Pen display making during thunderstorms in NC

I have been thinking of ways I could display pens for really cheap. I got this old poster frame for free. I just turned the poster around and put the metal clips in the front instead of behind it to give it a shadow box look. 

Next I went through some supplies thinking how can I fix pens to a picture frame. I found a couple of rolls of hook and loop tape from Harbor Freight. Right now the rolls are on sale for $6.99 and offer 35 feet per roll. It took a bit more than one roll for this huge frame. I recall the measurement across the bottom is 30 inches.
I laid some pens on the board and decided how I wanted them arranged so I could easily see the colors and choose or service the pens. I made measurements to estimate how much supplies I would need and make sure I would have enough.
I started with one row of pens and tested it out to see how I would like it and how many rows I think I could make.
At first I used Elmer's glue but it didn't hold well. So I tried Tacky glue. It worked but I tried Duco glue at the same time. It also worked as well and seemed to dry clear and not be as messy as the Tacky glue. I went with the Duco glue since I had more on-hand also. It took almost a tube of Duco glue (~5 buck at Walmart).
I rolled out the rough side of the hook and loop to bond to the board. I just thought rough surfaces bond better than smooth. Sort of dumb really because the other side is the softer velvety side of the hook and loop. I think it might have absorbed more glue. Plus the board is styrofoam inside and solvent glue could melt styrofoam. I tested the glues in an area where it would not be visible to make sure it wouldn't melt my board.
After I got the first strip of hook and loop, I started digging in my pens and sorting out what still works and what is a good pen worth keeping. I laid them down and rolled the opposite side of the hook and loop over each pen, pressing about one finger space between each one. This forms a nice stiff little loop that can expand or be pinched down to accommodate a smaller diameter pen. So it is slightly adjustable for different sized pens. I made sure to get the loop tight enough the cap or some part of the pen would prevent it from falling out. I hung it up and waited over night to make sure nothing came loose or fell down. It worked. I can now see a whole range of art supplies at once. Maybe eventually I can fill it with pretty fountain pens.
One pen is missing because I am already using it. It's my grail pen of course, a Noodler's Safety pen. I think I did this project for under 20 dollars and I enjoyed it. I think I need to stop buying pens too.

Pilot Kakuno EF fountain pen and unbranded pen comparisons

I have been collecting some nice art supplies. I was on youtube watching reviews of fountain pens and heard many times that a Chinese fine is about the same as a Japanese medium when it comes to nib sizes. I had to see it for myself. I got a pen on ebay for $1.25 with an extra fine nib. I then purchased a Pilot Kakuno with an extra fine nib. The pen and converter was about $19.50, so I threw in a little watercolor pad to get the free shipping on Jet Pens. So nice. Who doesn't love free shipping? What's the difference in the pens?

The unbranded pen looks like a Wing Sung but the logo is not on the clip as it normally is. 

Kakuno is heavy plastic that doesn't seem too fragile and so is the unbranded. The line quality and thickness is so similar I wrote a few pages with them both and really don't think I can figure out which one I used. So that mystery is solved for me. I did have trouble posting unbranded pen. When I did post it, I accidentally squirted some ink out of the feed and dripped it on my clothes. 

The Kakuno has the converter inside and has holes in the barrel that would prevent making it an eyedropper pen. This is perfectly fine for me. I have learned the hard way with Moonman eyedropper pens, which can get warm in my hand, then the air inside the pen expands. What did that do? The ink had no where to go and was pushed out through the nib and "burped" like a baby an ink blob onto my art that I had spent hours drawing. So eyedroppers are cool if I keep them full. The weird thing is everyone goes on and on about all the ink it holds, and it is really no different if you have to constantly fill it. Just my opinion. Plus I put my Noodler's sample in it and only have 2 milliliters. So I can't keep it full unless I buy some more or waste some sample trying to clean it. 

Kakuno has a very nice connector inside the barrel that connects the converter. It is nice and deep and will not allow my ink converter or cartridge to come off by accident. It looks like it wouldn't be easy to break like a cheap plastic piece either. I would not be afraid to put a Kakuno in my luggage or bag while traveling. I would not worry about it burping on my art. I would not worry about it accidentally spilling ink onto my clothes or other people's belongings on a trip. Also I don't feel I will get ink on me in public when I don't have any place to clean up and get the ink off me. The unbranded pen is still great for doing art around the house. 

One other thing some people might care about is the Kakuno don't have a clip. Not a big thing for me but it might matter to someone who loves clipping their pen to a pocket or shirt. I like to slide mine in a phone case or a plastic box just in case a leak ever happened. 

Truthfully, I love the cheap pens just because I can put any ink I want in them as long as it can wash out (not acrylic). And it protects the environment. 

 Also I noticed the little watercolor pad is sold as Fluid 100 and inside it says it is a Speedball product. And it says it is in Statesville, NC. How cool is that? Everyone really likes the demonstrator pens with the showy inks inside. Both my pens are loaded with Noodler's Blue Nose Bear ink. I am a huge fan of Noodler's pens and inks.

 I haven't taken the sticker off the Kakuno yet. It is also a bit smaller than the other pen. I favor small pens over the larger ones. They fit my hands just perfect.

Plus I got out my oversized art journal yesterday. I want to get back to filling the pages. It has all handmade pages. The book itself is hand stamped leather made in India. The book has so many pages I called it my art journal for life. It will take my whole entire life to fill this thing but it has a lot of art in it so far. 

 I took these photos just to see how well the gel pens with glitter would show in photographs. I used so many gel pens on this book I filled a recycle bin with the empties. I really couldn't find refills for those things you find in places like Sam's Club or dollar stores. But I did find some refills for gel pens online and ordered a few. My favorite gel pens are Energel but the refills are a bit pricey for a disposable cartridge. Still good pens that last a long time. Fountain pens help ease my anxiety about environmental waste and they are good on the budget too.

Mature tinies and their clothes and shoes.

I had been looking for a mature tiny bjd for a very good while. The companies that made them over the years have discontinued them and sold them out almost immediately--at least for the resin ones. I got this little Lumedoll or Lumelight doll 3rd hand. It was freezing cold outside and I pulled her out of the box. She felt like porcelain. I was scared she would break so I let her sit in my room till she got room temperature. She isn't porcelain but the resin really feels like porcelain.

The first thing I did was trade some clothes with Barbie and the WWE fashion dolls. She wears their outfits well but not shoes. The WWE dolls have bigger feet and Barbie is just too small in the feet. It's already known that WWE dolls can trade outfits with Barbie. 

I found a pair of shoes that were made by Mattel over a decade ago but I'm not sure what doll they belonged to. Maybe a Dora doll? The shoes look good, stay on with socks and she can stand without support in them. 

 Then I tried Monster High and Ever After High shoes on her. She has flat feet but can point her feet well enough that shoes don't look too bad if the toes aren't open. I put her in the little green dragon shoes and they look good. Plus she can stand in these. Other shoes fit but it was obvious they were the wrong shoe for her because she is flat footed. I did see that I can buy some ABS feet for her size on ebay and may actually try that out. The problem is that the dolls feet are not hooked in and I will have to completely restring her to get new feet on her. She is loosely strung right now but poses well, so I don't really get concerned about it. 

Then I had these little Project MC2 doll shoes to put on her. They fit like a glove but wouldn't come off. 

 I had to take an X-Acto knife to open up the slits in the back of her boots for her. 

I promised myself this is the very last doll I will be getting. I just had it in my head for so long that I wanted a doll that is like Barbie only resin.

I filled my new TWSBI Go last week when it arrived. I already used an entire fill of the Lamy Vibrant Pink. I did some more doodling with it just to get a feel for the lines and shading. The thickness of the lines is very close to what I was wanting.
I can draw with this Pen and ink combination for very long periods of time without any drying of the nib. This is great since the paper is not the greatest for fountain pens. The paper here is a small journal 8"x 5" size paper. It is made by Pacific Giftware is what I can see on the sticker inside. I bought the journal because it is wire bound and has a really pretty cover.
The TWSBI Go with Extra  fine nib just draws and draws on this paper with no feathering. I also noticed there is no pilling of the paper in my nib.
The pen writes fast and keeps a uniform flow of the ink. When the pen is just filled, I can slowly draw and get richer darker lines. If I really want finer lines I can reverse the pen nib. I also noticed as the pen runs low on ink the lines seem to get finer.
A really big plus for me is after using this pen all week, I didn't get on drop of ink on my fingers. No leaks or surprises.
I am so excited after seeing reviews on youtube about the different pens available. I can get an idea of what the lines will look like. I am getting a Moonman M2 next. I am planning which ink I will use in this new pen. It is a demonstrator pen. So it needs to be pretty like Apache Sunset or a green color.
I think I should title this piece "Everything is connected".

Decided to get back into drawing

Recently my blog has gone through some changes. I am not sure I understand any of the technical things with Google. But I am going to keep blogging about random art stuff and dolls. 

Back in the 90s I used to draw a lot with technical pens. Those pens drove me nuts, because they required constant maintenance. I eventually got too busy with my career to keep up the habit. I even lost, broke and ruined a few pens before I gave up completely. 

I started to notice fountain pens across the Internet and I got curious. Is this the new pen for me? I had a few bottles of ink around here that I didn't want to waste. I even found an unused Rapidograph pen I put back for retirement. It was like a gift I sent myself into the future. 

I headed on over to Amazon and began my search for some pens after hearing about them on youtube. The Jinhao 750X is a nice medium nib with a lot of weight. It gives me a heavy black ink line from my Koh-I-Noor Transmix ink. The same ink in one of the Jinhao Swan pens is fine and slower to ink, so it isn't quite as heavy when drawing quickly (Swan pens have a 0.38mm nib and 750X have a 0.5mm nib). It is hard to explain really. The type of paper, the speed of the drawing and the size of the nib all have something to do with the line quality. This led me to doodling with the different nibs and inks to see what would happen. Everything I read about all the different pens and inks is usually about how they write. I am definitely not a writer. If I write with my pens it is just to keep them busy, because they work better with use. 

 I really love the colors of those Jinhao 750X pens. I almost started to buy every color I could find but wait. I only have 2 hands, what will I do with every color of 750X pen? I do everything with a touch of OCD. I did get the 5 pack--gold, silver, rose gold, black and purple--also under 20 dollars on Amazon.

This piece of note paper is hot pressed paper. It is slick and shiny and doesn't feather the ink. It makes excellent practice paper for doodling with the nibs and inks to see what they do. Someone just gave me the paper, because it doesn't take cheap ballpoint pens very well at the office. I would love to know where to buy some more all sizes. I used my Rapidograph on this doodle. It is so fine a line, I can barely see it in the photo. Already the 0.13 mm nib needs cleaning. Yes. I am using the Koh-I-Noor ink with it that comes with these pens. That is the new TWISBI Go in my hand and the nib is right on the Lamy Vibrant Pink ink. 

I received Lamy Vibrant Pink ink and a new TWISBI Go pen from The Goulet Pen Company today. I loaded the new pen with the Lamy Pink ink. At first, I couldn't really tell the difference in the Winsor and Newton Scarlet color I already had. The Winsor and Newton is not really a fountain pen ink I don't think. But I have been using it in the cheaper Jinhao Swan pens. I just dip the pen nib in water or twist the universal convertor a bit to get it started when it seems to be drying out on me. So far I have no problem with the Winsor and Newton inks. I don't think I should put them in an expensive pen that is hard to clean or care for like a Rapidograph. 

What I was going to say about the Lamy pink is that it has a property called shading. I always called it tint or grading. The color goes from the lighter pink tint to a darker pink as you mark over it again and again. Of course, there's a limit on how strong the color will ever be. I haven't really used it enough to see the golden flecks in it, but I could see it in the bottom of the glass ink bottle. I am really liking this pink. It is really fun to doodle with this color. The TWISBI Go pen has a very nice nib and is better than any of the Jinhao pens so far. I think it was worth the extra bucks to try it out. It's got me really curious about the other pens artists love like the Ahab. I hope to try that one in the future with the flex nib. 

I even put some acrylic based inks in the Swans pens and that worked for me but I had to use water to dilute them when they won't start. To me this is okay, it is just watercolor in a pen to go. I got 12 Swan pens for under 20 dollars on Amazon. It was more than the number of colors I had to experiment with.

I titled my doodle Frequencies of Chaos. It is modern art for a Barbie diorama. 

The thicker lines in my doodle were done with the Speedball fountain pen. I was wondering why Speedball of all the companies didn't have a fountain pen. I was not really a big fan of the dip pens. I'm looking around for pens and inks to try with a broader nib and found a Speedball fountain pen. I really blew a fuse over the cartridges not fitting in the pen and staying. But I put a universal convertor in it and saved my day. I accidentally mixed my Speedball red ink with black ink while saving it from falling out of the pen and splattering me. But I loved the new dark red it made. I personally think it is smooth as butter and a great little pen now that I played around with it and put a convertor in it. The price was under 20 dollars again. It has lots of color cartridges I can use by taking them out with a syringe like I use on my printer ink cartridges. 

I actually wanted to start drawing my dolls, but when I changed to a new kind of pen, I had to start looking at my technique. The photo below is a tear sheet from a doll I drew in 1991. The line and stippling in this size of art doesn't come close to fountain pen lines in my opinion. But should it be?Does it have to be? I was told way back in the day that a lot of the detail can be lost during reproduction. I don't believe that still applies with current technology. Maybe I am wrong but it makes me happy to try new things, so I will.  

Fairy Lights in the dark: No Flash

 I ended up having to use my phone to take a picture without a flash. I hate my phone pics but that's all I had. Now I just need a tree topper for this thing and can take the batteries out and put it away for next year. It turns out I couldn't figure out how to turn the flash off on my old Kodak either. Maybe I should sell it and use the money to get a better phone. If whoever sees this don't know about my tree. It is a Barbie sized Christmas tree wrapped with micro LEDs or fairy lights.

I wish I had more to say but I have been very busy with other things lately. 

Fairy Lights for a Doll-Sized Tree

I was dreaming about getting some more lights for my doll-sized dollhouse and particularly for the Christmas tree. I lucked up and found a pack of 3 fairy lights for the price I usually pay for one right after the Holiday. The lights don't have blinking mode or colors, just a timer. They are fairly simple but they work. I started with the blank tree I found in a thrift store. 

I love how the Barbie Made to Move can stand on her own as long as she has boots on her weak little ankles. 

I kept the wiring inside the branches as much as possible. I was trying to hide the fact there is so much wiring between each little light. I have more of the gold tinsel so I will try that. I really want it finished before I put it away for the next year. 

Now, when all my batteries are charged, maybe I'll get a photo without the flash. I can't figure out the flash on my camera, so I'm trying to revive an old Kodak of mine. 

I worked on some more decorations for the tree a little bit yesterday. The theme for this one will be silver and gold even though I like red the best.