(Caroline Foty's first fountain pen was a 1970s Sheaffer No Nonsense that still writes perfectly. Since she discovered pens by independent makers, she wants "one of each, please" and wants to meet all the makers. Maybe you do, too. She lives in Baltimore with pens, cats, and all kinds of fiber arts supplies.)
College friends can influence our lives even long after graduation. Darrell Davis was teaching high school when his mother passed away, and his father’s health deteriorated to the point that he needed an in home care giver. Davis quit his teaching job to fill that role.
At the time, his college friend Shawn Newton was well into a pen making career, and asked him to make some blanks. Having a degree in art, it seemed like a possibility, so Davis made a few blanks as a filler job. Newton liked those, and asked if he could imitate the striated look of Arco blanks. “I tried to mimic it, it worked. I made several iterations – there are still some kinks in the process so I test them all, to be sure they don’t separate.”
His dad ultimately also passed away, but he was underway as a blank maker, and after a year he did the Arkansas pen show as a seller of blanks. The striated blanks have become almost a signature for him.
Striped acrylic from D Squared Arts, used for a Hatch special project.
Newton was still egging Davis on to do more. “He talked me into making pens. I said, I’m going to do something completely different from you!” And he did. Unlike almost every pen maker you will encounter, Davis does not use a lathe. “I use Shawn’s CNC to do the drilling and threading so I have a good solid fit, then I hand shape with scrapers, rasps, and sandpaper.” He hand sands, so that the detailed shaping and the textures from the tools will not be lost, then he can buff and polish with a lathe. “I demo the hand shaping process of nib holders at pen shows, because it can be difficult to get people to understand that I don’t use a lathe. It’s a good way to interact with people. I need a wall table, though, so I won’t get in anybody’s way.”
Davis’s first hand made pen was carved in the shape of a lily. “The amount of time and effort it took, I knew it wasn’t viable in the market.” Someone has commissioned something similar, though, and his processes are more mature now, so he’s giving it a go. Most of his pen models (he has a total of eighteen although not all are available on hand to be photographed) have evolved over time, since each one is hand shaped. “If you laid them all out you would see the connections.”
His degree in sculpture and ceramics has fed inspiration into his pen making. “I’ve always disliked that you can’t touch sculptures in museums. They were meant to be touched. That’s one thing I like about making pens - someone will like to use and touch them.” Like his pens, his longtime work in ceramics seeks to combine the functional and the interesting and the personal. “I make boxes that I’m trying to make more emotional – the outside is jagged and rough but the inside is fuzzy and warm – like someone presenting as goth but carrying a pink puffy keychain. Whatever our perception of someone is, we assign it to that person until we know more of what’s inside.” At present, he’s experimenting with adding resin work as additional textural interest on his ceramic boxes.
Being visually oriented, Davis takes inspiration from all kinds of places. “The theories in my head are Leonardo da Vinci and Frank Lloyd Wright – Leonardo did everything, Wright designed every thing in his buildings – my thought process is that everything is related.” The Tour model has a foot like a chess rook (tour is French for tower); the newest model, the Boo-boo, takes elements from perfume and cosmetic bottles; the Cône has grooves in the ends for thumb fidgeting; the Tordré appears to be twisted. “Sometimes it is just – Do I have the ability to make the idea that I have in my head?”
Having worked with many students with disabilities, Davis is interested in making his pens accessible and inclusive, to help with dexterity. “Grips will be shaped to allow more people to write with them.” He does take commissions, which allows him to do something he particularly values: “I try to make a pen that matches one person, that’s ideal for them.” He is currently running about six months out on commissions, because he is a college volleyball coach, and volleyball season is ramping up right now. And because his work is done by hand and not machine, there are just times that it won’t come. “Right now I haven’t touched a pen in two weeks, because my brain won’t let me – I’ll sit down and start and think, This isn’t going to work. I’ll mess it up.”
So does someone whose work is so much like art have a favorite pen? “When Shawn started making pens, I said, Make me one. At the time he was working with polyester resin – it had janky threads – and some student took it. I pestered Shawn for seven months until he made me what he called The Bug Pen – it’s ridged with scales, like a bug. He says it was the worst pen he’s ever made, but everyone loves it. That’s my daily use pen.” He also has a 2024 Arkansas show exclusive pen Newton made from D Squared resin. And he recently bought back one of his own. “I had donated it to a fundraiser, but I ended up buying it myself.”
Davis is still working on the best way to make videos to show the unique shaping elements of his pens. In the meantime, his show experiences are fueling his craft. “I know enough about pens to make myself look silly in a conversation. But I’m always learning about other people’s journeys in the pen world. It’s nice to see people be so enthusiastic about how my pens look and how they write.”
Darrell Davis’s work can be seen on his Instagram @d_squared_arts (“I’m far behind on updating the website at dsquaredarts.com, I have thirty pens I need to put up there”) and at shows in Arkansas, Chicago, St Louis, and Dallas.
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
