Rabbit of Ages

Rabbit reflecting

Happy New Year!  Something new hopping through my studio… or is it ancient?  I figure it’s got to be ancient, though it’s new to me: the Japanese reed pen.  It’s really just a bit of bamboo with shaped points at each end of it.  I was intrigued by a few of Uri Shulevitz’ reed pen illustrations in his book, “Writing With Pictures”, so I hunted down a source for the pens and ordered fine, medium and large sizes. 

Mr. Shulevitz suggests that working with these pens really frees up the style and after a couple goes at this, I would agree.  I’ve been exploring loading the pen up with ink from the dropper in the bottle stop, as well as with dipping the tip of the bamboo directly into the ink.  I’ve tapped the nib on the mouth of the bottle, as well as blotted it on paper towels to release the excess ink and control the flow.

The effect of the reed pen really took my pencil drawing of the rabbit (above) to the next level.  The lines formed have an effortless grace to them.  And the process is gentle and enjoyable, calling me back again to the drafting table after I have finished my piece.

What has been your experience working with pen and ink?  Have you worked with bamboo pens before?  What about other tools?