WeekendTop 6 Picks for February 4th and 5th.

Posted on by Thor

Saturday February 4, 2017

9am to 5pm Free All weekend. 42nd Annual Mount Dora Art Festival. Downtown Mount Dora.

 6pm to 8pm Free. Dr. Deborah Willis Talk. Rollins College 1000 Holt Ave, Box 2720, Winter Park, Florida 32789. This lecture, at Rollins College, is in conjunction with the ‘Posing Beauty in African American Culture’ exhibition at Snap! Space (on view January 13 through February 11) curated by Dr. Deborah Willis.

Professor Deborah Willis is a theorist and historian of African American photography, as well as a photographer herself. Dr. Willis is chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and has an affiliated appointment as Professor with the College of Arts and Sciences, Africana Studies. She has been the recipient of Guggenheim, Fletcher, and MacArthur fellowships, the Infinity Award in Writing from the International Center for Photography, and recipient of the Anonymous Was a Woman Foundation Award. Named one of the “100 Most Important People in Photography”.

PLEASE NOTE : Eventbrite ticket does not guarantee entrance. This is a free event, eventbrite helps us to gauge numbers. We recommend that you arrive early, as entrance will be granted according to arrival and capacity. Thank you!

Free admission. Tickets

7pm to 10pm $35 Trash2Trends. Ports of Call Sea World 7007 Seaworld Drive, Orlando, Fl 32821. Trash 2 Trends is a Keep Orlando Beautiful, Inc fundraiser that brings
the fashion and art of local artists together with the environmental
community to promote sustainability in an innovative way. The show
features local designers who create runway looks from items headed to
the landfill. A complimentary dessert and coffee bar will be provided
during intermission for all guests. Must be 18 or older to attend.

Sunday February 5, 2017

10am to 4pm Free.  Lake Eola Farmers Market.  South East corner of Lake Eola Park.

7pm to 9pm Free. Erotic Poetry Night V: Smut, Actually. Vinyl Arts Bar 75 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, Florida 32801. The Drunken Odyssey presents its annual live show of erotic poetry, erotic prose, amorous thoughts, and smut, this year in the posh bohemian confines of Vinyl Arts Bar.

The Drunken Odyssey All Stars will feature

Naomi Butterfield

Ephraim Scott Sommers

Diane Turgeon Richardson

Wilson Santos

Stephanie Rizzo

Brian Downes

Rachel Kohlman

Teege Braune

Lisa Roney

Madison Strake Bernath

& your host, John King.

7:30pm to 9:30pm Free. Helena – contemporary vocal ensemble. The Timucua Arts white house 2000 S Summerlin Ave, Orlando, Florida 32806. A sisterhood of six of Central Florida’s most dauntless singers, Helena is an ensemble committed to irradiating gems from all genres of vocal music.

Helena will be performing choral and vocal works by David Childs, Gwynneth Walker and John Prine, among others. They will also perform Libby Larsen’s song cycle Try Me Good King, in collaboration with pianist Lynn Peghiny Mells.

Memorial for Master Sgt. Debra Clayton, Shot Jan 9, 2017.

Posted on by Thor

Markeith D. Loyd accused of killing his pregnant ex-girlfriend last month,  shot Sgt. Debra Clayton multiple times when she confronted him outside a Walmart near the Pine Hills area west of Orlando, police said. Loyd then fled the scene. After a massive manhunt, Loyd has finally been captured.

Debra’s police cruiser has been Parked on the sidewalk in front of Police Headquarters surrounded by black tape as a memorial. Flowers were left on the wind shield and in the first days driving by I noticed large for are wreaths. The car was covered in graffiti one night but the next day Police had it spic and span again. The re was graffiti on , retaining wall I sat next to as I did this sketch. It said, “God Bless U R in our prayers. Much Love.” People need to write when faced with death.

The cruiser was defaced just one day after Debra’s accused killer appeared in court. The blue marker graffiti didn’t offer condolences and flowers from on the hood were knocked to the ground. Police officials said they hope the incident, which happened sometime
overnight, was caught on video, adding that an investigation is
underway.

Lilian Verkins Atmospheres at Lake Eustis Museum of Art.

Posted on by Thor

The Lillian Verkins Atmospheres opening was on January 6, 2017 at the Lake Eustis Museum of Art, (1 W Orange Ave, Eustis, FL 32726). Opened in 1995, the Lake Eustis Museum of Art exhibits historic,
contemporary artwork from local, regional, and national sources. LEMA is
the first art museum in Lake County dedicated wholly to visual art.

Several dozen canvases  hung on the walls of the rooms in the small museum. I suspect the back room overlooked the lake, but since it was pitch dark, the water couldn’t be seen. I asked Lillian an the curator if it was alright to sit on a center bench and sketch. They were both open to the idea. The curator even fell that carrying a sketchbook should be every artists goal.

The Atmospheres consisted of bold loose brushwork that seemed to define clouds and storm formation in other – worldly environments. At times the skys seemed to ignite on fire. Some canvases also featured square patches of color that floated above the tempestuous cloud formations. I n the ca room there we a few smaller pieces that were more representational. They were priced to sell, and several did.

Atmospheres remains on display through February 4th.

Mystery Sketch Theater at Falcon Bar.

Posted on by Thor

Mystery Sketch Theater is a live figure drawing session that
takes place once a month, on the first Thursday of the month at an
awesome artsy bar and gallery called The Falcon (819 E. Washington
Street, Orlando, FL 32801). The cost is just $5 which goes to the model. The models are superheroes, burlesque performers, retro housewives, belly dancers, drag queens! It’s a hoot! About a dozen artists will show to sketch quick one minute poses to start and gradually work up to longer 20 minute poses. I like to sketch the artists at work as well as the model. One artist brought in his dog, and they sketched from their spot on the floor.

The next Mystery Sketch Theater Presents, Sunny Cummings. She is a yoga instructor so expect to see some super human flexibility.

We provide you the most ravishing, exotic and fascinating models our
fair city and beyond can provide. Elaborate costumes, fabulous makeup,
and amazing personalities. On that note…if you have a pair of fishnets
or a sequined bra, you might want to contact us for modeling
opportunities. We’ll pamper and worship you.

Artists of all
skill levels and occupations are welcome to come. Even non-artists who
just want to hang out, get their geek on and have a good time with good
people are more than welcome too. Artists are asked to pay a small fee
of $5 for the evening to help cover costs for running the event. Oh, did
I mention we have contests? Silly! Ridiculous contests! With prizes!

First Thursday of the month, every month from 8-10 PM! Come early to
get a great seat and snag a drawing table before they’re all spoken for!

The Corsets and Cuties 2nd Annual Amateur Contest & Holiday Kick Off.

Posted on by Thor

 I was invited to a Corsets and Cuties dress rehearsal on Wednesday 8-17 at The Venue (511 Virginia Dr, Orlando, FL 32803) from 8pm to 10pm. It was three months since the Pulse shooting, and the venue was richly decorated with rainbows, and an Orlando Rising banner. Even as performers stripped, the banner reminded one, to never forget.

The Corsets and Cuties performers always bring lively tongue in cheek humor to their performances. Laughter, set them apart from other burlesque troops I have sketched. Rainbow skirts flew off of hips and fluttered to the floor. This see me an appropriate way to honor the spirits  of the young men and women who were dancing and celebrating life when insanity cut their lives short.

The next Corsets and Cuties performance is the 2nd Annual Amateur Contest & Holiday Kick Off, on November 18th. Doors open at 9 pm. Tickets are $18 in advance, and $20 at the door. The Cuties are opening the show, and then inviting contestants to the stage for audience votes. The audience chooses the winner who
earns their place as the Cuties guest star in our Spring Show! Then the Cuties
take over to kick off the holiday season!

There will be Madness # 5 – A Flash Fiction Slam.

Posted on by Thor

There will be Madness  # 5 – A Flash Fiction Slam was held at The Gallery at Avalon Island (37 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, Florida 32801). Eight writers faced off head to head in three rounds and there was only one winner.

Jessie Bradley was the MC. What does it take to compete?

1 – No greater than 250 word story for the first round

2 – No greater than 500 word story for the second round

3 – No greater than 1000 word story for the final round

The last writer standing will received a copy of both There Will Be Words chapbooks for 2016.

In this town where poetry readings are a dime a dozen, it is nice to let some prose develop characters and plot. The best part: the audience decided who wins each round (which means, feel free to bring as many friends as possible to help rig the competition in your favor). I felt that my vote counted. Only take eight writers could compete. To sign up, e-mail twbwsubmissions@gmail.com or on the invite page. The show started around 7:00. Connie Cassia Heinz took home the grand prize.

Jim Helsinger discusses Angel Action Wings

Posted on by Thor

In Abraham Lincoln‘s Inauguration speech, he said   “We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory will swell when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.”This quote inspired Jim Helsinger to create Angel Action Wings after the Pulse tragedy. As he said, “Moises Kaufman wrote ‘The Laramie Project’, about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, what could I do?” When members of a Baptist hate group said they would protest at funerals of the victims of the Pulse shooting, here in Orlando, Jim had to act.

The Orlando Shakespeare Theater and
the Angel Action Wings Project teamed up to create
massive PVC frame, and white linen angel wings in the hopes of blocking the 40-member
“church” group and their hate-filled signs, the dumbest being “God Hates Fags.” Thanks to donations, the
Orlando Shakespeare Theater built each of the angel ensembles in
their costume shop.  There was much confusion on social media about weather the hate group would actually show up, but Jim went with a gut feeling and had the wings built anyway. At a funeral, singing and the angel wings blocked the protesters who did get a permit to protest.

After that initial success some one suggested that 49 Angel wings should be built. Although he as in Colorado, he spearheaded the effort from there. Volunteers from Disney filled the Shakespeare scenic shop completing the wings with incredible speed. After a Pulse theater community event at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts the 49 Angels marched outside the theater surrounding the large memorial that was in the plaza. A light drizzle accompanied their somber candle light march, but when they stood in silent vigil the rain stopped and a light breeze aired their wings. People exiting the theater where overwhelmed be the sight.

Theater has a way of framing grief. When in a dark theater surrounded by an audience, we realize that we are not alone. If others survive then I can as well. We do not live in a vacuum. 20 years ago Orlando was a conglomerate of corporations. In the last fire years, little theaters and restaurants have found a home here. Orlando’s reaction and response to the Pulse tragedy is something to be proud of. We as a community will embrace gays, Latinos, and immigrants.

Jim grew up in Ohio and has shot guns. He believes in the second amendment, but if an individual is on a watch list, or has been denied a flight license, then why can he buy an assault rifle? In Newtown a young boy could walk into an alimentary school and shoot children. Nothing has changed. People need to accept their differences. There needs to be religious and racial tolerance. We need to change the culture of violence to a culture of love.

The 49 wings were just transferred to the Center which will decide how and when the wings will be used in the future. This will allow Jim to refocus his energies on running the Shakespeare Theater. They were just worn in the recent gay pride parade, where thousands
cheered as the angels glided down Orlando’s downtown streets. The angel wings need to keep flying.

Weekend Top 6 Picks January 28th and 29th.

Posted on by Thor

Saturday January 28, 2017

9am to 5pm. Free. Renningers Steampunk and Industrial Show. Renningers.Mount Dora FL. ARE YOU READY……5th Year for
Renninger’s Steampunk & Industrial Show…time flies when you
travel….we are planning the best Steampunk Show for our Time Travelers
October 15 & 16, 2016 from 9AM – 5PM Admission is FREE, Parking is
FREE…over 100 vendors with fabulous finds created and specially
collected for this event….music performed by some of the best
“Steampunk” musicians, Cog is Dead, Clockwork Knotwork, Sideshow
Drummer, Florida Tribal Dance, Jig to a Milestone, John Babcock, all
hosted by Phantasmagoria….delicious
food including “High Tea”…and the 3rd Annual Splendid Teapot
Race…steampunk horse & carriage rides, magic, giant kaleidoscope,
Best Dressed Award, and all the special sights and sounds when Victoria
and Albert collide with the Industrial Age!

Noon to 3pm Free.  USk Chinese New Year Sketchcrawl. Wat Florida Dhammaram of Kissimmee,FL 2421 Old Vineland Rd, Kissimmee, Florida 34746. Urban Sketchers International is going global on January 28th in celebrating the Chinese New year, Lunar year and highlighting the Asian culture.
We – the Orlando Urban Sketchers – are going to be there too! taking part in this Worldwide sketchcrawl Event! The participating USk chapters so far are: São Paulo; Singapore; Boston; Orlando; Japan; Hong Kong; Melbourne; Sydney; Beijing; Seattle ; Canberra; Los Angeles; Kuala Lumpur; Taiwan; Austin; Gran Canaria; Fredericksburg, VA; Raleigh; Cleveland; Charleston, SC; Cairns, AUS; Ilocos; Kuching, Malaysia; Waterloo Region, Canada and NYC.

We checked around town for local celebrations or the best location to highlight this amazing culture and found this gem nestled among Kissimmee countryside not too far from Lake Buena Vista.

The Wat Florida Dharmmaram Buddhist Temple will provide an exciting challenge to us sketchers. Bring on your gold and red paints, markers, pens or pencils, your sketchbook and your curiosity.
Gather your sketching friends to make this a terrific Worldwide sketchcrawl event!

Let us share with the World our take of this global event.
Post your sketches on Facebook at;
Urban Sketchers (group)
and at
Orlando Urban Sketchers (group)
or Instagram at #urbansketchers and
Instagram at #urbansketchersorlando

If you will be busy celebrating the holiday with friends and family, any sketch reflecting your special traditions would be a lovely way to share art about the beginning of a New Year! 

There is a meditation class at the Temple right after our sketching session if any of you wish to join. 3:00 to 5:00 pm directed by Than Chao Khun Sunan, Abbot of the Wat Florida Dhammaram.

8:30am to Midnight $25 DRIP 80’s Night. DRIP 8747 International Dr Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida. Grab your legwarmers and head over to DRIP! We’re taking it back to the raddest decade in history – the 80s! Come re/discover some of the greatest fashion statements and musical influences of the time. Neon Paint Bar, 80s themed drink specials, dance party, Tye-Dye station, full DRIP show, classic movies, and a Thriller dance along! Squeeze into spandex and layer on that aquanet for a special discount ticket ($25)!

Doors Open at 8 PM
Age Requirement: 18+


January 29, 2017

10am to 4pm Free. Lake Eola Farmers Market. South East corner of Lake Eola Park, Orlando, FL, United States. 

Noon to 3pm Donation. Music at the Casa Violinist Lisa Ferrigno & Friends. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789.

2pm to 4pm Free. Yoga. Lake Eola Park, 195 N Rosalind Ave, Orlando, FL near red pagoda. Every week.

Mary Tyler Moore died at age 80.

Posted on by Thor

Mary Tyler Moore was born on Dec. 29, 1936, in Brooklyn Heights. After
living in Queens and Brooklyn, her family moved to California when she
was 8. Her father, George Tyler Moore, a clerk, and her mother, the
former Margery Hackett, were both alcoholics and, Ms. Moore often said,
imperfect parents. The eldest of their three children, Mary would
outlive both her sister, Elizabeth Moore, who died of a drug and alcohol
overdose in 1978, and her brother, John Hackett Moore, who

died of
cancer in 1992 after Ms. Moore had assisted him in an unsuccessful
suicide attempt. died at the age of 80 on January 25, 2017, Greenwich, Connecticut. Her family said her death, at Greenwich Hospital, was caused by cardiopulmonary arrest after she had contracted pneumonia.

Back in art school, I arranged to get a press pass to Beverly Sills retirement dinner. I followed the flock of reporters shooting photos which I later used to complete a series of sketches about the evening. Held in a hotel in Central Park South) the evening was glamorous. For a student illustrative journalist, it was pure magic.

I loved Mary Tyler Moore. I knew her mostly as the spunky female reporter on her signature show, “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” broadcast from 1970 to 1977, it was produced by both Ms. Moore and her second husband, Grant Tinker, who later ran NBC and who died on Nov. 28, 2017. She went on to more serious fare, including an Oscar-nominated role in
the 1980 film “Ordinary People” as a frosty, resentful mother whose son
has died.I always admired that performance that reminded me of people in my own life.

When I landed a dream job while in NYC, I threw my hat up in the air just as Mary did at the  intro to every show. There was always a poised quality to Mary. During the gala she wore a gorgeous dark gown with huge billowing sheaves. I had never seen or sketched anything like it.

Ugly Beauty at the Morse Museum.

Posted on by Thor

 

The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, (445 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789) hosted a documentary film series at lunch times once every few weeks about Art. This particular screening was about Ugly Beauty. Art critic Waldemar Januszczak argued that beauty is still to be found in modern art. Modern artist Damien Hurst made headlines and tons of money selling a great white shark in a glass case full of formaldehyde to a wealthy stock broker in the 1980’s. This was considered ugly and tasteless by many. Waldemar pointed out that such art depicting death have occurred throughout art history. In the sketch depicted a still life done by Rembrandt of a cow carcass.

Has beauty disappeared from modern art? Several influential modern
thinkers insist that it has. And this belief has inspired them to
publish a clutch of recent books which claim that modern art is no
longer capable of capturing true beauty: that beauty has gone from art.  Art critic Waldemar Januszczak fiercely disagreed, believing that great art is as interested in beauty as ever.

Beauty in modern art often has to do with the sterile and pristine open spaces where the art is exhibited. The museum itself becomes the source of calming reflection instead of the art. The world today needs beauty more than it has ever needed it, and modern art is one of its few suppliers.