The Round Building’s brise-soleil was carefully preserved.

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On September 18th, I went down to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts construction site to watch as the Round Buildings brise-soleil was removed. The round building was designed in 1963 by Orlando architects Bob Murphy and Frank Sheehy. The design was an exciting futuristic change from the usual cement and stucco monoliths that litter downtown. It sort of reminds me of Disney’s Carousel of Progress which first appeared at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

The precast cement brise-soleil was designed to help shade the windows from the harsh Florida sun. The upper floors were added at a much later date. Commissioner Patty Sheehan was instrumental in the effort to have the unique brise-soleil preserved.  Each individual vertical section had to be reinforced by a steel structure to be sure it didn’t break apart when being transported. They could then be clipped free of the connecting bolts. I sketched for two hours and only one section was carefully removed in that time. Each section was then loaded onto a truck and transported to a city storage yard. Ironically the round building looked like it belonged next to the modern design of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

As of January 5th while forty plus same-sex couples got married at City Hall across the street, the round building looked like it had been hit by multiple bunker busting bombs. The cement shell had been removed and the rest of the building was collapsing in on itself. Someone stopped to admire my sketch in progress. He was the son of Jack Jennings, the local contractor who first built the Round Building. He asked to take a photo of my sketch to remember his fathers legacy. Niles M. Schweitzer Fellows held a design competition to find creative ways to reuse the preserved brise-soleil. There were some incredibly creative designs, but there are no funds to make any of them a reality. It is harder to create than to destroy. Who knows how long these cement sentinels will remain hidden in the city’s storage facility. I remains to be seen what the Next Round for these panels will be.

Orlando Soup helps fund creative ideas in Orlando.

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Orlando SOUP was modeled after the successful Detroit
SOUP, a micro-granting dinner celebrating and supporting creative
projects in Orlando. For a donation of $10, attendees receive soup (made
by Edible Orlando using fresh, local ingredients), salad and bread.
Before dinner is served, attendees will listen to four short community
project proposals covering a range of topics such as art, urban
agriculture, social justice, social entrepreneurship, education,
technology, and more. During dinner, attendees cast a vote for their
favorite project and, at the end of the night, the project that receives
the most votes is funded by $7 from each attendees’ donation. Winners
appear at future SOUP dinners to report their project’s progress.

I went to the Soup crowd funding event on August 13th 2014at East End Market. (3201 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL). The walls were still covered with my framed sketches. It was great to see so many people in the community room sharing creative ideas. The room buzzed with excitement. I had been asked to work on a mural to cover the front facade of the Fringe offices in the Ivanhoe Village district. Scottie Campbell set up an online crowd source page to try and raise the money to pay me for the project. About $2000 had been raised for the proposed project, but that was less than half of what was needed. Scottie decided to pitch the idea at the Orlando Soup event to make more people aware of the project and raise more funds. His pitch was eloquent and exciting and it helped that my work was visible on every wall. Oddly, though I was in the room sketching, I was never called up to the mic since Scottie covered every base.

Another presentation this evening was by Cole Nesmith who was raising money for The Creative City Project which featured live performances throughout downtown Orlando by local and international arts groups. Cole wants to pay the artists involved but raising the funds needed is a full time job. I wanted to do life sized interactive portraits on the street as my contribution. Unfortunately I was in Australia when the Creative City Project became a reality, so I didn’t get a chance to experience or sketch any aspect of it.  For this Orlando Soup presentation, Cole made a tactical error when he gave everyone in the room a tiny battery and light. The audience became so involved in trying to get the light to work, that they must have missed Cole’s underlying message that it takes everyone’s involvement to light up Orlando with creativity.

Pat Greene gave a presentation about his Transit Interpretation Project (TrIP) and exhibition. He had photographers ride the new Sun Rail trains to take photos of fellow commuters. He needed funds to help hang the exhibit which was at the Gallery at Avalon Island  (39 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, FL). This show happened while I was away as well. Patrick got the most votes to help fund the TrIP Project show.

Mark your calendar. The next Orlando Soup is January 20, 2015 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm at East End Market. (3201 Corrine Dr, Orlando, FL). The community room is upstairs. It is a great way to see what creative projects are brewing in Orlando.

Otronicon opens with a VIP reception at the Orlando Science Center.

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The 10th Annual Otronicon opened at the Orlando Science Center (777 East Princeton Street Orlando FL) with a VIP reception on January 15th. Mayor Buddy Dyer Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell faced off in a video game throw down, playing “Super Smash Bros.,” “Dance Central 3”
and “Madden 15” for bragging rights as they engaged in a rematch
from Otronicon v.1 in 2006. Unfortunately I was teaching a life drawing class so I missed the video game action. By the time I got to the Science Center all the dignitaries had all ready left.

 Now in its 10th year, Otronicon is the premiere technology event in Orlando. Discover how we will live, learn, work and
play in the years to come through video games, simulation and other
technology — most of which is made here in Orlando. The four-day event
features:

  • Larger-than-life video game experiences
  • State-of-the-art medical and military simulators
  • Workshops taught by industry pros
  • And so much more!

Since Otronicon is all about technology, I decided to use my digital tablet to sketch. From the walkway above, I was intrigued by the bright green tables that created a unique pattern in the perspective of the massive space. People gathered in lively groups and the room buzzed with conversations. There were a few arcade styled video games right behind me and I could hear the mayhem as I sketched. When the sketch was done, I went down to quickly look at all the displays.

EA Sports was strongly represented with football, basketball and soccer games. Bean bag chairs that looked like basketballs and soccer balls were you had to sit in order to play the games. A storm trooper wandered around the room to keep order and Darth Vader was there to handle anyone who became drunk and disorderly. My friends, Wendy Wallenberg, Michael McLeod and Denise Sudler were there so I stayed to get a chance to talk and laugh for a while. I had invited Terry, but she had to work late. I’ll probably return to Otronicon which runs through January 19th to do some more sketches. It is an Urban Sketcher’s paradise.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for January 17th and 18th.

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Saturday January 17, 2015

 9am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday Florida Manatee Festival and Endangered Species Parade. Three Sisters Springs Latitude: 2888872533 Longitude: -8258919102, Crystal River, Florida. This popular Florida Manatee Festival attracts over 10,000 visitors to the City of Crystal River, from which nearly half visit Three Sisters Springs. The refuge hosts mermaids, presentations by manatee scientists, spring experts and world class photographers/videographers, conservation agency booths and much more! Learn more.

$8 Adults

$2 Children Ages 4-10

FREEChildren 3 And Under

$10
Dogs

10am to 10pm Saturday, 10am to 6pm Sunday. January 16-19. 10th Annual Otronicon. Orlando Science Center 777 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL. A glimpse into the future and a demonstration of how interactive
technology will impact how we work, learn and play. Partake in cutting
edge video games, digital media, digital art, competitions and workshops
– not to mention military and medical simulators typically not
available to the public.  

$19.00 daily for adults 

$17.00 daily for students/seniors 

$13.00 daily for kids (ages 3 – 11) 

FREE daily for ages 2 and under

5pm to 8pm Free.  A Night of Fire at Crealdé. Crealdé School of Art, 600 St Andrews Blvd, Winter Park, Florida. The whole campus comes alive after dark for the fourth annual A Night of Fire. Tour the Crealdé studios and galleries, participate in workshops and demonstrations including a bronze pour, a gas kiln firing and raku firing. New this year is a light-painting photography display over the lake. Enjoy live music, refreshments and storytelling around the fire. Food from the grill provided by Millers Hardware. The evening also serves as the opening reception for the “Director’s Choice V” exhibition of works by Crealde’s youth faculty.

Sunday January 18, 2015

Noon to 5pm Free but get a beer or two. Sunday’s with Smiling Dan. The Falcon Bar & Gallery, 819 East Washington Street, Orlando, FL.  A DJ mix for your Sunday afternoon.

2pm to 6pm Free. Barks for Beers 2015. Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, Florida. There will be live music, silent auctions, raffle items, delicious food, local vendors and, of course, great micro-brewed beer!

6pm to 9:30pm $9 Southern Fried Music. Will’s Pub, 1042 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL. Celebrate 9 years of Southern Fried music, food & fun on Sunday, January 18 at Will’s Pub & lil indies!  Music from Riverbottom Nightmare Band, The Appleseed Collective, The Honeyslides & more!  A southern style barbq dinner is included in the $9 cover!

6:00pm – show at Will’s, 1042 N. Mills

7:00pm – dinner

9:30pm – music at lil indies, 1036 N. Mills

willspub.org

Sketch Tour Workshops offered in Orlando.

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Orlando Sketch Tours offers visitors a chance to slow down, see and sketch the true Orlando outside of theme parks. Thor from Analog Artist Digital World and Kelly Medford from Sketching Rome Tours will be your guides for this 2-day sketching tour around Orlando.

Each workshop day is $125, or $200 for both days.

Saturday February 28, 2015 Workshop 10am to 2pm.

Sunday March 1, 2015 Workshop 10am to 2pm.

For all levels, NO experience is required.
All materials provided, just bring yourself.

Your sketch kit includes:

pencil and sharpener

waterproof drawing pen

waterbrush

travel sized watercolor kit

5×7 inch watercolor artist journal

and a zippered supply bag to hold everything

Artists will meet at 10am the red pagoda at the east end of Lake Eola. The Saturday workshop will start off by introducing simple and straightforward techniques in pen, pencil and watercolor for all levels, from beginners to more practiced artists or sketchers. Both Thor and Kelly will offer several hours of tips and tricks to get you comfortable working with your materials. Kelly will offer insights into the use of watercolor and Thor will give tips on how to compose your urban sketch.

We can break for lunch at Pannera and then continue sketching together afterwards. We will finish off the day at the Red Pagoda at 2pm to share sketches and chat about the experience.

The Sunday workshop will be much like the Saturday workshop with more time for those who attended Saturday’s workshop to sketch and for newcomers to work directly in getting to know your materials and various techniques.

Register here on Eventbrite.

Registration ends February 21st.

Ashley Inguanta hosted a Marriage Equality Celebration and Readings at Lake Eola.

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On the evening before the ban on same sex marriages was lifted, Ashley Inguanta hosted readings that were a celebration of love at Lake Eola. I arrived a bit early and did a sketch of a big grassy field thinking that it would soon be filled with hundreds of supporters. Tisse Mallon arrived with some equipment on a dolly. Although the invitation said to meet in the field, Tisse realized that a small staging area nearby might have an outlet where she could plug in an amplifier and a mic. Sure enough there were plugs right behind the stage. She covered a small TV tray table with a black cloth and set the speaker up in front of that. The final touch were small candles that acted as foot lamps.

Perhaps a dozen people gathered on the wooden benches. Ashley took the microphone and introduced herself. She explained that on this chilly evening, we were celebrating the arrival of same-sex marriage with a series of readings by LGBT writers. Readers on the bill included Dianne Turgeon Richardson, Tisse Mallon and Ricardo Williams. As Ashley read the first poem about love, a policeman on a bicycle stopped to shut down the performance. It is rather ironic that poems about love should be considered subversive while people shout out hatred of hell and brimstone on street corners downtown. Ashley asked if she could continue to read without the mic. He allowed that and rode off. Ashley advised everyone to huddle together in the front row, for added body warmth and to hear her over the traffic. She got off the stage and moved close to the audience.

Tisse read an intimate poem about her first love. Other poems were by Dia Davina and Adrienne Rich. Ricardo explained that he wasn’t LGBT but any injustice is an injustice to all. Dianne’s story was similar. She was recently married and hadn’t been writing much poetry while she was happy. The poems she used to write were always dark. On this cold evening there was a warmth and joy in every poem shared. Ricardo read a second poem, but I couldn’t hear him over the passing traffic.

Ashley had recently moved to NYC where she hoped to find her soul mate and get married. She reminded us all that there were only four hours left until there would be marriage equality in Florida. Now it will be possible for anyone to find a committed lasting love in the City Beautiful.

The Maker Faire had a human powered snow cone machine.

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Outside the Orlando Science Center, during the Maker Faire, there was a constant line of children and adults waiting to use the human powered wheel. Ice Age is the company that created this technological wonder. It reminds me of a sketch Leonardo Da Vinci did in the renaissance of a human powered machine gun. Human-Powered Snow Cones are the brainchild of dreamer and inventor Joe Donoughe. To use the machine you would stand inside the barrel and walk or run. The motion would power a machine that would crush the ice which would then be dumped into a cup. The cup of ice would move down a small conveyor belt. Pulling a hammer would lower a flat metal hand which would pack the crushed ice down. Then the conveyor belt would move the cup to the flavor station where a pull on a leaver would add the bright colored flavor to the ice.

I would have to bet that standing in the sun and then exercising in the human hamster wheel would burn more calories than what could be gained from the cup of ice. As I was sketching the machine, the Maker Faire was drawing to a close. The line of kids waiting to get their human powered ice never diminished.  At some point the line must have been capped so that the inventors could pack up and go home.

I walked around outside to see what other vendors had to offer. There was a giant red inflatable robot with an M on his chest which clued passers by that the Faire was happening. Paint the Trail was busy painting wooden fencing with hip pop personalities and sayings. There were wind chimes and hand fashioned flutes. I spent two solid days at the Maker Faire and honestly don’t think that I saw everything that there was to see.

The Maker Faire at the Orlando Science Center showcased innovations and inventions.

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The Orlando Maker Faire was held on September 13th and 14th at the Orlando Science Center (777 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL). I went both days to see and sketch some of the cool stuff being made and showcased. I immediately went to an upper balcony overlooking the show room floor. The first thing to catch my eye was this huge roller coaster. The coaster would slowly rise up the ramp and then scream downward at top speed. It went through two loop-de-loops before returning back to the station. There was always a crowd surrounding the coaster and kids would sit on the floor to watch with rapt attention.

On the upper right of the sketch I caught a few people who were spectators of the Nerdy Derby. A large table was set up so kids and children at heart could build their own derby car. A long ramp was set up so contestants could face off to see who had the fastest car. There were bleachers set up for the screaming fans.

As I sketched, I heard R2D2 clicking and beeping at guests. He was very popular and everyone had to have their picture taken with him. It turned out that there were close to a dozen R2D2’s at the Maker Faire. Some were only partly assembled, so it was possible to see the servos and circuitry that made him run.  Dog Powered Robot and Lollybot were on the show room floor and they were so mobbed with photo requests that I felt it was to crowded and hazardous to sketch. Fisher, the dog who powers the Dog Powered Robot was complacently panting and enjoying the attention. Evan and Christie Miga who created the Dog Powered Robot franchise were a bit overwhelmed but happy about all the attention their blue boxed robot generated.

Nerd Nite is like the Discovery chanel with beer!

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Nerd Nite Orlando at Stardust Video and Coffee, (1842 E. Winter Park Rd. Winter Park, FL) s an evening of entertaining yet thought-provoking talks across many disciplines, all while the audience drinks along in a casual bar atmosphere. Speakers present for up to 20 minutes each on a fascinating subject of their choice, often in an uncanny and unconventional way. Following the presentations is a brief question and answer with the audience.

Quench your curiosity! Come meet up, drink, and learn something new!

The September 11th Nerd Nite featured “Nerd Nite Trivia!” with Ricardo Williams. Teams of up to 4 people competed against other smarty pants from across the city. Here are a few of the challenging questions. I’ll put the answers in the comment section of this post.

1. 90s Animated Series. What 90-93 animated TV series featured the voice talent of Whoopee Goldberg?

2. Wars that the United States fought.  What was the United States major cold war engagement prior to the Vietnam war?

3. People named Michael. Who is the baddest man on the planet?

4. Animals that have sex. If a Puma mates with a Leopard what animal is produced?

5.  Potent potables. What Welsh privateer of the Caribbean was also known as Sir Henry Moore?

The second presentation was, “Steampunk: Creating the Future out of the Past!” by Richard Young. I sketched Richard as he agonized over the Power Point slides. Steampunk is a combination of Victorian Aesthetics with Science Fiction Technology. Speaker He took a look at this Sub-Genre of Science Fiction. Including it’s history, it’s effects on modern culture, and his own experiences exploring this strange and beautiful world. Richard Young has been a member of the Central Florida Steampunk Association for over two years. He spends most of the time at work staring at computer screens, and a lot of time outside of work looking for things to do that do not involve staring at computer screens. An ex-Disney animator is working on a steampunk styled hand drawn animated film. I’m excited to see artists returning to traditional animation. Perhaps we all have been staring at computer screens to long.

“Bird Nerd: Plumage, Sex, and Social Selection!” by Angela Tringali. The plumage of birds isn’t just beautiful, it serves a function. To determine if the plumage of Florida scrub-jay juveniles had a function she changed it, and their social behavior changed too. She spoke about bird color, and a bird found only in Florida. This nerd nite was a bird nerd nite. Her passion for the subject was contagious. She is a conservation biologist and behavioral ecologist. She earned her PhD in 2013. When Angela isn’t chasing birds she is thinking about it. Some people say she has a one-track mind.

Steampunk was featured at the Orlando Maker Faire.

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The Central Florida Steampunk Association was strongly represented at the Orlando Maker Faire held in the Orlando Science Center on September 13th and 14th. Their display was in the Dino Digs area of the museum. A large T-Rex stood menacingly in the background. Intricate costuming and devices were all hand crafted. Leather was being stamped and patterned with detail. There is an infinite amount of detail in every Steampunk costume. The details even have details. A jet pack in front of one of the display tables was constructed using two large soda bottles as the main canisters.

Gadgets and gizmo’s were all for sale. The fashion for women featured corsets and fur. I rather like the look. Gusts could stop at the leather working station and pound in some of their own patterns using a metal template and a hammer. In a room behind me, an announcer would let everyone know that the potato gun was about to be fired.  It blasted off about every half hour. In the stairway, Orit Reuben was doing a pastel portrait of Jenny Coyle as she read her book. I’m happy that art was represented at the Maker Faire. There was a back room for robotic battles, but unfortunately the two times I went it the robots were on a break. Robots don’t need cigarette breaks.