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List-Making as Art

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Ding Ren has the perfect gig: Typing as performance art. She just held an exhibition yesterday, but will perform \”Observations with a Typewriter\” again on August 20th as part of two-month \”Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists’ Enumerations from the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art.\” Here\’s a description of Ren\’s exhibition/performance:

\”Ren will sit at a desk in the gallery space generating lists with a typewriter. The content of the lists will be gathered through an on-the-spot observation of visitors in the gallery space that is akin to an ethnographer performing a field study. These observations may include, but are not limited to: what visitors are holding in their hands, untied shoelaces, bits of overheard conversations, and the color of visitors’ shirts. The observed content will be recorded through typewritten pages that will spill out onto the floor of the gallery for visitors to read. Like the lists already on display, the lists Ren creates in real-time are meant to highlight potential patterns and find meaning in the easily overlooked, near-nothings of everyday life. Past records kept by Ren include an observation of falling objects, red dots, stray pennies on the street, and other people’s reading material on public transportation.\” ~ The Pinkline Project

Part one in this series began February 5th, and it looks like the whole collection might be available through September. Fascinating business, actually. Take a look at Smithsonian\’s online exhibit HERE, or order the companion book, Lists: To-dos, Illustrated Inventories, Collected Thoughts, and Other Artists, although I\’m sure neither will come close to that live performance. If anyone is handy to DC and can make that trip, be sure to let us know.

As a side note, that folded printer paper is for the birds. Clearly Ren hasn\’t yet experienced a fine BAROP.

In honor of all things Smithsonian and list-y, I\’m proposing we all typecast a list or two to celebrate the everydayness of common writing. Besides, it\’s an excuse to make lists I don\’t have to follow.


List on, typosphere!



Nearly Vintage Fountain Pens

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For something to be truly vintage, it has to be at least 30 years old. I\’m not sure if that\’s a hard and fast rule or if I just made that up, but there\’s something distasteful about using \”vintage\” to describe anything made after, say, the year I graduated from high school. These pens are nearly vintage, meaning they don\’t make them anymore and probably haven\’t for a while.

That hefty monster in the middle is the Monteverde Regatta. Made from pig iron or something like it, it\’s definitely a fountain pen you want to use unposted. The shame of it is that the cap screws neatly onto the end. This fountain pen is surprisingly easy to move, though. It\’s a sweet medium nib that\’s smooth even in the Moleskine. I found this one on closeout at Office Depot for $14. They\’re getting rid of all their pricey pens at OD, so hit the store soon.

My adorable blue Sheaffer Fashion Rings pen is a throwback to the early 80s when most fountain pens went skinny. The broad nib is decisive – almost a bit much for my thin-lined Moleskine paper, but I don\’t care. There is no pen faster. It came with a lovely matching ballpoint via Ebay  – I think the seller has a few more sets, one in orange.

Ah, the Parker Rialto. I\’m addicted to Rialto ballpoints, with their snappy caps and perfect weight. Again, thinnish and 80s to mid 90s, but the prices can be tragic. I was lucky with this red Rialto, which somehow rode under the Ebay radar due to misspellings in the listing. Smooth medium nib even on the Moleskine.

All of these pens came with converters. While I\’d love to go crazy buying bottled inks in dazzling colors, there\’s a three year-old boy in this house and I know better. I\’ll stick to cartridges for a while.When you see the train coming, it\’s best to avoid the tracks, is all I\’m saying.

Any skittishness in the pencast above is the sole responsibility of this Frost Parch stationery I found yesterday while milling around Little Rock. Pretty parchment, fails to drink the ink for some reason. It\’s pretty held up to the light, though. At the end of the day all that matters to me is how fast and well these pens write on ruled Moleskine paper, because it\’s all about actually using the pen. A lot.

Like Lazarus…

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Well, the old blog layout finally self-destructed. Not like I didn\’t see it coming. I\’ll miss those tea-stained boxes and funky page-switches, but not enough to build it back. So, the new Fresh Ribbon is a little cleaner, a little more functional.

To put me in the typecasting mood, I\’ve whipped up a page on Facebook. Those of you addicted to FB (and you know who you are) will find this an easy way to keep up. I\’ve slung up a few oddities on there already, so drop in and say hello.

When a Lady Drops Her Hankie…

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Yes, with a spritz of starch you can roll that antique handkerchief into the typewriter. With a drawer full of these I\’ve only just begun. These are perfect for lines of poetry, quotes, or cryptic messages. I feel a Silent Type entry coming on, so look out.

Thanks to my friend Stephanie who found the inspiration for this at the lovely blog 52 Flea. Steph knows where the good stuff is and always tells me.

It\’s Carnival Time, Y\’all

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This blog carnival thing is fun. It\’s especially nice to know there are other notebook/paper/pen obsessives out there. Take a walk through Notebook Stories\’ list of scribblers in this month\’s Carnival of Pen, Pencil and Paper – better than a midway and no carnies. Our friend Strikethru is there, and she\’s also the Notebook Addict of the Week. There should be a tiara involved, but maybe that\’s just how we do it down South. I\’ve got a post or two in there as well. Thanks, Notebook Stories!

There\’s another Carnival of Pen, Paper and Pencil next month hosted by The Pen Addict. Visit the submission guidelines and go write something. The next deadline is September 6th so there\’s plenty of time

So…where\’s the typecast carnival?

Janis Joplin, Jorma Kaukonen, and the Typewriter Tapes

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Yes, Virginia, there is more typewriter music. Here’s a little bluesy moment for you thunkety-thunk typewriter fans and those who just love Janis. Perhaps there are a few of you out there who are both. Like to download a few songs? Click here and put The Typewriter Tapes on your Ipod. I’ll bet Janis never dreamed such a thing was possible.

Good Lord. I think I just resurrected my DJ voice.