Heya Reader!

I'll just write (From Sarah) in the title this last time so you remember who this is. 😂 You might have signed up after following me on LinkedIn, or after attending the DC International Fountain Pen Show. This is my art letter. Anyways.

Earlier this month I sent the last Stamp Fans note and then shut it down. It is so freaking meaningful to me that it will be missed — Thank you Kim, truly!

There's something really bittersweet about the creator economy. And that's that your creative heart-projects don't always pick up enough momentum to justify them.

There's a push-pull between time, energy, impact... and even if it's a small effort I'd be making anyway (playing with pens), it was enough energy to warrant reconsidering and restructuring that time into something else. So it was time to call it after 6 months.

Sometimes I feel like I lost the luxury of hobbies a long time ago. So part of me wants to reclaim them... and part of me wonders if there's something big enough here to live the "impossible dream" of deriving an income from an artistic life.

Much like everyone I work with as a business coach, I have no way of knowing! I just have to keep taking the next right step and be open to whatever good things might come.

My plans right now are non-existent. I am considering if I'm going to teach a Fountain Pen Show class again next year (probably), or try to host a table to sell things (custom washi from my kids?!), or even get a business plan together and consider a brick & mortar retail store in the next 5 to 10 years (extreme version of a dream!). Pen show in Richmond, VA?

Ok, some entertainment:

Whatcha Been Journaling?

The way I use journals is a delicate science and I've mostly perfected it at this time. Here you go:

• I travel with an A6 Midori Dot Grid that I create box spreads in. This is better than scrolling my phone and I use it just about daily. It fits nicely in my belt bag along with a slim checkered 1970s Pilot E95S. Every time I'm sure I've run out of ideas for tiny sketches, there life is, revealing a whole segment of living that I've never even tried to capture before. Endless creativity is all around us.
• I also keep up with an art-style daily journal in my Hobonitchi Cousin (old paper). I'll do this every day, but sometimes I might skip a day and then catch up on the weekends. It's mainly for memory preservation and to make something pretty to look at. There's not enough beauty in our lives, and that's one benefit of not being monkeys: beautiful things just because. That's washi tape to me, personally.
• I also have a Cosmo Air Lite bound journal I use for longer writing sessions and, increasingly, attempting to learn how to draw my cat (It's not going great). I really like longer journal sessions to get out some bigger ideas, often bittersweet ones, or even difficult things I'm trying to work through in life and business.

How're Yer Pens?

My pens are well, thank you! I recently got my second E95S back from my nibsmith and I haven't inked it up yet — things have been nuts around the holidays, my illness has been flaring, and I just haven't had the dedicated pen time I truly deserve. (Lol).

But I'm glad to have it back! I loved the first one so much I got a second one, just slightly different but still vintage and super gorgeous. Both fine nibs, as I love how the pen feels delicate and then the nib is equally delicate.

My first baby (pen version): Checkered top and bottom. This will be upgraded into my daily carry set so it's always nearby.

My second baby (pen version): Checkered just top, bottom is black. This will get relegated to the go-bag, my belt bag, with wallet and keys.

~ Pen Heaven ~

I also picked up a new Sailor 1911L, the 2021 Pen of the Year in a fascinating big nib that will arrive in early December. Shout out to the Pen Slack where I can scoop up deals like this! Here it is, though I haven't received it yet:

Are you drooling yet? Bc I'm drooling.

I'm not actually a fan of red pens, but I do like cranberries, and the sparkle intrigues me, and this nib is what I wanted. And this price point couldn't be beat. I'll have this along with another Sailor (1911L Ringless with Naginata Architect) juiced up with my two favorite juicy nib inks: Troublemaker Milky Ocean and Birmingham Pen Co Pennsylvania Fieldstone. I literally cannot wait!

Here's what the nibsmith told me about this nib when I asked:

Hows Yer Art?

My art is also good, thank you. Time, time, time. Like many people, it just never seems like I have time to get the paints out and do what I want to do. But here's something only slightly related: also like many people, I choose my phone over art time or reading. It's just... it's out of my power sometimes. I'm pretty addicted. So in early December I'm excited to try a dumbphone again. My Light Phone II will ship then.

I tried a dumbphone about 5 years ago (?) and only made it a few hours because it felt so constricting. It didn't have a QWERTY option, so texting was atrocious. And I really need texting. So with this one, it has that option, and also an e-ink display, so I can super, mega cut down on Bluetooth time.

It has texting, alarm, downloadable music and podcasts (like an old school iPod). But nothing that scrolls. Ugh. It's going to be a hard detox period, but I'm really looking forward to getting my brain back. And making art the thing I "scroll" and lose time with.

I'm going to keep my smartphone in my office for work (good photos, filming, sometimes online banking, etc.). But it is going to feel like taking a leash off to get to leave it there when I leave the house or play with the kids, etc. etc.

OK, I'll leave you with a challenge for the next few weeks. Here's my favorite habit I do at the end of the year: I use the NEXT year's December month to fill in with life lessons from LAST YEAR'S journal. I've got it prepped for this coming week here:

What are you working on?

Sarah G.