A wonderful pen, paper, and ink

The Edison Pen Company’s #76 “blow filler” fountain pen takes a coffee break!

The custom-made Edison Pen Company #76 “Blow Filler” shown above is a new pen that utilizes an old filling technique.  Blow filling was one of several early means of filling fountain pens. Filling the pen involves blowing into a small hole at the end of the barrel while the nib is submerged in ink.  Blowing creates pressure inside the pen that compresses the ink sac.  When blowing is stopped, the pressure is released and the ink sac expands back to its original size – drawing ink into the sac.

The orange Rhodia A5 Webnotebooks (or “Webbies”) fit perfectly in my leather Oberon Design journal cover. I’ve had the leather cover for several years and for much of that time I searched to find a notebook with Clairefontaine paper that would fit it. I tried many other journals but was never happy with their fountain pen worthiness. Then I found the Rhodia “Webbies” offered by a company that would also emboss my initials into the cover (levenger.com). I couldn’t be happier!

Close-up of the blow hole on the Edison Pen Company’s custom-made “blow filler”

I’ve filled the pen with DeAtramentis “Mimosa” ink; partly because it is a wonderfully scented ink, partly because it closely matches the color of the pen, and mostly because the name reminds me of drinking a Mimosa in the tropical setting of Key West, where I do some of my photography and video work.

A “light painting” photo of the Edison Pen Company’s #76 fountain pen

This photo of the Edison #76 on a granite slab was taken by “light painting” with a flashlight during a long exposure in a pitch black room. There is a good deal of trial and error involved in this technique, since you can’t actually see what you’ve created until after the exposure is completed.

I am primarily a film and video director, but I’ve also been a photographer from a young age. I direct anything that involves moving images; from corporate communications and web videos to television commercials and historical documentaries. My documentary “The World’s Greatest Fair” has been seen around the world and won the prestigious CINE Golden Eagle (previous CINE winners include Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Ken Burns).