fandomhigh | Japanese Art, Friday, Period Two

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japanese art

Japanese Art, Friday, Period Two

Algren, clad in actual modern clothing today instead of the yukata he'd briefly contemplated wearing to class before deciding that might be laying it on a little thick, was looking faintly amused as he settled in for his lesson today. He'd set a low table in the middle of the room, all desks and chairs pushed off to the side, and there were cushions on the floor around the table so that students could sit comfortably. On the table were stacks of brightly colored pieces of paper, cut into squares.

"Ohayōgozaimasu," he greeted, giving a small nod once it looked as though his students had settled in. "Good morning, and welcome to Japanese Art. I'm Captain Nathan Algren-- Mr. Algren for the sake of this class will do."

Or Algren-Sensei, though that seemed a little too formal for the sake of a class of three. He shrugged his shoulders all the same.

"We'll be covering several different types of Japanese art over the course of this workshop, starting with the one most people have at least a passing familiarity with," he gestured to the paper, "and moving on into calligraphy, perhaps some theater... Japan has a vast and diverse selection of art forms to choose from, and we'll barely be able to scratch the surface over the course of the next few weeks. This week, of course, is reserved for introductions - name and if there's anything in particular you hope to take away from this class - and then we'll get into folding some paper."

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Artistically!

Merrill

Khadgar

It's short, you might appreciate the cushion-and-table setup more than the talking. You might be distracted by all the square sheets of paper in many patterns and colors.

You might actually pay attention to the guy talking.

You do you!

Merrill was paying attention! She was totally paying attention! She was --

Ooooh, pretty paper.

Name, why you took this class or what you're hoping to get out of it. Anything in particular you'd like to learn while you're here?

"Hello, I'm Merrill, and --" She waved a hand awkwardly. "I'm not actually sure why I took this class, but I like pretty things, so . . . here I am."

"That's as good a reason as any to take an art class," Nathan pointed out, smiling at her encouragingly. "I'll try to find exercises for us to do this term that involve pleasing aesthetics. It shouldn't be difficult to do."

Japan did 'pretty' well.

"I'm Khadgar, and I thought it might be good to take a creative class along with the more purely informational classes I'm taking," he said. "I don't know much of anything about Japanese culture, so I'm excited to find out more. And to find out if I am in any way artistic."

"Fortunately, even if you aren't, a few of the things we work on this summer should at the very least work out for people who are good at following instructions, as well," Nathan offered, smirking a little. "Origami included. I'm not exactly here to make anybody a master at any one thing, but hopefully I can give you the basics of a lot of varied things, and you'll find something that clicks. Or at the very least something that you don't hate doing."

Algren will take you through the steps to fold a twirling bird, first, as a warmup and to get you used to some of the beginner folds. Feel free to pick whatever ~~moddable~~ paper you like from the selection in front of you.

When we're done that, there are several other possible projects to try, and Algren's printed out instructions for you to poke through for that purpose. Make another bird, a flower, a star, a box, or if you're feeling confident, try to come up with something of your own! Feel free to ask Algren for help if you get stuck. He's been practically buried in square sheets of paper all week making sure he had this down.

Merrill had a couple of false starts, and had to unfold and refold her paper a few times -- painstakingly smoothing it out instead of getting a new sheet -- but when she finally succeeded, the way the bird actually twirled made the effort completely worth it.

There might have been a little squeal of glee.

Folding paper should not have been difficult, and yet Khadgar was struggling to get started. His bird technically twirled, but the flower he ended up making seemed a lot better.

He'll stay for a little while after class, finishing up his attempt at a tiger, if anybody needs to talk to him.

Steve had been loitering in the doorway for much of the class, interested in learning about a different form of art.

And once Nathan had a moment, he glanced up to see Steve in the doorway, raising an eyebrow and then nodding, an invitation to step into the classroom.

"Come on in," he said, fairly amiably. "Can I help you with anything?"

Steve's cheeks went pink. "Probably not," he said. "I'm just interested in hearing what you're teaching. I don't know anything about Japanese art and wanted to learn."

And at that, Nathan had to grin a little.

"That seems like exactly the sort of thing that I can help with," he pointed out, reasonably. "Pick a piece of paper and we can go over some of the basic origami folds, if you like."

"Really?" Steve said, his entire face lighting up. "I've been drawing since I was a kid, but this is way out of my experience."

"There's plenty of space and plenty of paper," Nathan replied, shrugging a little. "I don't see why not."

He offered Steve a little grin.

"I didn't know that about you," he added. "You are Captain Steve Rogers, am I correct? I knew another Steve - and another Tony - the first time I lived on the island."

And between the two of them, himself, and Tyler Durden, they'd been kind of like Fandom's budget Avengers. It had been great, with the occasional side of Nazi bee trauma.

"That will stop being strange to hear eventually," Steve said with a little chuckle. "Yes, I'm Steve Rogers. It's nice to meet you."

"Nathan Algren," Nathan replied, offering Steve a handshake. "And it'll eventually stop being strange to be sharing the island with completely different versions of people I went on fishing trips with as well, I'm sure."

Don't ask him how. He was just here to teach kids how to fold paper.

Daphne was here and happily helping to create things with the paper.

I need to get my hands on some pretty paper. I haven't folded origami in ages.

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Sign In

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Lecture

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Introductions

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Origami

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Talk to Algren

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Talk to the TA

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OOC