Being resourceful gives me great pleasure. It is satisfying to overcome obstacles and find ways of doing things that hadn’t been thought of before.
Today Dan sat down to work on some drawings and realized that we had run out of felt tip pens. To make matters worse we’re low on cash so we can’t easily run out and buy more. (Hey, it’s a recession after all.) No problem, I thought, if I can’t buy pens I’ll just make some, so I dug into my collection of found feathers and picked out a sturdy one (I am a treasure seeker, I like to pick up little natural things and ephemera). A couple of cuts later and Dan was back at his drawing, and happily surprised by the flexibility and line quality of his new quill. They were much more flexible than metal pens and very light and comfortable to hold.
Tonight we are going to use some of the other feathers to make pens with a variety of tips. We both agree that while using a quill and ink can be a bit messier than felt pens the results were much more interesting.
There are also the environmental factors involved, feathers are completely biodegradable! I used to work at an art store and during that time I became aware of just how damaging and toxic many art supplies are. It dawned on me as I watched hundreds of plastic pens and makers flow through the cash that most of them were not refillable. They were designed to end up in the landfill fast so people would come back and buy more. What a waste (and also expensive!). I’m switching to feathers. This will also gives me an excuse to use some of the cash I’ll save to buy nicer inks in the future. Ha ha! ; P
I can’t believe I hadn’t thought to do this earlier! It’s amazing how necessity can make you come up with a solution that actually turns out better than what you thought you wanted!
How to make your pen:
you will need:
collected feathers, a small sharp knife and scissors, a knitting needle and tweezers.
To Prepare: collect feathers any time you find them, the bigger the better, and set them aside. This way it won’t cost you a dime, won’t hurt our environment or any animal in any way, and it will have more personal meaning. Collecting them also fosters respect for the local creatures that provide for us.
Clean your feather and let it dry out. You may also harden the tip if you’d like. I didn’t bother with this step, but it is an option for better durability. You can do this by soaking the tip in a jar of water overnight, then submerging the tip in a container of hot sand or ashes.
Step 1 : Insert the knitting needle into the shaft of the feather. It is necessary to break and remove the inner structure of the feather to allow it to hold the ink.
Step 2: With a sharp knife cut the feathers tip at a shallow angle, less than 45 degrees. Remove any excess inner membrane around the tip with your tweezers.
Step 3: cut a thin split in the point of the feather. This will be the centre of the nib, the point that is in contact with the page and releases the ink. You can further shape the tip of your nib with sharp scissors. It’s a quick project, so I suggest making a few with various points.
Your pen will dull with use, but the nib can be re-cut several times before the quill is toast. Happy drawing!
Dan tested out the simple quill we made to draw a cute little rat for a comic book panel.
