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Dreaming of Pentopia – Bohemian Article

Pen Guy laying on the hood of the Mercedes PensI finally made it in the bohemian with a great article called “Dreaming of Pentopia” because its true, I do dream about it and I know one day it will be a reality. The article was written by Gabe Meline who also took this photo of me lounging on the hood of the Mercedes Pens. He came over and we had a good chat about the car and the future of pens. This photo for is the first, I don’t usually lay on the car since the pen are brittle and poky.

That’s enough laying around, I have one day to get ready for maker Faire this weekend, and I am running out of time. Looking forward to seeing you there, and don’t forget to bring you old pens by the Mercedes Pens this weekend:)

Photograph by Gabe Meline

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14 Great Reasons The Mercedes Pens Visits Schools

14 Great Reasons The Mercedes Pens Visits Schools

A couple of weeks ago I visited Northwest Prep in Santa Rosa Ca with my Mercedes Pens Art Car. I was invited by Art Teacher Barb G., whom I met at the Lucky’s parking lot while I was picking up pens from the VNA thrift in Sebastopol. She invited me to bring the Mercedes and show her art class an art car up close and personal. I got a chance to visit and share a little about the what, the why and the how.

I love to show people how much you can do with simple and free materials such as dead pens of every kind. The pen car has been a lesson to me in the power of focusing on a vision, and taking the daily persistent steps towards seeing that vision come to life. 10,000 don’t just glue them selves on a car, it took daily concentrated effort to find the pens, plan where to put the pens and then actually spending the time to do the work. All this was possible because I first had a vision in my mind of what I wanted the pen car to look like and the passion to see the project come to life so others could enjoy it.

I keep working on the car because as long as there are people who need a good laugh or something to inspire them, I have good reason to continue dreaming of pens, working on the car and making bigger and better pen art.

The other day I got manila folder from Northwest Prep filled with 14 thank you notes with pens attached. Getting those notes in the mail made my day so I wanted to highlight them for you and give thanks to the students there for giving another 14 reasons to continue collecting pens and working on the Mercedes Pens Art Car.

Here is are my 14 Great Reasons The Mercedes Pens Visits Schools

  1. I didn’t really like your car, it looks kind of weird with those pens on it, but thank you for coming
  2. Mr Costas thank you for showing us your car
  3. I appreciate the hard work you done to this car
  4. I loved watching and touching the car
  5. You are Pentastical and you are a magician in my village
  6. I believe that with your car you have paved new roads to the discovery of art
  7. Thanks for taking the time to show us your car
  8. I learned that you can do what you imagine and make it happen in real life
  9. It makes me want to keep drawing
  10. It kind of helped me because I start things and never finish, but to see you and your car was inspirational.
  11. I would like to thank you for the experience with your car.
  12. Its so cool that you are doing this for a living
  13. Thank you for showing a different type of art
  14. Thank you for letting us see and touch your car

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      Dreamy Pen Photo Shoot by the Pen Guy

      “Jar-O-Gel Pens” sent in by Elizabeth, Arlington, MA
      Pens sent in by Elizabeth, Arlington, MA

      “Field of Pen Dreams” sent in by D, Delta, BC, Canada
      Field of Pen Dreams sent in by D, Delta, BC, Canada

      “One with Pens” sent in by Cassandra, Oakdale, PA
      One with Pens sent in by Cassandra, Oakdale, PA
      photos by the Pen Guy

      Thanks to Elizabeth, D and Cassandra who were the first three to send in these beautiful used pens using my new P.O. Box I set up last month. I shot these pens out in front yard last Sunday and tried to make them look more “artsy” with fancy titles and dreamy backgrounds. I figured I might as well shoot them right before they end up on the pen pile with the rest. Keep them coming:)

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      Attack of the Hungry Pen Eating Droid

      Attack of the Hungry Pen Eating DroidA very hungry pen eating robot will be munching on old used pens at the Video Droid tomorrow in Santa Rosa, as soon as I drop him off. He will be there as long as it takes to eat plenty of used pens from the local population.

      He was created from a used Christmas wrapping paper bin I found for a buck at the VNA thrift store on Santa Rosa.

      I filled the top section with pens to make it look like robot brains. I also borrowed some elements from the Mercedes pens by adding the 3D cube on the chest and the tubes on the top for hair. The middle one is actually punched through so the used pens can be dropped in the top of our hungry robot.

      By the way a featured article in the Bohemian is coming out on Wed April 14 about the Pen guy and the Mercedes Pens.