Games Galore

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Over the Christmas Holidays there wasn’t much need to go outside in the cold in Iowa. Instead we played endless card and board games. This sketch is of a late night game of Quelf which is an unpredictable party game that gives random a new name! You might be asked to answer hilarious trivia, perform ridiculous stunts, or obey silly rules. The game inspires creativity, wit and sense of humor in ways you’ve never imagined. Pam had to answer questions using nothing but song lyrics. Destiny at one point was crawling on the floor. Some questions had to be answered within 30 seconds which was timed with an hourglass.

Card games were also predominate. Euchre and Canasta seem to be the games of choice. I started to catch on to the rules of Canasta, but euchre is very fast paced and I never caught on to all the rules or strategies. Another board game we played quite a bit was Parcheesi. In this game you move your players, (bulls, bears, camels or elephants), around the board and try to be the first to get all your players home. There is some strategy with blocking and knocking other players back. It was fun to play. I won my first game but lost the other two.

Making Ribbons at the Center

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On May 22, 2017 there was a suicide bombing at the The Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom. An Islamic terrorist
detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb as people were leaving the
Manchester Arena following a concert by the American singer Ariana
Grande. The incident was treated as an act of terrorism. 22 innocent concert goers died. 59 were injured.

A year before in Orlando we had suffered an act of terrorism that took 49 lives at the Pulse Nightclub. As an act of solidarity with the City of Manchester, people gathered at The Center (946 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803). A video crew was on hand to record a video of support and love for the city of Manchester. Members of the Orange County Regional History Center had gone to the event to show their support. They all sat around the conference table waiting for the event to begin.

Someone mentioned that there was a bag of pins and unfolded ribbons that were waiting to be made. Pam Schwartz, the chief curator at the History Center suggested they get the bag out since there were many idle hands. Soon everyone was folding the ribbons and securing them with pins. I tried a few myself and it is a tricky process at first, which quickly becomes routine. Ribbons began to pile up on the table. I am sure the safety pins pricked more that a few fingers.

Soon members of the community were being recorded with their words of support and this impromptu ribbon making session became the backdrop for this video of solidarity. What the world needs now is love sweet love, now more that ever.

A Doll’s House Part 2 at Shakes

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Doll House Part 2 by Lucas Hnath is being performed at the Orlando Shakes (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803) through February 23, 2019. In
the final scene of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 groundbreaking masterwork, Nora Helmer
makes the shocking decision to leave her husband and children, and begin
a life on her own. This climactic event—when Nora slams the door on
everything in her life—instantly propelled world drama into the modern
age. In A Doll’s House, Part 2, many years have passed since
Nora’s exit. Now, there’s a knock on that same door. Nora has returned.
But why? And what will it mean for those she left behind?

The simple set designed by Stephen Jones consisted of a curved wall with one huge Victorian door.  The paint was chipped with time. The play did indeed begin with a knock at the door. When Anne Marie (Anne Hering) answered the door all the lights on stage illuminated to their top setting creating a blinding sunburst effect as Nora (Suzanne O’Donnell) entered. For some perspective, Pam and I watched the original Ibsen play as a live 1959 telebroadcast. Nora in that production was a flippant housewife demurring to her husband’s wishes. She forged a signature on a loan in order to whisk her husband to Italy for the sake of his health. That act indentured her to try and pay the loan off by begging her husband for small sums of money. Instead of a Christmas present she begged him for a small sum of cash.

When Nora returned, she was a self-made woman of means. She had become an author and was very successful at it. She was a feminist firmly believing that women do not need men for their happiness. The Part 2 production is set 15 years after Nora left her family which would be around 1894. Women would not gain the right to vote for another 26 years, but Nora was well ahead of her time believing she could make a difference through her writing which had to be authored with a pseudonym. She wrote about her marriage to Torvald (Steven Lane) and the book encouraged women to take charge of their own lives. A judge was upset by her message, so he found out who she really was and discovered that she was still married. Torvald had never filed for divorce. It was more convenient for him to think she had died than to face the shame of filing for divorce. She needed that divorce to truly be free. This play focused on that quest. Despite her success, she was still beholden to unfair laws that made her the property of a man she had not seen for 15 years. She needed to sit down with her husband to again demand her freedom. I identified with her desire for artistic freedom.

The language is decidedly modern with some cursing that seemed out of place compared to the original Ibsen play. These outbursts do offer some comedic relief. People in the audience who had suffered through divorce were nodding their heads in solidarity as Nora pontificated about the need for freedom. Love and affection were cherished, but after marriage she felt people changed. They no longer wooed their partners and took them for granted. This is what caused affection to turn to resentment. This was a decidedly modern message.

Tickets are $32 to $44.

Myrlande Bebe

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Myrlande Bebe is the mother of Jason Josaphat who was one of the 49 people who died at Pulse on June 12, 2016. Chelsea, her sister in law sat with her. Jason was born on August 8, 1995 and was 20 years old when he died.  Jason loved to draw. He wanted to do 3D animation and he studied photography as well in high school. He studied at Valencia Community College for 6 months and then went to Southern Technical School where he made the presidents list and was on his way to becoming a CPA. He planned to travel the world and some day go to Haiti which is where Myrlanda was born.

“I never heard of Pulse until that night.” Myrlande explained. On June 11, 2016 she was working a 12 hour shift. Jason is one of three brothers. They were known as the 3 J’s, Jamal, Justin and Jason. Their sister Mirium had just flown in from Arizona to visit. Her birthday was on June 13th so they were making plans to celebrate. Myrlanda called Mirium before she got home and found out that Jason had gone out. When Jamal got home she asked him where Jason was. He didn’t know, so he called Jason and left a message. Exhausted from a long day of work, She went to bed, but she couldn’t sleep.

In the middle of the night her phone started ringing. Mirium picked it up and heard Jason screaming. She shouted, “Mom Jason is in trouble! Call 911!” Myrlande took the phone, “Where are you?” she asked Jason. He was panicking. “There are a lot of dead people on the floor, call 911!” She started screaming and Jamal asked, “What is wrong? Mom calm down.” On the phone Jason explained that he was at Pulse. “I’m in the bathroom, I’m trapped and I can’t get out.” The last thing he said was, “He’s coming.” and he got off the phone.

Myrlande and Jamal immediately drove over to Pulse. The call had been at around 3:25am and the drive took 15 minutes. They were outside Pulse from about 3:40am to 6am and they saw everything. They knew Jason was trapped in the bathroom and they both wanted to rush inside to get him. Police had secured the scene making that impossible. “It felt like I was in Iraq, it was terrible.” she said. “My heart was aching.” She saw a young man crying. He said, “I lost him.” She asked him what happened. “Some crazy man just started shooting at us.” he said. Anyone she met that night, she asked, “Did you see my son?” Everyone was crying. There was blood everywhere. “We saw ambulances taking people.” She had never seen dead bodies before. They would pick them up with two arms and two legs and haul them to a truck. It was a disaster, a nightmare.

At 6am they said, “If you don’t see your family member here go to Orlando Regional Medical Center, you can claim them there.” Myrlande gave one of the nurses Jason’s name and described a tattoo he had on his chest that he had designed himself. She gave them a picture of her son. They couldn’t find him. They asked for his medical and dental records as well. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She and Jamal had to return home without knowing where Jason was.

That night she had a dream about Jason. She was in a market place with her daughter and niece. She looked up and saw her son. He had his favorite color on which was green. She saw him far far away. She shouted his name and ran towards him. He passed behind a pole and disappeared. She woke up feeling anxious.

The next day she went to the Beardall Center. She sat patiently waiting to find out if her son was in a coma or if he was at the hospital somewhere. Someone asked to talk to her and they delivered the news. All the records she had given them matched. She found out that her son was dead on her daughter’s birthday. Her daughter said, “Mom, I will never again have another birthday.” It was a nightmare for them all. It wasn’t easy to find out that her son had gone out to have a good time, and didn’t make it back home.

Myrlande later learned that Jason fought hard for his life that night. Jason had the courage to talk to the gunman. The last bullet Jason took shielded someone else. Patience Carter had been shot in the leg and Jason helped to keep her calm. Just before the bathroom walls were breached by police, the gunman started to shoot again.  Jason covered the young girl with his body and took the bullet. He died instantly and didn’t suffer. Myrlande later met Patience and she said to her, “You shouldn’t feel guilty, it wasn’t your time.”

This article and sketch have been posted with the express written
permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the
privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for January 12 and 13, 2019

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Saturday January 12, 2019

5pm to 8pm Free. Night of Fire Crealde. Crealdé School of Art (600 St Andrews Blvd, Winter Park, Florida 32792). Bring your camera, because the stunning campus comes ALIVE after dark for the 8th annual Night of Fire! Enjoy free live music, refreshments, adult beverages, and storytelling around the fire (my cozy favorite), and tour the opening exhibition HAND IN HAND: THE CREATIVE WORKS OF JANVIER MILLER AND GUSTAF MILLER.

It’s fun and free to participate in all of the art workshops and demonstrations; including a torch cut metal demonstration, a gas kiln firing, raku firing and a light painting photography display over Lake Sterling. There will be painting demonstrations in the studios, too. Hands-on youth workshops from 5–6:30 p.m. Live music and workshops for adults until 8 p.m.

The evening also serves as the opening reception for the “Director’s Choice V” exhibition of works by Crealde’s youth faculty.

The Front Office will be open to register for classes. All activities are free.

8pm to Midnight. $5 Second Saturdays in Sanford. West End Trading Company. 202 S. Sanford Ave. Sanford FL 407-322-7475. Two stages of live entertainment.

9pm to Midnight Free but get a beer or two. Eugene Snowden. The Imperial at Washburn Imports

1800 N. Orange Ave. Orlando FL. 407-228-4992.

Sunday January 13, 2019

1pm to  3pm $9. Film Slam. Enzian Theater. 1300 S. Orlando Ave. Winter Park FL. 407-629-0054Bimonthly showcase of independent shorts made by Florida filmmakers. 


1pm to 5:30pm Free. Free Family Day on the Second Sunday. The Mennello Museum of American Art, 900 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803.  The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents
are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in
the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

Noon to 5pm $8 Florida Wedding Expo. Orange County Convention Center. 9800 International Drive 407-685-9800. Fiances, moms, maids and more are all welcome at this wedding expo, with vendors, free services, and honeymoon giveaways. info@floridaweddingexpo.com.

Baking Cookies

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The kitchen is the hub of so many family activities leading up to Christmas in the Schwartz family home in Iowa. Every morning the home would fill with the smell of bacon along with pancakes, waffles, or eggs. Large roasts would bake for hours in the oven for dinner. I have no doubt that I gained a few pounds this holiday season. I imagine that any extra weight helps to keep warm as temperatures plummet. It did snow while we were there, but it was only a dusting of less than an inch.

The cookie batter was mixed in the electric mixer in the foreground and at this stage there were many cooks in the kitchen. I couldn’t catch them all as they crowded around the mixer and then dispersed. Ron was the most focused remaining consistently in the corner of the kitchen mixing pizza crust by hand in a small yellow bowl. I also caught Destiny. I believe she was placing the balls of batter on cooking sheets as I sketched her.

Pam and her mom were also in the mix, but they moved off before I could catch them in the sketch. Plans were made for the Christmas day dinner well ahead of time. The cookies were a fluffy crunchy peanut concoction with marshmallows inside. They tasted amazing. The Tupperware they were stored in didn’t snap together very well, so we had to eat them before they went stale.  We ate them for days.

Venison Grind

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Over the Christmas holidays, Pam Schwartz and I went to her parents’ house in Iowa. Deer hunting season started September 15, 2018 and ends January 27, 2019. A local TV news story was about the problem of deer causing damage to cars and people on the roadways. Iowa in one of the top 5 states where you are most likely to hit a deer. It is estimated deer, elk, moose, and caribou collisions dropped
slightly to 1.33 million in the U.S. between July 1, 2017 and June 30,
2018 — down from 1.34 million in 2017, despite the fact
that there are nearly four million more licensed drivers.

The family has a large shed with an automotive lift and a huge refrigeration unit for storing the season’s meat. We went shopping before Christmas at a local sporting shop. Ron had blown off the sight on one of his trusted hunting rifles and needed to get it fixed. We also shopped for casings and the associated spices needed for preparation of the meat.

Before Christmas, fellow hunters and neighbors came over to the house to grind deer meat in the shed. I decided it might be a sketch opportunity. On the floor was this collection of deer heads on a plastic sheet. I got right to work on the sketch. The actual grinding was happening behind me. I could hear folks chatting as work commenced. This felt like a friendly community activity.

Ron Schwartz explained that one of the skulls had been dug up on a trail, only a small bit of antler had been visible. Ron threw the one tiny antler on the floor as I was sketching saying, “That’s all that’s left of that one.” I was left with the impression that the skull had been blown apart.

One hunter, looking over my shoulder spoke with some reverence about the deer head on the upper right. He pointed out that the antlers on one side were much more developed than the antlers on the other side. He also said, “He was one hell of a fighter.” The eyes were open and wet.

There is a nice collection of deer themed prints in the Schwartz home. One that I particularly like is of a deer wandering out onto a field of cut corn with her fawn after dark as it snows. A single light shining from a far farm window was the only sign that humans might inhabit this gorgeous landscape.

Meat was ground into sausage and smoked. That night, we all tried some and it was delicious.

The Thaxton

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My final stop on my Saint Louis sketch crawl was The Thaxton (1009 Olive St, St. Louis, MO 63101). Today, it is a historic art deco themed venue with a vintage vibe that offers unique events. The space can be rented for weddings and private events. When not privately booked, it is open to the public as the Thaxton Speakeasy, a downtown underground lounge. I didn’t know this as I was sketching. I assumed it was an old historic theater.

Architects, Klipstein and Rothman designed The Thaxton building as well as the Civil Courts Building in downtown St. Louis. The building was constructed in 1928 for Eastman Kodak. The original use of the building was as a retail camera store. Eastman
Kodak had plans to erect a total of 100 identical buildings throughout
the United States. Today, it is the only known building left of five,
that were built before the Great Depression.

At a restaurant next door, someone was delivering topiarys for the front entrance. They were stacked in the back of a pick up and then moved to each side of the front door.

Old Customs House St. Louis

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There are so many gorgeous historic buildings to sketch in downtown St. Louis. Coming from Central Florida where strip malls seem to dominate our landscape, it was such a treat to have so many choices when it came to sketching classic architecture.

Located at 815 Olive Street, the Old Customs House and Post Office (OPO), was designed by architects Alfred B. Mullett, William Appleton Potter, and James G. Hill, and was constructed between 1873 and 1884. It is one of four surviving Federal office buildings designed by Mullett.

One of the stories surrounding the construction of the OPO is that it
was built on quicksand.  In 1873, while the workers were digging the
foundation, they struck a large rolling bed of quicksand. Several
hundred men worked to stem the flow of the quicksand and only succeeded
after driving pine support beams deep into the bedrock, then packing 500
bales of cotton around the beams, and covering it with four feet of
limestone concrete slabs. 

The third floor of building was occupied by the U.S District Court until
1935, when it moved to new quarters at 12th and Market streets. The
Post Office remained until 1970, occupying the main basement and the
first floor. A number of Federal agencies were housed on the fourth
floor.

Someone walking by told me that On March 15, 1884, General William Tecumseh Sherman, one of the great Civil War heroes, presided over the dedication of the building. At the time, the building also served as a storage site for up to $4 million in gold bullion.  In January 2006, the Missouri Court of Appeals, Eastern District, moved its offices to the OPO.

St. Louis Downtown

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This downtown park in St. Louis was a gorgeous spot to sketch. The sun was out, flowers were blooming and workers were relaxing on their lunch breaks. Food trucks lines the streets around the park offering plenty of lunch time food options.

The Civil Courts Building is predominant in the center of my sketch. It was built in 1930. It was part of an $87 million bond issue ratified by voters in 1923 to build monumental buildings along the Memorial Plaza.  The Plaza and the buildings were part of St. Louis’s City Beautiful plan.
It replaced the Old Courthouse as the city’s court building and its construction prompted the descendants of the founding father Auguste Chouteau
to unsuccessfully sue the city to get the Old Courthouse back since there was a
stipulation that it would always be the city’s courthouse.

The pyramid roof on the top was designed to resemble the Mausoleum of Mausolus which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. During St. Louis PrideFest
the building has lit its columns up in a rotating rainbow pattern. The tradition of Pride started in 2012, when the building was first lit up. In
2016 the top of the building lit up with 49 purple lights to show
solidarity to the victims in the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting.