Guy Clark, Master Songwriter and Artist, Passes Away
Blackwing News, Music, UncategorizedGuy Clark said that the key to crafting a good song was to “write with a pencil and a big eraser.” His methodical songwriting process included pencil and graph paper. He liked to see every letter of every word laid out meticulously before…
Mary Norris on Impact, the Blackwing 24 and Pencil Hardness
Blackwing NewsOur favorite New Yorker Ok'r Mary Norris stopped by Manhattan's CW Pencils to film the most recent episode of her Comma Queen video series. In the episode, Mary discusses her dislike of the use of "impact" as a verb, gleefully discovers…
Our Favorite John Muir Sketches
Blackwing NewsLast year, we released the Blackwing 211, our tribute to John Muir and his impact on the field of naturalism. Muir was a noted explorer, but he was also an avid sketcher. Our hometown of Stockton, CA is also home to the University of the Pacific…
Record Store Day 2016 – How A Record is Made
Blackwing News
This Saturday 04/16/2016 is Record Store Day, and we’re stoked. Like pencils, records are part of the analog world where every action has an tangible, visible or audible reaction. I’ve collected records since I was a kid going to punk…
The Steinbeck Pencil Length
Blackwing NewsJohn Steinbeck was very particular about his pencils. In addition to his 24 pencil ritual, John was also conscious of the length of his pencils. Once his pencils reached a certain length, commonly referred to as "the Steinbeck length," he would…
John Steinbeck’s Typewriter
Blackwing NewsJohn Steinbeck was known for writing his novels out by hand. Later in his career, however, he was forced to introduce a typewriter into his daily routine. John’s son Thom shared what brought about this change, and how his father coped with…