I’m a little late to the party, but I am now in love with my new folded pen. I always found it very intimidating (“you’re supposed to make letters with THAT?!”) and never felt confident enough to try one until a few weeks ago.

When I was at Letters California Style last month, I was so inspired by everything I saw – not just the pointed pen work in my class, but also the beauty of creating letterforms that was happening in all the classrooms.

Paper and Ink Arts was our official supply vendor, and I only purchased class supplies on the first day. On the last day, I decided to pick up a folded pen on a whim. I figured, why not? And when I finally got to try it, it was so much fun!

The Emily Dickinson quote above was done using gouache – I tried to switch colors for the bottom half of the quote. Easier said than done!

I also tried folded pen with PearlEx pigment – this one is Solar Gold. The texture of the ink on black paper and the strokes of the folded pen is wonderful.

I have to say, the folded pen takes some getting used to. You kind of have to just dip it in ink and give it a go, to feel how to get thick and thin lines to produce variations, and just have fun with it. As with any kind of good lettering, the key is consistency – which is something I’m still struggling with / need working on. Some people may think using a folded pen is chaotic, but if you take a closer look at folded pen pieces done by the masters, there is always consistency, power and rhythm in the chaos.

I have so much love for the folded pen, and so much respect to those who use it masterfully.

If you’re on Instagram, join us for #FoldedPenFriday every week!