Mon Bon Voyage

Fleur du Crayon

I was rummaging through some old boxes yesterday in search of the many writing journals I have squirreled away, unused, over the years. I found a couple, but I also found a surprise.

Tucked neatly into a corner was a box containing pencils, sketch pads, and “teach yourself to draw” books of various flavors. I often wish that I could draw, but I’m quick to admit that I can’t. Or can I?

I thumbed through the sketch book and found, among the many practice exercises that I was obviously following from a book, the two drawings that you see in this post. They’re not show-stoppers. They won’t win prizes. But what they said to me was pointed: “Stop telling yourself that you can’t draw!”

I realized that what I’ve really been saying is that I haven’t taken the time necessary to study and practice my drawing skills. Drawing doesn’t come easily to me. It’s work, and the end results are not always worth the effort. But the truth is I can draw. At least a little. The fact that my skills have not improved is solely due to laziness on my part and the “you can’t draw” mantra that I’ve been playing in my head.

Dessin de Paysage

Do you have a similar discouraging mantra of any kind? Something saying that you “can’t” do x or “can’t” do y? If so, might I suggest that you reevaluate? We really can do anything into which we’re willing to put effort. I’ll never again say that I can’t draw. And I’ll be on the lookout for similar thought processes so that I can set a new course wherever necessary.

Fair Winds!

The Watched Pot never boils and the Anticipated Mail Delivery never arrives. They apparently went to school together.

I’m anxiously awaiting two pens. One is an Esterbrook #32 dip pen and the other is my Pelikan M200 that has spent a week or two at the Dannzeman Fountain Pen Finishing School where it has been coerced (ground) into writing like a gentleman.

Water boils faster when subjected to microwaves. I wonder if that could improve the speed of my mail carrier…

Priority Mail? Oxymoron.

1937 Parker Vacumatic Standard

Parker Vacumatic Standard

1st Generation

2nd Quarter, 1937

Burgundy Pearl Celluloid

Striped Section

Striped Jewels

Triple Cap Bands

Lock-Down Filler

Two-Tone Medium Nib

I purchased this near-mint Vacumatic at the 2009 Los Angeles Pen Show from Dr. David Isaacson of Vacumania.

The pen is so stunningly beautiful that I simply stared at it for a week before I could bring myself to ink and use it. It’s a very smooth writer and in all likelihood will be the nicest Vacumatic I’ll ever own.

If I had to find fault, I’d say that the nib is a bit too medium for my tastes. I’ll send the pen to dannzeman for grinding just as soon as I can bear to part with it.