Solo Clay Flower

[Lisana]

Syna’s bright summer light blanketed Lhavit, making the skyglass city glitter brightly. After her dimly-lit home, Lisana had to shield her eyes for a moment, letting them adjust. The girl had woken early, excited to go to work that day. Her mind was bubbling with ideas, as she clutched a folded piece of paper in her hand, seemingly overeager.

On the paper was a sketch Lisana’s mother, Agnes, had made the day before, after Lisana had spent roughly a bell complaining that she lacked ideas for what to sculpt. Finally, mostly out of annoyance, Agnes had curtly interrupted her daughter, “Fine. I’ll draw you something, and you can turn it into some sort of clay… thing,” she’d snapped. “Just please— stop whining.”

This had resulted in a rough sketch of a lotus flower, quickly scrawled on a piece of paper and shoved at the girl.

This was the piece of paper Liz was taking to work that day. She slipped it in her pocket, beginning the route she'd walked so many times before. At this point, the girl hardly had to think, her legs automatically guiding her in that direction. Without even thinking, Lisana was on Zintila Peak, winding her way along paths and roads to the studio.

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[Lisana]

Lisana stood before the building, taking a break to admire the bright, colorful scenery before entering the building. When she walked in, she took a moment to scan the room. It was a bit busier, and this meant she'd definitely get a few visitors coming over and observing her work. Nat was nearby, working on a painting. It was an abstract blur of colors, and a project Lisana had not yet seen her working on. It must've been new, and Lisana was intrigued, interested in seeing what would come of it. She approached the blonde woman, commenting on the piece. "It's pretty, what's it going to be?"

Lisana didn't know Nat all that well, but she seemed friendly. They'd shared the occasional small talk, or commented on each other's work. Lisana always looked at the other woman as a better artist, although it was hard to compare, being that they both worked with very different mediums.

"I don't know," Nat replied. "I'm thinking of going for something more abstract." She gave Lisana a smile, before turning back and dipping her brush into some paint. "What are you going to sculpt?" The painter questioned, continuing work on her piece as she spoke.

Lisana slipped her hand into her pocket, fumbling for the small piece of paper. She pulled it out, unfolding it. "My mother drew this," Liz explained. "I figured I would turn it into a sculpture."

Nat took it in her hand, a small thumbprint of paint imprinting the corner. It was obvious Nat was being careful not to get any paint on the flower itself. "I really like it. It'll make a nice sculpture."

Lisana gave Nat a smile. "Thank you," she replied, as the woman passed the page back, turning back to her painting. The girl lingered for a moment, mesmerized by Nat's work. The woman, not looking up from her work, spoke yet again. "Looks like a big project, you'd better start working on it."

Lisana gave a small nod, before going to the table where she usually sculpted, to begin her own work.

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[Lisana]

There was something about molding clay that Lisana found relaxing. The way she could get lost in the texture and malleable material and just... shape whatever she could imagine. In this case, of course, she was shaping the flower. Being that Liz was just beginning the piece, the girl was making an effort to make the clay easier to work with, by squeezing the ball of clay and reshaping it. Warming it up, so to speak.

The page with the sketch on it was set at the edge of the table, so the girl could easily glance at it for reference. Prepared to begin her work, Lisana thought about where she would start. Of course, it would be a petal, being that the entire sculpture was made up of petals, but she wasn't sure how to begin. As she thought, she mindlessly flattened a piece of clay between her thumb and forefinger. The result was a roughly oval-shaped, thin piece, and Lisana began to work with that. She pointed one of the ends of the oval, making it look like the tip of the petal. The other end she shaped to be more rounded, before ending at a smaller, much wider point. The nearer you'd be to this end, the wider the petal would be. Once the general shape was complete, Lisana began to curve it into a more convex shape, so it was almost like a shallow bowl.

The girl looked at the finished petal, realizing that she had a significant amount of work before her, being that she was going to shape many more petals. With that in mind, she prepared herself for the slightly tedious work before her. Taking another bit of clay, she flattened it out between her thumb and forefinger as she did previously. Setting it next to the previous petal for comparison, she continued to shape it as previously, by shaping one point, and then the other. Once again, she made an effort to make it concave.

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