Nantucket Architecture

Posted on by Thor

I explored downtown Nantucket on foot. So many homes had a Victorian flair and they all had the grey weathered shingles.

All the homes on Nantucket have the same grey wooden facades.
Nantucket has fairly rigid design mandates. You cannot build as you
please on
Nantucket; houses must have pitched roofs, not flat ones, and they must
be covered in unpainted shingles, which weather to a soft gray once they
have survived their first Nantucket winter.

In
1983 a Nantucket island town meeting approved a local two percent tax on
property sales to finance the purchase of open space for conservation
and public use. Now roughly a third of the island is in the ”land
bank,” and officials have been quoted as saying that they hope this
figure will eventually reach half the island’s area.This
land tax and land bank idea is helping turn the
island’s boom into a means of preservation rather than simply a means of
development.

I hiked endlessly and there was a beautiful home to sketch one every corner. I finally decided to sketch this building because I liked the way the tree snaked skywards. A man was out painting his fence. If you paint in Nantucket it means you are rather rich because you have to repaint every year. The Nantucket winters will weather any paint. Every day was a sketch crawl of exploration. I would do 4 of 5 sketches every day as I familiarized myself with the island.

The Old Mill in Nantucket

Posted on by Thor

The first sight Glen Weimer pointed out on the drive back to his place was the Old Mill, which is a historic windmill located at 50 Prospect Street
in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Built in 1746, the mill is owned and operated by the
Nantucket Historical Association as a museum. It is the only surviving mill of the four “smock mills” that once
stood overlooking Nantucket town. There was a fifth Nantucket mill
called “Round-Top Mill” on the site of the present New North Cemetery.

Smock mills have a fixed-body containing machinery, and a cap that
turns to face the sails into the wind. The Old Mill was sold for twenty
dollars in 1828 to Jared Gardner in deplorable condition for use as
“firewood.” Instead of dismantling it, Gardner, a carpenter by trade, restored the mill to working condition capable of grinding corn. The mill was sold once again in 1866 to John Francis Sylvia, a
Portuguese miller, who operated it for many years
with his assistant Peter Hoy, until it fell into disuse in 1892. When
the mill appeared on the auction block in 1897, the Nantucket Historical
Association was able to secure the mill with a successful bid of $885. After multiple restorations, the mill is still in working order today, and believed to be the oldest functioning
mill in the United States

Everything is within walking distance in Nantucket, so on my first day on my own, I walked to the Mill. I got to know Nantucket intimately as I walked place to place. Isolated on tan island the islanders are not in as much of a rush as the rest of the world. When the ferry arrives  from the mainland of Massachusetts, thousands of tourists flood onto the streets of Downtown Nantucket. The tourists are all in a rush to get settled and find the nearest beach. It is a flash of chaos that happens every day. I simply mention this because some of the cars roaring past me on my walks, were speeding to their destinations. If everyone took the time to walk where they were going, the island would be a much more peaceful place.

There was no cloth on the windmill’s sails. Just the wooden framework was in place catching no wind. A huge pole behind the windmill was hooked up to a wagon wheel to turn the sails into the wind. I didn’t think to check if the light breeze was coming from the right direction. I wondered how hard it would be to rotate the roof or cap into the wind. I imagined a team of horses and men pushing and pulling it into place. Then again, the roof might rotate freely with the right parts and lubrication. How cool would it be to build a tiny house from the plans of a Wind Mill and use the sails to help supply electricity? Of course a Florida hurricane could decimate the sails.

Lama Yesha Palmo

Posted on by Thor

When my plane landed in Nantucket, Glen Weimer, my host was still with a client doing body work, so I couldn’t go straight to his home. Instead, I caught a taxi to the Family Resource Center, (20 Vesper Lane, L-1 Gouin, Nantucket MA). Here a Mindful Meditation Group was going to meet and I thought it would be a good way to unwind and relax after a day of flying. The room we met in was set up for an Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step program. the 12th step was “Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions.” In some ways Buddhist teachings are similar to the 12 steps. Buddhist thought holds that craving
leads to suffering (the second noble truth). Twenty-five hundred years
ago the Buddha taught that snippets of addiction, constantly wanting,
ever craving this or that,  are the source of all human suffering. This craving can be reduced and eventually eliminated.


There were just two of us sitting in. The woman across from me had her fists clenched the whole time as Lama Yesha Palmo explained the meditation process. This was the first time I had practiced with someone in full robes. A candle was lit and we sat quietly. I sketched before and after the meditation. I consider sketching my form of meditation. Birds chirped outside and a dog barked a few blocks away. For once my body didn’t ache and as I finished the sketch I felt a bit of peace. The session ended with the sound of a meditation bowl humming from the wooden mallet circling it’s rim.


I would have left feeling satisfied, but afterwards the Yesha asked questions about our experience. The woman across from me also felt some contentment but she was told that she wasn’t meditating properly. Apparently inner sensations must all be let go. I kept my mouth closed, I didn’t need my experience to be criticized. I was far to new to meditation to have my experience picked apart and dissected. When I was finally let back out into the world with my suitcase in tow, the sun  felt good on my face and the breeze kept me cool. I didn’t need so much structure to appreciate it.


I hadn’t seen Glen since the early 90s. He pulled up in his car and we hugged warmly. It was amazing to see the life he had built for himself on this tiny New England island.

Heading to Nantucket

Posted on by Thor

A month after the horrific attack that killed 49 people at the Pulse Nightclub, I was feeling burnt out from sketching vigils, fundraisers and community healing events in Orlando. Glen Wiemer, an old art school buddy offered me a chance to get away and take some time for myself up in Nantucket where he practices Holistic Bodywork.

I found a cheap direct flight to Nantucket right from the Orlando International Airport. I was recently separated and it turns out that getting divorced is a long drawn out process. Now two years later I am still in the process of preparing for the divorce. An art appraiser is determining the value of my art since it is considered part of the marital assets that need to be split.

The flight was uneventful and pleasant. I was excited for some time to soak up some sun and regain some strength to face the long road ahead.

Climb Time Construction in Kidstown

Posted on by Thor

I returned a second time to sketch the construction of the Kidstown, Isaac’s Family Climb time at the Orlando Science Center (777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803). Protective screens had been added to keep kids from any attempted jumps from up high. It looked like a complicated maze and I am too tall to walk through any of the corridors without hunching over. At this point I believe the play area was close to being finished. I was impressed with how the structure filled the room. Construction  workers were still using ladders and the lift to get up high rather than crawling inside the structure itself.

Foam had been taped around one of the support beams. Perhaps the lift had been banging up against it in the commotion of construction. This was a chance for me to stretch my perspective muscles as I tried to fit the entire structure into the sketch. At the grand opening of Kidstown, I saw the kids climbing inside this structure for the first time. It is very popular with the kids.

This $5 million project opened to the general public in late October
2016. It signals the completion of the first phase of the $30 million
Unlock Science Campaign, a multi-year/multi-phase effort to renovate all
the exhibits and expand resources at the Science Center.

Explore It at the Orlando Science Center

Posted on by Thor

Explore It at the Orlando Science Center (777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803) allows children to build their own roller coaster. Loop de loops and bridges can be plugged together to create a dynamic gravity fed coaster. Kids have to really reach high after climbing several steps to get the red ball high enough for the launch. A dad decided to “help” his son build a coaster. It was clear the dad was more interested in the new design than his son.

The other device uses vacuum suction to inhale colorful bolts of fabric. The fabric snakes through transparent tubes and then is launched into the air where it floats down to the kids who catch them below. There was a constant line of kids waiting to feed the machine and then shrieks of laughter as they ran around trying to catch the fabric as it gently parachuted to the ground.Part play and part learning, Kidstown delights the youngest of visitors. Dads and moms get to play as well.

These sketched are going live because I am assembling art for a retrospective exhibit of my work at the Orlando Science Center which will open August 17, 2018. Each painting in the show will ave a label that links back to the article on Analog Artist Digital World. I am discovering that some of these paintings had not been shared before.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for July 14th and 15th, 2018

Posted on by Thor

Saturday June 14, 2018

8 a.m. to 1p.m. 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.

4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Free. Young Voices. JB Callaman Center 102 North Parramore Ave Orlando FL. Teen Open Mic Every second Saturday of the Month.

5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Free.  10th Annual Bastille Day Celebration. Audubon Park Garden District, 3201 Corrine Dr #216, Orlando, FL 32803. French Market at Audubon, Wine and Cheese tasting, baguette fencing, live music and more. Oui oui!

Sunday June 15, 2018

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Free. Lake Eola Farmers Market. Lake Eola, Orlando, FL 32801. Farm fresh produce in the heart of Orlando FL.

2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Free. Vintage Market At The Abbey. The Abbey 100 South Eola Drive #100, Orlando, Florida 32801. The Abbey will be hosting its first Vintage Market. It will be a fun day of local vendors for your
shopping pleasure, food trucks, and drinks made by The Abbey’s amazing
bartenders. What better way to spend your Sunday Funday than by
supporting local businesses?
If you are interested in being a vendor, please contact us at gcvintageshop@gmail.com

10 p.m. 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 and laugh, or give it a try yourself.

Drip Drop Splash Construction

Posted on by Thor

I was fascinated by the construction of Drip Drop Splash happening at the Orlando Science Center (777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803). Hydraulics has to be adjusted and everything perfectly balanced. One of the water columns required plenty of tweaking. In the end water would fill the pools and the columns would become the source for a cascade of water falling from above. If one element leaked things could get wet and messy, however the whole contraption was planted on a cement pool which had drainage just in case. Construction workers got used to me being on site and once in a while they would glance over my shoulder.

A group was given a tour to  show them the progress of construction. The area in the background of this sketch is the Toddlers Corner. Every worker had a task to complete and the place took  shape incredibly fast. Part of me wished that I had come in daily to watch the progress but I had to balance this assignment with other events happening in town. I am posting this sketch in preparation for an exhibit of my painting that will open at the Science Center on August 16, 2018.

Harriet Lake’s Kidstown Theatre

Posted on by Thor

Harriet Lake is one of Orlando’s greatest patrons of the arts. Harriet’s Kidstown Theatre is located just past Drip Drop Splash in the Orlando science Center (777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803). A quaint little stage is littered with props like a hard hat, and tutus. The backdrop kept changing, I opted to sketch a playful view of the Lake Eola Fountain. It doesn’t take much to fire the imagination in a young mind. Kids are already gifted actors. A dad sat in the audience sporting his foam statue of liberty crown. The bean bag chairs helped keep the audience active.

I am assembling 30 paintings for an exhibition I am mounting at the Orlando Science Center opening August 16th, 2018. I like to include links in the labels that link back to the articles that appeared on Analog Artist Digital World. This quaint little sketch somehow slipped through the cracks, so I am publishing it now.

In some ways, the kids were just playing on the stage with no well defined story line. However some of the best theater happens when the actors relax and are playful on stage. Lets put on a show! After writing this post, I learned that Harriet Lake died July 10, 2018 at the age of 96. She will be deeply missed by the Central Florida arts community.

Meditation in the wake of Pulse

Posted on by Thor

In June of 2016 I became obsessed with sketching every wake, vigil, memorial and fundraiser devoted to the cause of the Pulse Nightclub Massacre. Every post at the time was about the shooting and the cities attempt to heal in the wake of the tragedy. To find some personal balance in my life I turned to meditation. I honestly hoped that the discussion on this day might be about the Buddhist teachings that might address such a tragedy. Certainly Buddhists must have thoughts that would shed some light on the feelings and confusion that follow mass murder.  I learned that the previous week had addressed those insights. The Mindful Medition Discussion Group meets weekly on Wednesdays behind the home of Peter Carlson (1818 Carrigan Avenue, Winter Park, 32789).

We all sat silently for an hour to meditate. My high blood pressure caused my ears to start drumming. I was concerned that my body didn’t allow for enough quiet for me to get lost in the moment. My legs started to ache so I shifted to a new position. I must be doing this all wrong.  I was biding my time until I could sketch during the discussion to follow. Despite my annoyance at my inability to find any semblance of peace, I was glad that I had taken the night to do something for myself. I hoped meditation might allow me to come to terms with what had happened at Pulse. That never happened. Conversation turned to the four noble truths, but my mind wandered back to Orange Avenue just south of the Orlando Regional Medical Center.

I returned to mediation many times in the following months to  keep trying. Glen Weimer, an old college friend offered me a chance to escape to Nantucket and it was there that some quite meditation on the beach finally brought me a moment of respite.

The Dali Llama‘s thought on violence seem to ring true. He teaches the universal human values of peace, harmony, and community… “If
we emphasize more on non-violence and harmony, we can herald a new
beginning. Unless we make serious attempts to achieve peace, we will
continue to see a replay of the mayhem humanity experienced in the 20th
century. We
need a systematic approach to foster humanistic values, of oneness and
harmony. If we start doing it now, there is hope that this century will
be different from the previous one. It is in everybody’s interest. So let us work for peace within our families and society, and not expect help from God, Buddha or the governments.”

So what can  I do? I have just one tool at my disposal and that is to sketch. Now two years after the attack, I am still sketching and listening to try and understand.