A few months ago, Dale Penkala emailed me and asked if I would teach one or two workshops at the Detroit Pen Show 2026.
Detroit Pen Show is my home show—I live only about 30 miles away—but I hesitated. My mother’s health had been my priority, and I wasn’t sure if I could commit. I told Dale honestly that I didn’t know if I would be able to make it.
He completely understood and kindly replied that if things changed, he would still love to have me teach.
I love teaching. I love pens, inks, and paper. But perhaps most of all, I love pen shows because they bring together people who share that same passion. Over the years, many fellow pen enthusiasts and collectors have become my dear friends.
This year, I had to cancel plans to teach at several pen shows because of my mother’s appointments and health concerns. Thankfully, she has been getting better, and little by little, I’ve been able to return to doing what I love—playing with pens and inks, and spending time with this wonderful community again.
Last week, I wrote to Dale and told him that I would love to teach after all. He was delighted and said he would send me this year’s Detroit Pen Show inks so I could “have fun”.
A few days later, the package arrived.
Inside was a beautifully wrapped gift box containing four special Detroit Pen Show editions of Anderillium Ink:
- 2022 – Peacock Blue
- 2023 – Amethyst Purple
- 2024 – Emerald Green
- 2025 – Crimson Red
My heart raced.
My hands itched to write.
My instincts told me I had to create something with these beautiful colors.
Anderillium has long been one of my favorite fountain pen inks. The colors are rich, they behave beautifully on the page, and they dry quickly. I still have samples I opened several years ago, and they are just as vibrant today as when I first uncapped them.
Then came the fun question.
What should I create?
With four beautiful colors in front of me, I wanted to use all of them together so people could see how they looked side by side.
Should I fill four different fountain pens? I usually match each pen to its ink so I always know what’s inside.
Should I use a dip pen? Fountain pen ink is thinner than dip ink, and I wanted to experience the inks as they were made to be used.
While I was still thinking, I opened my pen drawer and saw a glass nib pen that had never been used.
Problem solved.
I smiled.
I picked up a sheet of Clairefontaine paper, dipped the glass nib into the first bottle, and simply began to write.
Since I’ll be teaching American Cursive Handwriting at this year’s Detroit Pen Show, I decided to use one of my favorite classroom exercises: cross-writing. It’s a wonderful way to practice consistent letterforms while creating something colorful and unexpected.
The words themselves became a celebration of color, hope, and beautiful writing.
When I saw the four Detroit Pen Show inks, I wanted to create something that represented both the inks and, of course, Michigan—especially Detroit, my home pen show.
So I asked my friend, Uni, for a little help.
This is the poem Uni wrote for me.
The Colors of Detroit
Four bottles rest quietly upon my table.
To some, they are simply ink.
To those who love the written word,
they are stories waiting
for a pen to awaken them.
Blue,
like the wide Michigan sky
and the waters that have carried dreamers
to new beginnings.
Purple,
the color of imagination,
where every empty page
becomes a place of possibility.
Green,
like hope returning each spring,
reminding us that patient hands
can bring beauty back to life.
Red,
the steady heartbeat
of a city that never forgot
how to rise again.
Detroit is often remembered
for what it once built.
Yet perhaps its greatest creation
is something less visible—
the courage to begin again.
As I dip my pen into these colors,
I am reminded
that handwriting is much the same.
One stroke.
One letter.
One word.
Until, before we realize it,
a blank page
has become
a memory worth keeping.
And perhaps,
that is what ink has always wanted—
not simply to leave a mark,
but to leave
a piece of ourselves behind.
— With gratitude to my friend, Uni,
for the inspiration behind these words.
One day later, I completed the piece.
As much as I delighted to share it here, photographs can never fully capture the shimmer of the inks, the texture of the paper, or the tiny details of the pen strokes. I wish you could see it in person.
If you’re attending the Detroit Pen Show 2026, I hope you’ll stop by. I’ll have the original on display.
More stories, pens, and inks are waiting just around the corner.
Until then… stay tuned…