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The Glass Blowing Class (7): Were you captivated and inspired by the art you saw already? A complimentary glass blowing workshop has been offered by some local artisans. Located next door to the Crystal Heart Gallery, if you have a ticket stub from the event you can stop by to partake in one of their classes, where they’ll teach you how to make a glass blown ornament/bauble, a wine glass, or a set of glass beads. All classes are beginner friendly and you will be gently guided through the process. You keep what you make, and you’re encouraged to bring a friend! Classes are hosted every hour on the hour.
No one was surprised when Michael presented them with tickets to the event, and though they could have all gone together, at some point it was an unspoken decision that they would all go on different days. Elliot and Atticus decided to go bright and early on a Saturday, and they’d more than taken their time taking pictures in the Crystal Garden.
The photographer at the venue had been wearing an outfit that caught Elliot’s eye, and the photographs were complimentary so how could they not? Mr. Baskerville was very professional in all of it, and he had a neat accent and some interesting stories. Elliot didn’t say as much, but he wanted Atticus to see other people comfortable with different fashion styles, just in case it would help him feel more confident in expressing himself, too.
It was fun! And they got good pictures out of it, too.
When they made their way to the gallery, they took their time. Atticus had a better eye for art, but Elliot always had something nice to say about every piece they came across. Ms. Jacobs had dynamic paintings but of her three pieces, he only recognized one location. He’d asked her about her art, her inspiration, any tips for being an artist. He’d asked if he could take a picture of her paintings so they could go look for them in the city, and he took a note for her DeviantArt account.
Mr. Boltnikov had photographs of the city that were so real it made them look alive. He couldn’t quite place it, but the pictures made him feel proud. They had so much heart and character. He hadn’t seen any of his photographs before, but he took a business card because they’d had so much fun getting their pictures taken earlier, it seemed like they should get more family photographs. And Mr. Boltnikov seemed so professional and capable, and clearly talented!
And Gwen, not Ms. Malley, was so friendly! She had a lot of information about art and her process, and even if Atticus might have known these things, Elliot didn’t. She seemed so genuine and easy to talk to, of course he bothered her for a few minutes while they admired her pieces. He liked the variation in her pieces and complimented her. He was certain that he could feel her love and admiration for all of her subject matter, and it made him wish it was time for the Starlight Festival so they could go visit the parks. He hoped they had the garden decorated again, but he wondered if it would look as pretty in real life as it did in her art.
Mr. Astera towered above Elliot, and though he seemed a bit formal, Elliot didn’t shy away from conversation with him, either. He looked like he belonged on the cover of some fashion magazine, but Elliot spent more time looking at his art than looking at him. It was different from the other pieces there, and more than some of them he felt the painting more than he saw it. His eyes kept trying to find details that weren’t there, but his brain had already made up his mind about what he was supposed to ‘see’. It was busy and moved. Elliot asked a few questions about his inspiration, and how he picked his colors, and how he knew how to make the painting speak.
All that talking worked up an appetite, and the food left nothing to be desired. They took a bit less time getting food than they did at the gallery, but they were intent to try a little bit of everything. From Nekosuke, they split a small heart-shaped milk foam latte and a cookie, and made a note to go back to try their other pastries on a future date. They spent a while discussing the name and what it might mean, but when they couldn’t figure it out they decided they’d just ask when they visited. Atticus wasn’t much of a caffeine person, and it didn’t do much for Elliot anyway, so he was more than happy to finish the drink after letting Atticus sip the foam. He’d had friends recommend the tea, and he’d just seen some local influencer praising the cafe this morning so it seemed like fate was encouraging them to try out their full menu.
The Puppy Paws Cafe had raspberry chocolate brownies–a flavor Elliot had never tasted before and one he found himself eager to try again. The promise of getting to look at cute pets while dining was an instant selling point, so it was also added to their list of ‘future dates’. Elliot wanted to try one of the ‘pet friendly treats’ just out of curiosity but supposed he might have been around Devyn too much recently.
The Scoop had a vanilla soft serve with hot fudge and cherry syrup, and of course they’d opted for peanuts and extra chocolates. The amount of sugar they had ingested already was going to get them through the day for sure. And the 50s themed ice cream parlor was so neat! He and Atticus were going to visit them for sure, especially because while enjoying the ice cream Elliot found out that Atticus had never had a malt.
Bonbons de Sucre was easy to pronounce, but the Lemon & Fresh Strawberry Dacquoise did not, but Elliot hadn’t been embarrassed to ask about that while they were enjoying it. If he’d been asked to describe what it was, all he could have said was ‘delicious’ and ‘you just have to try it’. Coeurs en feu got the same treatment, and it was absolutely unnecessary to even say that they were going to have to actually visit. Elliot had seen it before but he’d never tried it, but if the rest of their treats had been as good as these, he and Atticus were going to go back every day until they’d tried everything and picked a favorite.
With all that food, they needed to walk around again; at some point during the day the musicians had switched off. Ms. Takada’s performance on the violin earned Elliot’s praise; he recognized her from the park, where he’d heard her play and listened on a few occasions. Out of habit, he smiled when he saw her. And then, he couldn’t help but kiss Atticus’ cheek because the music made him do it. DJ Buster was new to him, as was the concept of chillwave, but it had a neat, peaceful sound and Elliot caught himself trying to figure out how to describe it. He liked it! It was unique! It felt like the background track to a movie he was living in. He’d have liked to talk to him about his music, but music seemed like one of those things you didn’t interrupt without a good reason.
Don Diablos was a familiar name to Elliot, he remembered reading some articles about him and his antics, and he’d been the subject of an episode on a local podcast he used to watch. He was bigger in person! He looked frightening! His mask looked cute, though. Elliot was a bit worried that if they walked too close, he might explode and send feathers flying everywhere. But he taught self defense classes, so that was neat! He didn’t ask if Atticus wanted to try that, it was probably out of his comfort zone. He also did not suggest they try the Love Meter because whether or not Atticus was superstitious, he didn’t want to end this date with something bad, like a one, and make Atticus doubt himself. He admired Don Diablos’ confidence, so even if they didn’t approach, he’d still smiled and waved from a distance.
They visited Myles’ candle stand and were surprised he was there, but he was quick to insist that it was sort of a last minute thing. He gave them free candles to take home even though they already had plenty from him. He snuck them some caramelized bacon, and though Elliot was full from all of the sweets earlier he couldn’t say no. They talked for a bit, gossiped, and then moved on so Myles could work. Their idea, not his; he’d have chatted them up all day but it was picking up in the vendor’s room.
They finished out their time in the vendor’s hall by stopping at Allure, and Elliot didn’t think anyone who could make such beautiful things could be sour, so her dour expression did not sway him from making conversation while they admired her wares. He was sure they didn’t look like the customers who could pay for whatever she had on her table, but she was sweet and polite and answered all of his questions and explained in detail about picking out perfect gems. He took a picture of her card so they could check it out sometime, and when they left for the day they were in very good spirits.
It had been a fruitful day and they’d had plenty of fun, but more they budgeted their time so they could finish their day off with one of the glass blowing classes.
It was new! It was fun! They were definitely going to come back here again to try new things. Although, Elliot was pretty sure he would have been happy with just making the beads. They had more advanced classes to learn how to make different styles of beads, but this was good for dipping their toes into it, he thought.
He and Atticus had picked complimentary colors because they’d come into this with full intention to make beads that Atticus could work with. Elliot had definitely enjoyed learning how to make spirals and decorating it with foil. He liked the subtle sparkle and the way it caught the light to make it crack a little. His pieces weren’t perfect by any means, but he was proud of himself nonetheless, and he’d liked working with Atticus. They were careful, and even if it was their first time, neither of them had sustained any injuries. If he’d made larger beads, they could have gotten about ten out of them, but his were a bit small and he had a solid eighteen – and one that looked too egg-shaped and had some strange, blue glass that looked like a trapped cloud. It was pretty (he thought) and the foil almost looked like lightning, but it was lopsided and unusable as a bead. It was one of his favorites. He held it up to the light again and then laughed, so Atticus could see it. Again. He was so good at humoring Elliot.
“Okay, final verdict.”
They just needed to pack up their beads, clean them off, and get a little box to take them in, but they weren’t being rushed out of the door or away from their work station. “I had a lot of fun with this, I would do it again. What do you think, if we came back would you want to make more beads? Or make something else.”
Guine
