If I Had My Way was written by local playwright Joseph Reed Hayes. This reading of the play at the Winter Park Playhouse was funded in part with a development grant from United Arts of Central Florida. The play is set in Central Florida in 1945 at a time when there was a POW camp where the Kissimmee airport is now located. Margaret Perry had left her southern home and was educated in Atlanta and New York. Her mother lived her whole life in the ranch home in Central Florida and when she became ill her daughter returned to take care of her. Margaret resented every aspect of having to work in the ranch taking care of her sick mother. She rejects friends and suitors until one day an Italian POW, bought to the ranch as replacement help, teaches her her the power of love though the beauty of fresh cooked food. Joseph read a section of the play in which Bernice, a young 19 year old woman who works in the kitchen, dreams about her future husband who she has yet to meet.
The play deals with bigotry and hate in the old South. Joseph says the play is influenced by the Blues and you can feel the lonely rhythm throughout. This is a serous play about lonely souls in hard times. Yet towards the end of the third act the actors talk about the scent of Orange blossoms which is a sweet smell that once experienced, is never forgotten.
I attended the reading because Darlyn Finch a local poet and friend had been asked to play the part of Mrs Alecia Jamison the ailing mother. Darlyn didn’t have to act to pull off a convincing southern accent and she did fit the part perfectly. In a question and answer session following the reading Joseph explained that the play is still a work in progress. Some lines changed as he worked with the actors. Even in this early stage the play packs a punch and I felt deeply for each of the characters. I hope that when the play is presented on the stage for the first time I will be there to sketch.
South by Northwest
As of January first I have launched a second blog called South by Northwest. It is intended as a visual dialogue between myself and Gabi Campanario. We will both post one sketch a week and they will be displayed as diptychs side by side. We welcome comments. I am excited about where this 3142 mile collaboration might lead.
“Take My Beard, Please!”
On New Year’s Eve at 7 PM Brian Feldman had his marquee sign set up outside Urban Stylez Barbershop at 7 North Rosalind Avenue, right across from the Orlando Public Library and next to Blank Space. To attract additional attention an 8-foot high inflatable barber pole also danced in the street. I arrived a little early and considered drawing the inflatable barber pole, but felt it would take too long. Minutes later, Brian arrived with his parents. Inside, he set out his Best of Orlando plaques on a ledge and disappeared into the back room of the barbershop. I asked which chair Brian would be seated in and the second chair was pointed out.
I started one sketch but felt I was too close to the action and the barber might block my view most of the time, so I started a second sketch which offered a better overview of the room. I started this second sketch drawing the fellow getting his hair buzzed. Then, when Brian stepped out and was seated I started blocking him in. Brian asked if anyone in the audience would like to have a first cut using scissors and Jeff Wirth stepped up to the plate. I sketched Brian’s head at the moment his beard was beginning to be buzzed off. He didn’t look happy about these first cuts. The beard came off in less than a minute, and then the straight edge was taken out to give Brian a really close shave. The chair was reclined and Brian’s face covered with a hot towel. He looked nervous as the straight edge was taken to his throat.
Brian’s huge head of hair looked very much out of place without the beard, and he asked the barber to cut it as well. From the audience, Jeff Wirth shouted out, “It’s a double feature!” For a reasons unknown, I still do not understand why Brian asked that 2011 be shaved into the side of his new haircut.
The event was shot live by Brian’s dad using his iPhone and was posted on The Daily City even before the shave was finished. Brian handed out beard masks to everyone who attended.
Muni String Quartet
Terry and I met for dinner one evening in Winter Park. As we ate dinner the sun set and the street lights came on. We ate in an outdoor patio area with a view of the New England Avenue. This city block was recently gentrified in the last several years. All of the store fronts are brand new. The street was blocked off by police. Walking from Terry’s car, a man asked me why the street was blocked off and I had to reply that I honestly didn’t know. Art galleries and stores were open late. Terry saw a bull dog inside a clothing store and she went inside. The store owner was just outside the front door talking to a friend. Though Terry lavished attention on the dog, he never once looked away from his owner. He quietly stood vigil. The owner explained that every first Monday this street would be shut down to traffic so people could stroll through the stores shopping for the holidays.
Outside a violin store this quartet began to play Beetles songs and holiday music. Terry left me with the quartet to sketch while she shopped. There were many folding chairs set up in the street but besides myself there were only maybe four other people seated. Only in Florida could you get to see a quartet playing outside the warm glow of a music store without jackets on. When they finished I started walking back to my truck. Terry had already decided to go home. I heard music coming from Central Park so I changed course and went to investigate. An old Doris Day film was being screened in the park. Young couples cuddled for warmth under blankets. I considered trying to finish a second sketch, but I was tired and who knew how soon the film might end. What a gorgeous night, full of surprises.
“Dressed to Kill” New Years Eve at the Enzian
This is officially my first sketch of 2010. I had four other parties I was considering for New Year’s Eve, but Brian Feldman and Tisse Mallon told me about this $5 James Bond themed party at the Enzian Theater. At $5 admission, it may have been the best deal in town. Approaching the theater, I could feel the electric excitement of the crowd. Terry and I had to park several blocks away because the lot was overflowing. At the Eden Bar outside, people were packed shoulder to shoulder. One man in a black jacket had a huge scar down the side of his face and he was petting a white rabbit. This villain explained that the rabbit was much more sinister than the cat used in the Bond movie, From Russia with Love. Beautiful women were everywhere, dressed in gorgeous gowns. Groups were voguing for the cameras. There was a red carpet to the theater entrance. A movie screen was set up outside and crowds were seated at the tables watching. Gunfire ricochets could be heard from every angle.
I found Brian, Tisse and Mark Baratelli almost immediately. It turns out Mark had scored a table thanks to his Blog, The Daily City.com, so we tried to get in. Everybody but Mark was turned away at the door since we did not have wristbands. So we stood in the line for wristbands. The line never seemed to move. Terry proactively sought out the General Manager of the Enzian and got us wristbands.
We squeezed past the bouncer and found Mark’s table. There were only two chairs at the table and four of us, so I hiked back to my truck and got my portable chair. Once seated, I scanned the crowd and started sketching. Faces were lit everywhere by the warm loving glow of iPhones and other portable devices. The music was so loud that you really could’t talk, so I imagine people might have been texting one another even as they were seated at the same table.
After the ball dropped, Terry and I got on the dance floor. We got caught up in a line dance to a song I had never heard before. The music roared “To the left, to the left, to the right, to the right, turn yourself around, turn yourself around!” It involved a few chorus line kicks and shuffling left and right. We caught on pretty quick, although the crowd itself was never very organized. The smooth slippery beat was addictive. Dancers batted blue and white balloons around the dance floor. The strobe lights tended to blind me so I usually danced with my back to the stage.
We left the Enzian and then headed over to Matt McGrath’s house. His place had a group of actors and actresses all shoulder to shoulder at the backyard bar. Leander Suleiman, an actress I had sketched before, was there and I introduced her to Terry. We all toasted with champagne when New Year’s came around for Chicago.
Matt and I chatted for a while and I found out he is going to be a producer for a possible Orlando Fringe show called “Project F.” The show is fourth on the waiting list to get into the Fringe, but he’s excited about the project, and we discussed it for quite a while. Other than talking to Matt and Leander, I didn’t socialize much. I was winding down. Matt claimed that his party would be going strong till 11:45 AM, but I didn’t have the ambition to keep partying. We returned home happy and pleasantly exhausted.
The Citrus Bowl Parade
When we got to the starting point for the parade, the horses became a bit agitated. They kept turning around and around. I got out of the truck to sketch them several times. Then before you knew it, we were sent to the front of the line to head up the parade route. The pooper scooppers got their bucket and shovel out and followed behind. Immediately, a horse let loose a pile. As the scoopers shoveled, a bicyclist got too close and got hit with some flying poo. She laughed though and the scoopers shouted out an apology.
The parade route was really crowded. The officer’s children sitting in the police pickup truck bed with me started throwing candy out to the crowd. Adults and children alike were shouting, “Over here! Throw some over here! The kids were only five or six and didn’t have great throwing arms. The candy would land maybe a foot from the truck, and then the spectators would run into the street to retrieve it. I worked on finishing up this sketch for the duration of the parade. The horses and Citrus float were both sketched at the very beginning of the parade. Every inch of the float was covered with orange and yellow citrus. Once we were moving, the float fell far behind. When we turned the corner onto South Street, we lost sight of the floats behind us for good. I just kept picking out individuals in the crown and adding them to my sketch one at a time.
I was surprised when I heard my name being called out. I looked up from my sketchbook and saw Tisse Mallon and Jeff Wirth in the crowd. I gave them my best Cinderella wave and they laughed. Later, when we were rolling past the grand stands where the TV cameras were, I again heard my name and I picked out Mark Baratelli and Brian Feldman who were up high in an overlooking apartment courtyard. As I was waving to them, I saw a huge camera boom that was swinging over the street. I suddenly realized I might be on TV when the parade is aired nationally on New Year’s day. Being in a parade is like experiencing eleven seconds worth of fame. Then almost immediately, the parade was over.
As we drove back to the barn, we passed a pristine lake with beautiful white ibis and ducks. I could smell the water and warm air. A cormorant was drying his dark wings. It was a beautiful day for a parade.
Preparing for the Citrus Bowl Parade
Terry and I got up at 6:30 AM in order to get to the Police Mounted Unit Stable to help get the horses ready for the Citrus Bowl Parade. It was a very chilly 44 degrees Fahrenheit and when we arrived the horses were already out and wrapped in their blue blankets. Hoof Black was applied to all the horses hooves and green glitter was sprinkled on so they all looked like they were wearing emerald slippers. All of the horses whiskers were shaved the previous day. Terry told me they had to be muzzled in something called a twitch. It seems the horse is then so preoccupied with this twitch that it isn’t freaked out by the act of having the whiskers cleanly cut off.
Decorative orange and green bows were tied to each horses tail and then volunteers painted oranges on the hind quarters. The front legs were also wrapped with white gauze. The blankets were then removed and the horses were quickly saddled up.
When the police were mounted at 9:10 AM, the Captain made a helicopter gesture with her right index finger and they headed for the street. Rather than get the horses in a trailer, it was easier for them to walk the one mile distance to the start of the parade route on Orange and Robinson. I joined the police pick up truck that would follow them on the parade route. Having a truck in the rear keeps the horses safe from any approaching traffic. As we rolled through Parramore, men standing on the sidewalks, probably waiting for some form of work, waved and greeted us. We went past the Coalition of the Homeless building where I sketched a few weeks ago. Terry who was in the passenger seat started playing with the loudspeaker and singing Christmas Carols. I was sitting in the back on some hay bails. I was asked several times to wave traffic around us since we were traveling at the horses walking pace.
The excitement built as we went through several police blockades and approached the start of the parade route.
Artists & Writers Crawl
The Artist & Writer Crawl I hosted made for a very fun evening. I met so many new artists and writers. After all the Crawlers saw “The Singing Menorah” we headed up to the Peacock Room at 1321 North Mills Avenue. I reloaded my water brush in the men’s room an then sat at the end of the bar so I could get a good view down it’s length. Karrie Brown and Tod Caviness are shown in the sketch diligently putting images and words to paper. Tisse Mallon followed the Crawl taking photos along the way. I would estimate that there were about 20 Crawlers all together. People came and went throughout the night. After a while it became impossible to distinguish the Crawlers from the regulars. A large group of people showed up, all of them coming from Bold Hype Gallery, where they saw the work of Andrew Spear. I spoke with someone named Nelson Martin who was trying to get the bartenders attention. It turns out he is a web designer and fine artist and we discussed art while I continued to sketch.
The walls of the bar were covered with paintings of women with really large eyes by Patrick Fatica. The work was highly polished, surreal and haunting. The paintings had long titles which would make you pause and wonder like “The angels have slipped through our landslide and filled up our garden with snow.” This painting has a large eyed woman holding a towel over her bare breasts standing in front of a mist filled white landscape.
I had a beer at each bar we went to and after this sketch I focused a bit more on socializing than sketching. At the end of the evening only 5 artists remained. As we stumbled across the street from the Funkey Monkey towards Wally’s we were almost all killed when a police car came screaming down Mills in the center turn lane at 90 miles an hour. It really was a close and sobering near miss. With our crossing attempt thwarted we had to run back to the sidewalk to avoid the new line of traffic approaching.
In Wally’s I ordered my last beer for the evening from the sullen bar maid and sipped it while watching a man and woman who were rubbing noses and making out. When they left the woman tripped on a bar stool and could bairley keep her eyes open. Tod didn’t like the music playing on the jut box so he got up and remedied the situation. It was 2AM when we all decided to call it a night.
Survive to Thrive
On a sunny Saturday morning I stopped by Christ Church Unity at 771 Holden Avenue for an out door barbecue and goodwill community outreach program called Survive to Thrive. Rick Kirby informed me of this event aimed to feed the homeless and working poor of Central Florida. I only had a couple of hours to sketch and then I had to get to work. I focused my attention on the tented area where volunteers were making sure that the Walmart giveaway bags were full. The bags contained travel sized shampoo, conditioner, soap socks, small towels, tooth brushes, tooth paste, chap stick and a drink.
As I was sketching children ran and played in the open grass behind me. It was a beautiful day. Several people who were just arriving walked up to me and asked where the food was. I pointed towards the outdoor grills. When the grills were fired up I could smell the delicious hamburgers and hot dogs.
There were 143 volunteers at the event and approximately 93 homeless guests enjoyed the food that day. Volunteers and guests all shared the same picnic tables as they enjoyed each others company. The afternoon was filled with live music and games for the children. Events like this humble me and make me realize the importance and true meaning of giving in this holiday season.
ICE at the Gaylord Palms
At a fundraiser several months ago for Hospice of the Comforter, Keith Salwoski, of the Gaylord Palms introduced himself to me and asked if I would like to sketch an event his hotel puts on called ICE. I of course followed up and he invited me to come down. I arrived in the early evening an was surprised that just to park would cost $12. I walked into the waiting area of the exhibit and discovered tickets cost $21. I called Keith and unfortunately he didn’t pick up his phone. Rather that pay I decided to wander around the entry area exhibits. There was a Santa Claus seated in an area where photos could be taken. I sat down and started to sketch but immediately Santa got up and went on a break. A sign said he would be back in an hour. This just wasn’t my night. I then wandered over to look at a model railroad display with a small village. I started sketching this and just as I was about to commit to inking things in, Keith introduced himself to me. He apologized and said his cell phone had been acting up.
We walked into the exhibit through the gift shop and he got me fitted in a blue winter parka. He also gave me a pair of gloves and some hand warmer packets. He gave me a full tour of the exhibit answering my questions as we walked. ICE has huge themed rooms filled with ice sculptures. The space is insulated with Styrofoam much like a beer cooler. It is kept at a frigid 9 degrees Fahrenheit using two huge air conditioners, each of which could cool the whole hotel complex. Should one unit fail the exhibit could still run using the back up. The sculptures have to be reworked every day due to damage from being touched. He pointed out that huge blocks of colored ice were always on hand behind curtains.
After seeing all the colorful rooms I decided to return to this ice slide room with huge reindeer sculptures. There was always a crowd of people at the base of the slide and a long line of children climbing the steps to get back to the top of the slide. There was constant screaming and laughter.
Working on the sketch was a challenge. My hands immediately got cold and it became hard to bend my fingers. I decided to place the heat packs in my palms and put the gloves over them. This helped. Then when I started applying watercolors, the water began to freeze on the page. The whole sketch shimmered like an ice rink. If I re-applied color over an area the ice would flake and fall from the page. One of the workers, probably an ice sculptor, told me I should have used Vodka to do the watercolors since it does not freeze. I wanted to ask him if he happened to have some on hand but he was gone before I could gather my frozen thoughts. Keith returned and offered me a hot coco and boy did that help.
With so many amazing and colorful sculptures I really wanted to do more sketches but I could only stand the cold for this one sketch. When I exited I placed my sketch flat on a bench and let the ice melt and the colors settled onto the page. I could no longer feel my feet or hands. I stomped my feet until they started to tingle again. Ice really is an amazing experience. If you are going to sketch however, remember to bring the vodka. Ice continues to run through January 3rd.