Call: Tegan Bell

[allisonmrose]

Date: January 22nd, 2011
Characters: Allison Rose, Tegan Bell
Location: via telephone, Alli is finally home after a long day at Forty-Two Cups.
Status: Private
Summary: Allison calls to give Tegan her verdict.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[tegan_bell]

Tegan was in the middle of pulling on her corset when her phone began to ring.

You've been juggling two women, like some stupid circus clown, her ringtone declared. Telling them they both are the one.

"Aw, shit," she swore, arms up over her head, corset midway down, covering her face. She hopped up and down a few times before managing to get a grip and tear it off, throwing it in the corner by the door. Dexter barked in protest, scurrying to hide in the kitchen.

and maybe you can keep me from ever being happy, but you're not gonna stop me from having fun, Ani continued to sing.

"Sorry, Dex!" she said, diving in just fishnets toward the phone's location, resting on the corner table by the door.

So let's go- Tegan managed to pick up a few words before her cell would have kicked over to voicemail. She'd only had a split second to glance at the ID - a local Dallas number - before answering. No idea who it was, though.

"Hello? she managed, doing her best not to sound like she'd just run up a flight of stairs.

[allisonmrose]

Allison tapped her foot on the wood floor of her kitchen, listening to the ringing on the other line. She had just about given up when the other line was answered out of breath. She paused to give the other person a minute before answering with a smile -- glad someone had picked up. "Tegan? I'm sorry to call so late but this is Allison Rose. We ran into each other the other day?"

[tegan_bell]

"Allison!" she responded, a relieved smile spreading across her face. She'd had a brief flash of fear that one of her Rocky Horror castmates was calling out and she'd have to juggle and rearrange the cast at the last-minute. "Not too late for me, actually; I kinda keep weird hours." She laughed a bit and grabbed her robe, shrugging it on - not that Allison could see that she was half-naked, but she felt better being dressed while talking to someone who might conceivably want to show her art.

She scooped up Dexter from his hiding spot by the dishwasher and plopped down on her sofa, pushing aside her French maid costume. "I've got a couple of minutes, I take it you got a chance to look through my website?"

[allisonmrose]

Allison laughed, very glad that it hadn't been too late. "I'm glad that it wasn't too late then. I did and I am very happy with what I saw. You have a very keen eye and an amazing talent there," she grinned. She had shown Brianna on Thursday evening and she was convinced that this was the sort of art she had been looking for. Was it necessarily always cheerful and happy? Probably not, no. Was it something that would make a person feel and think? She sure as hell hoped so - it made her think and made her feel something different.

"I'm very interested in having your work being on display at the opening. I was thinking that it can run for at least a month? That is, if you're still interested as well and that works for you," she grinned, biting on her bottom lip nervously for a minute before letting it be. Nervous habits die hard.

[tegan_bell]

Tegan blushed a bit, pleased with the compliments. Her recent series on the trials and tribulations of the homeless mixed with the small joys had been a labor of love. Two kids playing on a busted-up Monopoly board in the back of their mother's station wagon, a weathered and leathered man curled up in the doorway of a church, a young couple tending to a little portable garden in a grocery cart, a picture of a woman begging while being passed by three piece suits on their iPhones - she didn't shy away from any of the difficult subjects.

"That would be amazing," Tegan said, a pit of excitement forming in her stomach. "I'd absolutely love to. I'm really relieved, actually. Not everyone would touch a difficult subject like homelessness."

Dexter barked in her ear. "Oh! Dexter, no!" she laughed. "Sorry," she apologized to Allison. "He doesn't like it when I'm not paying 100% attention to him." She scratched the little gentleman behind the ears, earning some very contented grunting noises from the Boston Terrier.

[allisonmrose]

Allison smiled, very relieved that Tegan was very interested. "I'm not everyone," she smiled. "As I said - I'm especially interested in the tougher subjects that cause people to think. I'm also very interested in telling people's stories and allowing them a space where they can tell those stories."

She laughed as she pulled the phone away from her ear at the sharp bark. "That's okay - I had a dog who was the same way at one point in time," she grinned. "What day would work for you to come in and check the gallery space out? I'll be there pretty much all week."

[tegan_bell]

"Well, the sooner the better, I'd imagine," Tegan said, moving on to scratching Dexter's little tummy. "I'll need time to figure out which pieces to include, get them printed, framed, et cetera. So could I perhaps stop in mid-morning on Monday? I'll take measurements, look at the lighting, and so on. I'll also want to come in some evening to double-check the nighttime lighting, but that'll just be a quick look around." She listed off her thoughts - thank goodness her education had taught her about planning this sort of thing. She knew how to throw together a show! "What sort of non-natural lighting do you have?" She hoped there was a mix of traditional spots and portable wall lighting, all on adjustable dimmers (of course). It would be the most versatile - not just for her work, but for future shows.

[allisonmrose]

"Mid-morning Monday would work fantastic for me," she smiled with a nod. That was to be expected of course - lighting was very important to set the stage for any show. Art and non-art alike. "Before last week, it was all florescent lights but since then I've had some spots and wall lighting put in which can be adjusted to each individual show. In all, there's a good amount of non-natural light that can be used." Yes, it had been expensive but in her opinion, it would be well worth it. If the opportunity presented itself, later down the road she would then be able to hold more well known pieces once in a while without having to worry about whether the lights will damage it or not.

[tegan_bell]

Tegan nodded as she listened. Allison clearly had some knowledge of how these things worked, which was a relief to her - she'd heard horror stories of people who'd opened galleries and had zero actual knowledge of how things were done, leaving artists with poorly lit, ill-attended shows (at best!).

"Good lighting is always worth the investment," she commented. "Sounds like it's going to be a great space. I'll plan to be by around 10 or 10:30 on Monday, then. Do you have paperwork that we can sign once I look at the space?" One other thing she'd learned about in art school was the importance of contracts - everything needed to be in writing, with expectations (and payment!) for all parties clearly laid out. Texas may be a verbal contract state, but paperwork was far more secure. She knew that much.

[allisonmrose]

Allison agreed, lights were a very worth while investment. Course - it also tended to be an expensive investment to continue maintenance on but you gain some and you lose some. In the end, it was worth it. "Great! I'll keep an eye out for you for that time," she grinned, excited that this was working out. "I don't have it written up yet but I will have a contract written up either by Monday or within the week. That okay with you?" Contracts were everything in this business but she hadn't expected to have this happen this quickly.

[tegan_bell]

"Sounds good," Tegan said, setting Dexter down on the sofa and standing. "We can discuss terms and whatnot on Monday, if you want, and then I can come by later in the week to sign the paperwork - maybe in the evening, so I can do the night-time light check at the same time?"

[allisonmrose]

"I think that works fantastically. Two birds, one stone," she smiled. "I'll let you get back to your Saturday night and I will see you Monday morning at 10." All Allison wanted to do was do a fist pump but she would save it until she was off the phone. This called for a glass of wine.

[tegan_bell]

"See you then! Thanks again, Allison. Bye!" Tegan said, picking up her corset. She glanced at the clock - she was going to have to really scoot to be on time, and probably couldn't stop for Starbucks beforehand. Oh well, maybe she'd send a lackey to go pick up her venti mocha chai latte.

She'd definitely be going to the Church after Rocky. She was going to celebrate!