Bits and Pieces, and Koopa Update

Bits and pieces:

We had a sudden, unexpected snow"storm" last Wednesday evening, the eve of Valentine's Day. Before I went to bed on the 13th there was over an inch of snow piling up on the deck, and huge fluffy flakes continued to fall throughout the night. By morning, we had about 2 1/2 inches, schools were closed for kids, teachers got a late starting workday (I went in at 10:00), and I did not have my camera with me or I'd have taken some photos.

My son and his girlfriend should have been home from Chicago by now, but their flight was canceled due to bad weather up there, and so he won't be back in Raleigh until near midnight. I'm praying for their safe travel home tonight. She was interviewing for a residency at UIC... he has to go back in a couple of weeks for his interview. They are both hoping to be selected as resident pharmacists at the University of Illinois, Chicago... I'm excited for them, although it will mean I won't be seeing them as often as I do now.

................................... KOOPA UPDATE! ......................................................

                                   

Koopa has finished my painting! Kira has sent me photos of the finished painting and I'm so excited that I don't know whether I should show you the pictures now, or wait until I get it in my home. So, just to tease you a little bit, here is Koopa taking his first steps onto the prepared canvas. Notice he is beginning on the word 'turtle!' How clever they are!

What you see above is only the beginning.... Koopa walked his way all over the canvas until all the paint was blended in one way or another. His feet and tail were the brushes. She gave him a nice warm bath when it was over.

                                     

Here is what Kira began with. After she had told me I had won a painting, she had asked me to send her any words or phrases, symbols, and some color preferences. I told her I'd like to remember our koi pond, and would love to have the colors I associated with the pond... the shades of water, blues and greens,... the flashes of gold, red, and orange koi.

Kira, being the color expert, had to figure out how to set up the paint, in varying amounts, in just the right places, with the knowledge that her turtle friend, Koopa, was going to glide his tail and feet through the wet colors, blending them in his unique manner. If she figured "wrong" my painting could easily look like mud in the end (that's what happens when you mix orange and blue, or purple and yellow, or green and red).

First she had to prime the canvas, then apply a base coat. She chose the dark blue around the edges and orange for the middle. They appear to be metallic colors. She drew in a cicada and a dragonfly, knowing of my fondness for these insects. This is typical of Kira's work...she adds a personal touch to every painting, making each one a collaboration between the client, herself, and Koopa. The year '1981' was the year we began building our new home. Started it in March of that year, moved in by November of that year. The animal names she added to remember the most common animals we saw in and around our koi pond.

                            

Here he is somewhere midway. I will write more about this project when I have the painting in my possession...

                                    

Max struck a pose for me last week... I believe it was on that snow day we had... this is what a miniature schnauzer looks like when he hasn't been trimmed for a couple of months. It's his winter coat. I'll trim him when spring gets here. Misty needs a trim, too. She wasn't in the mood for posing last week.

 

                                                     

Misty, Max, and Daisy agreed to sit for this shot yesterday... all in one chair. It's Misty's chair, and as you can see, she isn't too happy to share it with the others. Look at those droopy ears! Daisy is Steven's dog... since he's been in Chicago for a few days, Daisy stayed with us... he used to take care of Max and Misty when we went out of town, so we're returning the favor for his dog. Daisy has been part of Steven's and Vi's life for almost two years now... when they found her at an animal rescue center, it was love at first sight. They adopted her. That's one lucky dog!

 

                                     

Remember the Papel Picado (paper cutting) project I was preparing for back in January? Here's what one third grade class did with it: we made Valentine's Day banners to hang across the hall just outside their classrooms. They look great, and since they are made of tissue paper, they flutter easily as the kids pass by below. I'm thinking we're going to make enough to span the entire hallway by end of year... green for St. Patrick's day, of course, is our next project.

Another third grade class drew self-portraits. Here are a few student samples.

                                     

Still another third grade class (studying Kenya/Africa) illustrated scenes from the Gikuyu creation myth...:

                                     

 Below is a close up of just one student's work:

                                     

Briefly, the story goes that Mugai, the great Divider of the Universe, and Gikuyu climbed atop the black crystal mountain, a sacred home on earth for Mugai. There, Mugai pointed out the beautiful land as far as they could see. He told Gikuyu the land was his, for his children, and their children's children, until the end of time. Gikuyu was told to enter the fig tree grove, where the earth was rich and red, and there he met a most beautiful woman, Mumbi. He married her, and they had nine daughters. Later, nine sons would be found for them, and that's how the people of Gikuyu came to grow into a nation. That's the condensed version.

And here is still another piece showing Mugai and Gikuyu:

                                   

Students had read the story, then each week I'd read it aloud to them as they drew, to refresh their memory of it. First they drew a rough sketch, then redrew it on heavier paper, finally coloring it with twistable crayons and/or color pencils. The subject of Kenya was chosen by their teacher earlier in the year because the father of one of the students had just gotten back from his mission trip there.

I have much more, but that's enough to put into one entry. Will try to come back later... I have to go cook dinner now.... spaghetti is on the menu this evening. Bye now!

 

 

Tags: Koopa painting, student art work, papel picado banners, the story of Gikuyu

I'm ba-ack!

I haven't even gone anywhere, but I'm back. If stepping away from the computer equates to being 'away', then I have been away, although I have managed to visit a few of your journals off and on over the past month.

It's not that I didn't have anything to write about. It's more like I didn't have the mental energy to sit down and write.

This is going to be a short entry because the sun is going down and I want to get to my neighbor's house before it gets dark. They just moved into the house right next door where my widow friend lived. She moved out on the seventh of this month... it was a difficult process for her, packing up and moving, very difficult, and now she has found an apartment in town. She isn't any happier... she's only been alone for just over a year now, and I can't even imagine the inner turmoil, from her perspective and loss. I will visit her soon to see how she is doing.

In the meantime, the new neighbors have moved in.... are moving in. They may have at least one or two school-aged kids. I want to bring my dogs over, to introduce them so when the new folks see my babies, they'll know whose they are.

I'm baking oatmeal cookies while I type this... my "welcome to the neighborhood" treat... to make them feel warm and glad they moved here. So, let me go and make the delivery... I'll have some news when I get back, I'm sure!

I'll come back and post some new student art work later on this evening. Bye now! bea

Devoted Dancing Dog

This is purely for fun. I know that most if not all of the journal visitors out here are lovers and keepers of animals and pets. Today, a dear friend of mine emailed the link to this incredible demonstration of devotion, training, and the joy of dancing to Grease tune "You're the One That I Want!" , and rather than forward it, I decided to post it here.

Tell me it didn't make you laugh and smile... it is too adorable to pass up. I hope your computer has the necessary installations for you to view it. If not, go to this YouTube website:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqbVbPvlDoM&feature=related

I'm thinking of Indigo, a great dog lover, who won't be able to hear the music, but possibly she remembers this number which John Travolta and Olivia Newton John made famous back in 1978. I hope so. The words following the video are for your benefit, my friend.

                                                 

Indigo... I'm writing the words to describe the scene that goes with the music in the hopes that you recall the song, and in your mind can hear it while you watch the video. The actual music doesn't start playing until at the 39/40 second mark..or at the point where Carolyn signals her dog and Rookie takes his first step between her legs. At that point are the beginning beats of the song. For your pleasure, I've recorded the words of the announcer as Rookie and Carolyn enter the arena during those first forty seconds before the music begins:

"...(words fade in here) ... exciting, challenging, and so much fun! Rookie enjoys freestyle so much that he often has ... (I couldn't understand the few words here)...... Carolyn says Rookie always has the last word regarding choreography to the music and does choose to make changes now and then. It seems at times Rookie just can't resist throwing in some unexpected moves, but would rather wait and surprise Carolyn on the day of their performance. Today they'll be performing to the music from the movie Grease the song is "You're the One that I Want!"

At the point where John Travolta sings the words "It's electrifying!" Carolyn takes a spin, and Rookie spins to match her steps. When you see Rookie sit back and rest his right paw on Carolyn's thigh, that's the part of the song where Olivia is saying "You better shape up, cuz I need a friend"... you know, the scene where Olivia is dancing toward John and he steps back... Where you see Rookie backing up to Carolyn as she beckons to him, she is singing "meditate in my direction..." She's singing "to my heart I must be true" (about 1:22 mark) as she dances around her pup.

Also, for your enjoyment, Indigo, are the words to the song. B means boy/Danny; and G=girl/Sandy.

"You're The One That I Want!" from Grease, 1978.

B:  I got chills.
They're multiplyin'.
And I'm losin' control.
'Cause the power
you're supplyin',
it's electrifyin'!

G:  You better shape up,
'cause I need a man
and my heart is set on you.
You better shape up;
you better understand
to my heart I must be true.

B:  Nothin' left, nothin' left for me to do.

Both:  You're the one that I want.
(you are the one i want), o,o, oo, honey.
The one that I want.
(you are the one i want want), o,o,oo, honey.
The one that I want
(you are the one i want want), o,o, ooooo
The one I need.
Oh, yes indeed.

G: If you're filled
with affection
you're too shy to convey,
meditate in my direction.
Feel your way.

B:  I better shape up,
'cause you need a man
G:  I need a man
who can keep me satisfied.
B:  I better shape up
if I'm gonna prove
G:  you better prove
that my faith is justified.

B:  Are you sure?
Both:  Yes, I'm sure down deep inside.

You're the one that I want.
(you are the one i want want), o, o, oo, honey.
The one that I want.
(you are the one i want want), o,o,oo, honey.
The one that I want
(you are the one i want),o, o, oo
The one I need.
Oh, yes indeed.

lyrics found here at this site

I did some further searching, and found out that Rookie is now fifteen years old, and is retired from the sport known as Canine Freestyle. This website, musical dogsport channel, will introduce you to the sport if you have never heard of it. If you haven't had enough of this beautiful dog, Rookie, you must watch this video, called a Tribute to Rookie/Canine Freestyle. Brought tears to my eyes... because I love dogs.

And here are a few other links that will satisfy your curiosity about dogs who love to dance.

http://gottadance.landofpuregold.com/

http://www.caninefreestylemagicmatch.com/

http://landofpuregold.com/deaf.htm

Tags: Rookie, dancing dog, pets

aoljembedAdd, aoljembedAdd_1

Kirigami, the art of paper cutting

                             

The remnant of the cold/virus I've had since last week-end kept me indoors one more day. Tomorrow is a teacher workday... I will be ready to get back into my classroom. It has felt and looked like winter around here for several days, and I'm feeling a bit satisfied about that. A good, cold, dreary winter always makes spring that much more glorious in the coming.

Yet these days have been anything but dreary... the sun is shining, the skies are clear, and the roads are safe to drive on. However, I've stayed inside and piddled and dawdled all the day long. I've studied, searched on the internet, responded to emails, and visited some of your journals. I've installed the new Yahoo! Music Jukebox since I had failed to do it back in August when Music Match Jukebox expired. Yep, been at the computer all morning. Thank you all for your concerns... I am getting better. Just an occasional throat clearing cough.

Kirigami ... the Japanese art of paper cutting. Origami is the art of paper folding. Actually, Kirigami combines both, folding and cutting. Many of you are already familiar with it, might even have done it without realizing it.... remember those snowflakes you cut out as a kid from folded paper? Or making a chain of dolls or people holding hands? Those are the simpler versions of paper cutting.

Here is some history: First came that Chinese invention of paper from wood pulp. The word paper comes from the Egyptian word papyrus, a plant that grew along the Nile. The Egyptians had mastered the skill of making sheets of papyrus for 3,000 years before the Chinese learned to make it from wood pulp around 104 A.D.

Still,you have to give credit to the Chinese for finding a more practical resource to make paper: trees. Papyrus didn't exactly grow in very many places, and wood pulp was more widely available around the world. It didn't take long for people to find ways to use the new paper product other than for writing. Red was a predominant color in the Chinese paper cuttings. Here is an example... click on link.

In Mexico, paper cutting is called Papel Picado. The Aztecs of pre-Hispanic Mexico used the bark of mulberry and fig trees to make a paper from which they fashioned colorful flags and banners to decorate their temples during rituals and festivals. Present day papel picado is made from colored tissue paper. The colors are chosen for specific festivals, depending upon which holiday is being celebrated.

In Poland, it is called wycinanki (vee-chee-non-kee). Bright colors of circles, roosters, stars, and flowers arranged symmetrically were popular designs that decorated homes from the mid-1800s. Traditionally, they would whitewash their walls and adhere the delicate cut-outs to the walls to decorate for the Easter season. Here is a web site with some very intricate examples of wycinanki by Susan Throckmorton. If you have a minute, it's worth checking out.

The Germans called it scherenschnitte, and they may have been the ones who brought it to our country. Think early Pennsylvania Dutch designs. The link in this paragraph will take you to an artist's web site who does work in that style.

I'm not going to give a big lesson on paper cutting here, just wanted to show you what I've been playing around with in this state of semi-hibernation. I'm leaving some links for your own perusal... the works you'll see if youbranch out from this journal are far more exquisite and elaborate than my own fumblings.

                                  

The paper cuttings, my own I might add, that you see spread across my dining room table, are all simple by comparison, but even so they took a great deal of time. I started them on Friday evening while I waited with excitement for that winter weather advisory we got the next morning. Each of the above designs come from a single sheet of copy paper, to give you an idea of size. 

The six colorful trials below show some of the ideas I came up with as I thought about how to teach it to my third graders next week. My lesson plan includes showing the kids some examples (mine as well as some from the internet), demonstrating how I do it, then giving them precut strips of paper on which they will draw their own design to cut out. To simplify it, I used an 8 inch by 2.5 inch strip, folded in half twice. This thickness can be cut easily with a sharp, school-style pair of scissors. The two in the middle, yellow and pink side by side, were the easiest to do as the shapes are basic and easy to get to from the sides of the folded paper. I may start with those for the class. The others required a little more finesse, if you will... careful cutting and handling of the paper.

                            

The ones below are the same as above, just a closer look. They are each about a half sheet of the brighter tones of copy paper. I included the little 2.5" x 4" white drawing to show how I draw each design to complete 1/4 of the final piece ... the paper is folded in half, twice.

Though the above designs are my own, I do have a book that I bought over the Christmas holiday from Barnes and Nobles. It provides more thrilling examples that I can follow, but are difficult for a child.  Which is why I'm taking what I'm learning from the book, and translating it into third grade simplicity.

Here's a picture of the book in case you are interested. Those little Cutter Bee scissors are great for this kind of work, but any small, sharp, pair of scissors will do this level of work.

                                                      

I have to add that it took nearly as much time typing up and entering this post as it did to cut out all those designs!

Finally, a shout out to my brother Joe, his wife and their two daughters, one of whom was married on Saturday in sunny California. Congratulations to my newlywed niece, Wesley and her husband, Robert. May you both have a long and prosperous life together. My card and a letter are forthcoming!

I almost forgot... I don't think anyone can top the work of Peter Callasen ...talk about elaborate! Amazing doesn't even describe the wonder of his work. He takes paper cutting to a new level, three dimensional sculpture. You have got to visit this website if you are interested in paper sculpture, or even if you are not. It's a trip for the eyes and the mind. How does he do that? I'd love to see a video of him at work.

 

Thank you, Sher (wunzuponatime), for sending me that email of Peter's work just as I was doing all these papercuttings... verytimely of you!

Tags: kirigami, scherenschnitte, wycinanki, papel picado, papercutting, Peter Callasen, blogplug

Snow storm... and copyrights

First snow storm in 2008 hits Alamance County!

Well, that wasn't exactly the way the news headlines explained what we got yesterday, but that's what it felt like.

As the students boarded the buses and climbed into their cars on Friday, we encouraged them to do the Snow Dance because we were hoping for snowfall over the weekend. Most of the kids could not remember anything more than a dusting in their brief lifetimes. The last time we had a real good snowfall of 14 inches or more was back in the 90's... early 90's.

It fell quietly as the day came to a close Saturday. Surprisingly, it was cold enough to stay all through Sunday... and roads were icy enough to cause many churches to cancel their services. Including mine.

As soon as I woke up, I threw on some shoes, a long-sleeved shirt, and my snow vest (the blue one I'm wearing in the sidebar that I bought when my sister was here), and out the door I trod with my Canon in my hand. Here are two to view:

                                     

 

                                    

 

I had taken video footage of the snow with my camera, which is really what I wanted to show you here, but I haven't finished making the movie yet. I'm looking for the right music.

Speaking of music....

I've been rethinking the music portion of my videos. Should I add music or not? I want to, but there are the copyright laws.... I'm a teacher... I can't ignore them. Actually, no one should ignore them. Theyare laws to protect the copyright owner as well as the individual who wants to make fair use of copyrighted material. I thought I knew these laws well enough... at least in regard to making copies of printed materials to use in the classroom.

But do I know them well enough to be making movies and adding music? No... as I'm finding out... not really.

Every year teachers are reminded about the copyright laws regarding music, video, tv, movies, and books. We're always making copies of things to show in our classrooms. Fair Use laws allow us to do this for classroom purposes, within reason.

I usually get permission from authors before I make a copy of their text. Most will gladly give it and remind me that it isn't necessary because my intent falls within the fair use laws.

Once I tried to get permission to use a video portion from Dances With Wolves that would help me demonstrate a necessary reading skill and concept, visualization. I had received permission from the publisher of the book to copy an excerpt from the book, the same scene that was in the movie I wanted to show. The movie scene followed the book scene closely and I thought it would make a great example of visualization. My plan was to have the kids read the excerpted text, about three pages worth, then have them visualize the scene, and draw it on paper. Then we would talk about what they saw as they read the author's words. Finally, I would show them the video clip from the movie. We'd talk about how the director visualized the same scene, how it was like what they had imagined, how it was different from what they had imagined. What words in the text helped them to visualize the scene?  etc.

It was taking too long to find out if I could get permission, so I proceeded with my lesson while I waited for the response. Weeks later, I still had not heard from the film people, but the book publisher assured me that, since my intent was to use it in the classroom in the manner I had described to him, he thought it was permissable.

The lesson went well, the kids loved it, and were surprised that they had imagined much the same as the director had thought the scene should go. Remember, these areall kids who are too young to remember Dances With Wolves... none of them had seen it. BTW, the scene I'm referring to is the one where Lt. Dunbar is being followed by Two-Socks. He tries to chase the wolf away, but with no success. The wolf playfully chases down the lieutenant, and the two parry with each other. The LaKota People see the two 'dancing', and that's how Dunbar gets his new name. The descriptive paragraphs in the book were excellent examples to use for this particular task.

My point is that whenever I use copyrighted material, I seek to get permission from the copyright owner. But I didn't with my videos. I thought it fell under the Fair Use Law... butI've been looking into it this weekend, and I'm having my doubts.

I did some searches today... took me forever to read the various debates and articles on it. I even checked out aol uncut video's copyright policy

"Therefore, if you create something and include portions of another person's copyrighted work in it (example: creating a video with part or all of a song in it), in most cases you must have permission to use that content for that purpose. Therefore, as a general rule, you should not include copyrighted works in your video without authorization. If we receive notice from a copyright owner that you have done so, we are required by law to remove your video from our site, unless and until you can show us that you have the rights or a permissible exception."

That's pretty plain as day to me. I need to seek permission for all those videos I've already made or they are gone.

That's what I'll be doing on MLK day... looking for some names and addresses of people to get their permission... for the Lion King music, the Yanni music, Josh Groban, Randy Travis, I've used their music (I own the CDs, but that doesn't give me any special privileges) ..... ugh!

Saving a journal

I received a few emails this morning from several J-landers about a petition of sorts. This petition can be found at Dan's journal, SlapInions. Writes Dan, "I would like your help in pushing AOL to create a means of permanently saving and printing the contents of our journals."

If you leave a comment there, it will count as a petition signature. He has acquired several 'signatures' as of this entry, and will likely acquire many more. I left my comment there in support of the idea.

I've often considered cutting and pasting the nearly three years of entries I've written here into a Word program, and saving it to a disk. At this point, that would take considerable time to do. There are a lot of pages.

If what monponsett (aka, HighAboveCourtside/Nor'EasterBlues) thinks about aol's relationship to our journals is true, I better do just that (copy and save). Read her comment in Dan's entry. I hadn't thought about that possibility.

I don't type up my entries in a Word program before posting them onto aol, but maybe I should.... to prevent the possibility of losing all these long-thinking pages. I entertain the thought, sometimes, that there will be one descendent of mine interested in the life of their great-grandmother, or great-great aunt.

If I were to lose the journal pages suddenly and unexpectedly as monponsett predicts, it would not be like losing everything I own in a fire, however, I would have to start over. From a new starting point.

My friends know my story, my husband, my son, my brothers and sisters in Christ, my neighbors, and some of my fellow teachers... my mother,my own siblings... each knows a piece of my life. My regular visitors to this journal also know another part of me, the learner/teacher. If everyone who knew me were to gather and put the pieces together, you'd pretty much be able to tell my life story.

Except for the parts that haven't been created yet, the things I haven't done yet: the plans I haven't written for a future I haven't lived... the gifts I haven't given, the projects I haven't started, the ideas that haven't been thought... there's still parts of me left unexpressed, untold, unloved, unheard, unwritten, unsung. I suppose we are all incomplete in that way. Every day I discover new thoughts. It's like coming awake every day... "oh yeah, I hadn't thought about that!"  I hear myself say from time to time.

Sometimes those thoughts occur while reading another's journal entry. They are occasionally revealed through the words of my own entries, surprising even myself. I understand why we like to write ... it is because our own writing sheds light on life, answers our questions, and leads us forward in the quest to find ourselves. In doing so, we find ourselves in relationship with others, and most importantly, we find ourselves in relationship with our Creator. Writing may leave us empty and willing for something more to fill us.

At the end of the day, or at the beginning, when one sits down to write an entry (here on the internet or on the white paper of a composition book), sometimes the meaning of who we are and what we are becomes clearer. Typed or written in ink, our thoughts stare back at us in the form of words, each word meaningful, leading us back into our memories (each in its time), making connections with our present experiences, and shedding light on a new creation in our hearts, and hopefully in the world.

Our writing shapes us even as we shape our writing.

So the question is, should we try to save our writing? Does it really matter to anyone else a hundred years from now what happened to us? Is my writing really just for me? Would anyone bother to read through countless pages of rambles, tributes, memories, daily events, and emotional turmoil to glean a sentence of truth? Does it really matter?

It might to that one person who desires to know. For them, the discovery would be a treasured life.

Tags: Journal writing, saving a journal,

One continuous line, and fountain pens

                                                    

 

I received this picture in the email today. You can click here to get the larger image. You might want to see it enlarged after you read what I'm writing about.

When I first saw the image, the e-mail repeated the words that are printed at the bottom of the image: "All done with a single stroke of the pen."

Wow!... it's done in one continuous line. That means the pen is never removed from the paper from beginning to end. The artist drew without stopping, without dipping for more ink. Without blotting, without error. The line begins at the tip of the nose and ends at the final, dangling, curly line. One long, unbroken line from beginning to end. I was impressed. But I didn't believe it.

Yeah... I doubted it. My first thoughts. The date on the image reads 1884... there is no way this picture could have been drawn with the single stroke of a pen unless it was fountain pen or other continuous ink flow system. Quill pens had to be dipped repeatedly to complete such a lengthy line. A feather quill pen could not have drawn this picture. Weren't quill pens, or other dip and writing implements, pretty much the only pens being used at the time? I didn't know for sure.

I searched and found many pictures of drawings done in one continuous line, even paintings painted with continuous line, color changing, but the line unbroken. But how could this drawing be done like that in the days when people were mostly writing with quill pens and/or fountain pens that worked poorly?

I thought it was one of those false reports, a hoax of sorts, that is sent to us by friends and family who think we'd just love to see this photo or read that story. This one caught my interest as a teacher and a lover of writing... of one who loves to write with a pen. Especially fountain pens.

I'd been researching the history of pens for one of my classes this week, as a matter of fact. I had cut the quills of four large feathers into what I fancied were writing utensils... quill pens.

I had found two videos on the internet that showed me how to do it... a lot harder to do than I thought.

I had found articles with pictures on how to cut and shape the nib of the pen into something that would write. I had read articles about the history of writing utensils... had not paid attention to the dates.

I returned to one of the articles I had read on the history of the pen, and lo, I discovered that the year 1884 when the first practical fountain pen was invented by Lewis Waterman.

This drawing could very well have been drawn in 1884 by one of those new-fangled fountain pens that Mr. Lewis Waterman, an insurance broker in New York City, invented himself.... after a rather embarassing and financially stressful event. His story follows... or what I could glean from two different sources:

You see, about a year before his life-changing invention, he was about to sign a very important contract. There were some type of pens with larger ink reservoirs on the market, but mostly they leaked and dripped terribly. He wanted something more reliable to mark the signing of this special contract, so he purchased one of the higher priced reservoir pens. He may have thought that if it cost more, it would work better. I don't know which brand he bought. The Schefer and Parker pens were already patented by this time, mabye it was one of them... but there were no facts (I could find) about which brand he had purchased.

At the signing of this important contract, the new pen leaked all over the document. One story I read said that Mr. Waterman left the office to get another contract, and while he was away, another insurance broker stepped in and signed the contract... Another version of the story goes that the client took the blotted signing as a bad sign, and refused to seal the deal.

Waterman was humiliated and frustrated by this misfortune, so he resorted to his own ideas about how a pen could work with a continuous ink supply without leaking and blotting messily over important documents. He whittled and shaped a wooden model until he came up with a pen that worked better than the rest. By 1884, his fountain pen design had been patented, manufactured, and sold successfully. He guaranteed it for five years. His pen became known as the first practical fountain pen invented.

Was the Waterman pen the one used in this drawing? I don't know. I've been searching to find the answer to that question. If you happen to be interested in taking up the quest along with me, I'd be glad for some company. Who drew that picture, and what kind of pen did they use?

It is late. I stayed home today. This is what I saw when I looked out onto our back deck this morning:

                                     

But that is not why I stayed home... although we did get an optional teacher workday today, which will have to be made up next week. No, this little bit of icy sleet and rain would not have kept me home... I could have gone in later in the day. I love workdays. 

I stayed home because I've been fighting a bug of some kind since Saturday, and was slap wore out by yesterday noon. Last night I was running a slight fever. I decided what I needed was to take some medicine, stay home and sleep without disruption. I did, until 11:00 a.m. then rested the remainder of the day. Just what my doctor (and my son the pharmacist) ordered... and lots of water, some Tylenol, some Robitussin, and more sleep.

I think I'll be ready to go back to school tomorrow.

But I'm still curious about that continuous line drawing and those early fountain pens.

Tags: fountain pens, quill pens, continuous lines, winter weather, blogplug