Fairy Tale Gallery

The day has been warm and full, here by the lake in the mountain valley. There was plenty to do and plenty to explore. Bustling markets and shuttered shops selling local crafts, eateries offering a handsome selection of Alpine treats to tickle the taste buds, and boat rides on the warm blue waters of the Bavarian lake. This place looks perfect as a picture postcard, or a fairy tale pop-up book. A valley seems to have been scooped out of the land by the hand of a giant, and there, sitting snug at the bottom, an old art gallery completes the perfect picture, poised at the edge of the lake. The hustle and bustle of the day has faded, and chalet lights are twinkling across the valley slopes like little clouds of cosmic dust. But it isn't time for you to leave just yet. You have been invited as an after-hours guest to the gallery, where a special exhibition has been curated for a few choice visitors. Tonight's theme is fairy tales. The gallery looks warm and inviting, but before we step into the magical world within, let us begin with a little wind-down. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. When you are ready, let us begin. First, get yourself comfortable. Now, just bring the attention to the breath. Notice where you feel it. In the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm. You are nice and relaxed. We are going to be taking a deep breath, in for four, holding it for four, and then breathing out for six. Are you ready? Let us begin. In for four, two, three, four. Hold it for four, two, three, four. Now breathing out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. In for four, two, three, four. Holding for four, two, three, four. Out for six, two, three, four, five, six. Great. Now, returning the breath to normal. Low ceiling and with wood-paneled walls, this room of the gallery is lit by six cream-colored candles. Over there in the corner, spinning around and around by some invisible mechanism, stands a larger than life-sized spinning wheel. The wheel feels out of proportion with the room. Its wooden top almost scraping the ceiling, creating a delightfully lighthearted play with perspective, like looking at a reflection in a funhouse mirror. The polished wood of the wheel leans like glass in the candlelight. Its eight spokes carved into voluptuous shapes like the silhouette of a Ming vase. The wheel itself has been intricately engraved, covered with a repeating pattern of flowers and leaves and charming little toad stools. A thin red thread loops over the wheel's flyer hooks and spools itself onto a giant oven around and around as toughs of wool are fed...