Tree of Light

Posted on by Thor

On June 14th, the Virginia Drive Live Street Party was held all along Virginia Drive in Ivanhoe Village. Scottie Campbell, the Ivanhoe Village-Manager war running from street side tent to tent. I saw him when I first got out of my car and then several more times as I walked down Virginia Drive. Vendors and artists were busy setting up.

    Virginia Drive, between Alden Road. and Haven Drive, in Ivanhoe Village came alive with late night shopping, food trucks, street vendors and artists, entertainment, and more! A wine stroll guided people you from merchant to merchant. I stopped at the beer garden, Sponsored by TheDailyCity.com, in the lot next to The Venue. Mark Baratelli of TheDailyCity.com stopped to say hello. There had been some drama among the food truck vendors he invited to the event and he had to straighten it all out.

As the sun set, the Tree of Light illuminated the area where DJ Chris Mendez was spinning tunes. Parents relaxed, sipping beers while their children played in the grass. The Tree of light has a welded aluminum structure inside with wood boards from shipping palettes screwed to the outside. I saw the structure as it was first being built in Cole Nesmith‘s yard. An exotic computer program used to make the lights flicker in a sequence when they were turned on with pull chords. Small diode light strips in the mason’s jars looked like fire flies. The heavy Florida rains had some of the jars collecting water. The draw strings were no longer an option. All the lights were always on. The tree was going to be set up in downtown Orlando but after working all night to gel it set up, someone leaned a ladder against a branch and the branch crashed to the ground. No one was hurt, but now the sculpture was seen as a dangerous liability. Cole and his team of artists and engineers went back to the drawing board reinforcing all the inner supports.

Children couldn’t resist trying to climb the tree. A group of three or four toddlers gathered at the base and used the roots as a boost to try and get up the trunk. Thankfully, parents moved in and pulled the children off. Had the kids gotten up to the branches, the results could have been devastating. Worst would be if an adult who has had too many beers decided to climb the tree on a dare. As a teenager, I once drank so much that I decided I had to climb to the top of a telephone pole. I was alone, so I wasn’t trying to impress anyone. I did it cause I was drunk and therefor indestructible. Sometimes I’m an idiot.

Marty Morell and Michiko

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On Sunday June 2nd, Marty Morell and Michiko performed a free Jazz concert at the White House (2000 South Summerlin Avenue, Orlando FL), with many special guests and a little Latin music.

The guest visual artist was Lorraine Turner. Lorraine didn’t paint live on stage because there were so many musicians. There just wasn’t enough room. Steve Rodney was shooting a documentary, so Benoit Glazer in his introduction advised us all to look enthralled. Richard Drexler was at the piano, Carlo Garcia was on the drums, Jeff Rupert on saxophone, Benoit Glazer stepped in on trumpet, and Ben Cramer was on Bass.

Marty met Michiko at a jazz festival in Japan and they have been performing together ever since. Michiko sang several of the songs. It was an up beat concert with plenty of energy. I tapped my toes and bobbed my head as I sketched. I was perched on the third floor balcony. I like getting this bird’s eye view, but it means standing for the duration as I sketch so I can see over the railings. By the end of the concert my legs were aching. I’m always afraid that I might drop my palette on someones head, so I step back a bit as I’m painting. Having to sketch in so many people and instruments means I’m working right up to the last note in the concert.

It seems like the number of concerts held at the White House keeps accelerating. It is one of my favorite places to listen to music and let the lines dance on the page.

The Vault

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On Tuesday June 11th, my wife Terry and a co-worker Psi from Merrill Lynch offered an informational seminar for prospective clients at The Wine Room (270 S Park Ave Winter Park, FL). The building had once been a bank, and the meeting, in the basement, was literally in a bank vault. The thick steel door with its multiple pistons and gears was an impressive sight. The vault now has private lockers where clients can lock away their expensive and dusty bottles of vintage wines.

I can’t discuss the power point demonstration. After it was over, the plush leather chairs were turned to face the TV so  sports fans could watch the NBA finals.  I began to sketch after the presentation was over. Staff came in to clean up the table full of cheeses and crackers. By the final quarter of the game, Terry and I were the only ones left in the vault. We had to move upstairs so the vault could be cleaned up.

AADW Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday July 13th 2013.

40th World Wide SketchCrawl  incorporates 4 events in an Orlando Sketch Marathon all day Saturday…

1. 10am to 1pm $5 A Special Demonstration: Sculpting a Classical Portrait. Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens (633 Osceola Ave. Winter Park FL). Exhibiting sculptor Peter Forester presents a six-hour art demo. Demo goes to 4pm if you want to stay. Sketch the sculptor at work or take notes.

2. 2pm to 7pm $5 ReThink Games. Urban ReThink (625 E. Central Blvd. Orlando FL). Play 15 hosts a variety of games, from video games to board games. Sketch folks playing games or play yourself.

3. 8pm to 10pm $10 ME Dance, Deja vu. Garden Theater Winter Garden (160 Plant Street Winter Garden FL). Sketch this dance company’s final performance of the season.

4. 11pm to 1am Free Black and White at Redlight. Redlight Red Light (2810 Corrine Drive, Orlando, FL). An Art Show. A full scale, monochromatic, celebration of value, void of color, except red of course.Artwork will display a use of black and/or white, maybe some greys, and possibly red, literally or figuratively.

Sunday July 14th 2013.

5. 4:30pm to 7:30pm Free Orlando Brew jam. Orlando Brewing (1301 Atlanta Ave., Orlando, Florida 32806). Traditional instrument jam playing old time, bluegrass, celtic, swing, or anything else that comes to mind.

6. 7:30pm to 9:30pm Free Concert! Leo Linares and Urbe Prima. The White House (2000 South Summerlin Orlando FL). This young musician plays music that is close to people. Folk tinged with classical and punk, expect a surprise.

Artist: Reina Castellanos

Nerd Nite Orlando #3

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 Nerd Nite is an informal gathering at
which nerds get together for fun-yet-informative presentations across
all disciplines, while the audience drinks along. Nerds and non-nerds
alike gather to meet, drink and learn something new. Three speakers will present for 20-25 minutes each on a fascinating
subject of their choice, often in an uncanny and unconventional way. It’s like the Discovery Channel…with beer!

Josh, with his thick dark beard and stiff collared dress shirt, referred to himself as the “Orlando Nerd Boss.” He and Nathan Selikoff were busy setting up computer and projector equipment as people arrived at Stardust Video and Coffee. I had arrived early and ordered a “Rob Reiner” which was a meatloaf sandwich. Growing up, my mom used to make meat loaf once a week so it is comfort food. As I started to sketch, the place became packed.

The first talk was by Clayton Louis Ferrara and he spoke about the Secret Life of Nitrogen.  He outlined it’s history and how it was used in chemical warfare in WWI. After the war a chemist found that Nitrogen could be used in fertilizer and it became a multi billion dollar business. In America there is a suburban culture that takes pride in lush green lawns. An incredible amount of money is spent to fertilize, water and then cut lawns. Clayton is by a biologist. He gave us the sad news that over 200 otherwise healthy Manatees had died last year. He had photos. These giants hadn’t been hit by motor boat propellers, they died by choking on Algae. Run off from lawns has gone into the rivers causing intense red tide algae blooms. Once clear water became a green sludge killing the manatee’s native food sources. Clayton encouraged us all to plant native plants in our yards. These native plants would need no watering or fertilizer. These zeros-capes can also be incredibly beautiful with tall native grass and lush ground covers.

The second talk by Ricardo Williams was about “Absurd Movie Genres.” His talk basically outlined films that he liked and how they crossed established genres. A good story doesn’t always need to be pigeon holed.

The last talk, “Technological Telekinesis“, was by artist Nathan Selikoff.  It began with the Star Wars theme music and a look at planet Earth on the screen. Using a Leap Motion Controller on his laptop, Nathan held his hands over the computer and manipulated the Earth, zooming in as if we were approaching the death star. The Google Earth program allowed him to fly right over Orlando and fly down its streets until he reached Lake Eola. This entire flight was navigated by a new interface that before was just in Science Fiction movies. This new interface can allow artists to sculpt and draw in three dimensions. Most of the software is open sourced and the hardware has become affordable. An infrared light tracks the motion of your hands keeping track of its orientation in 3D space. Nathan wrote his own program called “Beautiful Chaos” that uses math equations to create forms in space.

Nerd Nite is every 2nd Thursday of the month.  These type of events are cropping up all over Orlando. There is Pechakuche, Cafe Scientifique, Tedx Orlando,  and the Mini Maker Faire. Get your Nerd On and help change the world. The July Nerd Nite #5 will  be  tonight at 7pm at Stardust Video & Coffee (1842 E Winter Park Rd  Orlando, FL)

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Ripley’s Bizarre Buying Bazaar

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For several days in June a tent was set up in the parking lot at Ripley’s Believe it or Not (8201 International Drive, Orlando FL.) Bright banners announced that it was the Ripley’s Bizarre Buying Bazaar. Seated at the table were Edward Meyer, the VP of Exhibits and archives for Ripley Entertainment Inc and Angela Johnson the assistant of archives. Well, you can’t see Angela in the sketch, a co-worker obscured her from my view as he was checking his cell phone. We all laughed about how she missed he 15 minutes of sketchbook fame afterwards. A call had been put out for people to bring their odd and bizarre items where they would be appraised, and if strange enough, purchased for the collection right on the spot. I sat in a parking spot and started to sketch.

A large metal sculpture of the Bumble Bee Transformer stood at the corner of the tent. This item was created by, “Art from Steel” from Bangkok, Thailand. It stood three feet four inches tall and was made entirely from car parts. Edward explained that this was actually one of the smaller sculptures. It was too heavy for any one person to lift, but it could be disassembled into smaller parts for transport.  I wonder how much fun it would have been to get that luggage through airport security.

Items on display that had been bought already included: Bats mounted on a board with presidents faces painted on their bellies. A painting of John Lennon or Harry Potter was made entirely with CD disks.  A painting of Marilyn Monroe was done entirely with nail polish and Obama towered above Mount Rushmore in another. Another portrait of Bob Marley was created with all the tape from a single cassette tape. The Terminator’s arm was made of used batteries and mounted in a futuristic cylinder. On the table there was an actual shrunken head and a plate of Doughnuts that turned out to be a sculpture.

A news anchor and cameraman showed up to interview Edward. This is the first time Ripley’s held a Bazaar inviting anyone and everyone to bring in their oddities. Edward held up a rusty knife to show the cameraman. It had been lodged in a man’s skull for years. Oddly the man didn’t know the blade was there, but he suffered from splitting headaches. Several doctors prescribed drugs and shots but one finally took x-rays which clearly showed the knife in man’s skull. When the rusty blade was surgically removed, the man’s headaches diminished.

A man pulled up in his family van and pulled out a four foot high image of a heart made entirely with postage stamps. Edward wasn’t impressed, but after some negotiating, it joined the items in the parking lot collection.

Autobiography

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June’s Third Thursday at the Orlando Museum of Art was organized by Anna McCambridge-Thomas. The theme for all the art that evening was “Collaboration.” When I arrived, I quickly took a look at all the art on display but Genevieve Bernard of Voci Dance had informed me of her unique collaboration. The dance piece her dance company, Voci Dance, was going to perform involved a collaboration with Asatta Wilson of Vixen Fitness. Asatta is a rather talented and fit pole dancer. During previous rehearsals, Genevieve explained to Asatta what dance moves she wanted. Though the dance terminology was different the art forms and moves were similar. As Asatta explained, she does the same moves just with some sensual flair to please the costumers.

I sat in and sketched the rehearsal for the dance titled, “Autobiography“, before patrons got to the museum. A Platinum Stages pole stood at stage right. Dancers approached the pole and interacted with it as a symbolic obstacle. Sarah Lockhard delivered a monologue in which she kept falling into a hole repeatedly. It wasn’t her fault even as she kept to the path and fell again. After repeated tries she finally realized she should walk another route.

Towards the end of the dance performance Asatta took to the pole doing a gymnastic and graceful routine that defied gravity. I got a second chance to work on the sketch as the theater filled with patrons. Having seen the rehearsal, I knew what dancers I wanted to complete the composition. From slow motion walks to graceful twirls, one gesture flowed through the dance company. The pole was no longer an obstacle but something to be conquered.

Full Sail Student Lounge

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On rare occasions, I get to Full Sail early because I’m coming from an event I sketched and it makes no sense to go home only to immediately turn around to drive to the university. This student lounge is right outside the 2D Animation studio where I work. Though I have a laptop computer, I’m not tempted to crack it open. I would rather crack open a sketchbook to observe all the students staring at  computer screens. There is some interaction as several students show each other a modeling project or a computer animation they are working on, but some students are just zoning out by watching U-Tube videos or checking their Facebook status. Perhaps this is the future, everyone interconnected but staring at screens.

The wall in the background is covered in framed DVD cases. These are apparently films that graduates had worked on.  I was talking to a doctor the other day, whose son had attended Full Sail. He asked if the school motto was still that every student who graduates in the two year accelerated program is guaranteed a job in the industry. I had never heard this before, but it seems impossible with huge visual effects houses like Rhythm and Hues going bankrupt and every movie studio wanting more for less.

The Capen House

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On June 6th, there was a Winter Park City Commission Meeting in which the fate of the Capen House was litigated. The 128 year old Winter Park home was built by James Caspen who came from Illinois. He worked towards making Winter Park a solid community. He was the secretary for the Winter Park Land Company which was and still is the largest land owning company in town. He also served as commissioner on the town council.

The home was granted a historic designation in 2011 but Sun Trust Bank, the mortgage holder on the property had that historic designation revoked.  Clardy Malugen, the owner at the time had registered the historic home during the foreclosure process. The new owners, John and Betsy Pokorny want to demolish the lake front home to erect a bigger mansion. At the June 6th meeting the Pokorny’s attorney granted a postponement of the demolition for 30 days so that options could be considered for preserving the house.

The Friends of Casa Feliz are working on finding a way to preserve the historic home. Casa Feliz had itself once been threatened with demolition. The entire brick building had been moved to it’s new site on Park Avenue next to the golf course. The Friends encourage public dialogue that
is thoughtful, considerate, and inclusive. It is the Friends’ goal to
find a solution to the precarious situation surrounding the Capen House,
not to assign blame.Groups of concerned citizens have congregated on Facebook and other web platforms to advocate for ‘saving’ the Capen House.

Large hedges obstruct most views of the house at 501 Interlacken Drive in Winter Park. Several “Private Property” signs along with a chain blocking the driveway discouraged me from sketching a full view of the home. I sat on the driveway to sketch the best view available. There was a demolition notice on the garage door. A huge live oak spread it’s ancient roots deep. Storm clouds rolled in as I sketched. I worked as fast as I could till rain drops started hitting the page. I packed the sketchbook away in my art supply bag and sprinted the mile or so back to my car. I had forgotten to bring an umbrella. As I write this, on July 6th the 30 day postponement is over. I’ll have to go back and see if I sketch the home or bulldozers.

P.S. As of July 12th, 2013, the historic home might be moved across the lake to the Albin Polasek museum as it’s new home.

2nd Annual Broomstick Pony Derby

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On Saturday May 4th, (Kentucky Derby Day), The Broomstick Pony Derby was held on the street in front of Urban ReThink (625 E Central Blvd, Orlando, Fl). The Broomstick Pony Derby is a season-long celebration of Orlando’s
play-spirited, civic-minded, try-curious, tri-athlete, road racing and
audacious-arts-appreciating community. The Derby route was over the bricked blocks of E. Central Blvd in Downtown
Orlando, roughly between Summerlin and Osceola Ave. These roads were closed off beginning at 2:00pm on Derby Day.

During the Broomstick Pony
Derby, folks of all ages create and race handmade broomstick ponies,
zebras, ostriches, you name it. Where do the ponies come from? They were made during our spring Broomstick Pony Workshops led by local
artists, including Ibex Puppetry and Clay Curiosities. The
festivities celebrate community and creativity and will raise funds,
friends, and awareness for enhancing Urban ReThink’s operations and
programming.

People and ponies danced in the streets to music provided by DJ Si Rajadhyax  Food and drink specials were offered by Thornton Park businesses, there was a Raffle, Pony parade, featuring pony marchers and an all-kazoo band.

When I got there, the DJ was getting set up. There was a threat of showers and when I felt a few drops, I took cover under the ReThink awning. Necole Pynn assured me that there was no way it could rain on Pony Derby day. People’s broomstick ponies were all lined up along the fence. The rain never came and by the time I finished sketching the DJ the street was crowded. The pony parade involved all the racers gathering in a large circle and passing the pony’s around so everyone got to see the handiwork. A couple was dressed as salt and pepper shakers. One horse rode a broomstick human. There were Unicorns and a sea horse. Some kids were in costume with cowboy hats, frilly dressed and a Bo Peep outfit. In the relay, the Hot Llama Mamas and the amazing kids from Misty Forest were hard to beat.  Contestants were told not to run, but in the heat of the race the fine line between a fast skip and a run was blurred. The youngest contestants, trailing the pack often got the most boisterous cheers as they approached the finish line.