Links For Handwriting, Calligraphy, And Pen Junkies

This is a rarity. All nine links are pen and handwriting related. How totally on topic!

• JBBPensPaper (calligraphy items on Etsy)
• NYT: Kate Gladstone on Handwriting Matters; Cursive Doesn’t
• Gentian adds an ink reservoir to a dip nib
• Italic handwriting and calligraphy lesson (h/t Kate Gladstone)
• Yikes! Look at the price tag on the Sailor Kai!
• Mommy Kat and Kids has a pen giveaway but hurry to enter. It’s ending in two days.
• PerthNow: Tech-savvy kids can’t push a pencil
• Mattias: Platinum Carbon Desk Fountain Pen (He’s the artist who introduced me to the Namiki Falcon.)
• Leigh Reyes on taking better pen photos

Some Calligraphers Earn Really Big Money

Did you see this?

With the White House closing its doors to public tour groups in order to save money for the sequester, it’s worth remembering some of the other costs the White House incurs annually.

Like the “Chief Calligrapher,” Patricia A. Blair, who has an annual salary of $96,725, and her two deputies, Debra S. Brown, who gets paid $85,953 per year, and Richard T. Muffler, who gets paid $94,372 every year.

In all, the White House appears to employ 3 calligraphers for a yearly total of $277,050.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/chief-white-house-calligrapher-gets-paid-96725-year_706521.html

Color me gobsmacked!

New Pen Art Links Added

A new category for links to Pen Art blogs and websites has been added to the sidebar but it’s tiny at the moment. Please help expand the list by posting your suggestions in the comments to this post.

Thank you!

Calling All Fountain Pen Artists

Are you a fountain pen artist or do you know of one? I’d like to add a section to the sidebar with links to sites that feature art created with fountain pens. It doesn’t have to be fountain pens exclusively but something that is featured frequently.

Calligraphic art is also welcome whether executed with a fountain pen or a dip nib or even a brush. This category already has a sidebar seat, but that list could be expanded.

Just add a comment with your nominees and I’ll sort through them over the next few days. Thanks, guys!

Pen Aficionados, These Links Are For You

This may be a first. Every link is pen, ink, or paper related. Aficionados, indulge…

• From JeanB at PenTrace: An Incredible Pen (My family missed the boat due to illness. Am grateful progeny.)
• From Jim Sanders via PenTrace: More about fixing converters and cleaning pens/converters
• Leigh Reyes makes a snake that isn’t scary in honor of the Chinese New Year
• Art Brown: Libell Pen Cases at close-out prices
• Fountain Pen Hospital: The Pelikan M800 Tortoise has arrived!
• Rhodia Drive: The Power of Paper
• J. Panter Calligraphy
• Calligraphy special offers for February, 2013 from Scribblers
• The Fountain Pen Quest: Ink Notes: Pilot Iroshizuku Fuyu-syogun (h/t Chris Meisenzahl)

Start The New Year With A Few Tasty Links

From food to the TARDIS with pens and inks in between…

• How to Make a TARDIS Bigger on the Inside
• Business Insider: 20 Inspiring Rags-to-Riches Stories
• PenHero.com: Library Of Vintage Pen And Pencil User Guides
• Pen and ink illustrations by Japanese artist Sagaki Keita (h/t HisNibs.com)
• Boston Magazine visits Crane and Company
• The Pen Shop: Handwriting Guide
• 7 Delicious Things to Make with Leftover Coffee
• Rosemary and Sea Salt Roasted Pecans (h/t Speedmaster)

A Few Links For A Sunday Treat

Good stuff…

• DaveyB’s Fountain Pen Database (Something every collector can use.)
• Iroshizuku Calligraphy
• Snakepen (h/t Leigh Reyes)
• Fountain pen community on Google+
• Genius Apple Cake
• Diamine’s Music Collection of Inks