Miss Mish Mish Mish Mash

Custom orders...and all that jazz!

I've worked on all kinds of custom orders in the past, from digital art jackets over postage stamp shoes to photo handbags and more. But the request i received from Spanish artist Mtuent left me speechless for a few minutes. She requested...a pen. Yes, at first i thought it was a mistake or i missunderstood,but it really was a pen. For the presentation of her new book she wanted to use a pen that was inspired by the subject of her writing : jazz music and Billie Holiday. She had seen my designs on Etsy and was interested in the way i use art and photography in many of my creations. This is why i like Etsy so much : there is room to work across the borders of your own "field" and exchange ideas with other artists on a creative level. Honestly, i would never ever had thought when i woke up that morning " hey i'm going to make a pen today instead of earrings!"...it was just something that was outside my box, so to say.

So, the idea was in my head...but how to execute my design?! I didn't even know what most pens are made of and how i should get my design onto it. The next step was to create something that i could call my canvas, on the surface of the pen. After much thinking i found something that could work for me : i have this clay that isn't 100% organic, but it isn't polymer either. When it's dried it feels a bit like terracotta but much lighter, maybe it is simular to that what doctors or hospitals use when you break your arm or leg. Anyway, it was just perfect for my plan. I used a thin black ballpoint pen and formed another shield around it with this clay. The rest was easy : some hints of silver gold and bronze paint, music notes, parts of old jazz club ads, a trumpet player and the pretty face of Billie Holiday in different colours decoupaged onto my first handmade pen!

This was a great challenge and really fun to work on. In fact, Mtuent's custom order made me think of other designs for pens...i can't wait to try out them out!