Remembering Paul Rossi: September 24, 1948 - June 19, 2021

Largely considered one of the founding fathers, Paul was an artist's artist

- BY NICKY PESSAROFF

A recent photo of Paul Rossi.

I met Paul Rossi in person only once, shortly after I took over as editor-in-chief of Pen World. It was my first Los Angeles InI rernational Pen Show, I believe, which would date our meeting at February 2017.

He was a whirlwind of activity. He took me to his fountain pens, the first time I had seen his work in person. He told me many details of how he worked. He turned the fountain pens in his hand, showing me the seamlessness of his silver overlays. He pointed out the minute details of his sculptures, then he put a fountain pen in my hand.

I don't remember which pen it was. I don't remember the design. I don't remember the body onto which the overlay was placed. What I do remember is the lightness of the pen—this magnificent silver filigree work, its intricate detail, artistry that wrapped around the body from barrel to cap, and yet it felt so weightless, so free. It wasn't just the lack of physical weight 1 felt, but the lightness and joy of artistic creativity, that fleeting sense that in my hand was more than a pen but a moment in time that was captured in rapturous artistic output.

One of Rossi's early masterpieces, Snake Pen, is a sterling silver snake overlay inset with ruby eyes on a Parker Duofold Centennial body, shown here with a Parker inkwell featuring a matching snake overlay.