The first 10 minutes of class were spent observing one another's maps, which led to a classroom discussion of compare and contrast. Giving the students an opportunity to really look and think about the art work in the room was great. I would like to try this more.
The lost craft of making and using quill pens was what made up the remaining class time. The fall of the Roman Empire is when Reeds from Egypt became less available and the rise of the quill pen came to be. Farmers raised geese, which became the quill of choice but other birds were also used. Crow feathers were preferred for fine lines. The quills on the left wing curve were favored by right handers and vice versa for the left handers who had less of an advantage with the way the paper had to be angled and the curve of their wrist. The most desirable quills were the top 5 along the curve. The lifetime of a quill was only a few days because of the way the nib ( where the quill came to a point) needed to be chiseled away to keep the quality of the line. Imagine the demand for geese! At the peak of the quill pen, in Great Britain alone, 100 million geese in one year were used. The use of quill pens declined in the 19th century when the fountain pen was invented, eliminating the repetitive need to dunk the quill in the inkwell. Mark making and writing with quills was laborious but some made it their career and created beautiful works of art with them.
