"Don't wish me happiness I don't expect to be happy all the time....It's gotten beyond that somehow. Wish me courage and strength and a sense of humor. I will need them all." Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Sunday 1 October 2017

Cutting a quill pen

I used an eagle and a raven flight feather and an eagle tail feather collected on the island. I tempered the feathers first by soaking them in water overnight and than immersing them into hot sand I heated in the oven. I began with the eagle tail feather and I used a small sharp knife to make the cuts. Admittedly my knife skills are very poor so I used embroidery scissors to cut the basic shape and than I used the knife for finishing. Even then I shaved off tiny pieces at a time and admittedly I was very awkward at it. Still I managed to cut something that was workable enough that I could print with it. As I did it made a tiny scratching sound like mouse nails on a window pane. With as much effort as a child learning to print I wrote down a grocery list. Each letter more or less requiring a dip into ink. Did I expect the swiftness of a ball point pen? The shaft on the raven feather was the smallest and I found it difficult to hold comfortably. The eagle flight feather which I cut last is my favourite and I finished my list with it.
Sent from my iPhone

4 comments:

  1. Very interesting!! Wonder how the writing come out.

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  2. Wow! You are so creative, I liked hearing your process of making the quill pen! You should take a picture of your writing with the pens! I think the eagle one would be my favorite too. What kind of ink did you use?

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    1. Hi Marilyn The ink is an unknown water based ink that I've had for years. As for the writing - it's really not that "pretty" but I love it for what it is. Ronda

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