Gottfried Pott – A Look into the World of Calligraphy

A totally different procedure with the same pen led to an unexpected form of manipulation. I had been looking for an appropriate tool for a particular purpose. This tool was to have the capacity to be used in all directions and to produce a fine alternating stroke. Such a tool exists already, of course; I am referring to the pointed brush. I did not, however, want the flexibility of the brush but was looking for a way to coax a nearly unrestricted freedom of mobility out of an essentially rigid pen.

I wanted to be able to work freely and spontaneously with this pen without the limiting fear to have the pen snag when it was held at extreme angles. After trying various tools, I returned to the round nib again. Using wet sandpaper, I began to carefully file down the round tip right at the start of the slit. This way the rounded tip of the nib was straightened out. I corrected the now nearly straight-lined edge by filing down any sharp edges to avoid those dreaded snags during writing. And now the most important step: I turned the pen upside down and began writing with it. That is to say, the bottom part of the pen was now turned toward me. A side benefit: the underside provided me with a larger reservoir. This “exotic” procedure earned some smiles initially. But the manifold possibilities of working with this instrument and even more so the results produced with it convinced all the skeptics. Students and workshop participants confirmed: writing with this manipulated pen gives a sense of liberation. The experiment was fun – but here, too, the main goal was, of course, once again the lettering itself.