Food Share

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The Saint George  Orthodox Church on Lake Eola (24 N Rosalind Ave, Orlando, FL 32801) holds a a weekly food share in the parking lot behind the church.

I had gone to the Library to sketch a game night event but there was no one there. Instead I sketched the food share from the library window. Behind me was a rainbow of books. It was a rainy day and the clouds loomed steel grey on the horizon.

 Chairs were set up in the parking lot for people coming for food. There was music and a sermon. Hunger seems to be a motivator for saving souls.

The Straight Street program, gives anyone who has interest an opportunity to “get in where you fit in”. They currently host food shares on Tuesdays at 5:30pm and every Sunday at 4pm. The
Tuesday food share takes place in downtown Orlando at the St. George
Orthodox Church parking lot.  The Sunday
event is a Pop Up Food Share that requires a bit more participation from
volunteers.

Food shares were shut down by a city ordinance in Lake Eola Park in 2006. Volunteers from Food Not Bombs were arrested for feeding the 50 to 100 people in the park.  In April of 2011, the Court of Appeals ruled in a unanimous decision to uphold the city limit of twice-yearly food-sharings in public parks. After the decision, food-sharing groups can only serve meals in the
specified parks twice a year. Parties caught without a permit could be
convicted of violating the city ordinance. Individuals or groups could
be fined $500 or spend two months in jail if they continued to
distribute weekly meals.

The St. George
Orthodox Church food shares have stayed strong despite the city ordinance. The Styrofoam food containers tend to be left all over the place in Heritage Square park in front of the Orange County Regional History Center. The History Center and the Library have to do much of the clean up work.

Weekend Top 6 picks for February 23 and 24, 2019

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Saturday February 23, 2019

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

10am to 4pm Free. Sanford Farmers Market. First and Magnolia Sanford Fl. 

7pm to 11pm Free. Ybor City Art Walk. 7th Ave Ybor Tampa, Florida 33605.

Featuring a number of arts organizations and artsy businesses, be sure to R.S.V.P. here to get the official map for the walk!

This event will begin at 7pm and end at 11pm (or maybe there will be an after party!)

Here are the participating locations:

The Bricks of Ybor
Bloodline Tattoo
Ybor Arts Colony
Hot Wax
Wandering Eye Art Gallery
Dysfunctional Grace
Moon Over Havana Arts Gallery
Live Arts Labs

Sunday February 24, 2019

10am to Noon. Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources. 

3pm to 5pm $20 Brian Feldman Performance #txtshow. Kerouac House 1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, FL 32804.

10pm to Midnight Free but get a coffee. 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.

Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens

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On a road trip with John Naughton to South Carolina, we were all looking for something to do on a Sunday. We decided to visit Boone Hall Plantation and Gardens (1235 Long Point Rd, Mt Pleasant, SC 29464). The historic “Avenue of Oaks” leads up to to the house with southern live oaks on either side, originally planted in 1743. In front of the plantation was a butterfly garden. One butterfly rested on Pam’s back for like an hour. While
everyone else toured the inside of the plantation, I sketched outside.
It was a gorgeous day and I sat on a bench under the shade of a large
live oak.

In the
early 18th century, cotton plantations were enormously profitable, and
this stunningly beautiful estate was a giant of Charleston’s low country
cotton farming. Boone Hall is one of the oldest plantations. Instead of
cotton, they now produce peaches, strawberries, tomatoes and pumpkins.
During certain seasons guests are allowed to pick their own food. Boone
Hall has been
featured in several movies. 

The plantation includes a large Colonial Revival
plantation house (completed in 1936) that replaced the lost original
house on the site, a number of slave cabins running parallel with the oak alley which date back to 1790-1810. It was common for owners to display
their slave cabins in the front of the property as a sign of wealth.
Built of brick, the one-story structures are 12 feet by 30 feet with
gabled roofs, have either plank or dirt floors and a simple fireplace
with a brick hearth and no mantle at the rear of each house. The cabins
were in use well into the 20th century, as they were occupied by sharecroppers through the 1940s. Today they display information on slave life. They looked very uncomfortable to live in with dirt floors.

There was an outdoor presentation on the Gullah culture. The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Low Country region of the U.S. states of Georgia and South Carolina, in both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands. They developed a creole language, the Gullah language, and a culture rich in African influences that makes them distinctive among African Americans.We learned about the culture through stories and song.

Emily’s Tattoo

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Emily Arnold used to be the assistant curator at the Orange County Regional History Center. She decided to get a tattoo on her right bicep of a gorgeous bird. Since she is an artist she was very discerning about who should create the tattoo. She decided that Steve Roberts of The East Tattoos was the man for the job. One of Steve’s major influences is the work of John James Audubon which made him the perfect artist for the job. Her boyfriend who also worked at the History Center kept her company through the long agonizing process.

The East is an appointment-only private tattoo studio located just north of Downtown Orlando in Ivanhoe Village. Overlooking beautiful Lake Ivanhoe, The East offers a completely personalized experience in a relaxed and comfortable space. Each of the artists work independently; scheduling our own appointments, setting our own prices and corresponding with our own clients.

Two of the tattoo artists from The East stopped by as I was working on a mural on Ivanhoe Park  Brewing. They asked how I planned to do the line work on the mural, and I explained that I was debating about using Krink markers or acrylic paint applied with a brush. One of the artists did graffiti and he said the Krink markers fade quickly over time. He had first hand experience from work he had done in the past. Because of that conversation I abandoned the Krink brand and have been doing the line work with a brush. 

Since getting the tattoo, Emily and her boyfriend both left Orlando. The arts in Orlando left their mark.

Dragon Parade and Lunar New Year Festival

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The eighth annual Dragon Parade and Lunar New Year Festival was held in the Mills 50 area. Lunar New Year events are based on the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which
calculates both the motions of Earth around the sun, and the moon
around the Earth.

The parade assembled near Track Shack on Mills Avenue and then went down Thornton Avenue ending at the parking lot behind The Cameo Theater, home of Snap Gallery on Colonial Drive. I was teaching an Urban Sketching class at Crealde School of Art on that morning and considered taking my students to the festivities to sketch, but the timing was off. By the time we would have arrived from class, the parade would have been over. Instead I had my student sketch in Panera’s which is a much calmer setting.

Immediately after class I drove over to the parade. A large red an yellow balloon arch marked the entry to the event. Food and merchandiser tents were lined up in the parking lot and the place was packed. On the main stage a drum chore was setting the tone. I finally decided I had to sketch the arch and the tent where the dragon heads were stored.

Orlando Urban Sketchers had decided to come to parade as well to sketch but I didn’t see anyone at first. After I sat and started sketching I was approached by a sketcher who wanted to watch as I sketched. I explained my thought process a bit as I set up the composition. Once she started sketching as I well I got lost in my process.

For the longest time this seemed like a boring sketch location, but then a group of youths in red tee shirts started getting dressed in bright yellow pants. It turned out I was watching two dragon dancers getting ready to perform. Once the head was put on the dragon came alive and a large crowd gathered all around me. The dragon was rather silly often falling down and always getting in the face of small children. One little Chinese girl was mesmerized and she followed the yellow dragon around grinning the whole time. The dragon looked at the sketch in my lap and so I lifted it up so she could see it right side up. She nodded her head with delight.

This is the year of the pig. I didn’t see any pigs at the festivities but Pam brought out Darcy, her new puppy. The dragon was curious about Darcy and danced in front of the her. The puppies eyes bugged out in amazement. She tried to hide behind Pam’s legs and when the dragon once again approached she darted away as fast and as far as she could. Since she was on a leash she didn’t get to far. For her first social outing Darcy got very over stimulated.

It turned out the Urban Sketchers were at the event. They were apparently gathered in the shade behind the main stage. They had their sketch throw down photo op, but I was still in the midst of my one and only sketch surrounded by dragons, so I didn’t get over to where they met. I made the mistake of wearing a black tee shirt to an event in a black
tar parking lot in the insanely hot Florida sun, but I survived. The dragon parade is definitely a great sketch opportunity and I am glad I made it. After the sketch was done I ordered some Pad Thai and Pam and I watched a yo-yo choreographer doing some major moves to rap music. It might sound strange but it was fun to watch.

Nude Nite 2019

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Nude Nite Orlando was held at the Central Florida Fairgrounds on February 14-16. Pam Schwartz and I went on Valentines day, the opening night. I wanted to go nice and early to sketch before the place got really crowded. A ticket at the door is $35 and I didn’t have that much cash on hand. We had to get cash from a cash machine in the parking lot. Note that the bar a Nude Nite also only accepts cash. I didn’t get a drink since I was sketching the whole time I was there.

Nude Nite feels so much smaller than past years. It was at the fairgrounds last year as well, but I didn’t sketch because I got the dates wrong. My feeling walking around the event was that the event had grown smaller in scale. I have to say however that artists were just setting up for the night. I quickly decided to sketch Mandi Ilene Schiff as she was body painting. She was set up right in the middle of the warehouse which offered easy sketching access. She was painting a tiger face on they model’s chest. The color she added was a greenish glitter paint.

An art installation by Aubry Roemer consisted of a long roll of white paper on the floor. He painted nude models with blue paint and had them lie on the white paper to create body prints. He then also outlined the prints with large blue brush strokes. He also wore a mask although I am not sure why. A coffin with a plastic skeleton was set up. The premise was that guests could write notes on pages from a book and then put them in the coffin.  The notes would be burned after Nude Nite. I suppose that burning negative thoughts could be a form of therapy.

As we were getting ready to leave, one performer, Sarah Jade, languidly hung from the ceiling with an aerial sling. She did splits and spun. When her routine was finished she gracefully floated down to the floor as if weightless. Performances were just beginning.

My favorite art was simple nude sketches on some form of Mylar. They were on sale for only $150. On the far wall behind Mandi was a huge photo mosaic for about $5000. A woman arched her back as if the Pieta. Another similar mosaic had lots of Bambi fawns. I lost interest since performances didn’t get under way until after 9pm. We decided to go out for dinner to finish off the Valentines evening. We went to Phò Vinh (657 N Primrose Drive Orlando Fl 32803) and I had Bún Càri Gà which is a delicious soup with rice vermicelli with chicken in a coconut curry broth. It was sooooo good, the highlight of the evening.

Boris and Marla E Talk Art Shit

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Boris Douglas Garbe and Marla E Artist held an informal talk at The Nook on Robinson, (2432 E Robinson St, Orlando, FL 32803). Boris’s dog Lump slept on the chair behind the hosts. Boris runs the Art Gallery at Mills Park (1650 Mills Ave N, Orlando, FL 32803). He used to gather artists to paint live at the Timucua White House as bands played as well, but he stepped down from that position. Marla E is a staple of the Orlando arts scene creating large textural paintings. She explained that she used to be a faux finish and mural artist and she discovered that she loved painting on very textured surfaces.

Boris is learning as he goes running the gallery. He feels that galleries cater to the same audience over and over. He realized that young people don’t go to galleries and he is trying to reverse that trend. Of course he discovered that when he does get a younger crowd, they don’t spend money. He is passionate about artists that use their art as a platform for change. He also has decided he will exhibit men and women equally. He has gotten some flack for this from women artists who want to just be considered artists, not as a underprivileged demographic that needs charity.

Boris and Marla have teamed up to produce a series of radio broadcasts about the Arts scene in Orlando. They have also just produced their first podcast called “Kiss my Art” which is frankly a fantastic title. Orlando has grown up enough to develop a bit of an edge.

What was most heart warming about their talk was when they talked about their lives. Marla was married to the love of her life, but he died young, leaving her heart broken. She turned to her art and it lifted her from the brink. She started inviting people to visit her studio and over time her art blossomed. Boris’s mom was in the audience which added a personal touch to his life revelations.

There were several trivia questions where people in the bar could win free art prints. Anyone who had posed nude for an artist was invited to collect the prize. The room was silent. I have painted myself nude but I thought that would be bending the rules. Finally a woman went up and described posing nude on a beautiful beach for a friends photo.

Overall this was a fun chance to learn a little more about what makes the Orlando Art scene tick. The Nook has some lovely small painting hanging on the walls right now. None of the paintings are framed square. The images fit in trapezoids and diamond shapes.

Flower Essence Yoga

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Kristine Iverson a founder of Crow Practice, invited me to sketch her Flower Essence and Yoga Class at Bloom Florist (325 West Gore Street Orlando FL). Crow Practice stands for Coordinated Response On Wellness. The focus is on Stress Management Workshops and yoga. (CROW)
practices the art of bringing unique experience to their
clients’ needs, while adhering to authentic traditions and practices.

Participants at this workshop got free water donated by Body Armor. Pam Schwartz joined me for  this invite only wellness workout. She did the yoga while I sketched. This was a very relaxing yoga practice session. Between yoga postures participants could pass around essences of floral scents in perfume bottles. They would rub the scent between their palms warming it up, and then inhale deeply. All the yoga mats were lines up in the back of the florist shop warehouse. Some areas of the warehouse were refrigerated rooms where thousands of blooms were stored. The building already had an enticing scent.

Since moving to Florida my sense of small has been dulled by allergies and the humidity. From where I was sketching, I could not catch the scent off the essences as they were passed around. I have taken yoga before so I was familiar with the yoga poses. I stretched a bit as I sketched in my artist’s stool. In my mind I was doing a very limited form a yoga as I sketched.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for February 16 and 17, 2019

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Saturday February 16, 2019

All day. Free. Tampa Bay Fresh Fest.  1721 N Franklin St, Tampa, FL 33602. also at 903 17th ave Tampa FL 33605. Twenty or more of the most talented artists from Tampa bay and beyond will create murals at at least 5 different locations around Tampa heights, Ybor, and downtown.

Artists
will be starting as early as the 8th so make sure you get out there and
see the art come alive before your very eyes, but the focus is the
weekend and Saturday the 16 being the main event.

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

10am to 4pm Free. Commander’s Call. Museum of Military History 5210 West Irlo Bronson Hwy Kissimmee FL 34746. This ongoing program is held on the 3rd Sat of each month is designed to
appeal to families, military memorabilia collectors, history buffs,
re-enactors and others interested in military history. In addition,
persons interested in displaying, trading or selling their military
items such as honor coins, swords, photographs, military buttons, scale
model boats & planes, military art, uniforms or other equipment
register in advance by calling the museum to reserve a spot. Re-enactors
& veterans are welcome to come in uniform to add to the history
& authenticity of the military experience. Non-military booths such
as health care providers, home improvement, local attractions or other
businesses are invited to be vendors for minimal donation.
INFO and Register: 407-507-3894 or to register your table space.

Sunday February 17, 2019

10am to 4pm Lake Eola Farmer’s Market. Lake Eola Park Orlando FL. Produce, food vendors and crafts tents.

Noon to 3pm Donation based. Music at the Casa. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Listen to Opera Singer Shirley Wang and take a tour
of our historic home museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by
trained docents.

3:15pm to 5:15pm Free. Life Screenings International Film Festival. Winter Park Library 460 E New England Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Selected films are chosen on the basis that they show a world we love to live in. Each film is a one-minute gem.

Rules & Terms

● Life Screenings is a festival that showcases inspiring, uplifting, and thought-provoking short films.

● Selected films will need to be provided in digital format via dropbox or google drive.

● Films submitted in languages other than English must include English Subtitles.

●
While the work submitted remains the property of the creating artist,
Life Screenings reserves the right to use submitted footage or stills to
promote the festival. Filmmaker also permits use of images or video
taken of them at the festival.

● All filmmakers will be notified regarding acceptance into the festival by email.

● We are looking for films under 61 second.

● Films are chosen on the basis that they show a world we love to live in.

Lake Mary Historical Museum

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I dropped off a painting for exhibit at the Lake Mary Historical Museum, (158 N Country Club Rd, Lake Mary, FL 32746) for the 6th Annual Local Artists Exhibit which featured original  paintings, sculptures and mixed media works on display, from emerging to well
established local artists. Rather than rush right back to the studio, I decided to settle in and complete a sketch.

The
Lake Mary Historical Museum exists to preserve and promote the history
of the city and the surrounding area. Efforts to maintain and enhance
the museum are accomplished by members of the Lake Mary Historical
Society and other volunteers.

The
museum houses a collection of artifacts, photographs, documents and
other materials related to the history of Lake Mary and the surrounding
communities. The artifacts housed in the museum have either been donated
or are on permanent or temporary loan.

Mark your calendars, from February 23 to March 23, 2019 the museum will exhibit Scouting in America, which will celebrate
more than 10 years of the organization that has brought so much to
central Florida. he exhibit will share the values and all
programs that Girl Scouts organizations offers to the world. An exhibit
of uniforms, artifacts and materials related to history and legacy.