Pride, Prejudice & Protest: GLBT History in Greater Orlando.

Posted on October 5, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

October 1, 2016 through January 26, 2017 the Orlando Region History Center presents an exhibit called Pride, Prejudice and Protest: GLBT History in Central Florida. Admission is free on October 8th, the day of the Orlando Come Out with Pride Parade. In the second floor gallery. The history of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) community has been defined by periods of pride, prejudice, and protest. This exhibit from the nonprofit GLBT History Museum of Central Florida shares the progress and setbacks of the Central Florida GLBT community over the past five decades of change.

A rainbow flag circles the room’s walls. The stripes are divided into three sections. The bottom section covers the history of blatant prejudice in Orlando’s laws and actions. The central two stripes cover moments of protest in the GLBT communities attempts to be accepted with equal rights. The top two stripes cover moments of pride, the victories in the ongoing struggle.

Pamela Schwartz was on a ladder putting up rainbow lettering that said, Central Florida GLBT. The second line got tricky as s tried to figure out the correct spacing. Vinyl letters were on sheets of transfer paper. In theory when the paper w rubbed the letters would transfer to the wall. However the job wasn’t as ease as is sounds.

I read one panel which hadn’t been mounted on the wall yet. In 1989 Orlando County Sheriff, Walt Gallagher was fired after an investigation found that he was bisexual. Michael Wanzie decided to stage a Rally against Homophobia at the Constitutional Green in downtown Orlando. The Ku Klux Klan staged a counter protest. It took three years of lawsuits for Walt to eventually get his job back. You would be amazed at how many laws existed that limit who you can love.

There is a secton of the exhibit devoted to Pulse memorial items collected from around the city. Photos of each of the 49 victims are mounted behind candles. The museum staff will keep the candles burning for the duration of the exhibit. The flickering lights will illuminate the faces in a warm glow. Colorful scraps of paper each hold messages of love and remembrance. Many letters and notes left at the memorials were never opened or read until they were collected and preserved.

This is an excerpt from one such letter: “None of you know me, but I know you. I know you as one of the 49 people who were killed in the worst mass shooting in US history. Now all I can do is visit this memorial, pray, and write you this letter. A letter no one, but me will ever read, and I can only hope you feel. You were loved. And you didn’t deserve this. You deserved to live. To fall in love… I am continuously reminded each day that the world doesn’t stop turning. That everyone is still expected to go about their lives. But I can’t. I feel so hopeless and helpless just thinking about how hopeless and helpless you must have felt… I feel like a fraud. Like I’m taking away someone who actually knew your grief. But I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you… I’m so sorry we live in a world that let this happen to you. Forgive us. The weather is beautiful. The sun is shining. The birds are chirping and you are here. You are with us all.

All my love, Bri”

Newtown

Posted on October 4, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

Directed by Kim A. Snyder, this documentary was filmed over the course of nearly three years. It documents the story of the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting. Deeply personal interviews with parents, teachers, siblings, doctors and first responders. Newtown documents a community still traumatized by the senseless killings. The film opens with a surreal slow motion sequence of a small town parade. A pretty baton twirler keeps three batons in motion, the drummers tap their snare drums and the beauty queen sitting on top of a convertible looks over her should and waves at the camera. This is the small town American ideal that is being lost due to gun violence.

December 14, 2012. 154 shots echoed through the Sandy Hook Elementary school’s PA loud speakers. The PA system had been turned on in a last minute effort to send a warning. In moments 20 first grade school children were dead along with 6 teachers and school staff. This was the most children shot to get in American history. A fire station was around the corner from the school and that is where parents gathered, hoping to find their children alive. When the mayor announced the number of children dead. The collective reaction was heart wrenching. An EMT remembered going to the school and the first child had a non life threatening injury. She thought, this is good, I am making a difference, but then the next child’s body arrived. Most children had been shot 3 to 11 times by large assault rifle bullets that are designed to explode once they enter the body. There is no surviving those kind of wounds. As a doctor described the wounds to a council, a woman behind him broke down in tears. In the interview when the EMT mentioned her second patient, she stopped speaking, her face froze and she fought back tears. There were no words that could describe what she saw. She felt anger at the senselessness of it all, and guilt that there wasn’t more she could do.

Mark and Jackie Barden are parents that lost a child that day. They came to the Orlando screening, partly because they have family here, but also because they know Orlando is going through this same collective trauma. The whole community at Sandy Hook is victimized, where do you go to protect and preserve yourself? The foundation has cracked and everyone is uncertain how wide that crack will get. Mark confided, that at 3 months out from the shooting they didn’t deserve to be out in public.

At a town council meeting a parent spoke up, saying “The right to carry a gun is more important than the life of my child. We need to get our priorities straight,” Everyone in the room including the counsel members stood and clapped. However change remains to be seen. Another father yearns to understand his sons final moments as he is being murdered by another child with an AR-15 assault rifle in his first grade classroom. A mother confessed that she is terrified of forgetting what he son looked like. A room full of boxes had hand drawn portraits and gifts from people from around the country and world. She couldn’t bring herself to open the boxes. “I just can’t do that yet.”

The film points to the power of community, and how people came together. Though devastated and fractured, parents began to find a new sense of purpose in trying to stop this from happening again. About 6,000 parents, siblings and activists marched on Washington DC demanding universal background checks on people who buy guns. Congress dragged their feet and the bill was killed. President Obama made a public plea, saying that government can not bring about sensible gun reform, and hopefully the American People can bring about change. No matter what the setbacks are, these parents and activists keep going. From failure comes success, from tragedy comes triumph.

On avenge, 32,000 Americans die every year from gun violence. That means on average 88 people are shot dead every day. The numbers are staggering. A reporter was interviewing a man in war torn Iraq. Homes were bombed out shells and rubble blocked the street. The reporter suggested that the father’s son might find a better life in America. The man responded, “Are you crazy, if my son went to America he would be shot to death.” The entire world considers America’s obsession with guns to be quite insane. One scene in Newtown showed an aerial shot of the Elementary School being destroyed. It is like we are dropping bombs on ourselves here in America. certainly the same wrecking ball awaits Pulse. Jabir Bhatia in a blue turban eloquently voiced his frustration that we in America are unable to bring about sensible change towards peace.

Newtown is opening in NYC on October 8th. On November 2, it is opening in 350 theaters across the country with a live streaming conversation after the film. These open forums are a way for members of the community to finally be heard. The interfaith council discussion after this film went on for well over an hour. An overpowering theme of this conversation was the need for love to overpower hate. It is possible to get involved to stop this violence. We need to open up and meet our neighbors. Isolation is not the answer. The shooters were devoured be hate. What if someone had embraced them? Also, vote. Nevada, California and Maine have gun reform on the ballots. Speak up for those who can no longer speak for themselves.

49 Portraits at Gatlin Creative.

Posted on October 3, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

On September 24th, the 49 portraits of Pulse victims were on display at Gatlin Creative (4940 South Orange Avenue Orlando FL) about a mile south of Pulse. I drove past the club to the opening. A new colorfull banner now covers the fence surrounding the club. I had just screened my short film, “Finger on the Pulse” at the Global Peace Film Festival. Vicki Nantz had allowed me to share the screen with her 18 minute documentary about her feelings after the Pulse tragedy. The screening was at The Gallery at Avalon Island which has a mini theater on the second floor. We held a talk back after the film that went on for over an hour. It seems everyone needed a forum to express the shock, horror and frustrations about how slow change can be. Vicki and her wife have faced open hatred for being lesbians. Someone actually threatened to kill them. Orlando is home to several well known hate groups. Since Pulse, Orlando has made a shift towards being more open and caring but there is still a long way to go. I was shocked to find myself sharing my thoughts and feelings openly in front of the audience. Both Vicki and I both broke down several times as we tried to express what drove us. Vicki invited down a psychologist to help us moderate. Mallory Vance was back a her parents place in the Mid-west and her description of her small town’s reaction, made it clear that the effects of the Pulse shooting are wide spread. Was the community conversation healing? I’m not sure, but I got to share thoughts that have haunted me, and the incredible love and support in the room was palpable.

As I arrived at the 49 Portraits opening, the sky to the west was ablaze in a gorgeous orange glow with huge billowing clouds. Tiffany Windsor was at the entrance collecting the $15 entrance fee. The 49 portraits filled the warehouse space perfectly in a single row hung clothes line style. The warm evening breeze kept the portraits fluttering as if they wanted to take flight. Channel 2 News was shooting footage for the evening news. I spoke to the reporter on camera and then invited another artist, Bob Hague to do the same. A Japanese TV station and UCF TV also showed up.

Cory James Connell age 21, was the first Pulse victim portrait I did. His parents Tara and James Connell came to the opening along with Cory’s grand parents and sisters. I got to meet the entire family and I’m humbled by their outward show of strength. Tara actually invited me to their home. As I worked on Cory’s portrait, a man looking over my shoulder had related details about the young man that brought him alive in my minds eye. I am hoping that the Connell family will also share their memories.

People paused in front of sketches and took photos. I could see some getting choked up and wiping away tears. I wanted to meet them all, but also felt they deserved privacy. A young woman took me to the portrait of a dear friend, Luis Omar Occasion-Capo. This portrait was painted by Mitch Scott. She thanked me for helping keep his memory alive. I also got to meet Wilma and her son. Her son’s father, and her longtime best friend and salsa partner, Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado was drawn by Betsy Brabrandt. Xavier was the first portrait drawn by Betsy in about 25 years. She was a fashion illustrator in NYC, but when she moved to Orlando, her art took a back seat to raising a family. Wilma talked about how Xavier taught her everything she knows about Salsa dancing. She had never danced in heals but Xavier showed her how. She very well could have gone to Pulse that night but she was tired. How is it that the few artists in attendance got to meet the families of the person they drew. There really is some greater force at work.

The money raised from this showing of the portraits is going into framing the pieces.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for October 1st and 2nd.

Posted on October 1, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

Saturday October 1, 2016

11am to 11pm Free. ARTlando 2016. Orlando Loch Haven Park 900 E Princeton St, Orlando, Florida 32803. ONE DAY. ONE FESTIVAL. ALL ART.

MUSIC. DANCE. VISUAL ARTS. FILM. FOOD.

**Art Walk & Competition**

80+ artists cover the lawn, displaying, selling and creating art. Art created on-site will be entered into a competition and thousands given in awards. 100% of revenue from art sales will go directly to the artists.

**Unique Installations and Interactive Exhibits**

This year, participate in the Toyota ‘paint by numbers’ exhibit as we the community paint in a mural from a local artists, covering an entire Toyota with art. Local artists will also be painting Juice Bike racks to be used at Juice Bike locations, a way to display art year-round in Orlando.

**Outdoor Performing Arts Stage**

Orlando’s most prominent performing arts organizations showcase throughout the day and into the night. From Orlando Ballet to Orlando Fringe, programming transitions from kid-friendly in the morning to general audience in the afternoon and acts for mature audiences in the evening as we move into Artlando After Dark, our party in the park.

**Cultural Attractions**

As the host sponsor, Orlando Museum of Art is an integral part of Artlando. The museum provides an air conditioned environment, and houses exhibits from participating galleries.

**Kid’s Zone**

Family-friendly event! Chalk art, balloon animals, live painting & more!

For more information go to www.artlando.com

Free Your Head with AHHA Dance.

Posted on September 30, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

Rokaya Mikhailenko was kind enough to let me sketch a late night rehearsal of Free Your Head. This is her first effort choreographing as AHHADance. It is a joint effort with the Coby Dance Project with a guest artist from Afro-Latin Project. The rehearsal started at 9:15 at The Center for Contemporary Dance on Aloma. I went to a mindful meditation at 7pm to slow down and clear my head. When I arrived at the dance studio they were just about to get started.

The show has a play for 60s vibe mixed wit some surreal Alice in Wonderland trippiness. Cool aid will be served along with M&Ms in pill bottles. The choreography is hip and modern with underlying expressive story lines. In one routine, thin dancer walked up to me and politely suggest that I should read more. Now that I don’t have a TV that is a very reasonable goal. I do read myself to sleep some nights.

Some choreography is playful an joyful. A song about sweet pink elephants had the dancers gesturing toward each other with doll-like mechanical movements. As usually happens with me, I began to follow one dancer’s movements. Though dancers might move in sync, there is often some subtle magic that makes a dancer’s movement purely expressive. There is a mindfulness and purity of intention. That purity manages to shine through even in a rehearsal at the end of a long exhausting day. That is what I like about rehearsals, dancers can fall without ever being concerned about how they will look when they hit the ground. There isn’t the concern of showing off to an audience, there is just the joy of moving in the moment.

AHHA Dance presents their first full evening of
modern dance, with a playful nod to 60’s counterculture. Aliens, go-go
dancers, a rabbit named Lady and more! Expand your mind to free your head. Pre-show at 8 featuring Fat Martha and the Mamalukes
Ages 18+

Free your Head will be performed September 30, 2016 in the Orange Studio, 1121 N Mills Ave, Orlando, Florida 32803. Tickets are $12.

The Mennello Museum Indie-Folkfest.

Posted on September 29, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

The final assignment for the Valentines Day Sketch Tour was for all the artists to explore and sketch the very crowded Mennello Museum Indie-Folk Festival. This was a chance for me to finally get out my own sketchbook. I immediately sat in front of the outdoor stage l sketch The Brown Bag Brass Band. I had just danced the night away several nights before, listening this band at a Mardi Gras celebration at Dexter’s in Winter Park with a friend. We danced to the point of exhilarated exhaustion. That same energy was very much alive at this outdoor performance. Dancing however seemed reserved for the kids.

Indie-Folkfest puts a twist on the Mennello Museum’s traditional Orlando Folk Festival turning it into a Valentine’s Day-themed family folk picnic that features local music, art and food. The museum partnered with East End Market for food, Joseph Martens for the music lineup, as well as local bars to throw a fun-filled picnic in the beautiful Sculpture Garden of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Approximately 3,000 guests, including plenty of dogs and kids, spread out picnic blankets, made Valentine cards and enjoyed a daylong lineup of music against the backdrop of Lake Formosa in the winter sunshine.It was the second annual day dedicated to Music + Art + Picnic + Love.

All the artists gathered back at our lakeside classroom to share our sketches and experiences. Sketching on location always opens the possibilities of meeting someone new or learning something new. It is a way exciting to go out in to the world and do what you love and share it with others. This is the message I keep trying to convey to a new generation of artists. We all posed for a group photo before class was adjourned.

Rock of Ages at the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts.

Posted on September 28, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

Scott A. Cook invited me to sketch a tech, dress rehearsal for Rock of Ages at the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts, (445 South Magnolia Avenue Orlando FL). The sound check took quite some time to balance the levels between the casts head mics and the band. Regina’s mic was not working. The battery had to be replaced but it still didn’t work. She had round glasses, rosy cheeks and long dreads tied neatly behind her. She wore a flowing rainbow striped dress and a long orange crocheted vest. Because she was such a highlight of the sound check, I assumed she must be the heroine of the story. I empathized with her plight of not being heard. The rehearsal covered just part of act two, so I’m not sure how important her story arch is to the overall show. In my mind there should always be more Regina. She reminds me of the 60s movement towards positive change.

Rock of Ages is a rock musical, with a book by Chris D’Arienzo, built around classic rock songs from the 1980s, especially from the famous glam metal bands of that decade. The musical features songs from Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Steve Perry, Poison and Europe among other well-known rock bands. Mixed into this is the story of an aspiring actress who joins a strip club to make ends meet. She wants to develop a back a story for her character and understand her motivation. Her first over acted attempts at being sensual are quite hilarious. The other bored dancers give the costumers exactly what they want (Any Way You Want It) without any effort. Despite her awkward beginnings, the new girl is a natural and she catches the eyes of several sleazy record producers.

A construction foreman plays an important roll in praising the ceaseless construction. In a German accent he shouts, “Isn’t it beautiful?” Two scaffolds are wheeled out and dancers perform scaffholdography, by spinning and then dancing a round the scaffolds. Protesters arrive with signs and there is a squirmish with riot police. Regina is front and center in the protest. So she is the heroine I imagined. She and the entire cast sang a rousing rendition of We’re not Gonna take It and I was humming the song on the long walk back to my car.

Rock of Ages runs from September 28th to October 9th at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Show Dates/Times
WED SEPT 28 – 8PM
THURS SEPT 29 – 8PM
FRI SEPT 30 – 8PM
SAT OCT 1 – 2PM & 8PM
SUN OCT 2 – 2PM & 7PM
TUES OCT 4 – 8PM
WED OCT 5 – 8PM
THURS OCT 6 – 8PM
FRI OCT 7- 8PM
SAT OCT 8 – 2PM & 8PM
SUN OCT 9 – 2PM & 7PM

Rock Of Ages – Ticket Prices:
Tue/Wed/Thu performances: $26.75, $29.75, $32.75
Fri/Sat/Sun performances: $32.75, $35.75, $38.75
There is a 12% DPC handling fee for all online/phone orders.
The 12% DPC handing fee can be avoided by purchasing tickets in person at the DPC Box Office.

Online Tickets: http://bit.ly/2bbTnaU
Box Office: 844.513.2014
Group Sales (8 or more): 407.455.5550 or groups@drphillipscenter.org
Mon-Fri 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sat 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm

GET READY TO ROCK, ORLANDO!
#iwannarock #roatwf2016 #roapartytrain #orlandosbiggestpartyever

Valentines Day Sketch Tour notes.

Posted on September 26, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

These are thumbnail studies made at the Valentines Day Sketch Tour. Kelly Medford from Rome was offering advice on making simple value studies. I used a blunt black colored pencil to quickly fog in some grey valves and line work. Although the exercise wasn’t about color, I couldn’t resist adding a few watercolor washes. The color swatches were added to show the colors available with the palette we gave each student. First a thick swatch us added with plenty of pigment. Then the color was thinned with to of water to show how light values cool be achieved. Our lakeside classroom felt a be in like a Colosseum with the gentle arch of the shoreline.

After all the mornings sketches, we all took a lunch break an found food from vendors in the Mennello Museum’s Folk Festival. After lunch it was my turn to inspire artists to try and populate their sketches. I posed and the had several students pose to give everyone an idea of how to quickly block in a figure. Then I explained one and 2 point perspective and had student create a for grid plane. They then took the figure studies the Did and added them to the grid plane. Large figures were is the foreground and small figures were is the background. Then we all explored the crowded Folk Festival, with the objective to incorporate as mane figures in one sketch as was possible. We agreed to return to our quiet lakeside classroom to share the results.

Valentines Day Sketch Tour.

Posted on September 25, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

On Valentines Day, Kelly Medford, a plein air painter from Rome came to Orlando and co-hosted a Valentines Day Sketch Tour at the Mennello Museum Museum of American Art. The Mennello Museum was having it’s annual Folk Festival. All the artist met by the lake close to the foot bridge.

We gave each artist a Strathmore Sketchbook, a travel sized watercolor palette, a pencil, pen and water brush. Kelly began the morning by introducing the supplies and getting everyone started doing Blind contour drawings. From there we started doing simple thumbnail studies. It was nice to sit back and be a student again. I did these two sketches using just watercolor washes followed by minimal line. I usually finish the whole drawing in line be for I start adding watercolor, so this was a liberating departure. of course with more time, I could refine and ad detail, but I like the freshness of splashing watercolor first. My challenge now is finding ways to mix larger puddles of color to cover more of the sketch at once. I’m considering just using a bowl as a palette.

We had a good crowd of artists show up for the day. It is wonderful to see everyone unique approaches. The Folk Festive was just setting up as we were doing these sketches. You can see the first tents popping up just on the on the other side of the wrought iron fence. All of these loose instructional sketches were shared with everyone in the workshop online. I will not post them all on this site. There are far to many events and news to report on.

Sketch Orlando Workshop at Lake Eola.

Posted on September 24, 2016February 7, 2022 by Thor

I co-hosted a sketch outing with Greg Bryla, a Senior Landscape Architect at Dix.Hite + Partners. Viviana Castro
and Kristen Koehnemann helped organize the event. Every artist that attended, got a small travel size watercolor palette, sheets of watercolor paper, a pencil and water brush. We all met outside the Eola House (512 E. Washington St, Orlando, FL). The newly formed Orlando Urban Sketcher’s group joined with landscape architects for a morning of sketching a the Lake Eola Farmers Market. We met in the open field next to the Eola House and all the supplies were placed a folding table for artists to pick up. A bicycle cop stopped by and told us the table wasn’t allowed in the park, so it was broken down and supplies went on the ground. Artists are all about breaking rules.

Greg and I gave short talks about how to catch a quick scene in a sketch. Then we all scattered to do a 20 minute sketch. I usually take an hour to two hours to complete my sketches so I really had to pick up the pace. Luckily the sheet of watercolor paper was small allowing for just a quick thumbnail study. I focused on the BBQ guy setting up for the morning. He had to stoke the fire and put out all his wares. I just sketched him over a over again to populate the scene. There was only enough time to throw in a few light washes before heading back to the base camp.

We all placed our sketches on the lawn to see what worked and what might need improvement. It is always wonderful to see how different and unique each sketch is. Variety is who makes sketching so exciting. Two artiss couldn’t draw the same scene the same way if they tried. Each sketch involves millions of decisions that make each sketch unique. Any advice is just a guiding suggestion. I would never want to change the way an artist interprets a scene. Instruction is just a way to help artists truly see. Most of sketching is patience and perseverance.

Then it started to rain, so we all ran to World of Beer (431 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL) where we sipped beers and sketched on the outside patio. I sketched the artists on the couches refining their sketches. The shower was short lived, just long enough to down one beer and pay up. The landscape architects had one more surprise up their sleeve. Across the lake they had a table set up with a delicious Polynesian pulled pork lunch spread. I must say that landscape architects really know how to organize a sketch outing. Remnants of the Pulse memorial items still surrounded the lake. There were tons of candle holders and dead flowers everywhere. Had it not rained this emotional refuge would have certainly been the topic of my sketch. A bicycle cop once again stopped to inform us that it is illegal to serve food in the park. The table was broken down and the buffet was dropped in the grass. Once again the artist, anarchists were caught trying to picnic in the park. After the mass murder of 49 people I would think the police might have loftier goals.