While I was paying for a sensible and necessary purchase of a light bulb and wire cutters, my eye was caught by a display of carpenter's pencils. Ten, bright yellow, large pencils in a tube. Think of a pencil, and most likely what you visualise is a 19cm, thin cylinder with a conical point at one end.
These are flat, wide and unlikely. What intrigues me most of all is the sharpener that comes with them - I want to see how it works.
Of course, I buy them.
I've seen these pencils being used by carpenters - curiosity impels me to to look up why they are that shape. As I thought, it's to do with not rolling; more specifically, not rolling off when working on inclined surfaces.
A You Tube clip also tells me that the ends are 1/2" x 1/4" - which provides a useful measure. (no doubt it translates into something equally useful in metric)
Another search tells me that the brain releases serotonin in response to yellow. Aha! that explains why they called to me.
Tucked into their tube, the pencils lie on my kitchen table .... not even opened yet and they've already given much ... the initial pleasure of their visual appeal, learning something new, 'doing different', the anticipation of discovering how a round sharpener works on a flat pencil, as well as drawing with them. For me it's also about being open to moments of small delights that nourish the sensory experience of being alive; the taste of water in someone else's house, the smell of rain, the sound of a fountain pen writing.
They are unnecessary in that owning them does not change my life in any significant way. Important ... because buying them is a metaphor for random acts of curiosity, without which my life would be unimaginably different.
I've always thought that "what happens if .....?" is the question common to scientists and artists. What happens if I add raw umber? / change the angle of the eyes? / mix these two? / poke this frog? O.k. - I have to add children as well.
That question got me into SO much trouble as a child.
The story of Pandora's box is told as a cautionary tale; curiosity as a curse that brought all manner of evils into the world.
I believe it is what sparks the urge to explore, to try something different and what brings about change, which we perceive and label as either creative or destructive, good or bad. And it seems to me that it is greatly feared by those who wish to control, because who knows where it will go? But without it, humans would be living as they had been 300,000 years ago.
Back to the yellow pencils - finally opened and I'm about to discover how the sharpener works.
The honest answer - not well.
Using a knife produced a much better result.
And as a pencil?
It's brilliant for drawing straight lines.
Anyone interested in nine carpenter's pencils??
I saw carpenter's pencils recently, but did manage not to buy them! Save one of the 9 for me please x
I'd like a pencil please .