I'm always wanting more if there's another one Who: Cleo and Ziggy Where: Ars Glesum When: Evening
Now that Fable was letting Ziggy take claim to the couch in the living room, that meant he was officially settled in Scarlet Oak. After a much needed nap on said couch, he knew he couldn’t sit still in one place for long. Boo told him that was because he was a fire elemental, but hell if Ziggy knew. Fable was busy with the kiddo and more or less under house arrest by her in-laws due to demons or something. Ziggy wasn’t really paying attention. Either way, he was getting out to check out this town.
It wasn’t exactly Los Angeles, but it was big enough for him. As long as there was a skate park, art studio, and locally owned cafe in reasonable distance, then he would settle in just fine. He was grateful for the lovely weather, too. Granted, he wasn’t looking forward to the winters in Michigan, but that was pretty far away. For now, he would soak up the heat and check out the sights. When he came across a store called Ars Glesum, he was instantly intrigued. He didn’t expect Scarlet Oak to have a nitch for the fine artists of the world, but it looked like he found one. Taking a step inside, he instantly got giddy at the side of all the glass objects on display. Yup, this was officially awesome. He was sold.
It had been a pretty slow day for Cleo, mostly catching up on paperwork and working on projects - a few shop maintenance issues, replacing part of a heating element for one of her kilns, and finally she was able to settle down to actually do some art. She finished up a few of her blown glass projects, then settled in to mess around with her small blowtorch and a supply of black glass rods she'd cast a few weeks back. The tiny rods were used for flame-worked glass and could be purchased, but Cleo liked to make her own to ensure she'd get the exact colors she wanted. But for some reason, she rarely used the black. So today she was determined to use nothing but the black.
She was dressed comfortably enough, though her jeans were not only ripped but singed here and there from close calls with hot instruments. She'd been working for an hour or two before realizing that it'd been a great day, leading to what seemed like more window shoppers than usual. Cleo was always into the opportunity for new customers, so she'd opened the shop for a few hours, relocating from the workbench in the studio to the counter in the front area. She had one of her smaller marvers down, the steel slab protecting the counter in case she slipped with the blowtorch, and was crafting delicate black glass trees with her heated rods. She had three done and set in place on the black base and was teasing out the branches on a fourth when the door opened and a guy walked in.
Looking up, Cleo flashed him a smile. "Welcome to Ars Glesum," she called out. "Let me know if you need anything or have any questions."
Ziggy was perfectly fine with just browsing around, but realizing that there was someone there actually doing work that very moment? He was hooked. Now, whether or not it was the fact he was an artist himself or a fire elemental that intrigued him would remain unknown, but he still approached the woman with a smile on his face. “Thanks! Will do.” Ziggy took a second to lean against the counter and watch what she was doing. Back at college, glass work like this wasn’t offered as a class, let along a major, but he had a couple friends at nearby colleges who specialized in this form of art. Maybe it was a good thing Ziggy didn’t have access to it or else everything would catch on fire. Not his fault he was clumsy. After a moment of watch, he raised an eyebrow in the woman’s direction. “How did you even begin to learn to do that? That’s so cool.” It definitely beat out his paint splatters, that was for sure.
Cleo was used to people watching her work - there was a window in the shop where one could view her or her classes working at the big kilns in the hotshop, though the blinds were drawn since she'd been doing repairs back there most of the day - so she didn't mind when the guy headed over to observe. She very carefully finished the tree, using the blowtorch to heat the bottom so it could be attached to the base, before looking up at him with another smile. "Community center back home," she answered, knowing her accent would clarify that home was nowhere in the States. "Not at first, though - I started with drawing and sculpture, but the art center did a series on glasswork a few years after I'd started taking classes there." She shrugged. "I was hooked, so when I went to uni, that's what I focused on. And now here I am."
For a second she almost lost him, strictly because of her accent. Not that it was hard to understand, but holy crap, it was hot. Ziggy didn’t even catch onto it at first, but now it hit him like a ton of bricks. She even had that exotic look going on for her. Sadly, he couldn’t just stand in a glass shop for the rest of the night listening to some hot girl talk to him. He’d probably get whacked at some point. Nothing new. “A fellow artist, huh?” He liked the sound of that, smiling some more. “That’s pretty damn awesome. Sadly, I got stuck with just the drawing and sculpting at my school, so I can’t do this epic stuff you do. Definitely a lost art if you ask me.” Most people didn’t even appreciate something as simple as a glass these days.
"I don't know if I'd call it 'just' drawing and sculpting," Cleo said with a laugh, turning off the torch and setting it aside. She didn't doubt he'd be careful if she continued to work, but she couldn't really talk and make glass trees at the same time. And it was probably a liability; there was a reason she didn't let anyone back into the hot shop without signing the appropriate waivers. "Without drawing and sculpting, I wouldn't be able to do any of this. And there are amazing things people do with both." She nodded to him. "What mediums do you work in?"
That response actually made Ziggy raise an eyebrow. Not in a bad way by any means, but mostly he was used to kids his age wanting to do everything on the computer and dismiss hand techniques altogether. And here was Cleo saying that she wouldn’t be where she was without them. Color me impressed. Now he was even more happy that he stopped by here. “Aside from the drawing and sculpting?” He teased lightly with a chuckle while running his fingers through his hair. “I tend to enjoy painting and silkscreening, but it’s not rare for me to get my hands dirty with some clay or other workable materials. Anything to get an idea across, you know? My professors were always big on us doing whatever when it came to fine arts, just as long as we didn’t blow up the building or something.” Spilled oil paints they could do. Explosives were out of the question.
"I haven't done any silkscreening before," Cleo said. "Interesting choice. Did something in particular draw you to it, or just experimentation?" She'd used some strange things in art before - not that screen printing was really strange, but it didn't necessarily seem like a medium that would be popular with young male artists. She might've thought something like wood carving with chainsaws or paintball art, but one never could tell with artists. "I experimented a lot growing up," she agreed, oblivious to the potential double meaning there, "but once I found glasswork, that was it. There's no idea I've had that I couldn't do in glass." Though she still painted and sculpted for fun. She didn't want to get rusty, after all.
“Mostly experimentation. I’m kind of a hands on guy, so I’m all for trying something new to keep my hands busy.” A second after he said that, he laughed a bit to himself. “...wow, that sounded horrible out of context. I’m sorry! I just like playing with paints and colors.” Awesome. Way to get all flustered in front of the hot glassblower. At least he could listen to her own story, another thing he could relate to. “Still, that’s great that you’re doing what you love,” Ziggy mentioned while leaning over the counter to get a better look at what she was doing. Now he was semi-jealous that he couldn’t play with fire and make something beautiful out of it. He probably would burn the building down if he tried. “My mom used to sell crafty stuff back home. Nothing as good as this, though. More practical things. Not that glass isn’t practical, but you know.”
Cleo grinned at his double entendre, realizing a second later that she'd done the same thing, though she wasn't about to call attention to it. "It sounded fine," she assured him with a little laugh, waving a hand. "I like to play with paints and colors, too." Colors most often, being that she was frequently mixing up new sand recipes for use in her art. She nodded, looking around the shop. She was proud of it. "I'm pretty lucky," she agreed, then laughed again. "Glass can be practical, but we can both see that a lot of what's in here isn't." She had her share of dinnerware for sale, but what she really loved were glass sculptures. "I'm Cleo, by the way," she said, holding out a hand. "Are you an artist by hobby or trade?"
At least she had a good sense of humor. Most artists did, anyways. The ones that could be relaxed, yet still passionate with their work were the worthwhile ones in his mind. Aha, pretty girl has a pretty name. “Name’s Ziggy.” He eagerly took her hand into his and gave it a firm shake. No need to be delicate. “Artist by trade... ish. I just graduated this May and landed myself a job teaching at the high school here, so we’ll see how that goes. I love helping people just as much as I love creating art, but I don’t know if I’d ever have the mindset to open shop like you.” Then again, he had totally taken advantage of his mother’s shop and didn’t have to worry about running it. “As long as I can find studio space, then I’ll have an outlet one way or another.” He paused and flashed a grin. “And you obviously must do this as a hobby.”
"Nice to meet you, and congratulations," Cleo said as they shook hands. "I'm going to be teaching a few classes at the university when it starts up, so good luck to both of us." She grinned. "You'll have to stop by and share if you pick up any good tips for keeping classes under control," she teased. Not that she thought she'd have any real problems on that end; if she needed to, she could probably mesmerize the class into behaving. She wouldn't want to, but it was an option, and one that was amusing to contemplate. "It's been an experience," she said of opening the shop. "There's a lot more that goes into running your own small business than I'd realized. I just wanted a place to display and sell my art." She grinned back at him. "I do do this as a hobby," she said. "Though if I ever stop loving it, it'll be time to find a new career."
Not only had he bumped into a fellow artist, but apparently a fellow teacher as well. He was starting to like this town more and more. A far cry from Los Angeles, but at least the ladies had plenty of class. “I’m not exactly the wisest amongst the teachers. Probably known more for being a wise ass than anything, but I can stop by and share a few secrets with you when said wisdom strikes me.” He threw in a wink while he smiled at Cleo. He was still new at teaching, but he knew he at least had a knack for it. That and being around kids just made him happy, even if they were closer to his age than say his niece. As for the whole small business thing, he gave Cleo props for sticking with it. Unless you were an internationally renowned artist, going this route wasn’t exactly the most profitable. Then again, Ziggy was never into art for the money. In his mind, no true artist was - just for the sake of art itself. “So do you just slave behind your blowtorch all day or do you get out and walk around town now and then?” Again, spoken with nothing but a smile. Ziggy couldn’t do it any other way.
"Oh no, I get plenty of time to explore," Cleo said with a laugh. "Though I think sometimes if people didn't drag me out of here, I might spend all day behind a blowtorch or playing in the kilns." Come winter, that's about all she was going to be doing, because it was going to be way too cold outside to do anything else. The amount of layers she'd have to wear to stay even remotely awake would probably make moving next to impossible. Or maybe she'd just have to make like an arctic explorer and use those chemical heat packs in her clothes. Having a constant souce of heat like that would probably cut down on the thickness of the stuff she'd have to wear. But that was months off, so it was mostly just a backburner thought. "How are you enjoying your explorations so far?"
He could relate with the whole getting caught up with your artwork thing. He did that often with his own pieces, especially when his senior show was slowly creeping up. Now all he had to worry about were kids getting their assignments done in time. “Well, seeing that it’s my first night in town, I think I’m doing pretty good in that department. Still haven’t found any studio spaces that I can rent while I’m out here and I am very disappointed in the lack of Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf cafes around here.” Like hell he was going to a Starbucks. He needed some local goodness, god damnit! “Though um, if you’re not opposed to crawling out from behind there, then perhaps I could pull you out one day and you could give me a proper tour?” Flirty? Yes, but Ziggy actually had no ulterior motives behind this one. Besides, who didn’t want some good company while checking out the town?
Though Cleo wouldn't necessarily be adverse to flirting with this guy, she didn't sense any serious vibe from him - only playful - and that made her feel more at ease when she accepted. "Sure, I'm game for showing you some fun spots," she said, smiling. The last guy who'd come in here and turned on the charm had kind of put her off a little with his insistence, and also he hadn't been much her type, from what she'd seen. "There isn't much in the way of chain coffee except Starbucks," she said, "but there are a ton of really great independent shops that serve great coffee and scones. There's one that's all organic, if that's your thing. I personally don't care if my coffee is organic or vegan-friendly or not, but it's delicious and not too pricey all the same." She reached over to the side of the counter and grabbed one of her business cards, scrawling a number on the back. "I keep my cell behind the counter when I'm working in the hot shop back there," she said, indicating the blind-shaded window behind her with a thumb, "but between the shop number and my cell on the back, you can pretty much always find me."
Had he been anyone else in his family, he might have flipped over the fact that someone didn’t do the whole green thing. Ziggy didn’t really give a crap. The hippie way of life was more a bunch of guidelines than rules. Besides, rules were more fun when they were broken! “I prefer organic, but-” There was more he was going to say to that, but a certain lady had just handed her business card over to him with her number on the back. That kind of took over the front area of his brain for the time being, if not the entire damn thing. If it was socially acceptable, he would have been doing cartwheels on the counter, but Ziggy wasn’t very good at those, so it was probably for everyone’s best interest and safety to just stand there and smile. “Awesome! I’ll definitely have to hit you up sometime soon. Save you from your work and all, maybe stop by one of the cafes in town.” Or something, he didn’t know. He was just happy to be making connections in town. Fable was probably at home facepalming, but hey, at least he was getting out and doing something. “Ooo, I should probably give you mine, too...” He pulled out his wallet, found some random scrap paper from the folds, and whipped out a pencil from his back pocket - an artist couldn’t leave home without one - and scribbled his number for Cleo and slid it on over on the counter top. “There you go!”
"Sounds good," Cleo said with a laugh. "I'd probably be here all day if I didn't have people dropping in now and again to drag me out into the sunshine." The summer heat was nice, but there was no better place for soaking up some heat than her glass kilns. Even Xander would want to cozy up to them, if he stopped working long enough. She'd wondered how they'd get on as roommates after spending so much time apart, but it was nice. Better than when they'd been kids, actually, because adults had the freedom to come and go as they pleased and even though it was a smallish upstairs apartment, she never felt crowded. And when one considered that they were more than three times longer in their natural forms than they were tall as humans, that was quite a feat. "Thanks," she said, accepting the paper. She glanced at the number on it, then slid it in her pocket. "I'll brainstorm some other cool stuff in the area for whenever we decide to hang," she promised.
This was a step in the right direction for Ziggy. Meeting new people and places, all while making art connections. That and the potential pseudo-date thing. He didn’t want to dangle formalities around it, but it still made him smile. He couldn’t wait to get back home and tell his sister, even if she’d just shake her head at him. Some things just never changed with Ziggy. “Can’t wait.” And he meant that, too. He wasn’t the type of guy who could stay in one spot for long and venturing about the town some more with an unofficial tour guide, albeit a very cute one, just sweetened the deal. “I should probably head on out, though. Don’t want to keep you from your work.” Giving her a light wave, he began backtracking out, making sure not to bump into anything and break stuff. “Was great meeting you, Cleo!”
He wasn't really keeping her from her work, not when she'd more or less just been messing around in the first place, but Cleo wasn't really going to beg him to stay. She did sort of want to get back to the project lest she lose her inspiration and have to wait for the lightning bolt to hit again before she finished it. "Sounds good," she agreed, waving before picking up the torch and another glass rod. "Nice meeting you, too, Ziggy! I'll catch you later, mate." Formalities concluded, she left him to find his way out and went back to work.