Sarasota Arts & Culture Magazine - September/October 2007 - (Page 23)

: : Exhibitions BAMBOO PEN Since the days of the pharaohs in Egypt and Mesopotamia, brushes dipped in inks have been used to transcribe stories and imagery on parchments, papyrus and silk. Though writing implements have obviously metamorphosed in the past 2000 years, there is something artistic about creating a pen and ink drawing using an artistic tool you have fashioned yourself. Some simple steps follow for creating your own bamboo pen. How To Make A Tools You Need: Piece of bamboo. Find a fresh bamboo cane, if possible, for easy cutting and flexibility. Consider the diameter and length you want the final product to be. Begin with a bamboo cane, called a “clum”, about 8 inches long and about 1 inch wide. Small saw or knife. Make sure the blade is sharp enough for cutting the cane to an exact length. X-acto knife. To whittle the tip of the pen, called a “nib”, to a sharp point. Sandpaper. To smooth the edges of the pen. Step 4: With the nib shaped, turn the pen so you are looking down from the tip of the point. Etch a crescent-shaped indentation from where the curve begins. Carefully engrave a slit from the tip of the triangular nib down to the indentation. This will allow the ink to flow through the tip evenly. Step 5: Use the sandpaper to smooth all edges. As the pen wears, the tip may always be regained with a simple whittling of the knife. Bamboo pens are shaped in the ideal image for calligraphy, pen and ink drawings, and fine-point ink work. Reed pens, like that above, were most often employed by pharaohs signing decrees and creating blueprints for magnificent palaces and pyramids. Quill pens, like those used by our forefathers to sign the Declaration of Independence, replaced the reed pen in the medieval period. These were fashioned in the same manner, but out of a feather from a large bird. The quill features more durability and flexibility, and the jaunty feather dancing as the pen flies across the paper. Signing on the dotted line has never been more artistic than with the advent of the personally crafted pen. Process: Step 1: Cut the bamboo with the saw just past one of the joints (called a node), leaving about 1.5 inches or more to carve the nib on the other side. The freshly cut end should be hollow. Step 2: Holding the bamboo with the cut end pointing away, start to whittle the nib about 1/4 inch from the end on a 45 degree angle. Step 3: Refine the pen’s design. Whittle the nib so that the beginning to the tip is a clean, even curve. Experiment with tips to change your writing style, either with fine-point, blunt tip, or flat tip. arts and culture magazine : : 23

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Sarasota Arts & Culture Magazine - September/October 2007

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