83/Masks

Masks
Date of Scene:	14 July 2023
Location:	Classroom
Synopsis:	Art Club at RHA is a strangely philosophical place.
Cast of Characters:	Naru Osaka, Hana Shiroi

---

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    The Art Club at RHA meets once per week, after classes are over, in the art classroom. The art classroom is, as the name suggests, where the formal art classes of all levels are taught and as such has a wide array of supplies and utilities for all kinds of creativity, from painting to sketching to sculpture (mostly clay/pottery type) to textiles. While many students may take an art class as part of their course list, only the dedicated few also join the Art Club. Not particularly organized, the club generally takes the form of extra time in the art classroom to work on personal projects that are not given time, or enough time, during the formal classes.

    One late afternoon, there are about a half dozen students in the art classroom after hours. A mix of both male and female students pursuing all sorts of artistic endeavors. Hana Shiroi stands in front of a canvas on an easel, over by the large windows which let in the afternoon light. Her pretty, impassive face peers at what to most appear to be just a few lines and splotches of color upon said canvas- the very early stages of a painting, too early to have much clue of what it is supposed to /be/, yet. If anything. Her pallet and paints are nearby, but not currently in hand.

Naru Osaka has posed:
It is, if the truth be told, one of the favourite bits of Naru's week. There's an hour, or two, where she has no other responsibilities beyond the creative. She isn't keeping a vague eye out for Usagi, she isn't thinking about the store. She even manages to ignore homework, unless its art homework. Which honestly, barely counts as homework.

Today, Naru is at one of the tables, also near the window for the light, and she has fabric swatches spread out in front of her. Most have been donations to the school, bequeathed in the whole 'I'm sure the children can do something with this' from adult fabric stashes when THEY have no idea what to do with it. Her sketch book is open next to her, referenced back to periodically as she considers the cacophony of colours and patterns on offer to her.

"What do you think of this blue with this salmon colour?" Naru asks, probably of Hana, she's the only one really close enough to answer, but anyone who might want to offer an opinion.

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    Hana has been standing in silent contemplation of her mostly-empty canvas for some 10 minutes, barely moving. Naru would know, from their time in art together, that the girl often comes off as cold, impassionate, or haughty- strange, perhaps, for someone who produces such vivid paintings as she is known to. Most are afraid to approach and speak with her, outside of her acknowledged clique (or followers, at some would deem them), and rumors of cold or hostile responses to such approaches probably have some degree of truth to them.

    However, Naru, it seems, pays such rumors no mind. And Hana, it seems, appreciate Naru's skills, different from her own though they may be, enough to give her an answer which, while delivered in a cool and bored-sounding voice and with a flat expression upon her doll-like face, seems to be honest. "I'd go for something a bit darker. Perhaps purple?" She's turned her head just slightly, dark eyes to the side, to see the fabric without shifting from her position in front of the easel.

Naru Osaka has posed:
There is a level of equal opporunity in Naru's interactions with other students and indeed, with the world at large. She is gentle and friendly with everyone. From the shy little ones, to the perceived cold ones, to the bullies and misunderstood ones. So far, it mostly serves her well.

The sigh speaks to Naru knowing that Hana is right, agreeing that Hana is right and having wished that Hana was not right. "All of the purples are basically terrible." She reaches over to draw them forth and lay them against the salmony pink swatch that she's apparently devoted to. "None of them have enough depth of shade to stand up." And her complaints are valid. There's a lot of lavender and fairly insipid blue-purples that don't want to commit to anything. She frowns at it a moment and then quirks her head thoughtfully. "I wonder if I can dye this a better colour. It would be cheaper than going fabric shopping, that's for certain." There's a smile and a gesture to Hana's palette. "Fine art materials, so much cheaper. You get a lot of painting out of a tube of gouache."

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    Hana seems satisfied that her answer is deemed correct, as she knew that it must be. Her color sense is quite good, from years of painting. Naru's acknowledgement of her assessment is greeted with a queenly inclination of the head, as if to say 'you're welcome' without actually saying anything. The comments upon the cost of supplies seem to slide off of her without ruffle, her only reply being a mild noise of what might be agreement, or might be irritation- it's so mild as to be unidentifiable other than 'some sort of response'.

    She returns her eyes to her canvas. Silence resumes for several moments. Then she speaks again in her cool, even tones that always make her sound bored. Anyone spending enough time around her would come to realize that boredom is never part of the equation when discussing art, though. "Do you ever feel as though the canvas is resisting you? I see what I want it to be... but it fights me. It denies my desired shape. I admit to some frustration." If so, none leaks through into her voice.

Naru Osaka has posed:
Naru closes her eyes a moment, feeling the hand of the fabric, without considering the colour and makes some selection that way. Dye is entirely on the table as an option, it would seem, but you cannot fix drape and body in the same way that you can colour.

Her eyes open at Hana's question, turning towards the young woman and the canvas. "To me, it feels like the shapes are elusive. They hover on the edge of my thoughts and the edge of my mind but slip through my fingers without gaining form. Like dreams." She considers that analogy and then nods. "They feel so solid until you try and articulate them, and then they wisp away to nothingness."

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    "Yes. Like dreams." Hana agrees without hesitation, lifting a hand with manicured nails painted jet black to lightly draw a finger across the canvas. The paint which is there is dried, clearly from a previous session. "Making dreams into reality through my painting is a skill I have been honing for years. Yet still, sometimes, I am stymied by the stubborn limitations of the physical." A faint, delicate sigh. She really talks like she's memorized the thesaurus, but then again, she does have very good grades in Japanese language class.

    "Perhaps a new approach." She reaches for a large brush, dips it in a can of off-white paint, and begins spreading it over the entire canvas, effectively erasing the beginnings of what had been there and resetting the surface to neutral. "When one finds oneself without a path forward, the correct choice is often to create one."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It's a skill you have honed well." Naru gives the compliment freely, with the ease of one who can recognize the work required, and is not jealous. Much. Perhaps just a little bit jealous, but more inspired than whiny about it. She has her own path, and is well on her own way to walking it.

"Viam inveniam aut faciam" Latin is wholly unexpected from a Japanese schoolgirl, but Naru goes there. Clearly someone has been expanding their studying beyond strictly school subjects. "Find a way, or make one." She gestures at the wiping out of the canvas. "In textiles, I call that 'fixing it with scissors."

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    "Mmmm." Another noncommittal sound. Something Hana is apparently quite fond of. Its rare that she shows her hand prematurely, and it seems she considers expressing strong opinions to be some sort of hand. After all, if other people know what you are thinking, then they have some insight into what you might do next. Better to keep them guessing.

    She doesn't act impressed or surprised by Naru's latin, and only nods- but the fact that she reacts in this way rather than in a haughty or scornful one should be enough to indicate appreciation, at least to someone who has spent any time in her presence. "Perhaps such things are easier with paint than with cloth. After all," She finishes applying her coat of fresh paint to the canvas, leaving it blank and white again. Some remnant of the previous color can be seen through the white, but only faintly, and the application of new color overtop will hide it easily. "There is seldom a point with paint where you must simply give a piece up for lost. You can add, take away, and add again seemingly without end. Harder with fabric."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Non answers do not appear to phase Naru. She is gaining skill in interpreting various levels and degrees of silence. Welcomed, perhaps, as contrast to the unending chaos that comes with the rest of her life.

Watching paint dry is something that comes up far more often in life than the world ever prepares one for. Much lower incidents with quicksand, much higher on the paint drying. Such are the mysteries of the universe. "There are a lot of steps before that point." Naru acknowledges. "Where the plans shift and change. Where you can reclaim, or adjust what the desired outcome is. At some point, however, you have to know when its time to cut it off and walk away."

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    "Flexibility is important." Hana agrees readily. She doesn't seem inclined to move on to another project. For now, she has replaced the brush and paint and merely looks alternately at the newly-refreshed canvas and out the window at the summer afternoon. "But so is the ability to salvage a poor situation. Turn it to your advantage."

    She turns her dark eyes towards Naru, her expression as cool and bored-looking as it ever is. There are rumors that some students have seen her smile. But most of them are not the friendly sort. And nobody has any proof. "Sometimes difficulty and opportunity wear the same mask. And the face underneath is the solution you have been searching for."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"Restrictions breed creativity." A phrase used often by their Art Teacher, but one that is still relevant, no matter that a teacher says it. "Flexibility is key." Naru corrects, or at least posits as her own position. She pulls a grey fabric closer, setting it with the salmon pink one, the textures and weights are very similar, even if the colours are not right at all. Her visual attention is largely on the fabrics she's still working with, even if her verbal attention is upon Hana.

Naru smiles, turning then to Hana and sharing that smile. Where Hana's smiles are rare enough to be mythical, Naru's are easy and often. "The scooby-doo theory of adversity." She dubs that wise sentiment with a catchy name. "Too often, there's more than one mask."

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    Hana does not smile back. However, the dark-eyed regard she favors Naru with has a softer edge to it than many would be treated to. Not an Ice Queen, in this moment, but a contemplative ascetic. "Restrictions may breed creativity, but that does not make them any less frustrating." That frustration does not come through in her tone. She is good at hiding her emotions, until she isn't.

    "The masks are endless," She agrees with Naru's statement, if perhaps not the direct analogy. "And sometimes finding the right one to pull is a harder task than whatever you set out to do in the first place. But infinitely rewarding once accomplished." She returns her eyes to the canvas. "Sometimes you will pull the wrong mask, and find a solution you never set out looking for, but which ends up being more suited than the one you intended."

Naru Osaka has posed:
Another fabric onto the pile. A contrast in colour and texture, a crinkly white that almost seems crisp on its folds, whispering as it moves. "Wholly and entirely frustrating." Naru agrees, as much to the fabric that is probably going to be the source of a great deal of her upcoming frustration as to Hana.

"And sometimes, pulling the mask is far more complicated then you ever dreamt." Naru continues thoughtfully. "And by the time you've set things up to pull the mask, you've almost forgotten that you started out aiming for a mask, as you are now looking at a sock." She twists the white fabric up in her fingers, testing it, exploring how it moves. The other two are known quantities, but this one is new, and interesting.

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    Hana seems to finally resign herself to the fact that she isn't actually going to get any painting done today. At least other than the whitewashing of her canvas. She could get another canvas, to be sure, but she is not the type to admit defeat on a project until the bitter end. She starts methodically putting away her supplies, putting caps on things and making a small pile of what needs to be washed.

    "Sometimes," She agrees, "The act of solving a problem can be more satisfying than the solution you were aiming for. I pity those who live an easy life. They may never know the satisfaction of untangling a knot, only to find that it was the act of untangling, not the rope you are left with, which held the value."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"I am a textile artist." Naru's smile is bright. "I spend a lot of time untangling string. It is a meditative task, and one that I usually enjoy." She smoothes the white fabric with her fingers again, watching as the wrinkles she twisted in just vanish with a brush of her fingers. "Of course, I appreciate the string too."

"I do not know many who live a truly easy life. Some just cannot, or will not see the challenges presented to them." Naru stacks the salmon fabric on top of the white, and then the grey on top of both.

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    "I imagine that is true." Hana agrees without seeing a need to question. She moves to the sink, meticulously washing off her brushes and pallet, stacking everything where it goes quite neatly. After she finishes this, she turns again towards Naru. "I belive any hope of constructive progress today has been dashed. But I have high hopes for tomorrow."

    She inclines her head to Naru, the barest gesture of respect. "It has been a pleasure speaking with you, Osaka-san. I find stimulating conversation so rare these days. Perhaps it is the presence of another artist which I find engaging.. Erin and Madison," here referring to her cronies, always at her shoulders throughout the course of most normal school days, "are lovely, but they do not understand the artist's dilemma. It is refreshing to speak to someone in the language I treasure."

Naru Osaka has posed:
"It has been my pleasure." The words are offered with a gentle smile, and quiet sincerity. Naru returns that slight incline, comfortable in accepting Hana as an equal. "I look forward to seeing your next piece and listening to the masks that were found in the making of it."

It is clear that Naru is not quite done with her time in the Art room, there is still fabric to be sorted. If the room is quiet, and she can work undisturbed, perhaps That Sketchbook might see a little more fleshing out, attempts to capture the wisps of dreams that might not entirely be dreams.

Hana Shiroi has posed:
    "I look forward to your feedback." Hana says, in a polite tone that indicates she may not be terribly interested in feedback at all, but must allow that it exists and tolerate it from at least those she respects. "Until then. Good luck with your dye."

    She collects her bag, turns and glides from the room like a ghost, the door opening and closing with barely a whisper of sound as she retreats.