The Film Lester was screened at the White House.

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Lester is a film written and directed by Banks Helfrich which was shot in Orlando.  This screening at the White House was the premiere screening of the film. What was thrilling for me was seeing so many familiar faces of actors I have sketched around the Orlando Arts scene. Another thing that struck me was how beautiful the Florida sky is when it is put on film.

Lester is a compulsive list maker, he loves legs. With the aid of four eccentric
bike shop workmates, Lester sets out to find if he’s remembered. To say Lester is quirky would be an understatement. Then again every character in the film is unique and quirky. Richard Regan Paul plays Lester. He runs an improvisational comedy class. The film interlaces interviews of people who talk about what it was like to meet Lester. In this way his existence is verified by peoples memories. In each Banks Helrich film I’ve seen, a beautiful red headed women plays an important roll. Kristen Wharton plays a woman who recognizes Lester, but after interacting with her, even being kissing by her, Lester realizes that she mistook him for someone else.

In a rather humorous scene, an actress enters the bike shop to ask advice. She was shot from the shoulders down and it was fun to watch the staff since they didn’t know where they should look. When Lester rides his bike to a dance studio, he looks in to watch the students going through rather robotic movements. In a mall, he approaches a woman and asks if he can simply hold her leg. This odd request makes her feel young while it might have been off putting to others. We all hope to live on in others memories and Lester lives on in the memories of the people whose lives he touched.

Bring Your Own Beamer at the Maitland Art Center

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Bring Your Own Beamer Orlando was a one night gallery exhibition featuring explosions of light and movement by local and world renowned digital artists, designers and filmmakers.

This is pop up projected experience included animated GIFs, motion graphics, interactive installations, video shorts, and more.

BYOB Orlando is a collaborative effort by Snap! Orlando, and the Art and History Museum with Nathan Selikoff and Michael Forrest as the curators.It took place in the Germain Marvel Building, Art and History Museum campus (231 East Packwood Avenue, Maitland, FL).

Even more more important, the exhibit fell on my birthday, so I treated myself to a unique sketching experience. Since the show was all about high tech projections, I decided to execute my sketch on my tablet. I figured that way I would sort of blend in. It was tricking finding a spot where I wasn’t blocking a projection beam. I sat right next to the projector that threw an animation of a view that looked like the camera was flying over a city of colorful cubes. I was most intrigued by Ivan Depeña‘s piece which consisted of a blue screen that would explode like colorful fireworks when people walked in front of it. All evening children and adults moved in front of the screen to watch the color dance. On the floor was a tiny TV. I couldn’t make out what was being shown but later when i got a drink, I met Carl Kickerbocker and he explained that the TV was showing one off his animated shorts. I decided to go back and I sat down in front of the TV to watch. Another projection was sampling colors from around the room and vibrations from a pan of water drove the image frequencies projected. I’m probably explaining that wrong, but it looked cool. This really was a world class exhibit. Exhibitions like this have occurred all around the world in cities like Moscow, Begota, Firenza,  NYC and Copenhagen to name a few. It is good to see Orlando catching up to the World art scene.

Artists in the Orlando BYOB exhibit included,

Rusty Pliers shocked the crowd at Stardust Video and Coffee.

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Saw Ewing was a lead cleanup artist at Disney Feature Animation. I worked under his guidance on the character Koda in Brother Bear. After Disney closed the Florida animation studio, I started work at Full Sail University and I worked closely with Sam as we taught college students the principles of animation using traditional pencils and paper. Sam had a dream of someday becoming a writer. He left Full Sail to follow that dream. I was happy to hear that Sam started a blog titled “Rusty Pliers.”

Soon everyone referred to Sam as Rusty Pliers. I wondered what the moniker meant. My thought was that each artist that worked for Disney was a tool. For the duration we were tools with a set purpose, to create ageless films. When the studio was shut down there was little need for Animators who draw. We were discarded tools left to rust (rusty pliers) until we found new outlets for our talents. The Florida humidity has caused all the tools in my tool chest to rust. It is unavoidable with age.

This reading at Stardust Video and Coffee set the record straight. When Rusty Pliers got on the stage, he had an eye patch that made him look a bit like a pirate. He started reading tentatively at first outlining his early dreams of becoming an animator.  Half way into the reading he took a moment to adjust his eye patch. He moved it from his left eye to his right eye which caused laughter to erupt. “That’s so much better.” he said. “I didn’t realize there were so many of you out there.” It was a full house. Standing room only.

Rusty then read about his next career move into the porn industry. This is apparently a hard industry to break into. It was during the filming of a hot kitchen sex scene where rusty earned his name. He discovered some pliers on the set and he worked them into the scene in kinky ways best left to the imagination. When the scene had reached it’s climax the director shouted, “You are going to be a star!” He wasn’t referring to the actors however. He was referring to the rusty pliers.

When the reading was over, my sketch was done. Back by the bar, there was a table full of former Disney colleagues. John Pierro has been doing a painting a day of his quirky and somewhat sinister intertwining figures. Merritt Andrews has been working for Universal Studios the past few years. Pam Darley turned me on to a bar her husband loves called the Brass Tap and I hope to go there on a Drink And Draw outing soon. Darko Cesar and his wife Mirjana were there as well. Darko is discovering how to use TV Paint which is the industry standard for producing traditional animation using a digital tablet. Kathy Blacmore is still teaching art to kids and illustrating children’s books. It was awesome to see Rusty Pliers laughing with friends. I had one grapefruit flavored beer and since I’m a light weight drinker, I laughed at even the simplest jokes. I was just happy to be surrounded by so much talent.

ODD3 had about 15 artists drinking, drawing and collaborating.

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The third Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD3) fell on Labor Day. Artists were to meet at Redlight Redlight (2810 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL). I was afraid there might be holiday hours so I searched the web and found out the bar would be open from 5:30pm to 9:30pm. Since artists would start arriving around 6pm, I could relax. I went to see the movie Mission Impossible Rouge Nation, so I ended up arriving about an hour late. When I arrived,I bumped into Gay Geiger who was getting napkins from the food truck parked in front of Redlight Redlight. The building used to be a refrigeration sales store and the signage is still out front. The bar signage uses the same colors so it all blends in.

Gay was in the back room of the bar with her daughter. I glanced through her daughter’s sketch journal latter that night and there was a stunning collage of characters from the Japanese animated film “My Neighbor Totoro.”  I ran my fingers over the image to feel the amazing depth created. After that image I explored every page as if searching for Braille messages. This is what I love about this monthly event, I always get to discover and meet amazing artists.

In the front room Carlos Basabe was at a long table in the corner along with about 6 other artists. There was one seat available but when I sat in it, I found myself blinded by a projector which was projecting an image on the wall behind me. The blinding light wouldn’t do so I set up at a table near by. Colin Boyer and a friend sat at my table. I’m learning names slowly and sent around a sign in sheet that I forgot about, so it was left behind. Once I started my sketch I was lost in thought. I started my sketch by drawing Brian OHalloran at the end of the bar lightly in pencil. A young couple sat at the table in front of Brian blocking my view. They became my center of interest. Brian did a digital sketch of the beer he was drinking. Later in the evening he took a picture of the bar maid and he took a shot of me at work. Brian is now doing a series of sketches of people.

I made a small accordion sketchbook and invited any interested artists to fill a page or two. When the sketch is unfurled you can see the stream of consciousness as each sketch builds off of the sketch preceding it. I’ll bring the sketch to the next ODD event since it is a work in progress. Two young women were visiting Orlando from Walla Walla, Washington state and they heard about the event and joined us for the evening. They had bright markers and they added a splash of color to the nights sketch. Artists came an went in waves. All told I would say about 16 artists came out to mingle, drink and draw. I got to meet artists I’d never met before so to me the evening was a success.

Julie Norris moves from the Homestead.

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In March of 2006 Julie and Chris Blanc established Dandelion Communitea cafe. It is a beloved organic cafe located in the heart of Orlando, Florida which serves healthy vegetarian fare and premium loose leaf tea. It is a landmark establishment attracting loyal locals as well as health conscious tourists. More than just a cafe, Dandelion is a gathering place for a diverse
cross-section of people in the community with regular cultural events
such as art openings, poetry night, eco-networking, moon circles, and other special events.

Julie Norris’ homestead was less than a quarter mile from Dandilion. She had turned the Homestead into a place that
brought people together as a community. Anytime I visited, I felt welcome. Julie made anyone and everyone feel
at home. On December 30th she had to load her belongings onto a U-Haul
truck.  The community that she had helped build now came to help her. Julie and Her daughter Maya stayed at friends homes until the lawsuit was settled. She now lives in Deland returning to Orlando once a week to host her radio show, Front Porch Radio. On that show she helps showcase and amplify voices that don’t have a regular outlet. Sadly the homestead has since been torn down, being replaced by a townhouse.

“It’s been a tough ten years” Julie said. She was just 26 when she established the Cafe with Chris Blanc. Then came the recession followed by an expensive drawn out lawsuit between the partners. Chris  filed to have the company
dissolved due to what court documents say were
management issues. Julie said that she wants to resolve the situation
rather than dissolve the company, which could potentially put
Dandelion out of business. This culminated in an expensive law suit that dragged on for well over a year.

Earlier this year the case was resolved and Julie gave up her stake in the company. She is now free to pursue other creative endeavors. Dandelion is still serving tea and hosting art events. From a post at Localist.guru, Julie explained, “It is with a light and liberated heart that I share the news that I am
no longer an owner of Dandelion Communitea Cafe, having recently signed a
settlement.”

Julie has taken some much needed time this summer to  travel with her daughter Maya. The friends she visited helped pay for the trips. One thing she came away with after all the stress of the lawsuit is that she is loved. She found out that the friends who stand by you in the hard times are your true friends. Julie is bubbling with ideas about what creative path she wants to follow next. She is a graphic designer and she is passing that skill on to her daughter. It is a mother and daughter apprenticeship. She also has ideas for three separate businesses she would like to establish. Each project moving forward is intended to empower the women who help her run and grow the business. Julie learned much from the experiences in court that will help her new projects to succeed.

Robert Johnson tears it up on the Mushroom Stage.

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0n November 29th, Terry and I went to Kim Bucheit‘s 24 hour “Old Sport” or “Black Friday Boycott” party. When it got dark, Robert Johnson set up his equipment on the Mushroom Stage. Blue Christmas lights were strung out on the stage and larger warm bulbs were hung around the periphery of the tent. Solar bulbs illuminated each of the 4 corner supports. About 15 feet from the tent a large bonfire snapped and glowed. For several songs Robert was joined by drummers who set the primal beat.

Robert has two original songs that I absolutely love. One is about an artist painting his masterpiece and the other is an ode to Orlando. Robert draws most of his influence from the road. He is a poet, writer,
producer, and visual artist. For the past 3 years, he has spent his
time recording demos for upcoming projects, and touring through America
and parts of Europe. His solo sound is that of a gypsy-pop folk singer
heavily influenced by American music of the 50’s; soul singers; and Euro
gypsy music. Between sets, Robert offered me some of the good stuff to help me loosen up my line work. When the music died, everyone gathered around the fire to tell stories.

Some partiers had their tents. Terry and I had our sleeping bags and Kim was kind enough to find us some floor space.  The younger crowd stayed up all night keeping the fire burning. In the morning the fire kept us warm as we enjoyed mimosas and muffins By next year this stage will have been taken over by bulldozers to make way for a new parkway. Old Sport and Old Florida are slowly becoming things of the past.

Weekend Top 6 Pick for September 12th and 13th.

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Saturday September 12, 2015

10am to Noon Free. Understanding the Quilts of Gee’s Bend. Winter Park Public Library, 460 E New England Ave, Winter Park, FL. As part of the opening weekend celebration for two new quilt exhibitions, there will be a public talk with featured quilt artist Louisiana Bendolph of the Gee’s Bend Quilt Collective. Bendolph will be joined by her mother, Rita Mae Pettway, also an acclaimed Gee’s Bend quilter.

Atlanta-based Matt Arnett of Tinwood Media, a photographer, filmmaker and researcher, also will join the presentation.

2pm to 7pm  $50 Imagination ~ A Creative Workshop with Artist Toni Taylor. Gods and Monsters 5250 International Drive; Suite E8, Orlando, Florida. Toni’s first workshop at Gods & Monsters! In this workshop, she will guide you to exercise your imagination by turning an inanimate object into a living creature. This project will help you to step out of the box as you explore the possibilities. Once you’re comfortable with your design, you’ll transfer and paint it on a 16×20 canvas which will be provided along with water base paints and brushes. It’s great for beginners, intermediates and experienced artists as well!

Gods & Monsters offers water, juice, wine and craft beer at their concession if you’d like to have a sip while you create. So have some fun while you bring something cool to life with Toni!

Fee: $50 covers 5 hr workshop, canvas and paint

List of materials to bring:

Sketch pad or drawing paper

Pencils, eraser

Your preferred brushes or paint

This takes place during the last week of Toni’s ‘Starchild’s Odyssey’ exhibit so it will be a great opportunity to view before it closes!

6:30pm to 10pm $20 VIP/ $15 General Admission/$10 Students. Play-In-A-Day 2015. Lake Howell High School, 4200 Dike Road, Winter Park, FL (Next to big Silver Hawk Statue) Enter thru Cafeteria). Kick-Off the 2015-16 Beth Marshall Presents season with our annual community favorite theatrical event, Play-In-A-Day. Over 100 artists work together to create short plays that are fully presented within the course of a 24-hours. (Partial Proceeds benefit the Beth Marshall Presents District 3 High School Scholarship Fund).

Tickets on sale now at BethMarshallPresents.com

Or at Box Office on the night of event at Lake Howell beginning at 6pm.

Sunday September 13, 2015

Noon to 4pm Free. Educator Open House and Book Fair. Bookmark It 3201 Corrine Drive, Suite 109, Orlando, Florida. At Bookmark It we believe that creating a personal connection to books is one of the best ways to instill a love of reading in a child. So to kick off the school year, and provide educators an opportunity create programming that brings local, accomplished writers into the school or classroom, we have invited over 20 Central Florida authors/illustrators to join us for a special Central Florida Educators Open House/Book Fair on Sunday, September 13th from noon-4pm in East End Market’s beautiful APEX meeting space.

The casual open house setting will allow teachers to meet authors in person, preview (and purchase) their titles, collect school visit information, and review any specially designed curriculum or teaching tools that accompany their books. Rounding out the event will be a special pop-up ‘bookstore’ for school purchases offering a 20% educators discount and free school delivery for special orders.

Additionally, representatives from local, award-winning non-profit Page15.org will be available for questions regarding their free after school programming for at-risk kids and annual creative writing teen anthology contest.

1pm to 3pm Free. Script Reading Workshop. Sleuths Mystery Dinner Show, 8267 International Drive, Orlando, FL. Read and workshop plays.

9pm to 11pm Free. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out & laugh, or give it a try yourself.

A 24 Hour “Old Sport Party” in Sorrento FL.

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The Old Sport party was also known as the Black Friday Boycott Party. The Wekiva Parkway is due to come through Kim Bucheit‘s property by this time next year, so friends went to enjoy Wise Acre Farm while they were able. It was time to make plans to chill out and share fun at Wise Acre Farm Thanksgiving weekend!
Many of you “card carrying” party goers know the drill.
If you have been meaning to come out to the farm, this is an ideal opportunity to enjoy it while it lasts (before the Wekiva Parkway goes through).
It’s a 24 hour extravaganza with something for everyone. Friends dropped in whenever it suited them, while others started early and went the distance.

In my sketch, friends were just beginning to gather on the porch. A propane heater and a bunch of solar lights had been purchased for the party. The solar lamps leaned toward the sun to catch the rays. There was a corn hole tournament and after the sun set, a bonfire was built for everyone to gather around. The open garage was where the bar was set up.

Black Friday Vendor Sale at Fashion Square Mall.

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On November 28th, 2014 there was a Black Friday Artist Vendor Sale at Fashion Square Mall hosted by The Culture Xchange Gallery And Marketplace 3201 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, Florida. The sale was open to all Local Vendors of Arts and Crafts, Local Fashion Brands and Local Bands and Musicians.

I searched the Mall hoping to get a sketch of this vibrant local marked. What I found was a small assortment of artists at maybe 10 tables. Some canvases were simply leaning against a wall. None of the art interested me. I decided to leave but from the second level I found this great view of this bungee trampoline. The kids lined up to use it. The assistant would buckle all the harnesses and then she would press a button which would slowly tighten the bungee chords using a truck winch which would launch the child higher. As parents waited nervously, he would scream for more until fear overtook joy and then she would ease up, bringing the child back down to earth with progressively smaller jumps.

The art market vendors can be seen in the background of the sketch so I can say that I found what I was looking for. I found the Art Market a bit depressing, but Orlando will always find ways to trill and excite as long as you keep looking.

The Falcon and Gallery is a haven for local artists.

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The Falcon Bar and Gallery (819 E Washington St, Orlando, FL) always has local art to see. The shows usually have a theme. There was recently a Bill Murry themed show and I sketched a local actress and dancer for a show titled Porn. I went to the first social media Round table hosted by Mark Baratelli at IZEA and Melissa Marie, the Falcons owner was there. As a local business owner, she realized early on that social media is the way to promote business. Her bartenders are encouraged to use Snap Chat to share happenings at the bar with friends. I didn’t even realize snap chat existed. Social Media keeps changing so fast, I need to keep up.

Mondays at the Falcon is for the men. Tuesdays are for locals, there is trivia, Uberbahn, open mics and DJs on most days of the week. On Sunday nights at 9pm there are the “Fear the Walking Dead” watch parties. You have to love a bar that caters to zombie loving patrons like myself.  If there is a zombie apocolipse, I’ll be ready with a sharp sword and a sketchbook. Once a month, Mystery Sketch Theater, now hosted by Plinio Pinto, is a great way to loosen up and sketch cos-play models for $5. If you are a voyeur like me, the Falcon will satiate that guilty pleasure and your thirst. Now that I’m hosting Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) on the first Monday of each month, I need to find out if the Falcon will host the growing band of vagabond artists one month.

Mark your calendar! The next event at the Falcon is DJ Lavidicus on Sunday September 11th starting at 9pm. Come out to hear the very best in Industrial, Goth, EBM, Synthpop and Darkwave. Everyone knows where they were on September 11th of 2009. If you drink enough this night, you might not remember as clearly. Never a cover, always a good time! (21+) If you check my AADW calendar, you will always find Falcon events in the mix.