Weekend Top 6 Picks for January 12 and 13, 2019

Posted on by Thor

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

Posted on by Thor

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

Posted on by Thor

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

Posted on by Thor

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

Posted on by Thor

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

Posted on by Thor

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.

St. Louis Arch

Posted on by Thor

Chief Curator Pam Schwartz and her team from the Orange County Regional History Center went to St. Louis to collect awards their institution had garnered. While they were in the museum conference, I wandered the city of St. Louis for a day-long sketch crawl. My first stop was to sketch the Gateway Arch.

The Gateway Arch is a 630-foot monument, clad in stainless steel. It is the world’s tallest arch, the tallest
man-made monument in the Western Hemisphere, and Missouri’s tallest
accessible building. The arch honors the Louisiana Purchase and Saint Louis in it’s role in the westward expansion of the United States. It is considered by many to be the Gateway to the West. The arch has just undergone a 380 million dollar renovation making it and the park more accessible. As I sketched, the park next to me was fenced off and being re-landscaped.

The Old St. Louis County Courthouse (11 N 4th St, St. Louis, MO 63102) was built as a combination federal and state courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri. It was Missouri’s tallest habitable building from 1864 to 1894, and is now part of the Gateway Arch National Park and operated by the National Park Service for historical exhibits and events.

In 1872 Virginia Minor attempted to vote in a St. Louis election and was arrested. Her trials, including the deliberations before the Missouri Supreme Court, were held in this building. The United States Supreme Court in Minor v. Happersett (1875) upheld the male-only voting rules, as the Constitution did not address voting rules, which were set by the states. The Minor v. Happersett ruling was based on an interpretation of the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
The Supreme Court readily accepted that Minor was a citizen of the
United States, but it held that the constitutionally protected
privileges of citizenship did not include the right to vote.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for January 5 and 6, 2019

Posted on by Thor

Saturday January 5, 2019

8 am 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.

 8pm to 10pm Free. Shuffleboard at Orlando’s Beardall Courts. Orlando’s Beardall Courts 800 Delaney Ave Orlando FL. Shuffleboard at Orlando’s Beardall Courts at 800 Delaney Ave on the 1st Saturday of each month. Free fun!

10:30pm to Midnight Get a drink and or food. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL.  Hot blooded Flamenco dancers with acoustic guitar accompaniment.

Sunday January 6, 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.

Noon to 1pm Free. Yoga. Lake Eola Park near the Red Gazebo. Bring your own mat.

6:30pm to 8:00pm $10-$20 suggested donation. Please also bring food or wine to share. Holly Cordero’s Steamin’ Quartet. Timucua White House 2000 South Summerlin Orlando, FL 32806
.

The Steamin’ Trio is made up of players
from the Central Florida area with a sense of New York Flair. The
Steamin Trio plays tunes from jazz standards to Brazilian to Funk to
arrangements of pop tunes in a Jazz fashion. These guys even perform
holiday music! They deliver wonderful jazz entertainment with amazing
solos and wonderful audience engagement. Home of the original Jazz
Drinking Game! First 20 to reserve a ticket also get a free CD!

Holly Cordero, bassMike Harris, saxJoe Barone, pianoKen Shadrake, drums

JohnnyMag Sax at the garlic

Posted on by Thor

I caught a performance by Johnny Magnuson on Sax at The Garlic (556 E 3rd Ave, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32169). I went with one of my downtown apartment mates. She is tasked with selling wine to restaurants so the trip was two pronged. She knows Johnny so we sat at the end of the bar to listen in and sketch. He used an iPad on a music stand to keep his music in order. A salad bowl was used to collect dollar bills. We arrived rather late and the bowl was already full.

After the performance we drove over to Johnny’s house. He has a room mate in the basement and plenty of room. We all sat around on the back porch and talked for a while. Johnny has  over 5000 friend on Facebook, he must be a very popular sax player.

The Garlic is a very visually appealing place to sketch. You can get lost in all the rooms decorated in a rustic French Provincial style with plenty of raw garlic hanging from the rafters. There is a candle display that has all the melted wax from years and years of use making it look like a huge molten volcano. I consider the place well worth a visit. Of course New Smyrna Beach is a bit of a drive if you live in Orlando so consider making a beach day of it and stop into the Garlic before driving back home.

Buddha’s Birthday Celebration

Posted on by Thor

May 7th was the Worldwide Celebration of the Buddha’s birthday. The  day celebrated the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, founder of the religion and Buddha himself. In China, Buddhists celebrate this day at temples by literally bathing the Buddha, reciting sutras and lighting incense.

 The Guang Ming Temple, (6555 Hoffner Ave Orlando, FL 32822), had a day long celebration. As soon as I arrived I sat down to capture this group of drummers in front of the temple. Behind me people were crowded under the food tents and before I left I made sure to sample the food available. The festival began with a beautiful ceremony, and was followed by the bathing of the Buddha’s and a large food festival.

A pristine Buddha sat next to the drummers looking out at the crowd. With his many drums the energy in the crowd grew. The Orlando Taiko Dojo demonstrated the traditional art of Japanese drums known as “Taiko”. Taiko drums were used in battlefields and have been used in religious ceremonies and festivals for over 2000 years in Japan.

The troupe’s dynamic style emphasizes speed, fluidity and
power that are combined with their choreographed motions to create a
performance rich in sight and sound. I do believe I have sketched this Dojo group before at Dragon boat races, and I love the energy.