Second Floor Common Room, Wednesday Night

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

Naminé had spread a large canvas over most of the floor in the common room. Around the edges there were paints, brushes, charcoals, crayons, colored pencils, all sorts of moddable art supplies.

Near one edge she was working on a sketch of a tree, and a rather-less-white-than-before gorgeous long-haired cat was wandering through the center, tracking some (non-toxic and safe for cats) paint-covered pawprints as she went.

Art, Naminé felt, was best expressed as chaos.

(Very open, as common rooms are! Come make art.)

Comments

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

"You ... needn't do anything, if you're uncomfortable," she said, hoping to put the boy at ease. "We were simply drawing. Or painting, or sketching. You're welcome to stay and watch, or participate, or you can leave, I won't take offense."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He shook that off.

"No, I've just never done it. I like to learn new things."

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

"Well, then." Naminé gestured to a blank spot on the canvas. "You choose an instrument - the paints, the pencils, the crayons, whichever appeals to you - and you draw. It can be things you know - books, trees, I believe Sokka's working on some sort of robot war - or things you've never imagined, or just shapes and splashes of colors. There really is no wrong way to make art."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He looked at the available options and picked up a crayon, as it looked the simplest.

Then he leaned down and started to draw very simple figures.

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

Naminé smiled, hoping to be reassuring, and returned once more to her garden; trees, flowers, and perhaps a sun, up in the sky. Something warm instead of February snow.

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

He looked over at Namine.

"What should I draw?"

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

"There is no 'should'," she said gently. "Art isn't like that. Draw whatever speaks to you. Trees, because they're soothing; a friend you haven't seen in months. Something your mind wishes to see on paper. Splashes of color warring against each other. Nothing is wrong, here."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"Why?" he asked curiously. He wasn't skeptical, only curious. "Is it to record or..."

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

"It's to express," she said simply. "If you'd rather not, you don't have to. It's the act of creating. Making something where only blank space appeared. No more, no less."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"It's not that," he said. He didn't want her to think that. "All right."

He thought of a drawing he'd seen, one the Witch would only pull out when she was alone. It had been brown, but he picked a blue crayon.

"All right," he said again as he tried to draw the keep. Kiamo Ko.

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

"See?" she said softly. "You're doing fine."

She settled in for a few more trees. "Have you never seen art before?"

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"I've seen some," he admitted. "Not much. Never while it was being made. I wasn't allowed at the art supplies either. Those things were Nor's."

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

"That's ... sad, I think," she said, thinking on it. "Art shouldn't be kept for these people and away from those. It just sort of is. Sometimes it was all I ever had."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"There wasn't much I had but my chores," he admitted with a faint smile. "But that's over now. And I'm here, drawing with you, yes?"

[palestshadow.livejournal.com]

"You are indeed," she smiled. "I should hope this is nicer than your chores. Mine ... were somewhat unpleasant."

[new-to-liirness.livejournal.com]

"All chores are unpleasant," he said. "Though hopefully, yours didn't include cleaning monkey dirty off of things."