Meet My Fountain Pen Sensei

April 06, 2016 by Tammy Wright in Letter Writing, Pens and Paper

It all started when a letter arrived almost two years ago. My pen pal had written her letter with a fountain pen and various ink colors. Her handwriting was gorgeous. I was hooked. I had to learn more about using a fountain pen.

I started out cautiously and purchased some very affordable pens: The Pilot Metropolitan and the Lamy Safari. Both of these cost less than $25 and are great starter pens. They allowed me get comfortable with the pen, take it apart, play with nib sizes, work with inks and learn more about maintenance without the worry of breaking, destroying or losing them.

Now I'm ready for the next step - I want a nicer fountain pen. So I turn to my Fountain Pen Sensei. My Fountain Pen Sensei, Tracy Lee, is a friend and fellow letter writer. Famously known as @legally_inked on Instagram, she has an amazing fountain pen collection and knows everything about pens. Whenever I have a question I send her a text and she gives me guidance.

Recently, she offered me an chance to spend a day in her enchanting personal library, view her pen collection and film answers to all my questions so I could share with others. I'll list all her resources and favorites below. To see her library, pen collection and learn what I learned, check out the following two interview videos:

Mentioned in my interview with Tracy Lee:

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Daniel Smith The Nibsmith

Deb Kinney

Michael Masuyama

Outgoing: Chinese Take-Out

March 30, 2016 by Tammy Wright in Letter Writing

Inspiration for mail art can come from almost anything. For example, my niece and I recently ordered Chinese take-out from my favorite local restaurant. I don't think the restaurant has changed anything in 50 years, including their packaging. I love the retro feel of their menu, containers and glassine bags. So I decided to use them for mail art.

The menu was torn in half and used for collaging. The glassine bags which originally held pre-packaged sauces are now being used to package snail mail goodies. When I put this particular parcel together, I had a pen pal from California in mind. There's something about my local Chinese restaurant and it's traditions that remind me of San Francisco.

I hope this inspires you to look differently at items you would normally toss. Maybe they can be repurposed into something special to send a friend. What has inspired your mail art recently?

Journal Prompt: How Are You Working Toward Your Goals?

March 29, 2016 by Tammy Wright in Journaling

Each week I try to take an hour and create a weekly layout in my personal journal. Many people find it hard to believe it only takes me an hour to make these weekly entries. My secret to tackling the blank page is having a process.

On the right side of the layout, I do something creative like sketch, collage or practice calligraphy. There is power in doing something creative on a regular basis and I consider my weekly journal to be a great outlet.

The left side of the page is for journaling. My journaling prompts are simple. They are tied to my goals. I look back on each day of the week and ask myself "How did spend my free time working toward my personal goals?"

Do I do something productive everyday? No. I'm human. So on the days when nothing happened or I have blanks, I try to find an inspirational quote and remind myself to keep moving forward. My journal helps me to check in each week. I can see areas where I'm succeeding and areas where I'm falling behind.

When setting goals, it's important to make them measurable. For example, I know my spirit is made happy when I seek out and support the art of others. So I try to take advantage of at least one arts and cultural event each month. This can be anything from attending a book reading, going to a performance or visiting an art museum.

If you are interested in how I worked toward my goals this past week, I've included a video below. How have you worked toward your goals lately?

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