The Mellow Mushroom always delights.

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If I find myself on the East side of Orlando, with time to kill before sketching an event, I will often go to the Mellow Mushroom, 2015 Aloma Ave, Winter Park, FL. Kathy Blackmore, used to take the 2DAnimatio Full Sail crew to Mellow Mushroom to show her thanks and ask about suggestions for the coming year. We would usually order the Pesto Pizza Pie which had an exotic name like “Cosmic Karma.” Anytime I return, I or do the same pie. As of this December it will be a year since I left Full Sail. My new teaching gig at Elite Animation Academy is more challenging, but I’ m learning as I teach the kids. I’m teaching a course in using Photoshop to design characters and because of that, I’m using a tablet to sketch more often. The first time I used the Cintiq Companion 2, the battery died before the sketch was done. Since then I have discovered some battery saving techniques, and the battery has held on for each sketch session since. My butt usually reminds me when I’ve been sitting and sketching for too long. The battery now outlasts my butt.

Anything Goes Hit Orlando.

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Terry scored some tickets to Anything Goes at the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts in May. Written by Cole
Porter Anything Goes, won
three 2011 Tony Awards including Best Musical Revival and
Choreography! It is touted as one of the greatest musicals in theater history, It was based on
Roundabout Theatre Company’s production, The New York Times hails it a “musical-comedy joy” and USA Today calls it “glorious and exuberant!”

The music was memorable, and there were plenty of big production numbers that includes tap dancing and singing. The score, features some of musical theatre’s most memorable standards, including “I Get A
Kick Out Of You,” “You’re the Top,” and of course, “Anything Goes.” The story however didn’t really grab me. Two unlikely pairs set off on the course to true love, with many obstacles in the way while proving that
sometimes destiny needs a little help from a crew of singing sailors, an
exotic disguise and some good old-fashioned blackmail.

Sketching in a crowded audience is a task I seldom table. Although there was plenty of glitz light and glamour on stage, the house lights were pitch black. The only time I saw the sketch was during intermission and I rushed to finish it before the lights went black again. For the second half of the show I relaxed and simply watched. My attention wandered and I followed one actor, Reno Sweeney,  in the crowd. She seemed to carry the tunes with true gusto. Because everyone had on head mics, my suspension of disbelief was lost however. I just felt that everyone was just going through the motions. My sketch seems equally non-committed.

The Hourglass Brewery features Halloween Art through November

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I went to the Hourglass Brewery, 480 S Ronald Reagan Blvd, Longwood, FL, for the first time about a month ago to sketch the Bloody Jug Band. The place has a nice sized stage and lively atmosphere. The brewery specializes in Artisan ales that are brewed in small batches. The featured beers this month are aStraub Van Graham which is a Strawberry Vanilla Wheat Ale, Pendulum, a coconut Porter, Barista’s Blessing, a nitro vanilla coffee brown ale and Zandloper, a Belgian Blonde.

There was a call for artists on Facebook, so I decided to submit one of my zombie march sketches. On a drive downtown, I heard on the radio that someone had been shot at a zombie convention. I always try and sketch zombie marches when they are in town, but now I’m left to wonder if the guns in in zombie hunter’s belts are real or fake. Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley made an appearance on the Daily Show last night and his primary platform was gun control. He was governor in Maryland and that state outlawed the sales of assault weapons, and background checks along with fingerprints are required when a gun is purchased. He made the point that one terrorist got onto a flight with a bomb in his shoe, and now we all have to take off our shoes and wait in long lines in airports. Yet there are over ten thousand deaths annually because of fire arms. The United States is a joke to developed countries around the world. A taxi driver in Turkey asked why Americans are gunning each other down.

Anyway, if you want to see a zombie apocalypse sketch, head over to Hourglass Brewery and sample one of their home brewed ales. Leave the guns at home.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for October 24th and 25th.

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Saturday October 24,205 

10am to 6pm Free. CF Veg Fest. Orlando Festival Park, East Robinson Street, Orlando, FL.

8 pm to Midnight. Necromancy, A Dark Art Event. Gods and Monsters 5250 International Drive; Suite E8, Orlando, Florida. Necromancy… A dark art event featuring appearances and new original works by artists, Clive Barker, Menton3, Ben Templesmith, David Stoupakis, Chet Zar, Colin Christian, Vaughn Belak, Damien Echols and Stan Darkart. Performances by Defenz Mechanizm

Extensive craft soda and craft & import beer, cider, mead and wine selection in our Offworld L.O.U.N.G.E.18+ after 10pm (After 9pm, please use our exterior side entrance to the right of Shepler’s.)

All day. Free. Sketch Crawl. World Wide event. I will be sketching in NYC. See the Sketch Crawl site for more in formation. http://www.sketchcrawl.com/


Sunday October 25, 2015

Noon to 2pm. Free, but order some food.  Florida Gospel Jam. Fish on Fire 7937 Daetwyler Drive Belle Isle FL. Every 2nd and 4th Sunday.

1pm to 3pm Free. Yoga. Lake Eola Park, 195 N Rosalind Ave, Orlando, FL. Weekly.

9pm to 11pm Free. Comedy Open Mic. Austin’s Coffee, 929 W Fairbanks Ave, Winter Park, FL. Free comedy show! Come out & laugh, or give it a try yourself.

Ciara Shuttleworth’s Farewell Reading

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On May 23rd, Ciara Shuttleworth gave a farewell reading at the Kerouac House 1418 Clouser Ave, Orlando, Florida. Ciara had been a writer in residence, and after her stay in Orlando she went on an extended road trip back out west to her hometown in Washington State. She traveled with a cardboard cut out photo of Jack Kerouac and she took plenty of pictures of him “On the Road.” She was one of the more social and inclusive writers to take up residency at the historic home. She invited several of her writing friends to also read on her final evening in Orlando.

Ciara read a poem about people who are in love with the idea of be in in love. They crave the rush they get when they first become enamored with someone new. In this social media age, I suspect this phenomenon is more common.

As with most readings, there was plenty of wine, and I’m sure that writers gathered on the front porch to discuss literature late into the evening. At an earlier reading I stayed late, and Ciara had suggested that there be an impromptu Karaoke session. I think that I held my own as we followed the lyrics on a cell phone. The music was new to me but I liked it. On the evening of the farewell reading however, I didn’t linger. There had been drama enough during the reading for one evening. The living room was packed full of people. In the back of the room, several people were startled when a large cabinet case rocked with no one touching it. Some felt it might be the ghost of Jack Kerouac making sure no one was complacent.

“the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to
live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same
time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn,
burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders
across the stars.”
– Jack Kerouac “On the Road“

Corsets and Cuties Halloween Burlesque

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Corsets and Cuties will be performing a Halloween Burlesque show at Gods and Monsters, 5250 International Drive; Suite E8, Orlando, Florida, on 

Friday, October 23 at 10:00pm.

The She-Devils of Corsets and Cuties dare you to step out of your comfort zone and feast your eyes on the flesh of the damned.

If you have seen the Cuties perform before, you know to expect the
unexpected. However, the voluptuous beauties are bringing a touch of
the macabre to the stage. Demons, Zombies, and Vampires will titillate
your fancy. But be careful. You may leave your heart behind.

This sketch is from a Corsets and Cuties performance at a BASE Orlando body painting showcase.

In this performance, Barbie Rhinestone shyly took to the stage and sat in the chair. She was in trench coat and she seemed surprised to be surrounded by an audience. Babs shouted from the crowd, “You go girl!  The music kicked in and Barbie made a shy half hearted attempt at shaking her shoulders. The crowds wild, encouragement got her to stand up and use her hips a bit. Then garments were discarded with a sensual flourish while her bright pink hair whipped free. Corsets and Cuties performances are always outlandish and hilarious. 

 
Advance tickets. 
Tickets are $15 at the door.
18+
Please park on the south side of Artegon Mall. Gods & Monsters is located directly behind Sheplers.

TXT performance in Winter Park raised funds for Hannah Miller.

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Performance artist Brian Feldman resides in Washington, D.C. He grew up in Orlando, however, and the first time he performed TXT was at the Kerouac House six years ago. In D.C, he performs TXT weekly. In February of 2010 to protest the ban on gay marriage, Brian let everyone on social media know that he would marry anybody who showed up at the Orange County Courthouse on the set date. Three women showed up on that fateful day and Hannah Miller was one of them. He chose his wife with the spin of a bottle of water he got from a courthouse vending machine; the bottle pointed to Hannah. After the wedding Brian and Hannah went their separate ways, but she made the perfect wife since she firmly believed in the cause of equal rights in marriage. Her interviews were emotional and heartfelt. In January of 2011, Brian and Hannah’s marriage was annulled on the grounds that it was never consummated and they were never in love.

The TXT performance on May 5th at the Winter Park Public Library was a fundraiser for Brian’s ex-wife, Hannah. She has become incapacitated by a neuromuscular disease called Myasthenia Gravis
and a chest tumor that her doctors believe is associated with it. She is a
Multiple Autoimmune Syndrome Type 3 patient, also diagnosed with Grave’s
Disease and Refractory Celiac Disease. Hannah is a fun and creative puppeteer, but like most art forms it can’t pay the insurmountable medical bills. This performance was a fundraiser, with 100% of the proceed going to Hannah.  I emptied my wallet, but I know it is just a small drop in the bucket. Hannah and her boyfriend Jack Fields came to the performance and they sat in the front row. This was the first time I saw how Hannah’s mobility was being limited. Despite the medical setbacks she still manages to joke about her situation.

At a TXT performance the entire audience is asked to take out their cell phones and log into anonymous twitter accounts. They all tweet, and Brian reads every tweet out loud while adding some creative flourishes. I remember that one person thought I was taking notes to report on individual’s deprived rants. People were confused and reluctant at first, but once they understood the premise they embraced the creative flow. 

The Eye is open on International Drive.

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The skeletal structure of “The Eye” is visible from miles away. It is as large as the huge Ferris wheel in London.It is part of a large new development which includes many new stores, restaurants, and an aquarium. When I did this sketch, the eye wasn’t yet completed, but now it has all it’s cars in place and the neon lighting illuminates the structure at night. It is clearly visible from I-4 although it is a quarter mile from the high way The Pirates Cove Adventure Golf course is right next to all the development on International Drive and it was business as usual with families battling with each other for bragging rights. International Drive does tend to showcase an International assortment of tourists. If you sit in one spot for several hours, you will hear languages from around the world.

The water in the lagoons on the course are an u n-natural shade of turquoise even in the cascades of a water fall. I didn’t notice any pirates but their ship had run aground so they must have been either on board, or on the course swilling liquor from the many wooden barrels. Landscaping on the course was immaculate, and there was a steady stream of players.

Underground Vampire Bar brings sexy gore to International Drive.

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I went to the grand opening party for DRIP’s Underground Vampire Bar, 8747 International Dr Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida. Through October 31st, 2015, DRIP Orlando, is creating a safe haven for the Vampires and their human friends. Finally there will be a place in Orlando for Vampires to be themselves, sip “Blood” from the Blood Bar, watch dancers enjoy “Blood” baths, take a “Blood” shower, witness human sacrifices, enjoy live music, and full theatrical show featuring performances in paint, sand, “blood”, flying water and more.

The Underground Vampire Bar will be at DRIP for a limited time in October on International Drive just down the street from the New Orlando Eye.

EXPERIENCE:
Limited Edition Vampire Shirts
Killer Paint Station (Complimentary),
T-Shirt Artists ($5 cutting),
Performance artist in Liquid Blood Bath Hammock.
Special twist on a Full DRIP show featuring vampires, live band, red paint, red sand, dancers, flying water and more!
A theatrical story about eternal love and heartbreak.

I sat at the Blood Bar to sketch and ordered a “Bloodyrita” which [ think was a strawberry Margarita. Since I knew this would be a low light situation, (vampires need low light), I used my Cintiq Companion 2 for the sketch. One thing I missed from a traditional watercolor sketch, was the ability to spatter the page with red paint. The tablet was  perfect to catch the day glow blue of all the white T-shirts in the darkness. I was wearing a dark shirt but the zigzag stitching pattern glowed blue making me look a bit like Charlie Brown. The bar filled up quickly. Once vampires started dancing on the bar, I packed the tablet away since it might be destroyed in the bloodbath. Soon the sexy vampires were offering to pour blood into spectators open mouths. The first female volunteer ended up getting drenched when the entire pitcher was poured on her head.

After the main show, a projector showed a 15 minute count down on the wall. The countdown was for the human sacrifice. At the appointed hour, two female vampires took to the stage and beckoned to a young female volunteer. She might have been a bachelorette, because she was with a rather large crowd of friends. She was a willing victim as she gyrated along with the vampires to the pounding bewitching music. Then she was asked to kneel on the bar top, and the vampires began to bite her delicate wrists and neck. Blood squirted everywhere and pooled on the bar. The crowd went wild as the gory scene unfolded. After the sacrifice, men and women danced in the Interactive Blood Shower.  Everyone had raffle tickets for a DRIP “Bloodeaux” Wine giveaway at 11PM.

DATES! 
Open every Friday and Saturday in October, 2015
Doors and activities start at 8:00PM. Show will start a little after 9PM and will be followed by an afterparty until midnight.

Mark your calendar! Closing Party featuring an after party with “The Bloody Jug Band“: Saturday, 10/31 (Halloween).

More details and tickets. . .

The Blend takes over City Arts Factory

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On May 8th. I went to City Arts Factory to experience The Blend. It was a pop up shop experience that featured local fashion Designers, Painters, Artist, Musicians, Singers and hip hop Lyricist, Producers, and the Orlando media in one creative environment. I focused my attention on the D) who kept the beats coming. Across from me there was free cup cake samples. in a note room, Rihanna, sang a couple of songs. No she wasn’t “the” Rihanna, but she could carry tune. She confided that she should probably change her name.

On the walls were black and White photos the documented the history of hip hop music. Some folks took selfies in front of photos of famous of photos of famous hip hop artists. I did a quick walk around to see the art on the walls. Nothing really stopped me in my tracks.  The Blend is a great idea if you want to mingle and meet some of Orlando’s creatives. I hope this event keeps growing and gains momentum

Today, Saturday October 17th, The Blend Orlando Presents ‘4OXO‘. Aero and The Patio, will host the ultimate relationship building phenomenon from 4pm – 10pm. The attendees will gain knowledge and have access to network in a blended environment with the creative elite in the Orlando. The 6 hour experience will host 2 performance rooms, a fashion pop up shop, live paintings, interviews, Art Auction, Dancers and more. The focus is to create a cultural experience while continuing the growth of instilling the importance of these various platforms in our youth.