Poem: "Create a Kind of Substance" Part 1
Jun. 23rd, 2022 04:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is spillover from the June 7, 2022 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from fuzzyred, rix_scaedu, and See_Also_Friend. It also fills the "Sketch / Draw" square in my 6-1-22 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest. This poem is posted in memory of Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It comes after "The Queerest Profession," so read that first for best results. It's also after the Big One.
Note: This is the longest poem I have written. It is 2,467 lines, 71 pages, (12,314 words, which is novelette length). Therefore it will be posted in three parts, once a month. Read Part 2, Part 3.
Warning: This poem contains graphic descriptions of marvelous art supplies that you may not be able to find or afford. Some of them are from Terramagne and don't have local equivalents (or only inferior ones). The inside of Shiv's head remains a warning, but only a mild one; here he's able to shake off bad memories easily. There is some rude language too. Mostly, though, this is a very upbeat tour through the art and artists of Terramagne-America.
"Create a Kind of Substance"
[Saturday, June 25, 2016]
Shiv was folding laundry
when his phone rang.
"Hey, are you busy
today?" Pavo asked.
"I'm always busy, but
what's up?" said Shiv.
"There's an art party out
in the Heights, mostly soups,
and no cape politics allowed,"
said Pavo. "I figured I could
swing by and pick you up.
After all, you invited me
to the Rob Ross party."
"Awesome," Shiv said as
he abandoned his laundry.
"Just give me a few minutes
to throw on something decent,
and then I'll be good to go."
"Pick you up in ten," said Pavo.
"Great, thanks," Shiv said.
Shoving his phone in his pocket,
he hurried to change clothes from
the ratty stuff he was wearing.
He grabbed a pair of khakis,
then a T-shirt that Junket
had given him. The front
read, F is for Fudge, and
the back read, Fudge Dealer.
Then Shiv went into the kitchen
and shoveled macadamia fudge
into a tin with horses on it.
A few minutes later, Pavo
arrived on the living room rug
that had been designated as
a landing pad for teleporters.
"Thanks for the invite," Shiv said,
offering the tin. "Got your tip here."
"Yay fudge," Pavo said, and dug
a hand into the tin. "Nut butter?"
"Yeah, macadamia," said Shiv.
"Take a recipe with peanut butter
and then you can just substitute
any other nut butter you want."
"Awesome," said Pavo. He ate
several pieces, then turned back
to Shiv. "Listen, the Heights really
is high up, so the air's thinner there,
and some folks don't react well to
that if they're from a lower place."
"Is it safe?" Shiv said, frowning.
"Pretty much," said Pavo. "Open
your mouth when we travel, and
once we get there, breathe out
and swallow hard. That will help
your body adjust to the change in
air pressure between here and there."
"Okay, I'm game," said Shiv. "I got
a non-standard risk assessment."
Pavo laughed. "Supervillains,
gotta love 'em," he said. "Let's go."
They arrived on a landing pad
marked with colorful tape in
what looked like a parking lot.
Shiv's ears popped, and he
wavered in place before
he found his footing.
"Okay, one more thing
about teleporting upslope,"
said Pavo. "If you start feeling
dizzy or queasy, those are signs
of altitude sickness. Just go to
the first aid station and tell them
where you're from -- they'll know
what it is and how to handle it."
"Better idea," Shiv said, fishing in
his pocket. He pulled out a handful
of the T-mem bracelets that the Finns
kept giving him, and put on the one
that read Nebraska. "This way if
I forget, that'll prompt folks to ask."
"Oh, that's clever," said Pavo.
"I could bring a locally labeled one
if I'm picking up a passenger, or
carry some that just say, Lowlander."
"That should work," said Shiv. "I'm
all about doing things the easy way."
"Come on, let's go inside," Pavo said
as he led the way. "I can't wait to see
what kind of stuff they have today."
A banner hung above the entrance:
Cross-Cape Art Party: All Are Welcome.
Below that, signboards bracketed
the door with lists of the sponsors.
One had area businesses, colleges,
and various other organizations. Shiv
even recognized a couple of those,
like the Triton Teen Center and
Lemuria Lighting & Electricity.
Another had individual artists,
and a third listed art companies
including some of Shiv's favorites,
like Creme de la Creme Pastels.
They had to squeeze past
a gathering crowd of people,
and as they passed, Shiv
caught a glimpse of why.
A large whiteboard read,
The Heights En Plein Air,
with a scribbled schedule
of walking, biking, bus, and
teleport tours of local attractions.
Shiv was half-tempted, but there
was so much going on right here
that he couldn't tear himself away.
Maybe later, if he got overloaded.
It was funny -- a couple years ago,
he would've frozen right at the door.
Even a year ago, it probably would
have been too much for him to handle.
Now it just looked like a whole building
full of fun that he couldn't wait to dive into.
"Ping my phone when you're ready
to head home," Pavo said. "I want
to browse around before deciding
where to spend my time here."
"Sure, go on," said Shiv. "I'll
probably just get sucked into
the first thing that looks cool."
Spread out before them was
a big open space filled with
tables that had art supplies
or activities for folks to try.
There were all kinds of people
there, too, from all colors of
cape, but Shiv didn't really care.
As long as cape politics didn't
come up, he was smooth with it.
After all, he had friends among
gray capes and blue plates like
the teleporters and healers, and
even a few on the white side now.
He was much more interested
in the art supplies on display.
Shiv drifted past a few tables
of stuff that didn't grab him,
like clay and modeling wax.
Then he saw the charcoals
and skidded to a stop.
The sign above the table
read, Drawn Out Denver,
and it was manned by
a slender black dude.
The table was covered with
all kinds of charcoal products.
"Wow, that is a lot of stuff,"
Shiv said, hovering over it.
"Hi, I'm Hector Moorhead,"
he said. "You like charcoal?"
"I'm Shiv," he said, "and
yeah, I do some drawing.
I've never seen so many
different kinds of charcoals."
"Supply companies send boxes
of products to art parties to attract
new customers," Hector explained.
"I have some free samples as
well as supplies for sale."
There were rows of
vine charcoal and
willow charcoal.
There were blocks of
pressed charcoal, round
and square, in many sizes.
There were pencils
with and without wood,
in a range of colors, sizes,
and levels of hardness.
There were a variety of
mechanical pencils and
holders for different shapes
of pressed charcoal sticks.
Powdered charcoal came
in jars and bags, and there
was powdered graphite too.
A sandpaper sharpening block
and several different erasers
sat beside blending sticks.
One end of the table held
black hunks and some sort
of strange patterned cylinders.
"What's this stuff?" Shiv asked.
"This is lump charcoal," said Hector.
"I brought a few different bags -- oak,
mesquite, and bamboo. I put out baskets
for new and used lumps. All of these
are raw, not shaped, because they
wear down naturally with use so we
can get more good out of them here."
"Makes sense," said Shiv. "What
about these weird round things?"
"Rollo's Textured Coconut Charcoal,"
said Hector. "They're thick hollow tubes
with a texture on the surface. You slide
one onto a wire handle, and it works like
the rubber rollers used for texturing paint
or ink. They're $5 each if you want one."
"Huh," Shiv said. "How well does
the pattern hold? Charcoal is soft."
"They have a binder, so they aren't quite
as crumbly as unprocessed charcoal,"
said Hector. "The pattern is pretty deep,
so it lasts a while. After it wears down to
a flat cylinder, you can just use that for
lines or shading like lump charcoal."
Shiv traced a finger over the pattern,
and then shook his head. He was
more interested in touching it
than actually drawing with it.
"Maybe later," he said. "Could
I try some of the other things?"
"Sure, pick out a few from
the free samples," Hector said,
waving a hand. "Oh, and if you're
sketching, then definitely try out
the new Krystal Kote Fixative
from Architeuthis Art Supply."
Shiv chose a mechanical pencil,
a few different charcoal sticks,
an eraser, and a small can
of Krystal Kote Fixative.
Then he looked around
the busy room for ideas.
"We have a few tables
set up for folks to try out
the charcoal materials,
and a few different types
of inspiration," Hector said,
pointing down the row.
Curious, Shiv investigated
the closest of the tables.
Its sign read, Still Life.
The center held stacks of
art paper in various colors
and sizes, from art cards and
index cards up to letter size.
A big box held all kinds
of junk for still life setups.
Shiv noticed that some folks
were drawing small things
at life size on the little pages.
Grinning, he grabbed one of
the index cards, because he
could do that fast and still have
time left over for other activities.
Rummaging in the box, he
found a Swiss Army knife.
Shiv had never tried drawing
one of those before, but instantly
he realized that it was perfect for
still life because it had so many parts
that could be posed in different ways.
It had a large blade, a medium blade,
and a tiny blade. It had a can opener,
a corkscrew, and little scissors.
Shiv fiddled with it, opening
and closing the tools, until
he found a look that he liked.
He used the mechanical pencil
to make the crisp lines, and
the softer charcoal stick
to darken the outlines.
When he felt satisfied, he
sprayed on the Krystal Kote.
And it disappeared.
Frowning, Shiv picked up
the card and tilted it, but
the light didn't reflect.
He touched the tip of
the eraser to the paper,
but it didn't smear at all.
He was used to fixatives
making a sketch darker,
sometimes a lot, and they
could add a sheen too. Plus
they didn't always stop things
from smearing like they should.
This one seemed to be perfect.
Shiv tilted the can, which was
about the size of breath spray.
The tiny label on the side read,
Krystal Kote -- Invisible / Permanent.
Shiv pulled out his smartphone
and typed in the name so that
he wouldn't forget about it.
He went back to the dealer
and said, "Krystal Kote is
awesome. Check this out."
Hector admired his sketch,
then handed him a page.
"Here's a flyer. That stuff
costs an arm and a leg,
but you can't beat it for
professional performance."
"What else do you recommend?"
Shiv said, poring over the table.
"You're a dab hand with fine lines,"
said Hector. "Try some narrow pencils.
Do you do any speed sketching, like
gesture drawings or timed exercises?"
Shiv laughed. "I draw horses, and
they don't hardly hold still for it."
"Then check out the table with
the parakeets," said Hector.
Well, okay. Faster Blaster
liked parakeets, and had once
brought home an injured one
that he rescued from a park.
Shiv headed to the next table,
and sure enough there was
a cage with two parakeets,
one green-and-yellow and
the other blue-and-white.
They looked cute snuggling
and kissing each other.
Shiv picked a page
big enough to hold
multiple sketches.
He tried out some of
the new pencils, which
weren't quite as sharp
as the mechanical one
but did better shading.
He drew a bunch of
head studies, plus
some of the bodies,
wings, and feet.
Then he sketched
the pair face-to-face.
He even drew the sprig
of leaves and the cuttlebone
that decorated their cage.
Shiv had to work fast,
because the birds moved
every few seconds.
He was used to that
from the horses, though.
When he filled the page,
he went back to the table
with the charcoal supplies.
"What did you think of
the pencils?" Hector said.
"I like them," Shiv said,
showing him the page
of parakeet studies.
"Looks like you've had
some good lessons in
sketching," said Hector.
"Yeah, I guess so." Shiv
was a bit startled to realize
how true that was. Besides
all the stuff on V'You, he had
taken more than a few classes
at the community center. "I've
had plenty of practice too."
"Well, that's good to hear,"
said Hector. "Anything else
catch your eye today?"
"Yeah," Shiv said as he
returned everything but
the eraser and a couple
of the pencils. "Could I try
the lump charcoal now?"
"Go for it," said Hector.
"Look for the gap between
tables. Someone brought
a roll of mural paper that
they taped on the wall for
making large-scale artwork."
"Awesome," Shiv said, grinning.
"I usually work on murals with
spray paint, so this'll be new."
He poked through the lumps
until he found one that he liked,
which was mostly rounded
with a few pointy parts.
Then he went looking for
the gap between tables.
Someone had set up
a whole row of art stations
with ginormous mural paper.
The last woman was down
on her knees drawing what
looked like a twisted air duct.
"Hi, I'm Arden Marshall,"
she said. "I'm an art student.
Do you want to make a mural?
There's blank paper up."
Shiv looked, and yeah,
there was a huge piece
of paper that nobody
had claimed yet.
"Thanks," he said.
"I'm Shiv. I want to try
using lump charcoal."
"Good choice," Arden said.
She was sketching with
sticks and blocks herself.
She had also gone off
the edge of her art paper.
Shiv felt secretly relieved
that he wasn't the only one
who did shit like that.
Plus nobody was yelling
or hitting her over it.
That made him feel
a little more relaxed
about drawing in public.
People weren't always
that calm about this shit,
at least in his experience.
One reason that Shiv liked
Tolli and Simon's rescue horses
was because they had dicey pasts
of their own, and he could sympathize
with why they were so skittish at times.
That reminded Shiv of when some idiot
had driven a four-wheeler past the paddock
and all of the horses had gone apeshit.
It would make a great subject for
a piece this size, all action and flair.
Shiv stepped up to the first blank paper
and turned the lump charcoal in his hand,
trying to find a comfortable grip with it.
Then he swiped the charcoal down
the paper in a long arc, from the top
of horse's head along the taut neck
and down the heaving side.
Another arc sketched out
the far side of the belly.
Moving back to the top,
a straight line defined
the angle of the head.
Below that, a few strokes
captured the flailing leg
high under the chin, then
the other leg below it.
A half-moon marked
one pinned-back ear.
Shiv stepped back and
thought about it. What else
did he need to tie in the pose?
Two quick ovals added
a flared nostril above
the screaming mouth.
A few flicks of charcoal
sketched in the flying lines
of the mane and the forelock
hiding the horse's eyes.
"Joints," Shiv muttered,
trying to remember what he
knew about equine anatomy.
Maybe he ought to look for
a new class in that. He'd only
done worksheets for humans.
Okay, so the left knee jammed up
right under the chin, and the ankle
pushed forward with the hoof
somewhere under there.
Swift circles and arcs
sketched out those bits.
They didn't look right,
dammit, and he didn't
know exactly why.
He couldn't figure out
the shoulder, either.
Fuck it. This was
supposed to be
a loose sketch.
He scribbled in
the right leg.
Stepping back
again, Shiv thought
about what to do next.
"Muscle definition,"
he decided. Sweeps
and arcs followed the line
of the arched neck, then
blacked in the shadows
between the forelegs.
The shoulders were
still fucked up, though.
Shiv moved up to work
on the head, defining
the big round cheek
and the tense lips.
He colored in
the dark mane
and flopping curls
of the long forelock.
He used a flat face
of the charcoal lump for
shading in large areas,
and it worked great at that.
Then Shiv realized that
the pressure had picked up
lines from whatever was
behind the art paper,
leaving rectangles.
"Mother of fuck,"
he muttered.
Well, what else
could he do with it?
He still needed to work
on the legs, because
those caught the action
the way the face showed
the horse's feelings.
He filled in the lines
of the horse's left leg
and blackened the hoof,
then he did the right.
It still looked smoky
and vague, but
that was all right.
He added a bit more
to shape the round belly.
Then Shiv got an idea.
He used the pencils
to add crisp outlines
around the soft strokes.
Yeah, that made it
look a whole lot better.
He couldn't remember
exactly how the lighting
had fallen, though, because
the horses had flung themselves
all over the paddock in clouds
of loose dust and splinters
of hot summer sunshine.
Now he had highlights
on both sides of the picture.
Whatever. It still looked
like a pretty good horse.
Lump charcoal was amazing.
"All of a sudden I feel like I
wasted that Christmas present,"
Shiv murmured, remembering
the year that he had gotten
a stocking filled with coal.
He had used it to start
a fire in the coat closet.
Too bad he hadn't known
it could be used for art. He
probably could've covered
a whole hall in graffiti before
anyone caught up to him.
Then again, that had been
the family with the white carpet
in the parlor, and no way would
coal ever come out of that.
"What happened to
that poor horse?"
Arden said from
right behind him.
"Some asshole rode
a four-wheeler past
the paddock, and these
are rescue horses, one
of 'em's scared of motors,"
Shiv explained. "That one
flipped his shit, and that
spooked the others too."
"Were they all right?"
Arden asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah, we had to call the vet
to check them over because
they hit the fences, but nothing
more than a few bumps and
scrapes," Shiv assured her.
"He looks so terrified," she said.
"He was," Shiv said, remembering
the shrill, panicky screams and
the hooves thrashing the air.
Sometimes he felt that way,
too, though less often now.
That was an improvement.
Shiv shook himself. He
couldn't figure out how
to fix the damn shoulders,
and it was hard to reach
the bottom of the paper.
He wasn't sure if he wanted
to take the time to finish this.
"And how the hell am I supposed
to get it home?" he wondered.
"There are holders," the girl said,
pointed to a rack of what looked like
repurposed wrapping paper tubes.
"I don't know," Shiv said. "I don't
really have anywhere to put it."
Tolli and Simon, who had
a lot more wall space than
Shiv did, might not want
a hysterical horse on it.
"In that case, would
you consider donating
it?" a man asked him.
"I'm Konrad Campin,
and fundraising is
part of my job here."
"Maybe?" Shiv said.
"What kind of donation?"
"There will be an auction
this evening to raise money for
Recreative Denver," said Konrad.
"It will help cover events like this
as well as regular upkeep."
"Oh yeah, that works for me,"
Shiv said. The man handed him
a little release form to fill out, and
then stuck that on a blank corner.
Shiv used his smartphone to snap
a few pictures of the sketch.
Happy with the results at last,
he went back to the first table.
"Man, I love this lump charcoal,"
said Shiv. "I mean, I got all kinds
of pencils and sticks at home, but
I like working in large scale."
"If you like what you see,
then please come shop
at Drawn Out Denver,"
Hector said, handing him
a business card. "We have
a variety of lump charcoal
in the store and online."
Shiv pocketed the card.
"Thanks," he said. "I'm
just visiting, but I'll sure
check out your website."
Online art shopping. Yeah,
there went his budget for
spending money this week.
"Have you seen the live models
yet?" Hector asked him, pointing.
Shiv turned to look that way.
Part of the area had been
partitioned with portable walls.
Signs indicated the activities.
A whole row of spaces had
been devoted to live models.
"Do you mind if I take some
of the free samples that far?"
Shiv wondered. "It looks fun."
"Keep what you like," said Hector.
"They're meant for people to try
and see what they might want
to buy more of later on."
So Shiv sorted through
things and put together
a little mini-kit of pencils,
sticks, eraser, and blender.
He dropped one pencil
and it rolled across the floor
before he could catch it.
"Would you like a swag bag
to hold stuff?" said Hector.
"Yes, please," Shiv said,
retrieving the stray pencil.
"Sketch protectors are there,"
Hector said, pointing to piles
of tissue paper, cardstock, and
metal clips. "Here's a bag for you."
Shiv covered his sketches with
sheets of paper and clipped them
together. Then he took the bag,
which was a huge paper thing
with heavy twine handles.
The sides of it read,
Drawn Out Denver:
Art Is for Everyone,
and they had a crowd
of diverse people too.
"Art is for everyone?"
Shiv echoed, curious.
"Yeah, yeah, it's vital
to keep the supplies
affordable so everyone
can do art," said Hector.
"I always stock cheap stuff
as well as premium products."
Shiv sighed. "Cheap isn't
always enough when folks
are really broke, though."
"Well, there's also a corner
with free pencils and paper,
whatever other odds and ends
I can scrounge up from donations,"
said Hector. "Recreating Denver
takes a different approach -- they
accept partly used art supplies, so
you don't have to waste things
if you happen to dislike them."
"That sounds cool," Shiv said
as he bagged everything.
Then he wandered over
to check out the choices.
The first one was Artistic Nudes.
"Oh, hell no," Shiv muttered as he
shook his head. He walked on.
The next one was more along
his tastes: Swashbuckling Poses.
Shiv peeked inside and found
an athletic young man bounding
around and over a sturdy table.
He also had several stage weapons
including swords, a pair of longknives,
and a wooden quarterstaff for posing.
Shiv dropped into an empty chair
and grabbed some art paper.
The dude was moving so fast
that Shiv didn't try to draw
anything detailed. He just
focused on gesture sketches
to capture as many poses
as he possibly could.
Finally the man stopped
with a bow and flourish.
"Thank you, ladies and
gentlebeings," he said.
"Cavalier, at your service."
Then he flopped into a chair.
Beside it stood a small table
with a water bottle and a jar.
A sign on the jar read, Action
burns calories. Tip me in food.
Shiv pulled out a business card,
scribbled Fudge Dealer on it,
and dropped it into the jar.
"My stomach thanks you,"
Cavalier said with a nod.
He looked so worn out,
sprawled in the chair,
one hand toying with
the hilt of a sword.
And he wasn't moving
too fast to render now.
Shiv grabbed a new page
and did a quick line drawing.
Yeah, that was worth keeping.
Tucking the picture into his bag,
Shiv thanked the model and
went looking for something new.
It was turnover time for models.
The Cute Kids area had become
Wing Studies and Gesture Sketches:
Sessions every hour on the hour.
Could be interesting. Shiv took
a peek inside that enclosure.
The model had wings.
Not fluffy little white ones
like Hali had, but huge wings
with a rainbow of feathers.
Tall and slim, the man wore
a wrap top and shorts of warm tan
that showed off muscle definition
without looking lewd in the process.
A dedicated artist clock displayed
the time as well as a countdown.
"Come on in," the man said.
"We have a few minutes left
before the session begins."
Shiv took one of the eight chairs
lined up on either side of the door.
The last chair filled just moments
before the clock's timer went off,
and the model latched the door.
"Welcome to Wing Studies and
Gesture Sketches. Let's go around
and do introductions. I'm Poseur, and
I'll be modeling for you today," he said.
"I'm Shiv," he said. "I do a lot with
creme pastels, and uh, spray paint.
Right now I'm playing with charcoals."
There were a couple of art students,
two actual professional artists, a catgirl
who wanted to stare instead of being
stared at, a teleporter on vacation, and
another show soup with crayon hair
who was trying out art as a hobby.
"Thank you all for coming, and I
would like to thank Pavo's cohort for
sponsoring me today," said Poseur.
Shiv hadn't known that. Cool. He'd
have to thank Pavo for it later on.
"We'll be starting with brief poses for
warmup, gradually getting longer. Please
keep your seats while I'm moving, but feel free
to take flashless photographs or videos then."
said Poseur. "Next we'll take a short break."
He pointed out the nearest bathrooms and
a snack area on a map of the building.
"In our second segment, I will do some
fast action flow, then slow down so you can
do wing studies. Break again," said Poseur.
"For the last segment, I'll strike a static pose
for ten minutes. You'll be free to move
around me to see different angles."
Instantly Shiv checked his phone
to make sure the camera was
working and the flash was off.
"All right, let's get started,"
the model said, as he set
the artist clock to class mode.
"This will give us increasing time,
and when the alarm chimes, I
will switch to a different pose."
It started out with 10-second poses,
which was just enough time for
making one or maybe two lines.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character, setting, and content notes will appear separately.
[To be continued in Part 2 ...]
fuzzyred, rix_scaedu, and See_Also_Friend. It also fills the "Sketch / Draw" square in my 6-1-22 card for the Cottoncandy Bingo fest. This poem is posted in memory of Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It comes after "The Queerest Profession," so read that first for best results. It's also after the Big One.Note: This is the longest poem I have written. It is 2,467 lines, 71 pages, (12,314 words, which is novelette length). Therefore it will be posted in three parts, once a month. Read Part 2, Part 3.
Warning: This poem contains graphic descriptions of marvelous art supplies that you may not be able to find or afford. Some of them are from Terramagne and don't have local equivalents (or only inferior ones). The inside of Shiv's head remains a warning, but only a mild one; here he's able to shake off bad memories easily. There is some rude language too. Mostly, though, this is a very upbeat tour through the art and artists of Terramagne-America.
"Create a Kind of Substance"
[Saturday, June 25, 2016]
Shiv was folding laundry
when his phone rang.
"Hey, are you busy
today?" Pavo asked.
"I'm always busy, but
what's up?" said Shiv.
"There's an art party out
in the Heights, mostly soups,
and no cape politics allowed,"
said Pavo. "I figured I could
swing by and pick you up.
After all, you invited me
to the Rob Ross party."
"Awesome," Shiv said as
he abandoned his laundry.
"Just give me a few minutes
to throw on something decent,
and then I'll be good to go."
"Pick you up in ten," said Pavo.
"Great, thanks," Shiv said.
Shoving his phone in his pocket,
he hurried to change clothes from
the ratty stuff he was wearing.
He grabbed a pair of khakis,
then a T-shirt that Junket
had given him. The front
read, F is for Fudge, and
the back read, Fudge Dealer.
Then Shiv went into the kitchen
and shoveled macadamia fudge
into a tin with horses on it.
A few minutes later, Pavo
arrived on the living room rug
that had been designated as
a landing pad for teleporters.
"Thanks for the invite," Shiv said,
offering the tin. "Got your tip here."
"Yay fudge," Pavo said, and dug
a hand into the tin. "Nut butter?"
"Yeah, macadamia," said Shiv.
"Take a recipe with peanut butter
and then you can just substitute
any other nut butter you want."
"Awesome," said Pavo. He ate
several pieces, then turned back
to Shiv. "Listen, the Heights really
is high up, so the air's thinner there,
and some folks don't react well to
that if they're from a lower place."
"Is it safe?" Shiv said, frowning.
"Pretty much," said Pavo. "Open
your mouth when we travel, and
once we get there, breathe out
and swallow hard. That will help
your body adjust to the change in
air pressure between here and there."
"Okay, I'm game," said Shiv. "I got
a non-standard risk assessment."
Pavo laughed. "Supervillains,
gotta love 'em," he said. "Let's go."
They arrived on a landing pad
marked with colorful tape in
what looked like a parking lot.
Shiv's ears popped, and he
wavered in place before
he found his footing.
"Okay, one more thing
about teleporting upslope,"
said Pavo. "If you start feeling
dizzy or queasy, those are signs
of altitude sickness. Just go to
the first aid station and tell them
where you're from -- they'll know
what it is and how to handle it."
"Better idea," Shiv said, fishing in
his pocket. He pulled out a handful
of the T-mem bracelets that the Finns
kept giving him, and put on the one
that read Nebraska. "This way if
I forget, that'll prompt folks to ask."
"Oh, that's clever," said Pavo.
"I could bring a locally labeled one
if I'm picking up a passenger, or
carry some that just say, Lowlander."
"That should work," said Shiv. "I'm
all about doing things the easy way."
"Come on, let's go inside," Pavo said
as he led the way. "I can't wait to see
what kind of stuff they have today."
A banner hung above the entrance:
Cross-Cape Art Party: All Are Welcome.
Below that, signboards bracketed
the door with lists of the sponsors.
One had area businesses, colleges,
and various other organizations. Shiv
even recognized a couple of those,
like the Triton Teen Center and
Lemuria Lighting & Electricity.
Another had individual artists,
and a third listed art companies
including some of Shiv's favorites,
like Creme de la Creme Pastels.
They had to squeeze past
a gathering crowd of people,
and as they passed, Shiv
caught a glimpse of why.
A large whiteboard read,
The Heights En Plein Air,
with a scribbled schedule
of walking, biking, bus, and
teleport tours of local attractions.
Shiv was half-tempted, but there
was so much going on right here
that he couldn't tear himself away.
Maybe later, if he got overloaded.
It was funny -- a couple years ago,
he would've frozen right at the door.
Even a year ago, it probably would
have been too much for him to handle.
Now it just looked like a whole building
full of fun that he couldn't wait to dive into.
"Ping my phone when you're ready
to head home," Pavo said. "I want
to browse around before deciding
where to spend my time here."
"Sure, go on," said Shiv. "I'll
probably just get sucked into
the first thing that looks cool."
Spread out before them was
a big open space filled with
tables that had art supplies
or activities for folks to try.
There were all kinds of people
there, too, from all colors of
cape, but Shiv didn't really care.
As long as cape politics didn't
come up, he was smooth with it.
After all, he had friends among
gray capes and blue plates like
the teleporters and healers, and
even a few on the white side now.
He was much more interested
in the art supplies on display.
Shiv drifted past a few tables
of stuff that didn't grab him,
like clay and modeling wax.
Then he saw the charcoals
and skidded to a stop.
The sign above the table
read, Drawn Out Denver,
and it was manned by
a slender black dude.
The table was covered with
all kinds of charcoal products.
"Wow, that is a lot of stuff,"
Shiv said, hovering over it.
"Hi, I'm Hector Moorhead,"
he said. "You like charcoal?"
"I'm Shiv," he said, "and
yeah, I do some drawing.
I've never seen so many
different kinds of charcoals."
"Supply companies send boxes
of products to art parties to attract
new customers," Hector explained.
"I have some free samples as
well as supplies for sale."
There were rows of
vine charcoal and
willow charcoal.
There were blocks of
pressed charcoal, round
and square, in many sizes.
There were pencils
with and without wood,
in a range of colors, sizes,
and levels of hardness.
There were a variety of
mechanical pencils and
holders for different shapes
of pressed charcoal sticks.
Powdered charcoal came
in jars and bags, and there
was powdered graphite too.
A sandpaper sharpening block
and several different erasers
sat beside blending sticks.
One end of the table held
black hunks and some sort
of strange patterned cylinders.
"What's this stuff?" Shiv asked.
"This is lump charcoal," said Hector.
"I brought a few different bags -- oak,
mesquite, and bamboo. I put out baskets
for new and used lumps. All of these
are raw, not shaped, because they
wear down naturally with use so we
can get more good out of them here."
"Makes sense," said Shiv. "What
about these weird round things?"
"Rollo's Textured Coconut Charcoal,"
said Hector. "They're thick hollow tubes
with a texture on the surface. You slide
one onto a wire handle, and it works like
the rubber rollers used for texturing paint
or ink. They're $5 each if you want one."
"Huh," Shiv said. "How well does
the pattern hold? Charcoal is soft."
"They have a binder, so they aren't quite
as crumbly as unprocessed charcoal,"
said Hector. "The pattern is pretty deep,
so it lasts a while. After it wears down to
a flat cylinder, you can just use that for
lines or shading like lump charcoal."
Shiv traced a finger over the pattern,
and then shook his head. He was
more interested in touching it
than actually drawing with it.
"Maybe later," he said. "Could
I try some of the other things?"
"Sure, pick out a few from
the free samples," Hector said,
waving a hand. "Oh, and if you're
sketching, then definitely try out
the new Krystal Kote Fixative
from Architeuthis Art Supply."
Shiv chose a mechanical pencil,
a few different charcoal sticks,
an eraser, and a small can
of Krystal Kote Fixative.
Then he looked around
the busy room for ideas.
"We have a few tables
set up for folks to try out
the charcoal materials,
and a few different types
of inspiration," Hector said,
pointing down the row.
Curious, Shiv investigated
the closest of the tables.
Its sign read, Still Life.
The center held stacks of
art paper in various colors
and sizes, from art cards and
index cards up to letter size.
A big box held all kinds
of junk for still life setups.
Shiv noticed that some folks
were drawing small things
at life size on the little pages.
Grinning, he grabbed one of
the index cards, because he
could do that fast and still have
time left over for other activities.
Rummaging in the box, he
found a Swiss Army knife.
Shiv had never tried drawing
one of those before, but instantly
he realized that it was perfect for
still life because it had so many parts
that could be posed in different ways.
It had a large blade, a medium blade,
and a tiny blade. It had a can opener,
a corkscrew, and little scissors.
Shiv fiddled with it, opening
and closing the tools, until
he found a look that he liked.
He used the mechanical pencil
to make the crisp lines, and
the softer charcoal stick
to darken the outlines.
When he felt satisfied, he
sprayed on the Krystal Kote.
And it disappeared.
Frowning, Shiv picked up
the card and tilted it, but
the light didn't reflect.
He touched the tip of
the eraser to the paper,
but it didn't smear at all.
He was used to fixatives
making a sketch darker,
sometimes a lot, and they
could add a sheen too. Plus
they didn't always stop things
from smearing like they should.
This one seemed to be perfect.
Shiv tilted the can, which was
about the size of breath spray.
The tiny label on the side read,
Krystal Kote -- Invisible / Permanent.
Shiv pulled out his smartphone
and typed in the name so that
he wouldn't forget about it.
He went back to the dealer
and said, "Krystal Kote is
awesome. Check this out."
Hector admired his sketch,
then handed him a page.
"Here's a flyer. That stuff
costs an arm and a leg,
but you can't beat it for
professional performance."
"What else do you recommend?"
Shiv said, poring over the table.
"You're a dab hand with fine lines,"
said Hector. "Try some narrow pencils.
Do you do any speed sketching, like
gesture drawings or timed exercises?"
Shiv laughed. "I draw horses, and
they don't hardly hold still for it."
"Then check out the table with
the parakeets," said Hector.
Well, okay. Faster Blaster
liked parakeets, and had once
brought home an injured one
that he rescued from a park.
Shiv headed to the next table,
and sure enough there was
a cage with two parakeets,
one green-and-yellow and
the other blue-and-white.
They looked cute snuggling
and kissing each other.
Shiv picked a page
big enough to hold
multiple sketches.
He tried out some of
the new pencils, which
weren't quite as sharp
as the mechanical one
but did better shading.
He drew a bunch of
head studies, plus
some of the bodies,
wings, and feet.
Then he sketched
the pair face-to-face.
He even drew the sprig
of leaves and the cuttlebone
that decorated their cage.
Shiv had to work fast,
because the birds moved
every few seconds.
He was used to that
from the horses, though.
When he filled the page,
he went back to the table
with the charcoal supplies.
"What did you think of
the pencils?" Hector said.
"I like them," Shiv said,
showing him the page
of parakeet studies.
"Looks like you've had
some good lessons in
sketching," said Hector.
"Yeah, I guess so." Shiv
was a bit startled to realize
how true that was. Besides
all the stuff on V'You, he had
taken more than a few classes
at the community center. "I've
had plenty of practice too."
"Well, that's good to hear,"
said Hector. "Anything else
catch your eye today?"
"Yeah," Shiv said as he
returned everything but
the eraser and a couple
of the pencils. "Could I try
the lump charcoal now?"
"Go for it," said Hector.
"Look for the gap between
tables. Someone brought
a roll of mural paper that
they taped on the wall for
making large-scale artwork."
"Awesome," Shiv said, grinning.
"I usually work on murals with
spray paint, so this'll be new."
He poked through the lumps
until he found one that he liked,
which was mostly rounded
with a few pointy parts.
Then he went looking for
the gap between tables.
Someone had set up
a whole row of art stations
with ginormous mural paper.
The last woman was down
on her knees drawing what
looked like a twisted air duct.
"Hi, I'm Arden Marshall,"
she said. "I'm an art student.
Do you want to make a mural?
There's blank paper up."
Shiv looked, and yeah,
there was a huge piece
of paper that nobody
had claimed yet.
"Thanks," he said.
"I'm Shiv. I want to try
using lump charcoal."
"Good choice," Arden said.
She was sketching with
sticks and blocks herself.
She had also gone off
the edge of her art paper.
Shiv felt secretly relieved
that he wasn't the only one
who did shit like that.
Plus nobody was yelling
or hitting her over it.
That made him feel
a little more relaxed
about drawing in public.
People weren't always
that calm about this shit,
at least in his experience.
One reason that Shiv liked
Tolli and Simon's rescue horses
was because they had dicey pasts
of their own, and he could sympathize
with why they were so skittish at times.
That reminded Shiv of when some idiot
had driven a four-wheeler past the paddock
and all of the horses had gone apeshit.
It would make a great subject for
a piece this size, all action and flair.
Shiv stepped up to the first blank paper
and turned the lump charcoal in his hand,
trying to find a comfortable grip with it.
Then he swiped the charcoal down
the paper in a long arc, from the top
of horse's head along the taut neck
and down the heaving side.
Another arc sketched out
the far side of the belly.
Moving back to the top,
a straight line defined
the angle of the head.
Below that, a few strokes
captured the flailing leg
high under the chin, then
the other leg below it.
A half-moon marked
one pinned-back ear.
Shiv stepped back and
thought about it. What else
did he need to tie in the pose?
Two quick ovals added
a flared nostril above
the screaming mouth.
A few flicks of charcoal
sketched in the flying lines
of the mane and the forelock
hiding the horse's eyes.
"Joints," Shiv muttered,
trying to remember what he
knew about equine anatomy.
Maybe he ought to look for
a new class in that. He'd only
done worksheets for humans.
Okay, so the left knee jammed up
right under the chin, and the ankle
pushed forward with the hoof
somewhere under there.
Swift circles and arcs
sketched out those bits.
They didn't look right,
dammit, and he didn't
know exactly why.
He couldn't figure out
the shoulder, either.
Fuck it. This was
supposed to be
a loose sketch.
He scribbled in
the right leg.
Stepping back
again, Shiv thought
about what to do next.
"Muscle definition,"
he decided. Sweeps
and arcs followed the line
of the arched neck, then
blacked in the shadows
between the forelegs.
The shoulders were
still fucked up, though.
Shiv moved up to work
on the head, defining
the big round cheek
and the tense lips.
He colored in
the dark mane
and flopping curls
of the long forelock.
He used a flat face
of the charcoal lump for
shading in large areas,
and it worked great at that.
Then Shiv realized that
the pressure had picked up
lines from whatever was
behind the art paper,
leaving rectangles.
"Mother of fuck,"
he muttered.
Well, what else
could he do with it?
He still needed to work
on the legs, because
those caught the action
the way the face showed
the horse's feelings.
He filled in the lines
of the horse's left leg
and blackened the hoof,
then he did the right.
It still looked smoky
and vague, but
that was all right.
He added a bit more
to shape the round belly.
Then Shiv got an idea.
He used the pencils
to add crisp outlines
around the soft strokes.
Yeah, that made it
look a whole lot better.
He couldn't remember
exactly how the lighting
had fallen, though, because
the horses had flung themselves
all over the paddock in clouds
of loose dust and splinters
of hot summer sunshine.
Now he had highlights
on both sides of the picture.
Whatever. It still looked
like a pretty good horse.
Lump charcoal was amazing.
"All of a sudden I feel like I
wasted that Christmas present,"
Shiv murmured, remembering
the year that he had gotten
a stocking filled with coal.
He had used it to start
a fire in the coat closet.
Too bad he hadn't known
it could be used for art. He
probably could've covered
a whole hall in graffiti before
anyone caught up to him.
Then again, that had been
the family with the white carpet
in the parlor, and no way would
coal ever come out of that.
"What happened to
that poor horse?"
Arden said from
right behind him.
"Some asshole rode
a four-wheeler past
the paddock, and these
are rescue horses, one
of 'em's scared of motors,"
Shiv explained. "That one
flipped his shit, and that
spooked the others too."
"Were they all right?"
Arden asked, eyes wide.
"Yeah, we had to call the vet
to check them over because
they hit the fences, but nothing
more than a few bumps and
scrapes," Shiv assured her.
"He looks so terrified," she said.
"He was," Shiv said, remembering
the shrill, panicky screams and
the hooves thrashing the air.
Sometimes he felt that way,
too, though less often now.
That was an improvement.
Shiv shook himself. He
couldn't figure out how
to fix the damn shoulders,
and it was hard to reach
the bottom of the paper.
He wasn't sure if he wanted
to take the time to finish this.
"And how the hell am I supposed
to get it home?" he wondered.
"There are holders," the girl said,
pointed to a rack of what looked like
repurposed wrapping paper tubes.
"I don't know," Shiv said. "I don't
really have anywhere to put it."
Tolli and Simon, who had
a lot more wall space than
Shiv did, might not want
a hysterical horse on it.
"In that case, would
you consider donating
it?" a man asked him.
"I'm Konrad Campin,
and fundraising is
part of my job here."
"Maybe?" Shiv said.
"What kind of donation?"
"There will be an auction
this evening to raise money for
Recreative Denver," said Konrad.
"It will help cover events like this
as well as regular upkeep."
"Oh yeah, that works for me,"
Shiv said. The man handed him
a little release form to fill out, and
then stuck that on a blank corner.
Shiv used his smartphone to snap
a few pictures of the sketch.
Happy with the results at last,
he went back to the first table.
"Man, I love this lump charcoal,"
said Shiv. "I mean, I got all kinds
of pencils and sticks at home, but
I like working in large scale."
"If you like what you see,
then please come shop
at Drawn Out Denver,"
Hector said, handing him
a business card. "We have
a variety of lump charcoal
in the store and online."
Shiv pocketed the card.
"Thanks," he said. "I'm
just visiting, but I'll sure
check out your website."
Online art shopping. Yeah,
there went his budget for
spending money this week.
"Have you seen the live models
yet?" Hector asked him, pointing.
Shiv turned to look that way.
Part of the area had been
partitioned with portable walls.
Signs indicated the activities.
A whole row of spaces had
been devoted to live models.
"Do you mind if I take some
of the free samples that far?"
Shiv wondered. "It looks fun."
"Keep what you like," said Hector.
"They're meant for people to try
and see what they might want
to buy more of later on."
So Shiv sorted through
things and put together
a little mini-kit of pencils,
sticks, eraser, and blender.
He dropped one pencil
and it rolled across the floor
before he could catch it.
"Would you like a swag bag
to hold stuff?" said Hector.
"Yes, please," Shiv said,
retrieving the stray pencil.
"Sketch protectors are there,"
Hector said, pointing to piles
of tissue paper, cardstock, and
metal clips. "Here's a bag for you."
Shiv covered his sketches with
sheets of paper and clipped them
together. Then he took the bag,
which was a huge paper thing
with heavy twine handles.
The sides of it read,
Drawn Out Denver:
Art Is for Everyone,
and they had a crowd
of diverse people too.
"Art is for everyone?"
Shiv echoed, curious.
"Yeah, yeah, it's vital
to keep the supplies
affordable so everyone
can do art," said Hector.
"I always stock cheap stuff
as well as premium products."
Shiv sighed. "Cheap isn't
always enough when folks
are really broke, though."
"Well, there's also a corner
with free pencils and paper,
whatever other odds and ends
I can scrounge up from donations,"
said Hector. "Recreating Denver
takes a different approach -- they
accept partly used art supplies, so
you don't have to waste things
if you happen to dislike them."
"That sounds cool," Shiv said
as he bagged everything.
Then he wandered over
to check out the choices.
The first one was Artistic Nudes.
"Oh, hell no," Shiv muttered as he
shook his head. He walked on.
The next one was more along
his tastes: Swashbuckling Poses.
Shiv peeked inside and found
an athletic young man bounding
around and over a sturdy table.
He also had several stage weapons
including swords, a pair of longknives,
and a wooden quarterstaff for posing.
Shiv dropped into an empty chair
and grabbed some art paper.
The dude was moving so fast
that Shiv didn't try to draw
anything detailed. He just
focused on gesture sketches
to capture as many poses
as he possibly could.
Finally the man stopped
with a bow and flourish.
"Thank you, ladies and
gentlebeings," he said.
"Cavalier, at your service."
Then he flopped into a chair.
Beside it stood a small table
with a water bottle and a jar.
A sign on the jar read, Action
burns calories. Tip me in food.
Shiv pulled out a business card,
scribbled Fudge Dealer on it,
and dropped it into the jar.
"My stomach thanks you,"
Cavalier said with a nod.
He looked so worn out,
sprawled in the chair,
one hand toying with
the hilt of a sword.
And he wasn't moving
too fast to render now.
Shiv grabbed a new page
and did a quick line drawing.
Yeah, that was worth keeping.
Tucking the picture into his bag,
Shiv thanked the model and
went looking for something new.
It was turnover time for models.
The Cute Kids area had become
Wing Studies and Gesture Sketches:
Sessions every hour on the hour.
Could be interesting. Shiv took
a peek inside that enclosure.
The model had wings.
Not fluffy little white ones
like Hali had, but huge wings
with a rainbow of feathers.
Tall and slim, the man wore
a wrap top and shorts of warm tan
that showed off muscle definition
without looking lewd in the process.
A dedicated artist clock displayed
the time as well as a countdown.
"Come on in," the man said.
"We have a few minutes left
before the session begins."
Shiv took one of the eight chairs
lined up on either side of the door.
The last chair filled just moments
before the clock's timer went off,
and the model latched the door.
"Welcome to Wing Studies and
Gesture Sketches. Let's go around
and do introductions. I'm Poseur, and
I'll be modeling for you today," he said.
"I'm Shiv," he said. "I do a lot with
creme pastels, and uh, spray paint.
Right now I'm playing with charcoals."
There were a couple of art students,
two actual professional artists, a catgirl
who wanted to stare instead of being
stared at, a teleporter on vacation, and
another show soup with crayon hair
who was trying out art as a hobby.
"Thank you all for coming, and I
would like to thank Pavo's cohort for
sponsoring me today," said Poseur.
Shiv hadn't known that. Cool. He'd
have to thank Pavo for it later on.
"We'll be starting with brief poses for
warmup, gradually getting longer. Please
keep your seats while I'm moving, but feel free
to take flashless photographs or videos then."
said Poseur. "Next we'll take a short break."
He pointed out the nearest bathrooms and
a snack area on a map of the building.
"In our second segment, I will do some
fast action flow, then slow down so you can
do wing studies. Break again," said Poseur.
"For the last segment, I'll strike a static pose
for ten minutes. You'll be free to move
around me to see different angles."
Instantly Shiv checked his phone
to make sure the camera was
working and the flash was off.
"All right, let's get started,"
the model said, as he set
the artist clock to class mode.
"This will give us increasing time,
and when the alarm chimes, I
will switch to a different pose."
It started out with 10-second poses,
which was just enough time for
making one or maybe two lines.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its character, setting, and content notes will appear separately.
[To be continued in Part 2 ...]
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-23 11:54 pm (UTC)Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-24 02:57 am (UTC):D I'm glad you liked this. I had fun with it too.
>> (Shiv is one of my favorites,<<
He really has grown on people.
>> and I have a soft spot for most of the swashbucklers). <<
They are delightful to watch.
Feel free to ask for more during any relevant prompt call.
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-24 02:46 am (UTC)Ohhh... Ashley would be in heaven there!
I'm guessing there's a Gothic Art section somewhere in all that...
Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-24 02:55 am (UTC)I think so too.
This is not a unique event; you could always write an art party in Easy City.
>> I'm guessing there's a Gothic Art section somewhere in all that... <<
That's entirely possible. However, it looks like some folks have clustered around "distressed / grunge" art in the upcycling area, which is closely related.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-24 03:05 am (UTC)Considering how Ashley does art.. yeah.. that would attract her.
I am giving it serious consideration. If the weather turns on me, which it might well, I'll have some down time from my outdoor projects to do some writing...assuming I can summon the spoons for it. Did you know, you can have different sorts of spoons for different sorts activities? Right now, I have super-abundance of maker spoons but not much in way of the writing spoons... and I haven't seen an art spoon in ages.
heh.. and now I'm considering using that analogy in a story...I can see someone making actual sorts of activity spoons. Just for the hell of it. Art spoons would stained glass or enameled cloisonne I think... maker spoons would be multitools.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-24 03:23 am (UTC):D
>> I am giving it serious consideration. <<
Go for it!
>> If the weather turns on me, which it might well, I'll have some down time from my outdoor projects to do some writing...<<
Yeah, that's what I do. 95F? A beautiful day for writing!
>> assuming I can summon the spoons for it. Did you know, you can have different sorts of spoons for different sorts activities? Right now, I have super-abundance of maker spoons but not much in way of the writing spoons... and I haven't seen an art spoon in ages.<<
Yes, I have noticed that.
>>heh.. and now I'm considering using that analogy in a story...I can see someone making actual sorts of activity spoons. Just for the hell of it. Art spoons would stained glass or enameled cloisonne I think... maker spoons would be multitools.<<
Cool idea.
I once made an artifact for a friend that would gather 1 spoon's worth of energy from the ambient. It was, of course, made from an antique silver spoon with embellishments.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-24 03:31 am (UTC)Considering the temps having been hitting the low 100's recently...
I was more thinking rain..rain and power tools is not a good combination.
and damn but I could do with an etheric spoon collector somedays. Hmmmm....now there's an idea for a project.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-24 05:03 am (UTC)Yeah, we had a streak of that here. :/ In May, which is not normal. Fuck climate change.
>> I was more thinking rain..rain and power tools is not a good combination.<<
Point. But I wouldn't call 100 heat + forge a good combination either.
>> and damn but I could do with an etheric spoon collector somedays. Hmmmm....now there's an idea for a project.<<
They're not hard to make. You need something that absorbs energy; a silver spoon is obvious in this case. Then just add whatever embellishments suit your style of magic and craftsmanship. If I remember right, I used lapis beads among the focal decorations. But I've seen people stamp letters onto old spoons; runes would work. Anyone, after it's made, you hang it up somewhere it can absorb energy. Once a day you can tap it for a little extra energy, which is usually enough to do one last task.
Don't try for more than +1 though. While it's possible to construct such a thing, relying on too much extra energy is a recipe for disaster -- just like too much caffeine or other substitute can wreck your body.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-24 05:15 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-24 05:59 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-28 08:45 pm (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-28 09:15 pm (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-29 04:48 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-29 04:51 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2022-06-30 04:09 am (UTC)As our hostess points out, you can find old flatware in antique shops and flea markets. There was a fad in the 1960s for "spoon rings and "spoon bracelets, made by taking the most ornamented silver spoon you could get and bending it into a ring or bracelet. They were popular among hippies and people who liked "old fashioned things".
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-24 04:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-24 05:13 am (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2022-06-24 06:04 am (UTC)Yay!
>> And learning a new medium.<<
He's hooked on lump charcoal for sure. But just wait until you see him get ahold of the sculptural paint bases later. ;)
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2022-06-25 04:18 am (UTC)Re: Thank you!
Date: 2022-06-29 04:45 am (UTC)Re: Thank you!
Date: 2022-06-29 04:49 am (UTC)It also influences the way he handles 2D art, from his interest in underpainting to his tendency to throw in random flecks of color. It's rare for a male to be a tetrachromat, but it's pretty clear that Shiv seems more colors than average, and sees more in the colors that are there. He gets mesmerized by things with complex coloring too.
Re: Thank you!
Date: 2022-06-29 07:15 am (UTC)If Shiv winds up in a relationship with a female tetrachromat, what kind of color vision will their daughters have? And does Shiv's metal-manipulating POwer breed true?
(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-24 11:31 am (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2022-06-25 03:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2022-06-27 03:27 am (UTC)I'll bet Shiv would really like silverpoint.
Yes ...
Date: 2022-06-27 10:05 am (UTC)