Lynn's Notes:

Being a kid who loved pencils, I also loved the pencil sharpener. I loved the feel of the handle and the way those spiral cutting blades ground into the wood. I loved the smell and the sound and the shavings that spiraled out of the hole when the cup was full and overflowing. A good metal pencil sharpener was fixed tight to the wall and didn't give when the pressure was on. We were a team. I could sharpen a whole box of Rembrandt coloured pencils, then take on a twelve pack of HB's!

I leaned into pencil sharpening with strength and determination, every sharpened point a prize. It was a great day when my mother bought and installed a pencil sharpener in my room, next to the desk where I did all my drawing. It meant that I would always be working with a sharp instrument. It meant that she took my drawing seriously and marked a "turning point" (if I may say) in a budding career.