Episode 46: Solid Foundation
“Hah… I’m so jealous… Why are you good at everything? I can’t do it no matter how hard I try!”
Seoyeon held her head in frustration as she looked at the pottery Kang Lim had made in the ceramics studio.
Although the shape was simple, the thickness was even, and it was smooth.
“What’s there to be good at? It’s just a basic shape. I’m also new to pottery, so I don’t know much.”
Kang Lim said as he looked at Seoyeon, who was sighing.
He had made an ordinary jar shape, implying there was nothing to be surprised about.
“Still, this is something. I even find it hard to make a cone shape on the wheel. It’s even harder to move on to a cylindrical shape…”
“You can do it if you keep trying.”
“Tsk.”
“But Rose noona is really good. She’s truly the craft queen.”
“Whatever. Both of you are the same. You’re monsters…”
Seoyeon stretched with a resigned expression.
She rotated her neck and rubbed her shoulders.
She hadn’t expected her shoulders to hurt so much while getting used to the pottery wheel.
At first, she thought the moist and soft clay would be fun to work with…
But even a slight movement would cause the clay to shift and distort, so she had to keep her body tense all the time.
“Do you want a massage?”
“What massage…”
“I’m a masseur recognized by my father.”
Seoyeon chuckled at Kang Lim’s joke and sat on the sofa.
In the dusty studio, the old sofa sent up a puff of dust as she sat down.
“Alright. Let’s give it a try.”
Kang Lim washed his clay-covered hands and came behind the sofa.
Seoyeon’s hair, tied high, was covered in clay dust.
He couldn’t understand why someone who said they wanted to plan exhibitions was going through all this trouble.
A fair, slender neck.
Her shoulders were so narrow that it seemed there was no place to massage.
As Kang Lim gently massaged her shoulders, Seoyeon’s expression became relaxed.
No wonder adults like massages.
Seoyeon let out a short groan and said,
“Hoo… That feels good.”
“Are you a grandma?”
“Haha.”
Lying down on the soft sofa, it seemed like sleep would soon take over.
But there were too many assignments at school to even take a short nap.
Seoyeon asked in a worried voice,
“Have you finished the introductory digital design assignment?”
“The picture book?”
“Yeah. It’s due next week.”
“I finished it the week before last and submitted it to a contest at a publishing company. The deadline was then.”
“…What? Seriously?”
“It’s a bit annoying, right?”
“Sounds like you know it well.”
Kang Lim laughed at Seoyeon’s honest response and asked,
“What did you make? What’s it about?”
“I… couldn’t think of a story, so I made a book about the life of pottery. I took pictures from the clay processing to the kiln firing… It’s more of an educational book rather than a picture book. More like a photo album.”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
“Don’t joke around…”
Seoyeon turned around with an expression that said she didn’t believe him.
But seeing his face, she realized he wasn’t teasing.
Kang Lim was nodding sincerely, seemingly genuinely liking her idea.
Seoyeon finally confessed with a guilty look.
“…Idiot. This is just recycling an assignment.”
At Hanye University, the variety of classes, including materials science, is overwhelming.
Thus, students’ assignments often overlap between different classes.
This is what art students call recycling assignments.
“This doesn’t count as recycling. You changed the genre from pottery to a book.”
Seoyeon felt relieved at Kang Lim’s response.
With this reaction, the professor likely wouldn’t have any issues.
“Well, that’s a relief… So, what book did you make? What’s it about?”
“My story is a bit long to explain, but since it’s for kids, the theme is something like, ‘You’re precious from the moment you’re born.’”
“Oh… That’s nice.”
Seoyeon looked at Kang Lim, surprised.
She had thought it might be a dark fairy tale with some profound content, but it was filled with dreams and hope.
A certain someone came to her mind.
“Taemin would love that! He’s been looking down lately.”
Kang Lim felt a bit guilty and took his hands off Seoyeon’s shoulders.
Seoyeon turned around, understanding that the massage was over.
“Alright, stop. They say it’s harder for the person giving the massage.”
“Hmm… Well, it’s not hard.”
“It’s okay. You sit too.”
Kang Lim awkwardly smiled and sat next to Seoyeon.
Thinking of Shin Taemin, he said,
“But why does he look so troubled? Is it because of his father? Shin Hansoo professor must be tough.”
Seoyeon looked at Kang Lim with wide eyes at the mention of Shin Hansoo.
Shin Taemin had never explicitly said that Shin Hansoo was his father.
“How did you know that Shin Taemin’s father is Professor Shin Hansoo?”
“Uh, their last name is Shin? And they kind of look alike…”
Seoyeon was impressed by Kang Lim’s vague answer.
“Wow, I thought no one would guess since Taemin looks just like his mom. How did you figure it out?”
“Haha, you’ve known since you were kids, so you’d know better…”
“Yeah, his father has high standards, so Taemin must’ve had a hard time since he was little. He kept it all in until it exploded.”
“It’s like not kneading clay properly.”
“Exactly. His father always demanded perfection.”
Kang Lim thought about the clay scattered in the ceramics studio.
When the factory sends buncheong clay, you need to knead it, a process called “komakjil.”
You have to knead the hard clay while turning it to remove the air inside.
Even though the clay looks like it has no air bubbles, it actually has many gaps.
If you skip kneading and make pottery directly, then fire it in the kiln…
It will explode due to the tiny holes, no matter how beautifully shaped it is.
If the foundation clay isn’t solid, everything collapses.
Seoyeon extended her pinky toward Kang Lim.
“Let’s make a fantastic exhibition that will leave Professor Shin Hansoo speechless!”
“Huh.”
“Promise!”
“Ah, alright. I’m in.”
Seoyeon also disliked Shin Hansoo.
He would always come to criticize every exhibition her mother planned, spoiling them.
It was like a famous gourmet giving a one-star review after a hotel meal.
In other words, Shin Hansoo was an expert at driving away the rest of the audience.
Seoyeon couldn’t understand it.
Her mother had never planned a particularly bad exhibition.
In fact, there were numerous galleries and museums with worse exhibitions.
Yet, Shin Hansoo would never visit other exhibitions but always come to ruin Heum Art Museum’s planned exhibitions.
Maybe he only wanted to write reviews for museums with a reputation similar to his own.
So, it felt even more annoying.
“We’ll make an exhibition so stunning that he won’t have anything to say…”
Contrary to her determination, Seoyeon yawned, her words slurring.
“Alright. First, get some sleep.”
Kang Lim got up and covered her with a clean blanket.
“Then, I’ll sleep for a bit…”
Seoyeon fell asleep shortly after lying on the sofa.
Though she said she’d sleep for a bit, she seemed likely to sleep for a long time.
Kang Lim watched Seoyeon’s gentle breathing and took out a snack from his pocket.
He had originally bought it for his nighttime work sessions.
“She’s been yawning every day since the beginning of the term… She looks tired. But will she eat this?”
Kang Lim placed the sweet red bean jelly next to the sleeping Seoyeon and moved to the woodworking room.
A series of works for a solo exhibition to be submitted to Baekyeon Gallery.
In Kang Lim’s paintings, his mother was always looking out the window.
“The window is as important as my mother sitting at the table.”
The light coming in from outside helped reveal the character’s psychology.
Depending on the weather outside, his mother’s expression and emotional amplitude changed.
Depending on the angle of the incoming light, shadows would fall on his mother’s face, or bright sunlight would shine.
Kang Lim attached the finished painting to the wall and pondered…
He thought of a way to emphasize the role of the window.
It was to make the canvas itself in the shape of a window.
To make the painting itself the window.
However, commercially available canvases are all rectangular and have fixed ratios.
There are F-type canvases with a 4:3 ratio for portraits, M-type with a much longer horizontal ratio for landscapes, and square-shaped S-type.
Since there was no frame in the shape he wanted, Kang Lim decided to order the wood and make it himself.
“It’s good to be a regular.”
The woodworking room was already filled with the wood he had ordered a few days ago.
Kang Lim uncovered the large black plastic and sniffed.
A fragrant cedar scent wafted out.
It was the scent that comes from properly dried wood over several years.
As Kang Lim pulled out the wood onto the table, he felt grateful again to Mr. Kim Jooyoung.
These woods were from the woodworking shop introduced by Jooyoung’s older brother in the past.
“When I made the busking stairs back then, I thought the quality of the wood was good… This time, it’s great too.”
The quality of the wood used to make the canvas frame is very important.
Usually, cheap canvases sold at stationery stores are made from spruce or paulownia wood.
And they are assembled with very thin pieces.
Using such low-strength wood cut into thin pieces will likely lead to warping later.
That’s because the canvas fabric’s tension is stronger than you might think.
“If a framed painting warps, the entire painting will crack… and fall apart.”
Kang Lim wanted the wood to maintain its shape even as time passed.
So, he used cedar, which is slightly stronger, and adjusted the width and thickness to not be too thin.
“Commercial ones are made too poorly to save material costs… At this price, it’s cheaper to make my own. It’s better to do it myself.”
In fact, world-renowned artists have their own methods for making canvas frames.
If you cherish your painting, you should ensure the basic materials are properly made to increase preservation.
Kang Lim had this knowledge because he read and studied other artists’ papers, but many students usually buy from stationery stores.
Some students don’t even know the difference between a regular frame and a temporary frame.
“I’ll definitely make it as a regular frame.”
Canvas frames are divided into regular and temporary frames based on their assembly method.
Temporary frames are made by cutting the ends of the wood at a 45-degree angle and fixing them with a staple gun.
A staple gun is a tool that drives staples forcefully.
Since it’s easy to use, it simplifies the making process.
But this method is useless if the fabric sags over time.
Regular frames are designed to prevent that disadvantage.
Although they are harder to make because you have to carve grooves into the wood to assemble it, the grooves allow you to insert wedges into the corners, making the canvas tight again if it loosens over time.
Of course, the more precisely it is assembled, the sturdier it is, so some woodworking skills are needed.
“First, I need to sort the wood.”
Kang Lim checked for any cracks or knots in the wood.
Then, he categorized the wood by size for the four sides and the braces.
Ziiing- Ziiing-
As he was about to plane the surfaces with a small plane, a message arrived.
“What’s this? It’s been a while.”
One message was from someone he was very glad to hear from, and the other was from someone indifferent.
