Grinder

Posted on by Thor

Back in January of 2025 payment was made to have this giant six foot high root ball ground down. Paul the tree service guy, said he needed to gang up several jobs since he needed to rent the root grinder for the job.

The job was rescheduled so many times it is hard to count. On May 9th the job was finally begun. The job was begun at the height of the hottest point of the day. Paul had two assistants. One moved wood chips aside once in a while while the woman sprayed the root ball with water to keep it from igniting from all the friction of the ginder.

The grinder worked differently than I thought it might. I thought it would grid horizontally from top to bottom like a record turntable. Instead it was more like a circular saw and it would be rotated horizontally along the tree stump that was lying on the ground. It made quite a racket and wood chips flew everywhere.

The workers surrounded the air conditioner unit with a piece of plywood and a garbage can. The goal was to keep wood chips from flying into the AC unit.up. Surrounding the AC Unit as they did however ended up cutting off air flow to the unit and the house started to heat up. Time was spend messing with the air conditioner control panel, but cool air didn’t flow again until the obstructions were removed.

Work was stopped when a huge rain storm rolled in. The one rain barrel I had st up filled almost instantly and started to overflow. Gutters clogged with dirt despite all the attempts I made to keep pine needles and dirt from getting to the downspouts. I took pictures of the lake that instantly formed in the back yard. The hope is to fill inn the lowest sections of the yard with mulch. Conveniently the stump grinding job left behind quite a bit of mulch which just needs to be shoveled to other lowest sections of the yard. It is a hard job best done in the early morning of evening as it cools off.

Toyota Dealership

Posted on by Thor

The “Needs Service” warning light turned on in my Prius. I figured it would mean a quick oil change to reset. I stopped by the Orlando Toyota Dealership around noon and I was still sketching two hours later.

Granted there was an oil change of 5 quarts, but then there were so may other adjustments. Tire pressure was checked, and there was a multi point inspection. The engine air filter was replaced, The cabin air filter was replaced, the evaporator core was cleaned, an engine induction was performed, there was a fuel induction flush, and a brake fluid exchange, the coolants were exchanged and there was and there was a 4 point tune up.

The guy seated right in front of me earned a visit directly by the mechanic working on his car. The mechanic showed the client a video of his engine running and it was running real rough. The woman seated in front of him was on the h=phone with her sister discussing family history.

I started this sketch drawing the woman seated at the high top table. She was entertained for well over an hour watching whatever she had playing on her phone. During the course of the sketch, people came and went.

When I picked up my car it was very clean. The wheel rims were more clean than I have ever seen. The drive back was smooth and braking was smooth as well. I’ll be driving to Orlando every day during Fringe, so it is good that the car is in the best shape possible. I will probably be teaching out of the Prius as well during Fringe using my phone as a hot spot. I am sketching and endless stream of shows and will only stop to walk back to the car and offer a class. Hopefully that will all work out.

Waiting

Posted on by Thor

I got sick right after attending a graduation ceremony in an arena filled with 10,000 spectators. I stood in the nose bleed section with my back too a wall so no one would be breathing down my neck, but someone in my section had a respiratory virus and I caught it.

I suspect what I have is RSV or the flu. I still have a lingering cough. I went to Doctor Angle Ho on Mills Avenue today and she prescribed two medications that she says will knock down the effects of the infection. One is Benzonatate and the other is Oseltamivir phosphate.

Benzonatate is a prescription cough suppressant. It calms your cough reflex to help prevent coughing for three to eight hours after taking a dose. My cough has died down so I might not need this right away.

Oseltamivir an oral anti-viral drug approved for the treatment of acute, uncomplicated influenza in patients whose flu symptoms have not lasted more than two days.

So the sketch above was started in the doctors waiting room which was completely empty. That is why there is a medical Caduceus on the TV screen. I only stated blocking in the lines of the empty waiting room when I was called back. I was weighed, my blood pressure was taken and then a sonogram was used to take my pulse in my ankles. I’m not sure what my ankle pulse had to do with my chronic cough but hey, I’m not the doctor. The doctor never determined exactly what virus I had.

Since the doctors visit had flown by so fast, I decided to go to my Toyota dealership since my Prius has had a warning light on for the past month or so. I stated drawing right on top of the unfinished doctors waiting room sketch. Both scenes were using 1 point perspective so in many ways the two scenes lines up. I started the dealership drawing because I was fascinated with a woman who seemed to be wrestling with her hair. Eventually her friend helped her get the knot into some semblance of a workable form.

I managed to finish this sketch with plenty of time to spare before mechanics decided to make any assessment of what work they might want to do on my Prius. The sketch is a sloppy artists version of a double exposure. I had to rush back to the Lake County studio to teach several online art classes. With the long commute I was running late. The dealership got me a free rental but regardless I was going to be late for class.

Princess and the Pea Bed

Posted on by Thor

By Thomas Thorspecken

The studio I am renting in Lake County Florida already had a bed frame and mattress. Since I have a mattress and box spring, I simply stacked them all on top of one another. To get into bed I have to step onto my flat file and then roll on in.

When I had my surgery several months ago that neutered me sexually, my sister came to the studio to be sure there were no horrible side effects. We agreed that I shouldn’t be performing a high jump to get into bed so she slept in the Princes and the Pea bed.

My sister is a bit older than I am and it took some coaching to convince her it was easy to get up into the bed. Once she was up for the first time, she felt more comfortable. Getting out of bed is far more easy, you just slide off the ledge and end up in a standing position. She enjoyed the process of getting out of bed, it makes the morning routine more of an adventure.

I work all day at my Disney desk, or out on location sketching. I just return to the bedroom to collapse and sleep. Drawings and art keep stacking up on top of the flat files. The stack hasn’t reached the ceiling yet so there is plenty of room for more art. To do this sketch I sat in a small reclining chair that I was using for the first time. It has a back massage settings, but I turned that off while sketching since it would have been distracting.

My life is in a strange limbo right now, so there is no reason to unpack every storage crate. Everything might go into storage in an instant, or I might commit to finding a home/studio of my own. I am committed to renting the Lake County Studio through the end of May. In June I need to decide where “home” might be. I have been working non stop since I got here and haven’t had the time to discover the local arts scene. Home could be anywhere I decide to start sketching next. My life could literally turn in any direction. I have no ties. I am a tumbleweed.

Farmers Market day

Posted on by Thor

After my adventure sketching the UCF Arena filled with 10,000 people, my throat started to get scratchy and I developed a cough. I am certain that graduation ceremony was a superspreader event. I would usually have a mask on hand but I had to use a smaller bag because security had a definite size limitation on bags going into the arena, and the mask was left behind in the original art bag.

I was shocked when I arrived at the arena and I could literally not find a seat. The day after the graduation ceremony I could not get out of bed. I was running a fever, and I shivered under my Pulse Quilt.

I tested for COVID and thankfully the test came up negative. I tested again this morning and again the test came up negative. I just have a very bad cold.

A friend wanted to go to Websters market where farmers offer fresh produce. I didn’t want to give my friend the cold, so at first we considered taking out two cars. Then we thought it would be safe if we both wore KN-95 masks. We had a wonderful time shopping at the market. I found some socks which were much needed since many of my socks are developing holes in the heals. I also found a wonderful wide brim hat that will keep the sun off my neck when I an sketching outside.

Despite our efforts to social isolate and wear masks, my friend also got the cold.

The sketch above is of some of the loot we got at an absolute bargain. It isn’t a very developed sketch since I felt exhausted. Once the sketch was done, I collapsed into bed.

UCF Graduation

Posted on by Thor

My friend and I had a perfect plan for getting to the UCF Graduation at the Addition Arena (12777 Gemini Boulevard North Orlando Florida). I had to teach a virtual class until 6PM and the ceremony would begin at 6:30PM. The commute from Lake County would mean I would be far too late getting to the Arena.

My friend let me teach at her art studio which was about 5 miles off campus. We packed her electric pink scooter and my red mountain bike in the back of her car. She would scoot and I would bike to the arena from the art studio.

As I was starting class, she was steaming wrinkles out of her graduation gown and a beautiful shawl with an multi national flags. It was a magnificent sketch opportunity, but I was drawing cartoon characters with my student.  The full regalia looked amazing. Draped over her shoulders was a shawl and hood which signified her accomplishment as a master. Doctorates of which there were a few, could raise those hoods after graduating. There was a religiousness to the ceremonial customs. I stepped away from the class for just a moment to shoot an iPhone photo of my friend in front of the SVAD studio sign.

Then she took off on her pink scooter. With her long hair and graduation gown sleeves flapping, she said she felt like she was flying like a witch to the arena. She got compliments as she got close, from people who felt her mode of transportation was a perfect alternative to battling the long line of cars trying to crush into parking garages. She locked her scooter to a light pole near a Barnes and Noble and sent me a picture along with the code for the lock. I was going to lock my bike to the same pole.

When my class was over I excitedly got my mountain bike out of the back of the car. I had just repaired the bike and replaced an inner tube. I had tested the bike for several days by biking around the neighborhood. When I got on the bike and tried to peddle for the first time, I heard a strange crushing noise and the bike barely rolled. I looked down and was shocked when I saw that the back tire was completely flat. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH! A long stream of expletives gushed out of me. I had fixed flats on two other bikes as well, but those were sitting back in Lake County. I considered riding the bike with the flat but I would have destroyed the rim.

There was only one choice. I had to hike to the Arena. I was wearing a nice yellow suit shirt and tie and my black leather dress shoes. I had used my phone as a hot spot so I could teach the class and my phone battery was very low. I looked at Google maps briefly, turned it off to save the battery and started clomping my way towards the arena. It was hot. There are many streams and natural alcoves along the route. I looked down at my dress shoes as I walked and discovered the soul at the tip of my left shoe had flapped open. I cursed and ripped the flapping soul away.

When I got to the arena the ceremony was well under way with introductions and a guest speaker at the podium. My friend’s family was somewhere in the crowd but there was no way to find them. As the Star Spangled Banner played I was searching for a seat. I was searching on house right for a place to plant myself but a guard explained that all the seating over there was for people who had paid extra for suites. I searched in each section but never saw a single seat unoccupied. I ultimately went to the nose bleed section and stood in a back aisle in front of the lighting and sound booth.

I started to sketch the 10,000 guests and all the graduated on the court. My friend was up in the front rows of the house right phalanx of the Masters Graduates. I couldn’t pick out her multi national flags. I was searching for a grain of sand on a beach. I did see her on the postage stamp sized jumbo tron when her name was called and she picked up her degree. I let out a guttural yell and turkey call like I had heard at the Cacao dance. I am so glad I went to the ceremony. There was a visceral, vibrant energy to the crowd.

Notre-Dame Basilica

Posted on by Thor

Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in the historic Old Montreal District of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. It faces the Place d’Armes Square.

In 1657, the Roman Catholic church arrived in Ville-Marie, now known as Montreal; six years later, the domain of a lord of the island was vested in them. They ruled until 1840.

the parish church of Notre-Dame was built on the site in 1672. By 1824 the congregation had completely outgrown the church, and James O’Donnell, an Irish-American Anglican from New York City, was commissioned to design the new building, with a goal of accommodating a congregation of up to 10,000.

The primary construction took place between 1824 and 1829. The cornerstone was laid at Place d’Armes on September 1, 1824. The sanctuary was finished in 1830, and the first tower in 1841, the second in 1843. O’Donnell designed the towers to be traditionally Gothic, and intended for them to be seen from any point in the city.

Any time I am in a new historic city I love to sketch a church that reflects that history. Montreal has incredible food and amazing historic architecture. It was a beautiful place to sketch.

In the historic Old Montreal district, has charming cobblestone streets, 17th and 18th-century architecture. I went on a ghost tour that also helped outline some of the districts history. The Montreal Museum of Archaeology and History,  showed excavations of what lay below the ancient city streets. The actual walls of the old city can be seen in the excavations. It was possible to get lost in the mysterious catacombs.

Preserving History

Posted on by Thor

I went to Montreal, Canada where the Pam Schwartz, director of the Orange County History Center gave a talk about preserving history after the Pulse Nightclub shooting tragedy where 49 people were murdered in a mass shooting.

The Pulse Nightclub and the Doctor Phillips Center for the Performing Arts became locations where people went to leave memorial items and flowers.

Rather than allow all those items end up in landfills, the Orange County History Center mobilized to collect the memorial items. They were categorized organized and are now at the History Center’s offsite warehouse. Each year after the tragedy the mounted memorial exhibits to honor those who were lost.

I went to several of the History Centers collection days and it was certainly not easy work. Collecting had to be done in the hottest months of the summer. The once beautiful flowers were dead and had a highly pungent smell. The director once told me that she would be happy if she never saw a bouquet of flowers ever again. It is very possible that breathing all that decaying matter affected the lungs of History Center staff.

Some Orlando citizens did not appreciate the work the History Center was doing. To them the collection process looked like grave robbing. There were several people who were combative as the staff did there work on site. The same people would be thankful when they saw how much thought and love went into the memorial exhibits.

Rubberband Headset

Posted on by Thor

I was having trouble connecting to one of my students via Zoom. The student texted me to let me know he was having trouble getting on as well. I tied connecting with a personal meeting ID but that failed as well.

Back at Elite Animation Academy, Todd West thought it might be an issue with a new server that was set up. Ultimately through trial and error we found that the problem was with Zoom itself. Over 44,000 costumers were blocked out.

My student and I usually sketch together on Zoom and he has the option to see my sketch in progress. We decided to simply stay connected by phone and then share our sketches when they were complete via email.

This work around was fine but I couldn’t sketch and hold my iPhone at the same time. I decided to tie together a bunch of rubber bands and rubber band the iPhone to my ear. At first the rubber band set up was too tight and it felt like my skull might pop. Then I tied in a few more rubber bands to make it more comfortable.

This was a low tech solution to a high tech problem. The class went off without a hitch. By the time my next student got online, the Zoom connectivity issue had been resolved.

Gun Safety

Posted on by Thor

Just a few rural blocks from where I was staying, a gun safety course was being offered for the children of Mequoketa, Iowa. The children were lined up one one side of a picnic table and given rifles, presumably with no ammunition.

The children were taught how to hold the rifle and how to aim. The person I was with had hunted deer before and was a pretty good shot, so she stepped inn as one of the instructors.

I found it ironic that a flock of ducks flew over in formation as the kids learned the intricacies of their weapons.

The demonstration was over rather quickly and there was no firing range action after the introductions to the rifles. This was just the usual weekend activity in rural Mequoketa.

I was sketching right up until the lessons broke off, so I never had a chance to handle a rifle myself. I still have never touched a gun. I’ll leave the weapons to the children.