Part of the joy of turning pens is challenging yourself to try a new technique, material, or complex pattern. This is when the craft of turning pens produces a work of art. Below are some pens that I would consider my “art projects.” Some of these took months to create and multiple attempts. I hope you like them.
Art Gallery
“The Herringbone”
This pen barrel was an attempt to duplicate a classic herringbone pattern. It is created out of three complementary woods. The dark brown wood is called Monkeypod, the golden brown wood is Honduran Mahogany, and the light creamy wood is Maple. All three woods were chosen for their similar characteristics, including: their hardness, their grain pattern, and their subtle reflective quality called chatoyancy that adds to the beauty of the pen. Each individual segment was cut and sized separately. Then pieces were glued together into tessellated tiers containing two of the woods. Once those tiers were prepared, they were layered on each other in a specific combination to create the herringbone pattern. The next challenge was drilling the hole through the exact center of the barrel so the herringbone was not off center. Finally, the barrel was turned slowly to avoid chipping of the small pieces of wood. The elegant Tudor pen hardware design in antique brass became the perfect complement to the herringbone pattern.
“The Beaded Wand”
Description coming soon…
“Mouse Gears”
Description coming soon…
“The Celtic Chevron”
Description coming soon…
“The Segmented Baron”
Description coming soon…
“The Saber Duel”
A person once asked me if I had ever considered making a “light saber” pen. I thought about how to accomplish this for quite some time. The first thing I needed to make it happen was a mandrel that allowed me to turn a top barrel that is closed on one end. Once I had that, I concentrated on the design elements. I used acrylester resin material that roughly matched the color combinations and handles of Darth Vader’s and Luke Skywalker’s light sabers in the original Star Wars trilogy. I chose the slender profile of the Slimline style to build the pens around.
“Tessellations”
Description coming soon…
“The Spiral”
Description coming soon…
“Metal Plates”
Description coming soon…
“The Geometrix”
Description coming soon…
“The Plume”
Description coming soon…
“Enthusiasm”
Description coming soon…
