Continued from here
Timestamp: 5th Day of Summer, 515 AV
Seirei studied the two finished bowls. They were of good quality. Made out of a nice dark wood, and no visible flaws. They would be quite functional, and were pretty in a quiet, understated way. But they were rather plain.
The bowls were supposed to be part of a wedding gift. They shouldn't be plain. Seirei wanted them to be beautiful as well as functional. And for that, they needed to be decorated.
With that thought in mind, Seirei closed her eyes, and tried to imagine what type of design she wanted to carve into each bowl. Should it be the same design? Or a different, but complimentary one with a shared theme? Either way, the bowls were part of the same set. As such, their patterns needed to match.
Slowly, an idea formed in Seirei's mind. Weddings were supposed to be a thing of beauty. And, to Seirei, at least, flowers were beautiful. Flowers were often used as decorations in weddings, so a floral design on a wedding present wouldn't be out of the ordinary. So that would be her overall theme for the set of bowls. And the six smaller bowls she made would be included within that theme as well. So would the spoons if she managed to make them as well.
Seirei retreated into her tent for a few ticks to retrieve her sketch book, and her charcoal sticks. She wanted to get her designs right, and for that, she was going to need an image to refer to as she carved. So once she had what she needed, she flipped the book open to the first blank page, and stared at it until she decided what she wanted to do. On its own accord, her hand began to move over the page.
The first bowl would be carved as though it was a flower, opening up to greet the sun's rays. With an image firmly in mind of what she wanted to draw, Seirei drew a rose. The image was a simple one. Her drawing skills weren't up to managing anything detailed, or even especially good. But it was, she hoped, recognizably a rose.
Using the image as a reference, Seirei took her pick in hand, and began etching her design onto the wooden surface of the bowl. Starting near the bottom, she carved a series of curved lines meant to symbolize petals. A second series was carved roughly halfway up the sides of the bowl. When she was done with that, she traded pick for chisel. Then she began slowly altering the shape of the lip of the bowl. By shaving thin strips of wood off, she created dips in the lip of the bowl. As her work progressed, this created the illusion of petals.
It wasn't easy to translate a drawing into something that had more substance than mere paper, but Seirei tried her best to bring her vision to life. She worked slowly, wanting to the every detail just right. And her efforts paid off. When she was done, the design carved into the bow did indeed make it look as though the bowl itself was a flower. It wasn't as rose like as she had hoped. It resembled a generic flower shape more than she would have liked it to. But there was something that hinted that it was a rose if you looked carefully enough. A newly married couple, deeply in love, and looking for signs of their love reflected all around them might well see a rose when they looked at the bowl.
Seirei retreated into her tent once more, this time to get her walnut oil, and a rag. She used her smoothing cloth to smooth out any rough areas that had formed when she's carved her design. Then she poured a little of the walnut oil onto her rag. Using small, circular motions, she rubbed the oil into the wood gently. As the oil absorbed into the wood, the surface of the bowl took on a nice shine. When she was done, she examined her work.
Satisfied with her efforts, Seirei set the bowl aside, and picked up her sketch book once more. The design she had in mind for her second serving bowl was simpler. She didn't need a reference sheet for it. But she did want to practice drawing a variety of flowers first. She wanted the motions of drawing a flower to feel very familiar, and natural to her before she began carving the design into the bowl. A mistake would prove to be a disaster, so she couldn't afford to make one. It was that simple.
To that end, Seirei drew flowers. Lots of flowers. She drew buds, and blossoms in full bloom. She drew generic flower shapes. And she also tried drawing specific flowers she remembered clearly enough to picture in her mind. Sunflowers, and roses, mostly. But there were also flowers she had seen so often out in the Sea of Grass that she could picture them clearly despite not knowing what they were called. These were drawn as well. She practiced drawing vines, and leaves, too. They would also be a part of the design she had in mind for the second bowl. Over, and over, Seirei practiced drawing flowers until she thought she could draw them with her eyes closed, by feel of the movement alone.
Only when she was certain that she was ready, did Seirei stop practicing in her sketch book. Three more pages had been filled with her efforts. And she noticed a small, but distinct improvement in her work by the end of the third page. Seirei studied her work for a few chimes, then set the sketch book aside in favor of the serving bowl she was about to finish.
.
.
.
Timestamp: 5th Day of Summer, 515 AV
Seirei studied the two finished bowls. They were of good quality. Made out of a nice dark wood, and no visible flaws. They would be quite functional, and were pretty in a quiet, understated way. But they were rather plain.
The bowls were supposed to be part of a wedding gift. They shouldn't be plain. Seirei wanted them to be beautiful as well as functional. And for that, they needed to be decorated.
With that thought in mind, Seirei closed her eyes, and tried to imagine what type of design she wanted to carve into each bowl. Should it be the same design? Or a different, but complimentary one with a shared theme? Either way, the bowls were part of the same set. As such, their patterns needed to match.
Slowly, an idea formed in Seirei's mind. Weddings were supposed to be a thing of beauty. And, to Seirei, at least, flowers were beautiful. Flowers were often used as decorations in weddings, so a floral design on a wedding present wouldn't be out of the ordinary. So that would be her overall theme for the set of bowls. And the six smaller bowls she made would be included within that theme as well. So would the spoons if she managed to make them as well.
Seirei retreated into her tent for a few ticks to retrieve her sketch book, and her charcoal sticks. She wanted to get her designs right, and for that, she was going to need an image to refer to as she carved. So once she had what she needed, she flipped the book open to the first blank page, and stared at it until she decided what she wanted to do. On its own accord, her hand began to move over the page.
The first bowl would be carved as though it was a flower, opening up to greet the sun's rays. With an image firmly in mind of what she wanted to draw, Seirei drew a rose. The image was a simple one. Her drawing skills weren't up to managing anything detailed, or even especially good. But it was, she hoped, recognizably a rose.
Using the image as a reference, Seirei took her pick in hand, and began etching her design onto the wooden surface of the bowl. Starting near the bottom, she carved a series of curved lines meant to symbolize petals. A second series was carved roughly halfway up the sides of the bowl. When she was done with that, she traded pick for chisel. Then she began slowly altering the shape of the lip of the bowl. By shaving thin strips of wood off, she created dips in the lip of the bowl. As her work progressed, this created the illusion of petals.
It wasn't easy to translate a drawing into something that had more substance than mere paper, but Seirei tried her best to bring her vision to life. She worked slowly, wanting to the every detail just right. And her efforts paid off. When she was done, the design carved into the bow did indeed make it look as though the bowl itself was a flower. It wasn't as rose like as she had hoped. It resembled a generic flower shape more than she would have liked it to. But there was something that hinted that it was a rose if you looked carefully enough. A newly married couple, deeply in love, and looking for signs of their love reflected all around them might well see a rose when they looked at the bowl.
Seirei retreated into her tent once more, this time to get her walnut oil, and a rag. She used her smoothing cloth to smooth out any rough areas that had formed when she's carved her design. Then she poured a little of the walnut oil onto her rag. Using small, circular motions, she rubbed the oil into the wood gently. As the oil absorbed into the wood, the surface of the bowl took on a nice shine. When she was done, she examined her work.
Satisfied with her efforts, Seirei set the bowl aside, and picked up her sketch book once more. The design she had in mind for her second serving bowl was simpler. She didn't need a reference sheet for it. But she did want to practice drawing a variety of flowers first. She wanted the motions of drawing a flower to feel very familiar, and natural to her before she began carving the design into the bowl. A mistake would prove to be a disaster, so she couldn't afford to make one. It was that simple.
To that end, Seirei drew flowers. Lots of flowers. She drew buds, and blossoms in full bloom. She drew generic flower shapes. And she also tried drawing specific flowers she remembered clearly enough to picture in her mind. Sunflowers, and roses, mostly. But there were also flowers she had seen so often out in the Sea of Grass that she could picture them clearly despite not knowing what they were called. These were drawn as well. She practiced drawing vines, and leaves, too. They would also be a part of the design she had in mind for the second bowl. Over, and over, Seirei practiced drawing flowers until she thought she could draw them with her eyes closed, by feel of the movement alone.
Only when she was certain that she was ready, did Seirei stop practicing in her sketch book. Three more pages had been filled with her efforts. And she noticed a small, but distinct improvement in her work by the end of the third page. Seirei studied her work for a few chimes, then set the sketch book aside in favor of the serving bowl she was about to finish.
.
.
.
