My fiancé (who massages my hands on a nearly nightly basis) was determined to find something that would make stenciling less painful and prevent further damage to my hands. She found PenAgain, and after reading the reviews, ordered me a pack. At first look, I was skeptical. I thought – will I even be able to draw with this strange pen? 

This pen has changed the way I work. I suffer fewer hand cramps from stenciling now, which means my hands have more energy to tattoo! And that’s so important to me as an artist. 

The tattoo world isn’t aware of this innovative pen yet but I’m convinced artists would be very receptive to the design. 

Jonny Ocean

– Steve G.

Colleen R

PRIMARY school children are losing their handwriting skills, as touch-screen pinching, swiping and typing and a lack of physical exercise leaves them with underdeveloped arm and hand muscles.

Teachers have warned a growing number of children will perform poorly in the upcoming May 14 NAPLAN tests, because their reliance on technology and sedentary lifestyles mean they lack the arm strength and skills to write answers quickly and concisely. Read more...

The harder it is is for such children to write with a stick shaped pencil (due to lack of grip strength development) the greater a tool the Rockyt Writer will be for them.

Never underestimate the cognitive importance of writing. It remains a central form of expression and a gateway to most forms of education.

Abilities Magazine | Spring 2012

The interesting thing is that it’s the keyboard that is fast becoming an icon for obsolete technologies while the pen is resurfacing as the instrument of choice.

The Case for Cursive (New York Times)

The sinuous letters of the cursive alphabet, swirled on countless love letters, credit card slips and banners above elementary school chalk boards are going the way of the quill and inkwell. With computer keyboards and smartphones increasingly occupying young fingers, the gradual death of the fancier ABC’s is revealing some unforeseen challenges.

Might people who write only by printing — in block letters, or perhaps with a sloppy, squiggly signature — be more at risk for forgery? Is the development of a fine motor skill thwarted by an aversion to cursive handwriting? And what happens when young people who are not familiar with cursive have to read historical documents like the Constitution?

Click here to read the full article.

The End of the Line for Cursive? (ABC news)

Increasingly the argument that students should be spending more time learning keyboard skills than cursive — because that’s the future! — is beginning to look like a straw man.

“Of course it’s important to know how to typewrite,” says associate professor Anne Mangen at the University of Stavanger’s Reading Centre. “But handwriting seems, based on empirical evidence from neuroscience, to play a larger role in the visual recognition and learning of letters.

Click here to read full article.