On January 2nd, 2013 members of the North Penn Arts Alliance gathered for the first time in 2013. The purpose was the first meeting of the new year and it promised to be a great presentation. Well it was more so, members Dan Fione, Caroline Niesley and Ed Kane made a group presentation pertaining to doing artwork with ink, pen & brush. Ed started by passing out goose quills and talking about the use of the quill and the process used to turn a feather into a pen. Since Ed is also a re-enactor and performer he explained as to why he uses the quill and how it was used not only for drawing but also writing. He discussed the inks that he uses for the quill since it is natural and organic. Ed prefers to use natural inks made from soot ash, crushed black walnut shells, or iron oxide when using the quill. He will use modern ink when drawing with a metal point.
Dan then brought us back to the present and spoke about ink being used in illustration and publishing. Dan also spoke about his use of technical pens and brought along various drawings for a new piece that he is working on. Finally Caroline spoke about using ink with a brush and brought several examples of her work and other artists, cartoonists, and illustrators showing how the brush was used.
When the presentation was done, ink, pens, brushes and pencils were passed out along with blank card stock and blue line illustrations for everyone to try their hand at inking.
Ed took a goose quill and some iron oxide ink and began inking a pencil sketch that he had done of a scene along the Schuykill River.
Everyone that attended were engaged in learning about ink and how it can be used as a tool to create art. Several used toothpicks and straws to create their own piece with ink.
