I decided to spice things up for handwriting practice today and inked up my calligraphy pens with sunset-themed fountain pen inks. Caran d'Ache Sunset recently became a surprise favorite of mine over the winter, and since I was so enchanted with it, I decided to try Iroshizuku Yu-Yake (which means "sunset" in Japanese). They are both quite different, but a pleasure to use. Caran d'Ache is a deep red-ish, pink whereas Iroshi is a yellow-orange, with deep orange shading. Where the Caran d'Ache is slightly on the dry side, the Iroshi is neither too dry, nor too wet.
In terms of personal preference, I enjoy the Caran d'Ache more because perhaps I am simply more inclined towards reds and pinks, as opposed to orange shades of ink. However, the shading with Iroshi Yu-Yake is really gorgeous, and really "one-ups" the Caran d'Ache in that respect. There is just this beautiful interplay of yellow and orange within the same letter that it makes the entire word appear to be on fire.
One of the qualities I enjoy most about the Caran d'Ache is that evokes memories of one of the most beautiful sunrises I have ever seen. Last fall, I was traveling regularly and had to wake up very early in the morning (3:00 am) to catch an early flight to Atlanta which connected in Philadelphia. When I arrived in Philly, it was still dark. It happened to be a Monday morning, and there were hundreds of people at the gate waiting for this flight; it was wall to wall people. Standing room only. Business people, college students, vacationers. I was lucky to get a seat and even better, it was facing the tarmac, but I happened to be engaged in conversation with the person next to me. She stopped talking mid-sentence and pointed to the glass windows and said, "Look at that sunrise!" I turned and the sky was flooded with deep pink and dark grey. Sitting in front of those large airport windows, it was as if we had a front row seat in front of this large expanse of sky. It was amazingly beautiful, and we just sat there looking at it for quite some time. I don't think I have ever seen a sunrise that breathtaking before or since. What I remember most distinctly aside from the beauty of that morning, was that there were so many people at that gate who were entirely disinterested, or playing with their iPad, or iPhone apps, or talking business on the cell phone, or talking business with the person at their side. It was as if this young woman and I were the only people in the world who saw it, and it was both strange and wonderful at the same time. I felt transported from the chaos for just a few moments, and yet I was still sitting right there. The shade of Caran d'Ache Sunset is amazingly similar to that pink sunrise that I saw that morning, and, as a result, I do have a fond affection for it.
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| Caran d'Ache Sunset on Clairefontaine Graf-it. |
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| Iroshizuku Yu-Yake on Clairefontaine Graf-it. |
I had fun with handwriting practice today, but my handwriting really needs some work. Today's exercise was "horizontals and v-shapes". I really need to get into the discipline of playing with my calligraphy pens once a day. I always enjoy handwriting practice, because it's very relaxing but I have long struggled with perfecting "s", "t", "q" and "x". I really need to exercise a bit more effort in this regard.
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Iroshizuku Yu-Yake / Lamy Joy 1.5/ HP#24
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Caran d'Ache Sunset / Sheaffer Calligraphy pen Broad 1.8mm/ HP#24
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| On Rhodia. |
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| On Rhodia. |
05/20/12: edited to add samples on Rhodia.
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