASL American manual letter “Y”, in red ink on a yellow spiral bound steno notebook.

    The morning sun hit the kids’ holey socks. They now wipe off the the pens after refills.

  • Xeruses xylographed xenogenetic xeranthemum xeriscapes.

    An outline handsketch of a hand shaping the ASL American manual letter “X”, in red ink on a yellow spiral bound steno notebook.

    The kids found my typewriter under my desk. I bought it for writing the text in my grad school portfolio.

    She had fun and he loves banging those keys.

  • Weepy weevils wailed wheezy whines of wiley weasels waylaying waltzing whales within woven woodbine webs.

    An outline handsketch of a hand shaping the ASL American manual letter “W”, in red ink on a yellow spiral bound steno notebook.

    The kids woke up and saw my sketchbook with pens on the desk. The flipped the page and made their mark.

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    Taegan MacLean’s One Word substack is one of the best projects on the internet, and his latest video Woodbine is another great installment in this series. Check it out!

  • Vibrant vultures vanished vulgar violet vampires via victorious vats of viscous vaporizing vegetable vinegar varnishes.

    An outline handsketch of a hand shaping the ASL American manual letter “V”, in red ink on a yellow spiral bound steno notebook.
    An outline handsketch of a hand shaping the ASL American manual letters “H" and "V”, in yellow chalk on a beige CMU wall.

    A lovely cool sunset after a weekend of heavy rains in the desert. The kids were drawing a highway for a rollypolly.

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    The Liszt transcription of Beethoven’s Fifth, played by Glenn Gould.

  • Uniformed unicorns uncovered uncouth unagi underwriters under unruly Union University.

    An outline handsketch of a hand shaping the ASL American manual letter “U”, in red ink on a yellow spiral bound steno notebook.

    The boy wanted to paint the Scarbunny Pokémon so I drew one for him on watercolor paper.

    She wanted one too so I pulled out my rarely used light table, traced it, and let them loose with watercolors.