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 Posted: Sun Jan 28, 2024 9:59 am
Quote: The Gallery (3): Beyond the Crystal Garden is an art gallery, decorated with an array of beautiful pieces of art meant to captivate and enchant. Most of the pieces on display are available for purchase, if you’re willing to pay for an original. Some have only been loaned to the gallery, but all of the pieces were specifically selected for the event. It’s hard to tell what the theme might have been, but somehow there is a cohesiveness about every piece. It’s easy to get lost in the work, especially because of the emphasis that these are all local artists who have used Destiny City as the source of their inspiration. Some artists have made prints or photographs available in the gift shop. Proceeds are advertised as being split between the artist and a charity of their choice. The Crystal Hearts Gallery event was the hot ticket of the winter season, promising astounding art and delicious food to celebrate Valentine's Day. Andy could have cared less about the holiday being honored by the city at The Event Hall – Valentine's Day didn't even register on his radar. No, he was tagging along with his ballet partner and friend Aberdeen Evans, who had managed to procure tickets. Andy had nothing better to do today, and it got him out of the dorms at Azure Valley Academy for a while; otherwise he would have spent the day online debunking conspiracy theories and playing Sudoku. And in truth, the artisans of Destiny City had really pulled out all the stops for this event. The Crystal Garden was spectacular and magical; they had explored the amazing crystal flowers and were now at the other end of the display, preparing to enter the Gallery. "I don't know what this all has to do with Valentine's Day," he said to Abby, "except aren't you supposed to give someone flowers and chocolate or something like that? And stupid little pink cards with hearts and dad jokes on them saying how much you love someone?" Romance was one of the few things the Azure Valley nerd wasn't smart at; yeah, he'd noticed girls (and a few boys, maybe), but he never knew what to do about them. What was more, he just didn't have the time to devote to courting or wooing. Maths were way more interesting. On initial look at the Gallery, though, he knew what they were in for. "Oh. The sappy stuff is all in here, apparently…"
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Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2024 3:19 pm
The crystal flowers are always enchanting even after a second viewing. Abby did visit the exhibit prior with her cousin Alex and the allure was just as nice as the first time. The furniture was still gaudy by her standards but it's not like its going to change overnight. Noting her friend's shared dislike of Valentines day, Abby replied, "Its a shame really when you think about it. One day for you to show your significant other that you love them. Why not do this throughout the year? Why wait for one day out of the year to buy flowers, candy or the stupid dad joke cards?" She really didn't get it and probably never will. "I personally think that Valentines day is the worst. Its nothing but an overpriced sales ad for things that you will forget about as soon as the fifteenth." She blew a stray wavy strand of blonde hair from her face, regretting the fact that she couldn't get all of her hair into the perfect messy bun she had on top of her head. Once they stepped into the gallery, she was instantly unimpressed. "Ugh of all the things...I know its supposed to be for Valentines day but a little bit of variety couldn't hurt. Really, everything has to be about love...Why not some sort of off brand thing?" She didn't know what she was shooting for, but maybe a more...Alternate art of what love meant to some one would be better than this sappy stuff.
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Posted: Wed Jan 31, 2024 10:20 am
"I agree, Valentine's Day is really the worst." Andy looked around at the art on the walls of the Gallery space, and while there were some – no, a lot apparently – that seemed to be focused on Destiny City in general, there were still a fair number of the sappy, romantic, kind of cliche pieces depicting couples clearly in love. "Ew." Still, there was a consistency to the art collected here, a kind of ode to the city. A love story about the city? He had to give the Gallery curators that. Even the sappy pieces featured places in Destiny City that everyone would recognize – the big park, the buildings downtown, the smaller parks on the edge of town, etc. That made the Gallery as a whole a bit more tolerable. "Well, here's an off-brand thing," he said, pointing at a large watercolor-looking piece depicting the lantern release at the Star Festival. He offered a smile to the artist, a photographer fellow by the name of Ryan who was toting a baby on his back, before turning back to Abby. "I like this one – but then I really like the lanterns. They seem almost magical to me, how they float up just based on the air heated by the candles. And they're pretty." He shrugged. "Maybe this is a love story to the city, you know? Better than some of the mushy stuff that's here too."
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Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2024 8:55 pm
Oh! There was something different! Abby looked in the direction Andy was pointing in, tilting her head while she observed the piece that was now in front of them. "Agreed. I also love the pink of the sunset." Ohhhh she does love a good sunset, all the meshing of pinks, purples, yellows and oranges just made the sky feel magical. The more she looked, the more details she found. Perhaps her bestfriend was correct in the fact that this was a love letter to Destiny City, something that she could respect and stand by. "Much better than the hallmark romance stuff. I wish I could have a copy of this picture to put on my wall at home." Granted if she really wanted to have it, she could just talk to her father and see if there was anyway he could contact the artist to get a copy. Speaking of... Abby smiled at the blonde gentleman, taking one of his business cards that he had displayed. The baby was asleep and she had to admit, he was the cutest thing in existence. "Maybe we could find some more obscure things in the gallery? Just to avoid all the Hallmark marketing."
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Posted: Tue Feb 06, 2024 10:01 am
"Yeah, maybe we can," Andy nodded, happy that he was able to find something that wasn't totally Hallmark sappy and corny. "Maybe they sell prints of some of these pieces here? We'll have to check the Shops later in case they do." He liked that piece that he'd pointed out to Abby too, and wouldn't mind buying a print for his parents; he didn't think he could put anything on the walls of his dorm room at Azure Valley, even though some of the other boys did just that. Taking Abby's hand, he started around the Gallery again, this time coming across some more Destiny City-themed art. This offering was some sketches of the city and a watercolor sketch of the faerie lights during the Star Festival. "Oh, look at this one, Abby. I love the colors, and the way the park looks like a faerie garden. That's like my favorite part of the Star Festival, that and the lanterns." Smiling at the red-haired woman who apparently was the artist, Andy collected a business card from where she had them placed. "What do you think? Isn't this great?"
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Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 6:46 am
Really, Andy was the only person other than family that could get away with moving her around or holding her hand for that matter. "I would think they would sell prints of the art around here. It would be a shame if they didn't." She followed Andy's lead, the watercolor sketch of the faerie lights during the Star Festival really catching her eye. It was so whimsical and magical! Just as anything fae should be. She turned to Andy with an excited look on her face, "Yes! Mine too! Here..." She pulled out her phone and went to her gallery, bringing up a picture to show, "This is a picture of me and my father. It was one of the rare days he was able to take off." The manner of picture was indeed a selfie with her father giving a warm smile. "I should've sent it to you in a text~" She was definitely going to want a copy of this artwork as well. "Next year we should go together and take more pictures." Then she would have more to frame from the summer as well. Abby took a business card from the woman, smiling politely in thanks. "Yes! Far better than what we witnessed earlier."
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Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2024 10:21 am
It hadn't even occurred to Andy that grabbing Abby's hand and dragging her all over the place would be objectionable to her; he had acted on impulse and out of excitement for finding something in the Gallery that wasn't just boring Hallmark romance. It was just sheer luck that he could get away with doing that. He looked at the picture of Abby with her dad and smiled at her. "That's a great picture. We should definitely go together next year! I love Star Festival I think the best of all the city's events." Studying the picture again, he could see how happy Abby and her father were in it. He kind of missed that with his own parents, what with being at boarding school. But at least he got to go home in the summer! "You done here? Let's see what else we can find!" If the soccer players in the sunset had been amazing, this watercolor of the Faerie Garden from Star Festival was wonderful. There must be other pieces like this here! Once more he took her hand and led her to the next space, which featured impressionistic paintings of events in the city. "Okay, this one has to be the Night Market," he said, pointing at one in particular. He of course had never actually been to the Night Market, but some of his school chums had, and they told some wild stories about it. Someday he'd make an appearance, perhaps with the robotics team. "Have you ever been? I've heard it's really incredible."
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