The Sharpie: A light-hearted research project.

Research an art object that I use everyday without using Google or Wikipedia? Challange accepted. Here is a light-hearted letter to you, about me, getting to know my Sharpie a little better. I ❤️Sharpies.

Dear Friend,

If you love to draw as much as I do, I would like to introduce you to my favorite art object - the Ultra Fine Point Sharpie. It’s a very reliable permanent black marker. It’s made in the USA (it says so on the pen in fine print). It makes beautiful marks and I think once you start using one, you may never want to put it down! Sharpies have been around forever (since 1964, actually), so why my sudden obsession with Sharpies, you ask? Let me explain…

On Monday, I noticed a scribble of Sharpie marker on my hand and I thought to myself “it seems like I always have Sharpie on my hand.” And it’s not just on my hand - I find random Sharpie marks on my kitchen counter, cabinets and sometimes my clothes! How is this always happening? Do I used Sharpies that often? I decided to monitor my Sharpie usage over the course of 1 week to research how these random marks occur. Here are my notes (written in Sharpie):

Monday: I opened a new box of Sharpies that was delivered over the weekend. My 3 boys each needed 2 for their school supplies (6 total), however I ordered a box of 12, because you can never have too many Sharpies. I decided I should test them out to make sure they worked so I wrote the boys names on their notebooks and folders. I actually knew they would work, I just really love labeling things with Sharpies. 

Tuesday: I wrote the boy's names (Henry, Andrew, Will) on their tin-foil wrapped sandwiches. I accidentally pressed too hard and tore the foil, and literally wrote Henry’s name on his sandwich (a Sharpie can also write on bread!). I observed the tip of the pen closely - it’s actually a hard plastic, no wonder it tears foil. I also wrote a “W” on Will’s paper mask so that he wouldn’t mix it up at school. He wanted it on the inside so that no one can see it and I was wondering if it would leave a permanent “W” on his face? (it didn’t). Andrew borrowed my Sharpie to label his hard shiny plastic school binders. They didn’t smear, but his handwriting is atrocious! That’s not the Sharpie’s fault. I was relived that he didn’t press down too hard and push the tip in. 

Wednesday: I wrote 3 notes on green Post It’s. Why? Because I can’t read pencil on a colored Post It (there is very little contrast between the pencil and the Post It color). Also, regular pens are unpredictable. I know a Sharpie will always make a nice black line, unless it’s drying out. On occasion I have forgotten to cap a Sharpie and it’s a sad situation. 

Thursday: I doodled on a piece of scrap paper while waiting on hold for Amazon Customer service. Which is funny because that is where I order all of my Sharpies from! So while I was on hold, I pulled up my Amazon Order History and I realized that I have ordered 44 Sharpies this year. Where do they all go? 

Friday: I artistically “altered” a book for one of my Art Education classes and used the Sharpie to add texture, lines and lettering. I always like to do artistic lettering with an Ultra Fine Point Sharpie (one time I even drew a Sharpie, with a Sharpie). I also took notes for a class in a new journal, only to find that the journal paper was not Sharpie friendly - black specks bled through to the other side. This was a little disappointing but not surprising as it’s happened before. 

After looking at my notes, I realize that I use Sharpies everyday, for many different reasons. Now that I really think about it, I have ALWAYS used Ultra Fine Point Sharpies.

I did some brainstorming on the subject and realized that I received my first Sharpie in 1995 when I went to art school. Then at my first job, I had boxes of Sharpies in my desk that I used everyday to sketch concepts harmoniously on white paper. Since then I have trusted a Sharpie to do the work of addressing Christmas cards, labeling clothing and school supplies, creating artwork, taking notes, etc. My kitchen drawer always has a supply of Sharpies (thanks to Amazon). 

So you see, my sudden obsession with Sharpies isn’t so sudden at all. My favorite pen has been with me through thick and thin (and ultra fine). If I hadn’t taken the time to observe a Sharpie closely, monitor my Sharpie usage, and do some brainstorming, I would never have realized all of the things that I have been able to do, because of one "object"… my Sharpie.

Friend, if you have not yet added a Sharpie to your daily routine, you must. I know it will encourage you to make beautiful marks on everything including paper, dry paint (be patient!), and oftentimes, your hands. 

Sincerely,

Kelly