Weekend Top 6 Picks

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Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday October 5th, 2013

10am to 5pm  Orlando Mini Maker Faire. $19 for adults and $13 for youth (ages 3 – 11). Orlando Science Center (777 E. Princeton St. Orlando, FL). Orlando Mini Maker Faire Celebrates Innovation, Invention and DIY Spirit in Central Florida! www.OrlandoMakerFaire.com


11am to 7pm Festival of Bacon. $25 Orlando Festival Park (2911 East Robinson Street Orlando, FL). This festival is where event goers enjoy bacon inspired treats from Central Florida’s top restaurants, live music from local acts, bacon beverages, and other family and pet friendly entertainment. We will boast 30+ top restaurants creating bacon-inspired samples, and competing to win the coveted “Best of Bacon” award. We anticipate on distributing over 5,000 pounds of bacon to a crowd of more than 2,000 bacon lovers who will travel far and wide to sink their teeth into dozens of delectable samples. (407) 246-2287 


8pm to Midnight The Walking Dead Art Event! $10 cover. Acme Superstore (905 E. SR 434 #100, Longwood, Fl). the grownups can play from 8pm-12am with our Acme After Hours18+ Event!!! Free beer (21+ w/ID)! DJ Maus! Live Body Art! Zombie Cosplay Burlesque by Grotesque Burlesque! Cosplay Belly dancing! Costume Contest! Watch The Walking Dead episodes, Zombie Strippers and more!

 

Sunday October 6th, 2013

7pm to 10pm  Art Under the Stars, The 37th Maitland Rotary Art Festival.Free. Beautiful Lake Lily Park in Maitland, Fl. Florida’s first and only night-time fine art festival. Subtle live entertainment adds to an ambiance that is conducive to doing the business of selling art and creates a date-night atmosphere.  The 2013 show will be the best ever with the return of our TV partners and a Saturday night performance by the full symphonic orchestra!

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

12pm to 3pm  Alborea Dances Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month . Free. Casa Feliz (656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL). Alborea Dances is a multicultural Entertainment Dance Company, created and directed by Jenny and Ernesto Caballero, who have been dedicated to the world of dance for more than 20 years. They have combined their experiences as dance educators, performers, choreographers and event coordinators, to present dances from Spain, Bolivia and Middle Eastern countries.

An evening with Sean Sexton

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On August 17th, The Gallery at Avalon Island (39 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, Fl) showcased a documentary by Heather Godwin about cowboy, poet Sean Sexton. Sean is a fifth generation Florida cowboy.  Before going upstairs to the screening room, Sean read some of his poems which were about cowboy life in Florida. The exhibit at Avalon was art that w as about Florida. A model of a Kennedy Space Center rocket could be seen through the doorway. The still life painting had a cow’s tongue and a human skull.

Woodruff Laputka showed a piece from his micro-documentary series, “Picture Book”.
Robert Bartlett  showed his documentary photos of Florida cattlemen making sugar cane syrup.It turns out that cattle with horns are not prized. The horns are sawed off of male cattle because if they had horns they would fight all the time, goring each other. If you see cattle with horns they are usually female cows. The evening was a look back at old rural Florida which still exists today just a short drive from Orlando. I tasted cane sugar for the first time and it was delicious.

Searching for Beethoven

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On July 29th, Beth Marshall and Aradhana Tiwari held an audition in their ongoing quest to find the perfect actor to play Beethoven at The Venue (511 Virgina Street Orlando FL). The role is for 33 Variations written by Moises Kaufman. This play, directed by Aradahna will run March 13th through March 30th at the Garden Theater. About five actors came out for this audition. Actor Eric Pinder was stuck in traffic. The producer and director waited patiently while periodically getting text updates on Eric’s progress on the road. The conversation took a surprising turn to a cult of Satanists living in Central Florida whose bark was louder then their bite.

The roll of Ludwig van Beethoven requires an actor with a strong domineering presence. Beethoven was quite honestly a bit of an asshole, treating people around him with disdain. Which reminds me, I recently was mentioned in a venomous, anonymous letter, as someone who is an asshole, financially unsuccessful, a wimp, and not much fun. An asshole and a wimp are bipolar opposites so I can’t be both. Perhaps my opinions rub some the wrong way. My single minded drive and ambition could be perceived as not much fun. When lost in the creative process, I am occasionally interrupted by people who are curious about what I do. I’ll offer a quick joke, so they realize I am human, and then I get right back to work. If the conversation continues, I’ll keep working regardless. I suppose that can be considered rude. The narrow window I have to capture a moment requires constant observation. There is an agonizing panic in the need to finish a sketch before the moment is lost. I can identify with Beethoven’s annoyance at the shallow niceties of the Vienna social scene, the chattering crowd. Now, every time I meet someone, I wonder if they are the coward whose life is so empty that they need to write hateful letters to someone they don’t truly know.  Perhaps this is the danger of social media in that some people feel they have the right to meddle in other peoples lives. Perhaps that has always been the case. Part of me thinks I might have over stayed my welcome in Orlando. San Diego is being considered as a new city where Terry and I can set down new roots.

Eric arrived, dusted off the annoyance of unexpected traffic and quickly focused on his craft, reading his lines with a thick Bavarian accent. You have to look past the distractions and stay true to yourself in any creative endeavor. Seize the moment. Ignore and distance yourself from anyone who feels the need to bring you down. Regardless I will be around Orlando jackin’ out sketches every day.

Bok Tower Gardens

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Bok Tower Gardens (1151 Tower Boulevard, Lake Wales FL), is a National Historic Landmark. It was established by Dutch emigrant Edward W. Bok who moved to America at age six. Through determination and hard work, Bok became a highly successful
publisher, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, respected humanitarian and an
advocate of world peace and the environment. Bok’s grandmother told him
to “make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have
lived in it,” which he did throughout his lifetime – and it still guides
the gardens mission to this day. The 50 acre garden was designed by noted landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. who also designed Central Park in NYC. Acres of ferns, palms, oaks and pine trees create a lush backdrop of flowering foliage with a spectacular seasonal display of azaleas, camellias and magnolias adding bright color to the ever changing palette of the garden. Bok intended the gardens to be a gift to the American people.

The 250 foot marble and coquina Singing Tower is the focal point of the gardens with tile mosaics, animal carvings and custom iron work. It was dedicated by President Calvin Coolidge. Carillon music is played daily. The carillon looks a bit like an organ, but the operator must press leavers and use multiple foot pedals which then trigger the 60 huge bells in the tower to ring. The general public isn’t allowed inside the tower. There are only four tours inside the tower a year reserved for members of Bok Tower. The gardens however are open 365 days a year.

The day I visited was dog day in the gardens. A photographer had a dog portrait station set up and there were bowls of water near every entrance to the visitor center. Two life sized bronze gators opened their jaws menacingly at the end of a hallway. People were walking their dogs throughout the park. I believe this was the first time the gardens were opened to dogs. As I sketched, a young couple tried to get their dog to sit for a photo in front of the tower. He was to excited to follow any commands.

At the foot of the tower was a sun dial which was quite accurate. Iron gates kept visitors from getting to the tower’s entrance. Edward Bok’s grave is right in front of the tower surrounded by lush flowers. Pelicans stood guard at the top of the tower while blue monkeys crouched at the base of colorful glazed ceramic mosaic windows. Behind those windows are all the bells.

Inside the visitor center was an open model that showed the inner construction of the tower. Poets, artists and presidents were frequent visitors when the tower first opened. It was a hot day with a few mosquitoes to buzz in the artist’s ears as a distraction. Why is it that men always erect a tall structure in their memory. Freud would have a thing or two to say about that. I’m amazed I had never been here before. This place is a real Central Florida gem.

Mark Your Calerdar! October 19th for the fifth annual Boktoberfest Plant Sale from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

NV Bar and Lounge

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On Third Thursday, September 19th, I went to NV  to see the art opening for G. Lemus. Tr3 Mark Harris curates the shows at NV along with Brad Michael Biggs. The bar is gritty with a fantastic exposed wooden slat wall. G. Lemus came from Honduras and making art helped him adapt to a new culture where he didn’t know the language. In the military his comic sketches of the Drill Sargent were confiscated but he became the official platoon artist. He founded the B-side artists in Orlando with Swamburger. This group of artist were the first to bring art to the clubs and bars in Orlando.

G. Lemus was inspired by the expressive work of Jean-Michel Basquait.  The work in this show featured thick rich paint. Many of the pieces were primarily black and white featuring images of aircraft and flight. In one painting titled “On the Trail of Greatness”, Luke Skywalker seemed to be flying a modern day jet instead of an X wing fighter. Another painting of a nautilus shaped craft was titled “Victory over Love is Flight”. The artist wore goggles as he moved around the opening talking to patrons. He was offered a mural assignment in which he would supervise middle school and high school kids to do the painting.

The artist hired beautiful women to pose as flight  attendants. The whole idea of the show was based around flight. Take you dreams and let them sore. The artist was the pilot and the girls were the flight attendants passing out a menu (his art) with peanuts attached to it. The DJ brought her own equipment and set up at her station at the top of the staircase.

Tr3 and I were discussing a showing of my sketches at NV. Rumors circulated that evening about the possible show and it was quickly established through a quick series of texts, that the planned dates of the NV show were too close to the dates of a solo show still in the early planning stages at The Gallery at Avalon Island. Other than showing my work in a U-Haul (Mobile Art Show), this was my first experience in planning to show my work downtown.  There seem to be unwritten codes of conduct that I overlooked. I’m hoping to have my work on some walls when my book on Urban Sketching comes out in early 2014.

Mark your Calendar, The G. Lemus show at NV (27 E Pine St  Orlando, FL) can be seen anytime before  Sunday October 13th at 2am. Grab a drink and see some art.

Molding a Classical Sculpture

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On Saturday August 3rd, I went to the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens (633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park, FL) to watch sculptor Peter Forester create a mold from the classical portrait bust he had sculpted in clay using a live model in just six hours several weeks prior.

The clay sculpt was transitioned into a “waste mold,”  Plastic shims were shoved into the clay sculpture dividing the bust in half. Peter then mixed plaster in a bowl and he flung it by hand onto half of the sculpture. Plaster spattered everywhere in the process, even onto my boots and sketch pad as I worked, Once a plaster layer had hardened, he then build  re-bar supports around the sculpture to make sure that the plaster mold he was building would not break apart. Then he kept building up the plaster mold gradually with many messy layers of plaster.

Peter said: “The clay model is only a means to an end; it represents the concept that the artist is striving towards. For this purpose I think it is essential to employ an intermediary step that is no longer used, to put the clay into plaster. The plaster will embolden mistakes not seen in clay, which the artist may correct before attempting to complete the master; hence the final product is the ‘master piece’.”

Once half the sculpture covered in a thick solid mass of plaster, the process was repeated on the opposite side. When dry, the two halves were split apart. Then the gorgeous clay sculpture was destroyed as it was scooped out from the molds. That has to be nerve wracking to destroy a sculpture that had taken six hours to create. The insides and seams of the mold were then coated with a non-stick surface. The halves were then bound together and  a thin layer of plaster was poured inside. Peter kept the mold in motion being sure plaster filled all the negative voids. This hollow plaster piece was the masterpiece which a foundry would use to create a final bronze pour.

What followed was insanely difficult work. The mold couldn’t just be pulled apart. Peter had to destroy the mold, chipping down and trying to uncover the plaster master he had just created. Only a thin layer of blue plaster warned him when he was close. This was back breaking work and chips flew everywhere. The model for the sculpture, Byron Walker, is also a sculptor and he happened to have an air powered chisel in his truck. Peter let Byron chisel his way down to his own face. The air chisel was insanely loud like a jack hammer. A small gouge was taken out of the nose but such minor dings could be repaired. It took several hours to chisel away all of the plaster mold.

“The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.”

―
Pablo Picasso

The Taming of the Shrew

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Having sketched the early stages of the set build, I decided to sit in the same Loge seat to sketch “The Taming of the Shrew” on September 25th. Actress Melissa Mason addressed the audience before the play began. This production would be staged in the 1880’swild west because Shakespeare’s play has much violence and a headstrong woman would make perfect sense in an early settlement where anything goes. The play was written in 1594.

The production was a comedic romp that employed some of Shakespeare’s favorite gags such as switched identities. Melissa played the beautiful Biance in  blonde curls and a pink dress who had many suitors. Lucertio (Chris Ryan), wealthy landowner Germino (Brandon Roberts), and local Hortensio (Chris Metz) are all trying to win her hand. Bianca’s father Baptista Minola (John Ahlin) however insisted that Bianca could not marry until her sister Kate (Deanna Gibson) was married. Kate was a bartender who preferred a foul mouthed brawl to any kindness.

At the center of the show is a high stakes battle of the sexes. Rancher Petruchio (Geoffrey Kent) is persuaded to pursue Kate. Bianca’s suitors covered all costs and if he succeeded he would profit from Kate’s rich dowry. The courtship was close to witnessing a WWF wrestling match. Endless impassioned fights were played for great comedic effect. Eventually the rancher wins Kate’s hand. Having married her, he begins to try and break her, just as he would a wild stallion. He denied his new bride food, sleep and fresh clothing while still singing her praises. This resulted in his getting a black eye but over time Kate was coaxed to admit gratitude. I grew more annoyed as Kate softened. I preferred seeing her fiery western independence.

When Lucentio won Bianca’s hand, the men at the reception make a wager about who has the most obedient wife. Surprisingly Kate is the only wife who comes when summoned. Petruchio wins the bet, his cowboy hat full of money. But the couple have also won each other, discovering mutual respect on the tale of conflict.

I must admit that there were moments in the play where Shakespeare’s words were lost on me. With so many characters changing their identities, I at times lost track of who was who. Kate’s final speech however was beautifully worded and inspired. Mark Your Calendar! The Taming of the Shrew is running through October 6th in the Margison Theater in the Lowndes Shakespeare Center (812 E Rollins St  Orlando, FL). Tickets are between $20 and $40.  

Dracula: The Journal of Jonathan Harker, a one man show, will open October 9th and run through November 10, 2013. This should be a perfect play for the Halloween season.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

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Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday September 28th

11am to 7pm Harmony Music and Arts Festival. Free. Harmony Town Square. A wide variety of local professional artists and craftsmen along with a solid line-up of musicians on hand showcasing their talents. http://harmonyfl.com/Amenities/music-arts-festival

 4pm to 11pm  BLOODY JUG BAND. Donations will be gratefully accepted. The Tin House Ranch (3300 Stone Street Oviedo Fl).
We will be playing around the Five O’clock hour at this fun Venue along
with some Favorite Last century ROCKERS that DID NOT FADE AWAY ! In the
persons of~Birnam Wood~Rick Birbeck~POW’ R TRIP~and the mighty TIN HOUSE
! Featuring Mr. Floyd Radford and special guest Cat Valentine. This is a
Y’all come event, with camping, drum circle and dancing and
refreshments so bring the family and make a day/night /sleepover
adventure of it.The gates will be open at noon to accommodate campers.

8pm to Midnight Science Night Live!  $15 and free parking in the parking garage. Admission is FREE for members! Orlando Science Center (777 E Princeton St  Orlando, FL) An evening reserved only for adults, enjoy everything you love about Orlando Science Center with grown-up-inspired programming. View stars and planets through the giant refractor telescope in the Crosby Observatory (weather-permitting). Experience 3D films in the Digital Adventure Theater: A National Geographic Experience. Conduct lab experiments in Dr. Dare’s Laboratory. Delight in food, beer and wine available for purchase It’s an “adult swim” of the science variety! Join us and see how grown-ups do the Orlando Science Center!

Sunday September 29th

10am to noon Super Joy Riders. Free, bring your cape. The corner of East Central Blvd and North Eola Drive Orlando FL. You + Superhero Costume + Bike = Best Sunday Ever. Participants dress as superheroes and ride en mass around the city as they check off their scavenger hunt-like list of Do Gooder Duties; collecting litter, helping senior citizens cross the road, returning shopping carts, basically performing small acts of kindness for an hour and a half of hilarity and love.

4pm to 8pm DUSTOBERFEST 2013. Free, but be sure to order some bratwurst and beer. Stardust Video and Coffee (1842 E. Winter Park Road, Orlando, Fl). Come EAT! DRINK! DANCE! DRINK! EAT! DRINK! DRINK! and listen to oompapa music until you’re sick of it! It’s a special day for all as we present our Quazi-Deutschlander shenanigans… brats, kraut, beer and lot’s of people running about in their lederhosen! It’s like Oktoberfest… but really, really lame.

5pm to 7pm Celebration of the life and Talent of Artist Berto Ortega. Albin Polasek Museum And Sculpture Gardens (633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park, Fl). This event is a potluck gathering. Please bring an appetizer/finger food style dish, along with a beverage to share. For this event, we are urging those who are willing, to bring their Berto original art works in order to share with others at the event. This event will be a wonderful opportunity to see how many lives Berto touched.

Tu Tu Tango

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Cafe Tu Tu Tango (8625 International Dr, Orlando, FL) is designed to feel like a Spanish artist’s loft, it
evokes a time when artists found inspiration and community in sharing
food, drink and philosophy with one another. The bohemian lifestyle
fashioned life as a grand celebration, a feast of the senses to be
shared and treasured. Together, artists found kinship over meals shared
on appetizer-sized plates, over drink, music, and conversation.

One of the things that truly makes Cafe Tu Tu Tango unique is the menu.
Not only do they serve up creative fare that captures exotic flavors from
around the world, but they do so in small, appetizer-sized portions that
were meant to be shared. Choose an array of dishes for your table, and
let the party enjoy them communally. Experience a spectrum of the
world’s most tantalizing tastes together. Savor both the food and the
company. This is what life is all about.

I went to the Cafe because Ashlie Lawson, the director of marketing for Loft 55 Gallery and Boutique pointed out that Samuel Rivera, the Gallery owner, arranged for artists to work at the cafe. I had eaten at Tu Tu more than ten years ago and now I was curious. I sat at a table that had a view of an artists work area. About three artists work live as guests eat and chat. Local artist Julio Sanchez Julsan began organizing his paintings in his work space.  I have seen Julio’s work before at FAVO. It is bright and colorful folk art with a modern edge. My goal of course was to catch Julio as he painted. I grew impatient as he made phone calls and surfed the web. I finally drew him as he was staring at his cell phone screen. After probably an hour and a half he finally did put a brush stroke to canvas. I erased the cell phone and put a brush in his hand.

On the table a Windsor Newton jar held all the utensils. Paintings were hung everywhere but most were truly awful. An odd green elephant stood next to a primitive butterfly. A ghastly painting of a clown face brought me back to my childhood in which my parents had two paint by number clown faces hanging in the basement. I suppose one of my older brothers or sisters must have filled in the numbers. But they were a classic example of middle class bad taste. The food however, came out almost immediately and everything was delicious. A belly dancer worked her moves several times that night but my center of interest was Julio so I never caught her. As a local, I lost sight of this place but it is a great place to hang out with friends. Mark Your Calendar! Every Friday Tu Tu Tango has a “appy hour”, that is appy as in appetizers, with two for one drinks and $3 appetizers!

Red Chair Affair

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I went to the rehearsal for the Red Chair Affair at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center (401 W Livingston St, Orlando, FL) on August 23rd. John DiDonna directs this showcase of over a dozen performing arts organizations that kicks off the 2013 and 2014 seasons. With so many performers back stage, you might think there was chaos, but the rehearsal ticked along on schedule while I sketched.

The first group onstage to rehearse were the Power Chords from the Orlando Repertory Theater. Every one of these teens had personal mics hidden in their costumes, so there was a long series of sound checks. On the evening of the performance they sang “Bridge over Troubled Water” by Simon and Garfunkel.  It was a bit odd seeing this reflective song choreographed with flash and glitter. These kids do know how to belt out a tune however. The next group up was ME Dance performing “Journey“. I’ve seen them perform this high energy dance before in their loose 80’s “Flash Dance” attire. The large black wing curtains obstructed much of my view of their performance.


The performing group that took me most by surprise were the NuLook School of Performing Arts. They danced to a piece called “Okamoto High Fashion“. The dancers wore black and white checkered tights and French berets worn at roguish angles. The dance was angular and hip with crisp staccato movements. It was unexpected and inspired being performed by kids who must still be in high school. The Brass Band of Central Florida was loud and energetic. The band master apologized to me when all the band equipment was piled up in front of me. I told him it didn’t matter since I was just adding color to the sketch at that point. I considered sketching in the drums and other instruments then decided against it.


The Enzian Theater screened a short documentary called “A Brief History of John Baldessari“. One of this artist’s pieces is now hanging at the Orlando Museum of art. The ladies of Disenchanted sang several of their Disney princess inspired songs. This show, with music and lyrics by Dennis Giacino is likely headed to Broadway in NYC.


Autumn Schaefer Ames who was the Executive Director of the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Central Florida just recently had a baby and she is stepping down. Rae Ward has filled the position. Regardless, Amanda was back stage as the assistant stage manager helping Brittany Wine control the chaos. Once you get a taste for live theater, it is hard to let it go.