A Maze - Page 66

Here is the next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 66

Here is the same page in the wild. Well, not so wild. It is in the living room. Along side page 66 is the latest page of my fifth maze in progress. This fifth maze is being drawn only with Ink Drop samples. It is a productive way to empty my pens for the next month's samples.

Next time I will have an update on my Line Around the World Project.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's June 2011 Ink Drop - Finale

The last sample to test from the June Ink Drop was the Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao. I saved this ink for last because it is the priciest of the bunch. The thought of trying this ink in one of Noodler's 14 dollar fountain pens intrigued me even though I would normally use it in one of my Pilot Vanishing Point pens. So I inked up one of my Noodler's pens with this upscale ink and used it to draw my final June test maze.

I paired the Asa-gao with the Noodler's Nightshade in my other Noodler's pen. Here is the real life version of the resulting maze.

As you can see there was plenty of smudging, smears and messes to screw up the work. The biggest blotch happened on the left hand side of the maze when the pen spilled out a huge drop of the Asa-gao. Up to that point the pen and ink had done fairly well. Let's be frank. The Noodler's pens have problems and are not ideally suited for precise work. The nib is relatively large and nail-like which makes it difficult to pick up a line for a continuation. The line varies in width quite a bit which can be a plus, but not for the mazes. But they are inexpensive and adequate for normal writing. Ink evaporates from the pen quite quickly, though this can be slowed by taping over the hole in the side of the cap.

Still it was surprising and disappointing to see a blob of ink spill from the pen. The cause, I believe, was an accidental twist of the knob on the end of the pen which forced too much ink to the nib. It was probably my fault.

The Pilot Iroshizuku is a great ink though. The color is a bold bright blue reminding me a bit of the Bay State Blue. It is better behaved than that blue. It shades a little even with this smallish nib. It dries quickly as well which I like. If I were a rich man, I'd buy it and all of the Pilot Iroshizuku colors. Sadly … that will have to wait.

Here is the scanned and edited version for solving.

Well, that do it for the June Ink Drop. I have a couple of days before the July Ink Drop drops in.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 65

Here is the latest and greatest next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 65

Here is the same page in the wild. This is the lighthouse on West Cliff in Santa Cruz. It is also the Surfer's Museum.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's June 2011 Ink Drop - Part 4

The third test maze for the June Ink Drop paired the same Sailor Jentle Sky High with the Private Reserve Midnight Blues. The Sky High was still in my Ducati pen and I put the Midnight Blues in one of my Noodler's Fountain pens. Again I did a checkboard sort of pattern with the colors. There is just enough difference between the two inks for it to show up.

I have already discussed the Sky High which I like very much. The Midnight Blues is a rich blue. This sample is a Fast Dry version of the regular Midnight Blues. That said, it still takes a little while to dry. Long enough that I managed to smudge it in a few place, but I have a natural talent for doing that sort of thing anyway.

Here is what the maze looks like in real life with the pens beside it.

Here is the scanned and edited version for solving.

That's it for the day.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 64

Here is the long awaited next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 64

Here is the same page in the wild. This is what is behind us as we sit on our bench down is Santa Cruz. The residents of this house have quite a view as do all of the home owners along West Cliff.

Here is a bonus picture of the same page down by the lighthouse where the surfers hang out. Not much of a surf out there.

Thank's it.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's June 2011 Ink Drop - Part 3

The second test maze of the June Ink Drop paired the same Sailor Jentle Sky High that was used in the first maze with Noodler's Nightshade. As mentioned previously the Sailor Jentle Sky High is a very pleasant ink, both in the way it handles and the color itself. This is the first Sailor ink that I've tried and I don't know what I expected. Maybe tattoo blue and hairy forearms, I don't know, but I found it to be a nice surprise. No smudging, smearing or swearing (from me).

The Noodler's Nightshade is not a blue, but a brown with a purple tint. Compared to many Noodler's offerings this one drys fairly quickly. Used in a Fine nib Pilot, I had no trouble with smudging or smearing. I was still having trouble with my hand so I was drawing much slower than normal and this might have helped. When paired with the blue of the Sailor sample it looks very much like a true brown, but there is a bit of purple in there. This is good ink although I don't know what one would use a brown for in real life.

Here is the scanned and edited version:

Here is the same maze in real life. The checkerboard look shows up better in this maze than the first one. The Ducati with the Sky High and the Pilot Vanishing Point with the Nightshade are beside the maze.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 63

Here is the next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 63

Here is the same page in the wild. This was taken at the same spot in Santa Cruz as the previous page. It is a very pleasant place to sit and enjoy life's soundtrack.

That's all for today.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's June 2011 Ink Drop - Part 2

The Ink Drop for the month of June is entitled “Blue Skies”, so it is no surprise that the samples are mostly blue inks. For my first test maze I chose the J. Herbin Bleu Nuit and the Sailor Jentle Sky High. The J. Herbin was sucked up into one of my Pilot Vanishing Points and the Sailor Jentle went into my Ducati Limited.

The test maze that resulted from these two inks was an attempt to try something new. A checkerboard effect was what I was attempting, but there is not enough difference in these inks for the effect to be obvious. This is what it ended up looking like:

Both inks behaved beautifully with no smudging or smearing. Since I always use Fine nibs I don't get much shading, but it looks as if the Sailor Jentle Sky High would shade very well. Depending on the side of the nib which was the leading edge of the line, the color would vary from a light blue to a rich medium blue. The J. Herbin produced a line which was of a more consistent color. It looks slightly dull compared to the Sky High. When I see the two inks side by side I prefer the Sailor Jentle. After my struggles with the Noodler's Cactus Fruit Eel from last month I very much appreciated the quick drying properties of these two inks. By the way the Cactus Fruit Eel makes a very small appearance in this maze in a couple of spots. I picked up the wrong pen a couple of times. That red would go great with these two blues.

Here is the scanned and lightly edited version of the maze.

Two more test mazes have been completed and there is only one left to draw. The thought of using the Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao in one of my Noodler's Fountain pens intrigues me since a bottle of that ink costs twice as much as the pen. That will be a fun experiment.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 62

Here is the next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 62

Here is that same page in the wild. This is a picture of one of our favorite spots down in Santa Cruz. It was taken while I was sitting on our bench. It is our bench not because we own it, but because we have been there enough times that it is as familiar as the living room couch. The bench in Santa Cruz has a much larger screen in front of it though.

Tomorrow I will post the first Ink Drop test maze.

Jonathan

Goulet Pen's June 2011 Ink Drop - Part 1

It is halfway through June already and most, if not all, members of Goulet Pen Company's Ink Drop club have received their packages. This post should not be giving any surprises away. This month the Ink Drop theme is “Blue Skies”. As one would expect, the ink samples are mostly blues. Here they are:

J. Herbin Blue Nuit

Noodler's Nightshade

Pilot Iroshizuku Asa-gao (Morning Glory)

Private Reserve Midnight Blues (Fast Dry)

Sailor Jentle Sky High

This is a picture of what you get. Actually you also get a Ink Drop Club sticker which I didn't show in this shot.

I have used all of the samples except for the Pilot Iroshizuku which I'm saving for last. They are all very useable inks, as opposed to some the the exotic inks included in some previous Drops. The Noodler's Nightshade is not a blue. It is actually a brown with a purple cast to it.

I don't need to tell Ink Drop members what a fun treat these packages are to receive, but I want to encourage non-member to join. It is great way to get a chance to try many different inks at a very reasonable cost. This month I get to try a Sailor ink without paying for an entire bottle. I also get to try out another Pilot Iroshizuku offering without parting with an arm or a leg.

That's it for now. I'll post some test mazes later.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 61

It is Monday, so it is time for another page of my first maze. So without further adieu, here is the scanned and edited version.

Page 61

Here is the same page in the wild. These are more flowers in front of the house on the corner. Pretty cool!

I'm slowly working on the June Ink Drop test mazes. There is a good chance I will have them up before the end of the month.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 60

Today is a red letter day, because with the posting of today's page of my first maze, you will now have two thirds of the whole thing. Only thirty pages to go. Not all of those pages are strictly necessary either. In fact, here is a little secret: of the next thirty pages only five of them are used in the solution path. Of course it is your job to determine which ones they are.

Here is the next page.

Page 60

Here is the same page in the wild. This is the last shot from up on the hill in Big Sur. I was waiting for the stars to come out. It would be fun to stay there all night and watch the heavens turn above me. Maybe sometime.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

Bittner the Pleasure of Writing

Hidden away amongst the art galleries, shoe shops, clothes boutiques that make up downtown Carmel is a little shop which fountain pen aficionados will enjoy. It is Bittner on Ocean Ave. In this new world of online shopping it must be tough going for a brick and mortar store and especially one in an upscale tourist destination.

We don't always visit Carmel when we stay in the Monterey Bay area, but if we do I always visit this shop.

It is fun to look at pens I could never afford. This is where I bought my first Pilot Vanishing Point and where I bought my Ducati Limited.

They carry fine watches as well.

Before my friend told me about Goulet Pens I bought most of my ink here. Needless to say Goulet Pen Company has a much bigger selection of brands and colors.

Bittner has an online presence as well and I received a very cool print catalog last year. There were pens in it going for thousands and thousands of dollars. I seriously doubt if the thoughts that I would write with one of those would be any more profound than the ones I write with a Bic Ballpoint pen. I would try harder though.

Anyway, it is worth a look if you are in the area.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 59

It is finally sunny this morning. For the last week or more it has been more like late February than June around here. Normally I wouldn't mind too much because it would just be a welcome delay in the arrival of hot weather, but it has been a bit of a downer lately.

A week ago I experienced a small stroke and loss the use of my right side limbs to a great degree. I spent Memorial Day in the hospital, but was released the next day. Since then I have recovered roughly half of the lost function in my leg and 80 percent of the loss in my hand and arm. This is quite a relief. I'm not able to go to work yet, but I'm sure it will only be a couple of weeks more before I'm back.

This means that I have a little extra time to devote to my mazes. It turns out that the mazes are a good therapy for my right hand. I was half way done with the 45^th page of my fifth maze when the stroke occurred. I finished up that page over the first couple of days out of the hospital and the effects of the stroke are apparent in the line quality.

 

After a week my lines are much better and I know I will be able to do my Ink Drop mazes. I have received the June Drop, but haven't started work yet. I made a mistake last month by posting the colors of the Ink Drop too early. This month you will have to wait until Brian and Rachel reveal the colors before I post anything.

Here is the scanned and edited version of the next page of my first maze.

Page 59

Here is the same page in the wild. This is back at my favorite bench at the New Camaldoli Hermitage in Big Sur. It is well after sunset now.

That's it for today.

Jonathan

A Maze - Page 58

This is the next page of my first maze. First the scanned and edited version.

Page 58

Here is the same page in the wild. This is again the flowers in front of the house at the corner.

Here are a few more pictures without the book blocking the view.

I like Hollyhocks. The house next door has been for sale for many months. It is a nice house, but on a fairly busy street. As I remember (and reader know how bad my memory is) it is going for less than 500K. Not bad for around here.

That's it for today. The June Ink Drop should be here soon and I have the test mazes soon after.

Jonathan