'Treats' Acrylic on wood assemblage ©robinrkent
Showing posts with label the pen is mightier than the sword. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the pen is mightier than the sword. Show all posts

Sunday, January 27, 2013

The Mighty Pencil


What a wonderful thing the pencil is. I think of this often as I write notes to myself or sketch late at night in bed. 
'The Pencil Is Mightier'
wall assemblage ©robinrkent
I never worry about it failing to write when held upside down or leaking ink blobs on my blankets or sheets.

Pencils aren't greedy - they are fine with sharing the same space with other marks as I loosely sketch, waiting while I decide which line to use, a prelude to a new work.
They have a close history with Thoreau also:  No. 339: Thoreau's Pencils www.uh.edu/engines/epi339.html  He knew pencils inside and out, literally. The lowly pencil didn't give him any lip when he expounded on the philosophy of transcendentalism.
http://www.thoreausociety.org
It was the pencil that initially communicated those feelings to all who cared to read his words when he wasn't there. Such a responsibility.

When I think about it, pencils are taken for granted, ubiquitous, inexpensive, and can be the accepted object of frustration. 

I don't know where I'd be without them. I think they need to be shown a little more respect.