Blackwing Volume 55

The Golden Ratio is a mathematical ratio often found in nature, art, and design. It gives the world around us composition and symmetry that, for reasons we don’t fully understand, we find beautiful. It appears in the spiral of a seashell, the uncurling of a fern, and many other natural structures. When applied to the arts, it becomes a tool for creating balanced, organic works.

The Blackwing 55 celebrates the Golden Ratio. It’s a reminder to slow down and savor the beauty around us. Each pencil contains balanced graphite and features a design inspired by the Fibonacci sequence, a series of numbers that approximate the Golden Ratio. The width of each color block is the sum of the widths of the previous two color blocks: 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, & 55. It was designed in millimeters and then scaled the design up to 1:1.175 ratio to fit the canvas of the pencil. A simple formula with a magnificent result.

Graphite: Balanced.  Released June 2022.

Click here to learn about the Blackwing brand and the differences between each variety.

In 2015 Blackwing introduced the Volumes series, a limited edition pencil released each quarter celebrating the people, places and events that have defined our creative culture. Blackwing have paid tribute to everything from John Steinbeck’s writing ritual to Ada Lovelace’s contribution to computer science. A summary of Blackwing Volumes are presented here.

Note that Blackwing pencils are longer than most pencils, at around 20cm.  Blackwing is an American brand under Palomino.  The pencils are made with Japanese graphite and Californian cedar.