Dip Pens and My Inktober Experience

Deleter Trial Pen Set by Deleter Japan

This article was originally published on January 10, 2020 for Might Could Studiomates, and has been edited to remove community-specific content.

Have you ever seen this kind of pen? No, this is not a dangerous weapon. This beginner's dip pen set with various pen tips is by "Deleter", a famous Japanese brand known for making products used by comic artists. They are also often used for calligraphy.

In 2019, I participated in Inktober for the first time, so I decided to try a new tool to help motivate me through the prompts. It proved to be a really difficult tool for me to use, but I learned to let go by making plenty of mistakes!

Here are the two prompts I drew using this tool and the basic black ink.

I used the G-pen tip for this one and was able to make many intricate lines. I did smudge it a bit, but not too badly.

This one turned into a huge mess! I managed to put the side of my hand down, and without thinking, straight onto the wet ink lining the top of her hair! Then, I just went for it and started smudging on purpose. It was kind of cathartic in the end, and my hand was covered in ink for a couple of days.

🙋 Got an answer, recommendation, or question about dip pens?

If you're familiar with these kinds of pens, I'd love some advice on how to use them more effectively. Have you ever used dip pens? If you have, how do they compare to other pens? Which brand do you use? If you haven't, what would you want to try?

Using What You Have

This article was originally published on April 2, 2020 for Might Could Studiomates, and has been edited to remove community-specific content.

Mottainai Grandma, Using Colored Pencil Stubs to Make a Jumbo Rainbow Pencil

There's a famous children's book in Japan called "Mottainai Baasan" or "No-Waste Grandma". Children love the story because this grandma can turn any trash into treasure! When I first read the book, it felt like I was revisiting a memory with my own grandmother as a child. My grandmother was a person who could make or fix anything, even going so far as to crocheting up holes in her stockings with little tiny needles! In the time in history that we're living in now, getting your hands on new materials can prove more difficult than usual. However, I think this is a perfect time to think like the "No-Waste Grandma" and look around your house for things to upcycle, recycle, or evolve into brand new art!

Here's five projects that might inspire you to take another look in your recycle bin and old arts-and-crafts box.

1. Potato Stamps

Do you have any leftover potatoes? You can cut into them and make custom stamps to decorate with.

Image from The Best Ideas for Kids.com

How to Make Potato Stamps by Best Ideas for Kids.com How to Make Potato Stamps by What's Up Moms (Youtube Video)

2. Food Scrap Textile Dyeing

There are a lot of interesting natural colors you can make with vegetable scraps. I haven't tried some of these yet, but it seems like an easy way to upcycle clothing or textiles you have around the house. You can also tye-dye or dye using Japanese oshibori methods. This could also work great for Easter Egg dyeing!

A Second Life For Scraps: Making Natural Dyes with Fruits and Vegetables, BeakerLife All Natural Tie-Dyeing, Kids Lab with Professor Figgy and Martha Stewart (Youtube)

3. Collages

If you have paper magazines or newspapers lying about, you can make a fun magazine clippings collage! I enjoyed making a collage with a fashion catalog I got in the mail. This might also be fun to extend to junk mail if you cut out the words. Also, how about a Bottle Cap Flower collage?

4. Art Supplies Organization

Maybe you've gathered a lot of supplies, but you can't see clearly what you already have at your disposal. Luckily, you can make customizable caddies and holders for your art supplies out of almost anything! Some interesting ideas I've found include reusing toilet paper tubes and Styrofoam food trays.

DIY Toilet Paper Organizer, The Seaman Mom

DIY Wall Organizer from Styrofoam Trays, Creativities

🙋 Got an answer, recommendation, or question about using what you have?

This is only tipping the iceberg since there are so many ways to use things you have around the house! Have you tried any of these projects? I'd love to hear from you about recycled art projects that you have tried and or recommend.

Art Should Be Fun, Even During a Long Period of Uncertainty

Patience is a virtue, even when facing the imminent unknown - a thought from my Sketchbook

Over at Might Could Studiomates, we’ve been having discussions on this topic as the US begins to return to normal. Here in Japan, as we are still behind on vaccinations, this topic weighs heavy on my mind. The effect of the pandemic on my art has allowed me space to experiment and rediscover interests that I had let slide while I worked as a full-time teacher, and I’m still in the process of building up my businesses and art practice. What has been your experience? My alma mater, Western Washington University, held a webinar last month on this topic and I found it to be a really interesting listen. Some points that I related with:

• Determining Your Own Value: At around 57 minutes, Debbi Kenote talked about the idea of the changing definition of art and its worth, and how people are defining their own value.

• Making Slow Art and Re-Defining Your Path: Around the 50 minute mark, Shannon DeLurio talked about how the pandemic affected her perspective on what she was making. She mentioned that she thinks slow art will become more common as people emerge from this period, as artists re-assess what they are creating and why they are making it. She also continues on this point at 1:25:00 in her conclusion.

• Busying Your Hands as a Maker: I thought that Nicole Sletta's story about her hand-crocheted "Cryptid" was super interesting and relatable. She has so much courage wearing that around the neighborhood! It reminded me of some of the people I encountered when I was on campus, including a team of people pushing around a cart made of pantyhose and a man who always wore a full metal set of armor. I think I would have enjoyed my university experience exponentially if I had joined the art department.

• Artists Supporting Artists on Social Media: Sheldon Sabbatini talked about how he is able to support artists on Instagram by buying their prints, books, and goods. Since he is doing well as an artist, he wants to give back to the community in this way, and he also appreciates analog goods. Makes me think more about what I can offer as goods that take the pressure off of me on the shipping end while providing the analog experience.

• Be Open to Opportunities: (1:24:00) Sheldon talked about not confining yourself to one thing and being open to pivot to new opportunities, filling new open spaces leftover from the pandemic.

• Learn to Let Go and Evolve: Quinton Maldonado covers this point in the conclusion (1:27:00). Focus on your life in the moment and make connections to your experience in order to overcome the anxiety of feeling out of control, and use your art practice to help you explore this.

"Art is supposed to be fun!" - Nicole Sletta

Watch the recording here.