#kitemaker

[illustration-alcove]

Mercer Mayer's illustrations for his book Shibumi and the Kitemaker.

[visionsofpandora]

Kitemaker's Perch in the heart of the plains

[wof-reworked]

dragon religion is an idea i think that is rlly awesome. i hope tui goes over it in the guide, anyway. if u have any specific religion ideas / hcs for dragons.. would they have jobs ?? like dragon priests orrrr idk tbh. sorry if this question is annoying im obsessed w the idea of dragons having religion and religion-based jobs

Originally I had like. a whole "series" of like. ideas for each tribe's religion and mythology, but in the interest of actually replying I'll do like. quick bullet points here and I'll try to fill in more later on ^^;;.

I have like. a lot of abstract feelings n concepts because I've always found it interesting how,,, little religion there is in wof at all. There's barely even really "magic", with only really animuses. wof's characters are occasionally superstitious, but all their superstition is based in like- historical events, like Darkstalker or Queen Oasis's murder, and not like. magic. so I want to keep some of that true because I think it's really fitting for a setting of dragons (who have historically usually *been* the gods, rather than the worshippers !!!) and it's also a rare opportunity to like. get into society without religion (this is a hostile zone for the great ice dragon, I'm sorry I Do Not Care About You and your One Off Mention, God Bless)

ANYWAY. Posting this under the cut bc it's kind of massive, read at ur own risk lol (cw for talk of death/funeral rites but that's really it)

Skywings:

Skywings for me have always been the clearest as like. focusing on historic figures as "saints" (though ik that's a pretty christian concept and word, just hang in there I prommy it goes places)

Point being- I've written about it before here, but for Skywings, the sky is alive and holy in its own right. They view it as the foundation of life and believe themselves (and all dragons, though the other tribes abandoned their way of living) as children of it, originally like birds.

It has some slight. monarchist overtures to it with how the sky itself is like an omnipresent parent, and its moods and shifting currents can be seen as a reflection of Skywing culture. When the sky is angry and casting out its children, there is a lesson that needs to be learned, and it is the collective punishment of all Skywings until the problem is fixed.

But past that, Skywings who achieve remarkable things can be recognized as local guardians and figures of protection- when Skywings die, they return to the sky in the form of clouds. Some Skywings also believe birds to be reincarnated Skywings, especially the spirits of those who rebuke the sky and strike off on their own (which is not an inherently bad thing, but a symbol of independence in its most neutral)

Some Skywing patrons I was thinking of were: the patron of duty- the first Skywing soldier, the patron of children/joy- the first kitemaker, the patron of guardians/parents- the lamplighter, and the patron of Skywing excellence/patriotism- the stormchaser.

Miners who die in Skywing tunnels also achieve something akin to a martyr status- spirits of those who bravely sacrificed their time in the sky to keep the caverns safe and protect those who would follow them. Not one patron, but the collective protection of spirits trapped underneath the ground

Sandwings

Sandwings are similar, but different: where Skywings have patrons who have been given a certain holy power, Sandwings have two kinds of spirits: the family spirits and folk heroes

I swear to god I wrote a Sandwing headcanon post, but I genuinely can't find it at all I don't know where it went. FOUND IT WHILE LOOKING FOR MY ICEWINGS POSTS. READ IT HERE. anyway tho starting with house/family spirits: Sandwings tend towards multigenerational homes, moreso than many other tribes, and remembering your family becomes increasingly important when there's so many of you

Most Sandwing houses keep a small shrine or altar for their dead relatives and their family history- some households have patron animals or spirits that they invoke for a little extra boost of fortune but these aren't like family crests as much as your family's,,, collective mythos

The Sandwing creation myth involves the First Sandwing tricking each animal into giving them a piece of themselves- the stinger and venom from scorpions, the quickness and wit of jackals, the resilience and scales of the lizards, and finally just snatching the wings and size from dragonbite vipers who used to rule the desert, who were reduced to their small snake status and have hated every Sandwing since. So if you want to pay special homage to your family being intelligent, the jackal might be your patron

This creation myth varies WILDLY- it can include many different animals or different exact retellings on what the original Sandwing tricked the animals into giving them, so patrons can vary and can be very house-specific

(I have a little draft, somewhere, of Thorn teaching Qibli her family history post-adoption/rescue and it being one of the moments that Qibli really starts to view her as family and not just the next Cobra)

Sandwing folk heroes are also super varied- I subscribe to Sandwings having a heavy oral storytelling tradition and general,,, art culture, so I'm not gonna write every single possible story you could tell with Sandwing folk heroes, but most of them embody those original Sandwing virtues- resilience, intelligence, and quick adaptability to come out on top

Mudwings

Mudwings already have their own dedicated post !!! yippeeeeee !!!! you can read it right over here :>

Mudwings are also big big oral storytellers but unlike Sandwings the gods are a more active part of these stories and the focus is rarely on individual Mudwings as much as the dynamics of the gods' dynamic as a sibling troupe.

Rarely,,, "worshipped" in the way Skywings will venerate their patrons or Sandwings will maintain their shrines, but passively appealed to and celebrated as like. the broadest encapsulation of what it is to be a Mudwing- the way they're moved by the seasons and their families moreso than anything else

Icewings

I wrote more lists originally about Icewing superstitions, which are right here, and I stand by basically all of that. I don't really know how to incorporate gods into that but I think a lot of Icewing superstition is just. vague cultural paranoia about Things Out There

Icewings have the strongest death beliefs/rituals out of any of the tribes imo- Icewing bodies need to be properly buried or the souls don't get to return to the soil, and become stuck on the ice.

Icewing funerals depend on if you live inland or on the coast- burials at sea are common for Icewings on the coast to allow the body to be taken by the water and allowed to disperse that way (though only when the ice isn't frozen over, as otherwise it may become trapped), and Icewings inland prefer open-air/sky burials that allow the body to decompose in nature.

Winter deaths are seen as bad luck, and are given extra caution and work (which also ties into Winter's role as a black sheep in the family- it's a bit of a dark name to give your child, especially as the youngest/least wanted heir of the family)

Great Ice Dragon,,,, I have no ideas for, I imagine just the source of all Icewings and their father who ensures that, despite it all, they can survive.

Seawings

least religious lets goooooooo

Seawings are just. straight up vibing. They're the most down to earth about being alive in the sense they're just animals like everything else (though they still have their own mixed feelings about dolphins from canon)

Seawings do put a lot of stock into destiny and fate though- almost as much as Nightwings, and they have a healthy stargazing culture and track the changing of seasons and time through the stars more than anything else.

Some Seawings think of themselves as fallen stars- scales still glowing from their core of starlight. Seawings who die return to the sky and come back in the form of comets, it's especially good luck to be born under a meteor shower.

Another common superstition is a Seawing's personal star- this can be as serious as knowing exactly where it is in the sky, or as lax as pointing to one and declaring it yours. This is the star that determins your destiny and is your personal guardian, you can look to it for good luck (plus if you pick right it can be a neat way to teach your children how to navigate).

Seawings LOVE tall-tales though. Almost everyone has a story of the time they 10000% saw A Sea Monster or a dolphin spoke to them in riddles, etc etc. Half the words out of a Seawing sailor's mouth are lies, and the other half are exagerrated beyond all reason (except of course,,, for the ones that are true)

This drives other tribes insane btw, especially the more devout ones like Skywings and Icewings. How are you going to make that shit up every time pls be serious for one moment (never)

Nightwings

The other least religious, but this time for complicated cultural reasons of. well. volcano.

Nightwings love science until they don't, essentially. Everything has a reason except the things we don't understand which are mysteries from beyond the pale that we just have to hope will one day become clear.

TL;DR: SO MANY GHOSTS. EVERYTHING IS HAUNTED.

Nightwings are like the closest to a lot of real world agnosticism- it could be real, but we just don't know yet. Lots of ghost sightings though and subtle signals from the universe. It's a bit of a collective coping mechanism for the loss of their powers + the amount of dragons, like Fatespeaker, who were born under the full moons but without a clear sky and thus only left with confusing powers.

(slaps the side of the canon Nightwing art) These bad boys can fit so much victorian ghost fear in them <3

Mastermind has and 100% would again drink absinthe to perform a seance to Nightwing seers of the past, prove me wrong

I think in older Nightwing mythology, there would have been lots of smaller gods and domains- complicated webs of connected esoteric spirits who each vied for power over the material world through their domains and contact with dragons.

The heart of it all is the Moons though- the three sisters of chance/luck, destiny/death, and soul. Something akin to the three fates but each in collaboration with each other over life.

In ye really olden days, some sects thought these spirits worked through scavengers. These guys are pretty broadly considered a strange cult though, and the history is scant at best.

Clearsight and Darkstalker would've grown up aware of these gods but given special privilege due to their powers- mostly as people exempt from the gods due to their connection to the moons as something surpassing the petty whims of spirits. Priests and priestesses would be preferred as powerless, as a clear head is needed to communicate with the gods fully.

Rainwings

Souls !! lots of souls !! Rainwings believe everything has a beating pulse and could be slash is alive in their own unique way.

The Rainwing gods are serpents- wingless but capable of moving through the trees as though they were flying, their scales a constant mass of brilliant colors. Names and identities are a WIP for me, bear with me as I flesh out these guys ;U;

Rainwings are big storytellers as well, and tend to create their own ideas and religions, in a sense. Being a puppeteer and performer especially is the closest to being a priest that a Rainwing can get- by embodying other things you are essentially changing your soul to align with them

Rainwings also aren't. super religious as much as just committed each to their own truth over a collective myth or story. Each Rainwing builds their own unique sense of mythology from the rainforest.

No gods no masters only fruit >:3c

I have some wips for each of these, some of them fics, some of them elaborations and continued myths, but I hope y'all enjoy them !!! All feedback welcome, as always.

[het-geheim]

have been listening to a lot less digital music these last months, but gotta say this slaps

[eternalchant]

a ko-fi comm! this was for Kitemaker over on fr, of their bg3 character!

[gloomwalking]

6, 15, & 20 📖💗

hi celia ! 📚 thank u for asking <3, answers under the cut :•)

6. what books have you read in the last month?

in may, in reverse chronological order, i read:

why be happy when you could be normal by jeanette winterson

yentl the yeshiva boy by isaac bashevis singer (ok this was out a collection of short stories which i am stilling reading, but it's huge so i don't think i'll finish before i return it. this one really stood out to me and i'd recommend it!)

portraits by kate chopin

eating for england by nigel slater

talk to my back by yomada murasaki

the argonauts by maggie nelson

klara and the sun by kazuo ishiguro

15. recommend and review a book.

i read the kites (les cerfs-volants) by romain gary in april, and i really loved it. i can't remember why i ordered it from the library, i think i must have seen someone on here talk about it. it's set before and during world war 2 in france. about ludo, his postman/kitemaker uncle/guardian, and a polish aristocrat named lila. for a book i basically hadn't heard of before, it was brilliant. i liked the style, the themes of memory, french food, & growing up, ludo's uncle, and getting a feel for a little corner of normandy :•) i imagine it would be even more beautiful in the original french ! 🪁

20. what are things you look for in a book?

i'm often not so interested in plots as much as the quality/richness of the writing, i suppose. i especially like books that paint a picture of a place/culture i am unfamiliar with (portraits for louisiana, the kites for normandy, singer for jewish poland…), and sometimes go through phases where i read books from a particular region and cook some dishes from there too! i am also very much drawn to fiction and memoir with a moderate-to-heavy focus on food !! (kitchen by yoshimoto, joanne harris’s books, toast by slater, crying in h mart....) and i read a lot of cookbooks/food writing, but i don’t really count them 🥘

[holyjak]

"End-to-end product development from user feedback to shipping things people want." A new SaaS tool for managing project work. Contrary to Jira, it aims for the whole lifecycle, from specifying what to do, through individual work items, to user feedback. Having that in a single, integrated tool is attractive. I haven't tried it but would like to.

[lmsarchive]

ENG 346 Lit Review 3

Chasing Stars

“The Kite of Stars” is a deceptively deep story with a layered meaning that can easily be missed upon first, or even second read. The story follows young Maria Isabella du’l Cielo as she spends her life with a butcher boy in search of items that will construct a kite she can use to fly up into the sky and catch the eye of her stargazing unrequited love. The narrative plays out like a fairytale, detailing the accomplishments of our protagonist while leaving a barrier by keeping her internal feelings up to interpretation to preserve a sense of fantasy in the plot and maintain the mythicality of Maria. This works out in the favor of the author, Dean Francis Alvar, because the depth with which Maria’s feelings can be interpreted is completely up to the reader. While the story can come off as being a superficial tale about a girl who spends her life trying to gain the attention of a man who doesn’t even acknowledge her existence, I see this story as being about a depressed young woman who uses her short lived interest for a man to find a direction in life and gain a sense of purpose, for nobody but herself, for a variety of reasons.

To start, the first paragraph of the narrative seems to me to be comparable to an introductory prologue that gives the reader a glimpse into the emotional state that Maria is in recalling how she first felt when she encountered Lorenzo the stargazer. This may seem like a stretch, but I believe the first paragraph is a metaphor detailing a suicide attempt that Maria made when she was beginning to feel jaded in life. Alvar writes “The night when she finally thought she would be a star, Maria Isabella du’l Cielo struggled to calm the trembling of her hands, reached over to cut the tether that tied her to the ground”. To me, this reads as trying to say that Maria thought she would be dying and joining the heavens in spirit as a star. Her hands trembled and she felt nervousness, as she wasn’t sure what would happen to her. She reaches over to “cut” what ties her to the earth, which can be interpreted as her body. As people, our bodies truly are what ties us into the physical world we live in. Taking this in to account, it is easy to see how this line can represent a suicide attempt. What’s even more beautiful is that this paragraph serves as an account for her feelings on two separate nights, as it goes on to talk about how she recalled the day she met Lorenzo many years ago. This line can be interpreted as a night she lost all hope for her future and made an attempt on her life, but it can also be interpreted as how she felt before she literally took off on the kite she spent years gathering the parts for. It is very touching to me how this introduction uses the same words to interpret parallel feelings of despair and hope.

Another detail that shows that this story is more than what meets the eye is that the author hints from the very beginning that Maria is doing what she’s doing for a reason that is deeper than to simply catch the attention of Lorenzo. Maria goes to the man who makes kites and asks him if he can make a star shaped one that she can fly on. He talks about how impossible the task is and asks her if love is worth the time that collecting all the parts will take, and Maria responds with “What makes you think I’m in love?”. The author hints at this being denial in the next line, but I believe that this characterization is a red herring. I believe that Maria was never truly in love and that she acknowledges that. She is an intelligent woman but lacks a direction in life, she lacks a plan for what she will do with her time on earth. By detailing everything Maria will have to do to collect the parts, he is basically giving her a life plan that she knows will mentally stimulate her and keep her engaged. The kitemaker tells Maria that it will take a lifetime to finish the list, and Maria responds in a very touching quote “A lifetime is all I have”. This further confirms my beliefs that Maria did not actually love Lorenzo, but was instead looking for a purpose and goal to accomplish.

At the end of the story, Maria and the Butcher Boy, whose name she never learns, return to their hometown having lived a hundred lives and collecting the long list of materials needed to make the kite. She goes to the kite masters shop to find his descendant running it. He makes the kite for her and she takes off, leaving everyone behind and finding Lorenzo’s tower. She shouts out his name, feeling the spark of love that drove her ambitions in her youth, she looks up to the sky and watches as everything goes dark and “looked up at the beginning of forever and thought of nothing, nothing at all” (Alvar). While her feelings for Lorenzo were initially what set her on her path, she honors those feelings as what defined her beginning, but not her journey.

Maria Isabella du’l Cielo is in truth a woman not meant for this earth, but for the stars. She feels ostracized from what is expected of her and sets out on a journey at her family’s consent to carve out a new path for herself. I relate to her so much it’s a little scary; I am ambitious, stubborn, a lover of poetry, a hopeless romantic, and I am always sure of the fact that I am meant for something more in life, just like Maria, the woman who made the impossible kite. When contemplating the overall theme of the narrative and the motivations of Maria, I am drawn to a certain quote from a movie I love very much titled “Nymphomaniac” by the brilliant director Lars Von Trier. The protagonist, Jo, when summarizing the reason she acts the way she does, states “Perhaps the only difference between me and other people was that I've always demanded more from the sunset; more spectacular colors when the sun hit the horizon. That's perhaps my only sin.” I believe that myself and Maria are similar in the fact that we can both relate to this quote. We believe ourselves worthy of more in life, and when we finally take off on our kites and reach the stars, our first thought is how we can reach the moon next.

[germancitygirl]

#Singaporean #stamp from the @postcrossing Project! #snailmail #Singapore #postage #KiteMaker https://www.instagram.com/p/CKauuKFsnIx/?igshid=1cj58egygv1fn

[liftndrift]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by LIFTNDRIFT.COM | PaperPlanes! (@theliftndrift)

@buddywyrick has made the best paper airplane from internet! Paper airplanes are happiness! Follow @theliftndrift for more paper airplane tutorials and aircraft science! . . . . . . . . . #bestpaperairplane #paperplaneclub #paperairplanes #paperairplane #paperplanesflyingclub #liftndrift #paperplanes #howtomakepaperplanes #howtomake #scienceforkids #scienceforkids #aeronautics #fluiddynamics #fluidmechanics #walkalongglider #glider #21stcenturyskills #stemeducation #lanterns #kitemaking #gliders #instascienceclub #elonmusk #spacex #sciencedaily #aircraftblog #aeronauticalengineering #aerodynamics #instadaily #instapic # (at Madrid, Spain) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCzKN6zDj9G/?igshid=1izs6oltwz5yd

[gaatha]

The sky is freckled with kites on the day when the sun enters the zodiac of Makara or Capricorn. The sun commences its northward journey on Uttarayan (Uttar – North, Ayan – toward movement) and signifies the end of winter. This day is celebrated by sending out kites to the clear blue sky. The kites are of various shapes, sizes and colours, swaying and playing along with the tug of strings in the January wind. The strings hold a significant place too. Manja (kite-string) making is a traditional skill, which is handed down over generations and families jealously guard their secret recipes for the Manja paste. Read more ~ https://gaatha.org/Craft-of-India/handmade-kite-making-ahmedabad #makarsankranti #kite #gujarat #kitemaking #sankranti #gaatha #handmadelove #storytime #festivevibes #kiteflying #bihu https://www.instagram.com/p/CYrSbVkv2xG/?utm_medium=tumblr

[msbarrows]

Seconding what others are saying in the notes about backing it to help preserve it. As far as hanging it goes - here’s a slightly out-there suggestion based on kitemaking.

After backing it, strengthen the outer hems with bias tape or similar to help prevent stretching. Next, you’ll need some kitemaking (or similar but more heavyweight) supplies; how much and of what kind will depend on how you want to lay it out. These are the four options I can think of off the top of my head:

The 2nd one shown is overall the easiest to make; you just need to make a pocket on the back of each tip that the rods insert into. However, the triple crossover at the center means that the quilt won’t be flat, and since it relies entirely on tension, it could stretch the quilt over time. I’m also dubious as to if actual kitemaking rods would be able to support the fabric adequately, I’m not sure they’d be stiff enough for such long lengths, even with the crossover wrapped to reinforce it.

The #3 option with the rods laid out in two triangles is almost as easy, and in addition to pockets you can optionally create fabric channels for the rods (using something like wide bias tape), so they won’t require tension to hold them in place. There’s still crossovers so the quilt still won’t be entirely flat. This option lends itself well to using wooden dowels or PVC pipe rather than the more whippy kitemaking rods.

The #1 and #4 options require a bit more work, since they involve using hubs to connect shorter rods, though have the benefit of no crossovers and an overall flat structure. And again you have the option of running at least some of the rods through channels for better support and less tension.

I’m looking for advice and throwing this out into the void. I have the star quilt top that I’m pretty sure my great grandmother made. It’s all kinds of fabrics from quilting cotton to polyester so it has sentimental value but isn’t probably heirloom quality.

The question is: How do I hang this?

Signal boosts appreciated just in case other people have followers who quilt. I have no idea who to ask about this. More details about my conundrum below.

I've done some quilting in the past, just never any star patterns like this. I could probably do basic quilting to finish it without much issue but I’m also fine with hanging it as is. It's approximately 67 inches across, point to point.

The primary issue is that when I try to smooth it out to lay it flat, I end up with quite a bit of extra fabric as shown in the picture. Folded in half, everything lines up. I could fill in the gaps to make it a square but I’m afraid it would hang funny at the bottom center still. I also kinda like keeping the star shape for just a wall hanging.

Is the extra at the bottom something I need to worry about?

Is there a way I can use pockets/dowels/foam board or something else so it holds its shape and I don’t need to square it with other fabric to in order to hang it?

If I can keep it as a star, what would I use to hang it on the wall since a standard quilt hanger isn’t going to work?

[ink-the-artist]

The Kitemaker

[sinetheta]

The Kites of Tyrus Wong by Tyrus Wong (黄齐耀). Exhibition at Malibu Arts and Culture. 

Beloved for his lush pastels and natural imagery as lead artist on Disney Bambi, Tyrus Wong was a painter, muralist, lithographer, and kite maker who immigrated to the United States in 1920. Though recognized for his artistic talent, Wong nonetheless suffered discrimination in hiring and career opportunities due to his ethnicity under the Chinese Exclusion Act. His significant contributions to Disney were finally recognized in 2001, when he was inducted as a Disney Legend. 

In his free time, Wong preserved his father’s kite-making hobby, beginning with dipping swallows and gradually accumulating over two hundred airy masterpieces, from a two-inch butterfly with thread as its kite line to a 52-segment centipede over 100 feet long. Patiently dedicated to his art, Wong shaved individual pieces of fine Japanese bamboo to achieve the perfect arc of his kites and searched for new materials in nylon and fiberglass for later works. In his retirement, Wong could be seen at the Santa Monica Pier on Saturdays, floating his whimsical creations over the water. 

Follow sinθ magazine for more daily posts about Sino arts and culture.

[allsketchart]

Me and My Husband making Kite at Home during Lockdown #allsketchart #kite #kitecraft #artandcraft #kitemaking #craft #diy #diycraft #kiteflying #kitepaper #kitelove Watch this in my Youtube Channel https://youtu.be/wXrhI9i146I Please Like, Share, Comment, Subscribe and Do watch the Videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCokQliOnXCmDBRG4rbyfoNw https://www.instagram.com/p/B_MfvQVAmyS/?igshid=19q3xewo2pbvi

[wof-reworked]

Could I get some jobs for Skywings

Sure !! Sorry for the delay on my end, hope this isn’t too late ^^;;

-Skywing shepherd 

-Skywing falconer 

-Skywing mail service who uses pigeons to deliver their mail across the kingdom

-Skywing miner 

-On a related note: Skywing gold-panner

-Skywing kitemaker

-Skywing stained glass artist

-Skywing body piercer who specializes in putting gold/gems into dragons 

-Skywing beekeeper who makes candles from the wax

-Skywing seamstress who makes cold-weather clothes

-Skywing blacksmith who supplies weapons/armor to the royal family and (during Scarlet’s rule) the arena

-Skywing geologist who’s studying active volcanoes 

-Skywing knight

-Also to consider,,, Skywing ex-knight who’s now a mercenary for hire, selling their knight services at a steep price

-Skywing lantern-maker who works with the miners

-Skywing poet who lives deep in the mountains for their writing

-Skywing deliveryman who travels around the Kingdom and is getting real sick of needing to fly all the way up to reach the poet to bring them fresh ink and scrolls

-Skywing stunt flier

-Skywing tree farmer

-Skywing farmer who grows blueberries and other colder weather plants

-Skywing tavern owner

-Skywing architect who works to design villages along the cliffs and craggy peaks of the kingdom 

-Like the Sandwing post- Skywing search and rescue who looks for dragons lost in the mountains

-Skywing bootlegger who sneaks in produce from the other tribes during the war

-Skywing brewery owner

-Skywing mountain-climber

-Skywing survivalist 

Hope that’s good for now, I didn’t want this to get too long or too convoluted/distant from being about Skywings !! Any other jobs you all can think of are welcome dearly