Chapter 571: Depth Of Ideas.

Leo finished the sculpture and then carried the three kilos of clay back with him. Although Oliver was happy to have him sit down and let the kids use the space of the shop, but Leo prefered that the children stay in a familiar space so that they could be at ease.

That said, he took the children back to the courtyard, and then under the willow tree, he sat down and divided the clay into five portions, the children only had a smaller portion because they were just starting. So, Leo had them all sit down before him and asked, "Alright, so tell me what do you all want to make out of the clay before we start."

The children were confused, they had no idea what they would like to make, but Lily said, "I want to make a few chess pieces, because I saw a good design the other day."

Leo nodded and then he looked at the other three, as he said softly, "The things that you want to make could be a gift for someone close to you, or it could be something that you would like to use yourself. Also, it could be a sculpture,like something that you see around yourself all the time."

The trio fell into thought and Leo patiently waited while Lily was already wedging the clay with her small hands. The rest of the children were still thinking when Maya asked, "Can I make something for my Mum and Papa?"

Leo nodded and replied, "Yes, what do you want to make?"

Maya thought for a bit and asked, "Matching beads with some good characters on them? Like those used in the Land Of Dragons?"

Leo nodded and said, "Yes, that is a very good idea, how about I show you how to make first bead and then you can make some yourself, then we will follow with the engraving of characters, and then how to put it together."

Oliver knew that the kids would not have a kiln or an oven with them so the clay he had give to them was air dry clay, after wedging it with wet hands, you start shaping it and if you are too slow, it would start drying fast.

Maya agreed and Leo turned to look at the two boys and asked, "So what do you want to make?"

Hayden said with a thoughtful expression, "I want to make a small bell for my dog. He is three years old and he has a bell on his collar, he used to shake it around but recently his bell fell off somewhere when I took him out for a walk."

Leo nodded and said, "Good, then come over, I will show you how to wedge the clay and then form a bell with my hands, then you can use your clay to imitate what I have finished doing, okay?"

Hayden nodded, and then looked at Damon who was standing on the side with a very thoughtful gaze, and said, "I have no idea what I want to make, but since they are all doing something, I wonder if I can make four safety amulets as well? I want my parents, and Uncle Harvey to have this amulet by their side when they go for rally racing."

Hayden asked, "Who is the fourth one for?"

Damon replied, "It is for Aunt Malina, she is very good to me so I thought she should also stay safe and live long."

Leo smiled and said, "Good, we will make all of those, let’s go."

He meticulously taught the children, how to wedge the clay then showed them the clean shaping technique, he also corrected them when it was needed, while keeping an eye on Lily, who was working on the side with a rather focused expression. Leo could see that she was carving one pawn after the other, she would only call for his help when it was a complex piece.

After half an hour, Maya held two big chunky bead style bracelets, Damon had his amulets, and Hayden had finished connected the bell and the gong inside it. They were very pleased with themselves, but then they turned to look at Lily who was carving a King and they found that the lines of her work were all classy and perfect.

Leo sensed this and shook his head as he said, "Don’t look at her. She had been learning from me for over an year, that is why she is better, but you all have finished what you wanted to design in such a clean way and you took only half an hour which is very good. Don’t start comparing yourself to her, you are good as you are, and if you try to copy her or compare yourselves, you might lose the authenticity of the work and forget to enjoy the craft. When you have practiced a bit more, then you can try to have a friendly exchange with her."

The three children nodded, and then Leo led them to color the articles and also taught them how to make holes through the bids with a bamboo needle, and then tied them all together with a string. He was very patient about it and when everyone thought that the class is finished, he asked the director team to arrange a few pieces of papers and then asked the children to sit down and he said, "You have your articles, and you had our thoughts behind making them. However, your parents and others don’t know what you want to say to them when you give these articles to them, right? So, take these papers, and write why you made these articles, and what you felt when you made them. Tell them your honest and most heartfelt thoughts behind this. Okay?"

The children were confused but they had learned how to read and write, Maya was a little slow, but Leo guided her patiently and she wrote a letter under his guidance as he told her which word was what. Leo was imparting the art of composition and expression to them and Lily was also listening on the side, so it gave the children a little buff, they learned most of what Leo told them, and then when they finished writing the letters.

Leo went to the side, and began to cook a lunch for them, and he was true to his words, he made them a very delicate local dessert as well. The courtyard was brimming with the sweet aroma of the pudding and the children were excited. After a sumptuous lunch, Leo took them for a small walk around the yard and they played a game of hide and seek.

The whole scene seemed to be silly but the children had to work up their metabolism to trigger a smooth digestion. Then Leo had them all take a nap.

In the meantime, he sat under the willow tree handling some of his important things in the ISC. Just then he spotted the clay beads that were glistening with color and a smile appeared in his mind, because this just gave him an idea of what they should do next to elevate the Cardinal Tech.