Happy new year to my lovely readers, I hope your last few weeks have been filled with a little indulgence of all kinds. In racking my brains this morning for a New Year’s post I ventured down this nostalgic path…
Sharpen.
Mechanical pencils are very often my weapon of choice, owing to many childhood years spent amidst shattered splinters of sharpenings and lead smears across my fingers and exercise book pages, but this morning, jutting from the hefty white ceramic fist that sits on my desk grasping my writing tools, a sliver of gold caught my eye.
Digging out a plastic sharpener in faded fuchsia from the bottom of my desk drawers, I gave this metallic sheathed scribbler its very first gasp of life. It shed its lustrous skin whilst the smell of wood shavings and lead scuffled up my New Year’s flu blocked nose and struck a chord in my brain that resonated with my eleven year old self, sharpening pencils in a blue diplodocus desk tidy that my Dad had purchased because I had a penchant for dinosaurs and it was obviously with much hilarity that one could sharpen their pencils in an extinct reptile’s bottom.
Once I’d grounded myself from my nostalgic wondering, I noticed the sharpenings had spiralled into a golden fringed crown… a regal start to the year.
lauragabriellefeasey.wordpress.com 
It’s a pretty picture for anyone who writes or draws!
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Thank you! I wish I could draw… a sharpened pencil always seems so promising but if I try and draw something it is a very sorry excuse for art.
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All art even by people who someday become talented by it begins with drawing and the touch of pencil to paper. Get yourself a sketch pad and little tin with a variety of drawing pencils, a small eraser, a large eraser and some things in different sizes called blending stumps and decide to draw everyday for a half an hour or an hour. Draw in shapes. Draw your shoes. Draw pictures in magazines. Draw anything that interests you. Work on a piece all in one sitting. Or bits at time. When you get better experiment drawing with charcoal or pastels, conte, or chalk pastels. By a book to guide you, look on the internet, or just draw yourself however u want. Like anything it just takes practice and u will see every day you will get better and better like writing. As somewhat of an artist myself i hope this helps u.
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Thank you, that’s some great advice, I shall definitely have a go… I’ve always liked the idea of just sitting somewhere and drawing what I see, but I need to get rid of the frustration that follows in not being able to do a good job, but I shall practice 🙂
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A Fruitful New Year.
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Fruity with a metallic tang.
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A copper tang.
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Beautiful imagery in your words. Happy New Year. I hope your flu gets better soon!
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Thank you, happy new year to you too! I am an illness wimp so fingers crossed it is starting to clear up 🙂
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I love to write in pencil – the words somehow just seem to flow better! The only problem is finding a sharpener that actually works. 🙂 I look forward to seeing what you produce with your pencil. Happy New Year. 😀
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Thank you, happy new year! There is definitely something about the pencil, it keeps up with my tumbling thoughts a lot more successfully than a pen! 🙂
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I prefer the plastically feel of the keyboard myself, haven’t touched the #2 in years.
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If it’s a good keyboard then I do enjoy the hurried tapping of creation! But there is something quite lovely about not being sat at a machine to write, especially if you pair it with a nice setting beside the river or on a beach… 🙂
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Yes! But for that i use a pen, as i did this weekend at a retreat!
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Lovely, writer’s retreats are such a good idea. Did you get a lot done?
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I got some done as the focus wasnt on writing. It was a men’s retreat from my church. But it was great to plan and write cause i havent really been writing for a while.
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I often have periods of writing lots and then nothing at all for a couple of weeks… it’s a tad laborious to be doing it constantly all the time! I hope you had a lovely time 🙂
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The gild sounds like Chinese good luck! I love it! I found old pencils too, sparkly and loaded with stars. They dont sharpen easily due to the thick glittery coating but they make me smile. And yes that release of wood essence to the air while the crunch crunch crunch of the sharpener prepares your word sword… A little heaven.
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Good point, maybe the gold was a sign! I remember similar pencils with stars and spirals that went though the wood, when I was at school people were fascinated with them, I think they were made by a company called Yikes! That smell is definite heaven, I can’t believe I’d forgotten all about it until yesterday.
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The pencil, holds art I would love to express, but sadly lack. I’m not a good writer, but the work you just wrote is inspiring. 🙂
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What a lovely thing to say, thank you! 🙂
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I love this, and I think my sister and I had a very similar desk tidy-come-sharpener that was a hedgehog – you stuck your pencils in the gaps between his spikes! This has made me all nostalgic 🙂
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Yes that’s where the pencils went in this one, it must have been the same design, how funny! 😀
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