Chapter 28: Artist greatness 101.
…
Kanae walked fast to the coffee shop. *tiring*
"Welcom- Ho? Did you forget something?"
Kanae shook his head, "I need help…"
He started to tell him how he was looking for an Interior designer for his sister's room.
Hearing that it was for Azusa-chan. Make the old man nod with seriousness. And after a minute he gave him a piece of paper and some directions.
"This place looks a little rundown but the chief designer in there was the owner of one of the biggest architecture companies in Japan" Yoshimura open his eyes fully for the first time. Making Kanae almost attack him. He could feel the aura of the old man as if waiting to pounce on something. The feeling was only a second and the old man again was with his eyes half-closed. "They now work designing small rooms for the rich. Tell him that I send you"
Kanae wanted to ask why they weren't the owners anymore. But thinking about the spike in the aura of the old man, he knew that it was probably a bad topic to ask.
"Thanks, Ojiisan!" Kanae leave the store, thinking about who Yoshimura was.
Before opening the door again Yoshimura said, "You have good senses Kanae-san"
He only nodded back. He was thankful for his martial arts prowess, he didn't know what he would do if he knew that a monster like the old man existed. Probably hide on a private island for the rest of his life or something.
He should make an altar for the martial art vouchers. Maybe sacrifice some coupons to it?…
He walked while writing the direction on GaLoo Maps. Mobile data on 2010 was crap, but enough to put some directions on it. He looked at the map while walking toward the girls. After a couple of long seconds, the map finally loaded.
Zooming out he noted that the place was on the other side of the Shibuya station. Not far away. Plus he needed to go there anyway to buy all his art supplies.
Once in front of the two girls, he said, "Come on let's go to Shibuya"
The girls didn't know why Kanae was happy after leaving the coffee shop. But they follow anyway.
As they walked Hachi and Azusa. Were talking about deferents things. Especially about the song that she was going to play for the examination.
Kanae noted that she wasn't really happy with the song, something that make him frown.
"Hey mochi, you don't sound happy about the song?"
Azusa put on a complicated face, but after seeing his brother encouraging her to speak she said, "I think I want to play my own song…but I can't come up with everything as good as the one you give me."
Kanae smiled brightly at her. For him, having the courage to make your own art was the first step to becoming a great artist.
"I think is great. Do you need help?"
She nodded her head cutely, making her pigtails bounce around. "I don't have any ideas…How do you make so many great songs?"
"And clothes too! You are always doing original things!" Hachi exclaimed.
Kanae tapped his chin while thinking. After a couple of minutes, he answered.
"Produce and consume"
"Uh?" Both Hachi and Azusa put on a puzzled faces.
"You need to always be producing, don't matter if the idea is good if it copying another artist or playing an interpretation. The more you produce the better the chance to have a good idea. You know from every 50 shirts I sew, I only like the last 3.
"And you also need to consume to have great creativity. Creativity is like a mental library. The more you learn, listen, taste, and see. The bigger the library will be. The most important thing for an artist is to analyze everything. What is that person thinking? Why did he/she choose those shoes? Why that sign is of that colour? Why do I feel sad? Why did I like the coffee? Why I don't like that painting?/
"That is consuming.
"Of course, there isn't any foolproof method to make things.
"Some artist can express their emotions well, so they go with that. Others are really good at deforming things already made. Others might fill his brain with philosophy books and ends up questioning everything. Others more business-minded might do a market analysis. Take what is selling and go from there."
Kanae stopped talking letting and look if they were listening, seeing their serious face as they absorbed what he said.
After a couple of minutes, he continued.
"Of course, there are some steps to make this easy.
"First learn the rules and techniques of your craft to perfection. There is a big difference in quality between someone that breaks the rules because he wants to. And someone that breaks them thanks to his lack of knowledge. One is a rebel, a revolutionary, a misunderstood. While the other is an amateur.
"Any professional artist can see the difference between style and lack of technique.
"The second important thing is to choose a concept. What is the meaning of your work? What do you want to convey? To make them angry? To speak about life? Flowers? The bad breath of your partner in the morning?.
"After knowing this, you can start with the third.
"Research. Research. Research. How do the flowers work? Why do people like them? Did flowers took an important part in social life? Nature? What meaning do they have? Is there any book about flowers? What do other artists say about flowers? There are hundreds of questions to make. And that is when the path to originality truly begins. The type of research that you choose about a concept is the first time that your creation starts to take 'shape' and when you finally show your 'Original Signature' as an artist.
"The final two are. Composition and portrayal.
"Do I need this brush? Does this colour convey what I want to say? This stitch? This chord?.
"Is only after you have all those things that you can finally start looking at the way you present your work to the world.
Portrayal on the other hand is the final medium by that you convey your piece. The way that people would taste it, listen or look."
Hachi was with a face of deep concentration. He knew that she was attending Art university. So these words were probably striking something somewhere.
Azusa on the other hand was frowning, clearly thinking about what he said. It was after five minutes of complete silence that Azusa say with an annoyed face.
"You are lying! You always make new things without doing any research! You just go like "aha!" And do things!"
"Hahaha!" Kanae started to laugh out loud. He wasn't going to tell her that all of his creations were passing through all these points inside of his head. He was constantly thinking, analyzing what was around him, and asking why's.
But most importantly he was always producing.
"What is the first thing I told you about?"
Azusa looked at me for a second and shook her head.
It was Hachi that say it with a questioning look, "Produce and consume?"
"Yes! Having a concept, researching about a concept, having the proper tools, etc. Won't make it a good final product. For that you need Experience. And the only way to have experience is to produce and consume.
"Let me ask you something Mochi. Do you think that you learn more songs than bad garments I made?"
Azusa open her eyes wide and after a while, and then looked at the ground in shame.
Inside she was thinking about how much his brother would work every day. He was always making new things. Unlike her, that only played when she was getting bored.
When she went out with her friends his brother was always sewing or playing the guitar.
She still remembered his first tries to make a t-shirt. He had to make literally a pile. And in the end, he had only shown one of them with pride to their mother.
She now understood that behind that single t-shirt were countless other failures.
She now started to think if she was taking music as seriously as Kanae. She had always said that she wanted to be a musician. But she hadn't put any effort into it. Like he said. She didn't even know the basics perfectly!. The worst of all was that she had even gotten angry at his brother when he didn't let her play music with Nana.
True, he had explained things to her. But she had been still a little bitter. Thinking that it was her path to be a professional.
Knowing that in the eyes of his brother she was an amateur maker her have more shame.
*drip-drip*
Kanae saw that Azusa was with her head down and crying. He took a deep breath and went towards her and gently hugged her.
"Okay, why are you crying?"
"Hick. I-i said t-that I wanted to play music-hick. But I wasn't taking it seriously."
Hearing her sister trying to speak while crying was breaking his heart. Still, he understood that these kinds of tears, full of frustration were important in life. To grow.
He had a lot of them under his belt.
"You can play music without being a professional you know?"
Azusa shook her head on her chest, "I want to play music!"
"Then play music?" Kanae asked her playfully.
Making her look with puffy eyes and with a pout. "But you said that I can't become a musician!"
"Eh? When did I say that? you asked me how to have good ideas. You can still become a normal musician, or a bad one, or a lazy one, or—"
"Stop! I want to be a great musician" Azusa complained.
Kanae looked playfully at her and with his thumbs sweep the tears on her face. "Then practice a lot. Plus you have me you know? You need to ask me to teach you and I will do it"
He looks at Azusa with sad eyes. The path to mastering any profession was full of frustration and sad moments. But it also was the most beautiful way to know yourself. A way to scream to the world I'm here!'. To leave your signature on history. And the cost were tears, sweat and pain.
"Now. Stop crying, you are only fifteen is normal to not know what you want to do in life. Plus, I think you are doing a great job. Even if you didn't practice as much as me you still play every day. You listen to a lot of music. And did something better than me too."
Azusa looked at him with eagerness in her eyes, making him chuckle.
"You lived. You make friends, you taste things, see people, and experience things. I didn't do anything of that. So you are better than me at living Mochi. That is also an important thing for being an artist. Remember? Consuming."
She nodded her head, but before she could answer the voice Hachi screaming interrupt her.
"YES! I'M A GOOD CONSUMER!" Hachi was screaming with her arms wide open. As if saying 'see world? I'm also good'
Thinking about all the anti-consumerism campaigns that were prevalent in 2021. He wanted to laugh out loud. 'I don't think that it was that kind of consumerism Hachi…'
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