Love at First Sight
Let me start by saying my muse has never been captured by calligraphy. It's gorgeous, but if my muse isn't called to it, then I can admire, but I'll never want to practice it. Basically, I've never had reason to get into the kinds of pens you dip into ink. But I may have now. I don't usually go off on artistic tangents. Maybe I'm distracting myself? Yep. I am. Shit ton of change happening in my life. Lots of processing and tears. So I'm going to sink into something beautiful, rather than wax on about my re-read of The Lord of White Hell or re-watching of Schitt's Creek. So read on or fuck off. :P
Where was I? AH, gorgeous glass pens. Now, you can find glass pens on amazon for $20 or under, but I wouldn't recommend them. Perhaps if you have a knack for figuring out touchy dip pens, otherwise, get a damn well-made one. That said, if your 8yr old is infatuated with 'em, but never used one, maybe that cheap brand ain't so bad.
Me? I saw a vid (on NHK of course) about a glass pen artisan, who took years of studying day and night to master the craft. I probably shouldn't spend over $100 on a pen, but I am damn infatuated. And the fact I could own a piece of art that helps create other pieces of art? *swoon*
Yeah, I've got it bad. I'm not a glass blower. I'll never craft a glass pen, but I really, really, want to master using one. Beyond its beauty (I gush, I know; whatcha gonna do?), you can write with any color and never have to toss plastic pen after plastic pen in the trash. Admittedly though, I don't know if anything would ever be able to replace my beloved ballpoint pens and the range of shades and soft tones I can achieve with them. That's a big mark on the Con list!
I suppose time will tell. Here's the link to the show - skip to 22:15 to go straight to the glass pen creation and history. ^_~* Happy hot ass summer y'all!