Charcoal
Charcoal reminds me of HOME. The feel of it, the grit, the dust and the stains that it leaves on my hands all connect me to something in my past.
I grew up in the Anthracite Coal Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. It’s not a very glamorous area of the country. Many of the rolling hills that surround the tiny mining towns where I’m from are covered with black and gray CULM and overburden. They’re the waste products from a century of unrestricted coal mining. There was no EPA to protect the environment back then, so much of the land was gouged out by Strip Mining and today those hills sit silent and abandoned looking like moonscapes.
Yeah, there’s something about Charcoal.
Reed Pen and Ink
Ink is fun to use. You can’t erase it or cover-up mistakes so EVERY MARK COUNTS.
I saw this little BLUEBIRD NESTING BOX on the edge of a parking lot at The Brentwood Baptist Church where I park every morning on my commute into Nashville. Someone installed a handful of these gems around the grounds so I did this quick sketch with a Hand Cut Reed Pen and Black Indian Ink on White Paper.
love simple subjects like this BLUEBIRD NESTING BOX
Making a Reed Pen with a Dremel
I spent an hour teaching my son Christopher how to make a Reed Pen using a Dremel. I have fun drawing with my three children and it’s fun to make things with them too like there Reed Pens. Normally, I just sit in front of a fireplace and use a Utility Knife to cut the Reeds and shape the tips but today I thought I’d try using my little electric Dremel. Reeds grow wild and they’re easy to find and harvest. Vincent van Gogh used them in his Pen and Ink drawings and I love using them because each pen makes its own marks and you can be very expressive with them.