Gianni Schicchi

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I went to the final dress rehearsal for Florida Opera Theater‘s production of Gianni Schicchi at the home of Kathy and Steve Miller in Winter Park. The rehearsal had been moved to 8PM but when I arrived, the circular drive was already full of parked cars. Light glowed warmly from inside the mansion. The sunken living room offered a perfect set for the opera.

The actors, in costume, stood around Robin Stamper on the piano in the beginning, going over the songs. This is a very accessible opera since all the lyrics are in English. Stage director, Eric Pinder, then had the cast rehearse their final bows. Eric was very gracious about letting me sit in and sketch the rehearsal. He informed me that I had once sketched him at one of Mark Baratelli‘s early food truck gatherings.

Gene Tate sat on the bed as the cast got ready to do a full run through. He then got under the covers. I didn’t realize that he had perhaps the easiest role in Giacomo Puccini‘s comic opera, playing Buoso Donati, who has just died. Relatives of Buoso sit around the bed lamenting his death and more importantly yearning to find out the contents of his will. They savagely search everywhere for the document, throwing papers everywhere. When it is found, they are mortified to discover that everything had been left to a monastery. They then truly cry and lament their loss.

Gianni Schicci is asked to help find some loop hole and he advises them to pretend that Buoso is still alive long enough to get a new will drafted. The dead man is treated like a puppet as Gianni throws his voice, trying to convince a visiting doctor that he is alive. Gianni himself gets under the sheets to dictate the new will in which he takes everything in order to unite his daughter with her true love, Rinuccio, played by Austin Hallock. The aria,  Oh my dear papa, sung by Lauretta, Gianni’s daughter, played by Shannon Jennings, is one of Puccini’s most well known, and one of the most popular arias in opera. Opera is still alive in Orlando.

When: December 8th, 7:30 p.m., December 9th, 2 p.m.

Venue: Bishop Moore High School, 3109 Edgewater Drive, Orlando FL

Phone: (407) 718-4365

Web Site: http://www.floperatheatre.org
Tags: opera
Price: $30

All performances will be followed by a reception.

Gordes France

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Terry and I drove from one small provincial town to another. Gordes was perched way up on top of a mountain with small roads and narrow passages. A small fair had just shut down with it’s rides and vending trucks packed up and ready to go. I settled myself in the small public square with a large fountain. “Defense” was inscribed on the fountain I presume from WWII. There were no large crowds here, just the occasional tourist eating a snack or resting.

Terry and I didn’t understand all the road signs. Once we drove up a road with a sign that had a red circle with a white line through it. We discovered that meant “One way” since another car was coming the other way on the narrow one lane road. Locals shouted and waved at us to back up. We backed out gingerly for a solid block. Driving on the mountain roads took nerve and faith since every blind turn could result in a head on collision. When cars passed the opposite way, one car or the other would have to pull off the road. The closest call we had was with a huge tourist bus that didn’t yield at all. Our small Porsche shook as it roared by. There were traffic circles every few miles which were like mini smash-em derby’s. Slipping in and out of the circle traffic was a refined art with a dash of chaos.

Saint Remy

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Terry and I drove to Saint Remy, France from Avignon on market day. The ancient cobbled streets were all lined with vendors selling their wares. Some vendors sold tourist trinkets like cicada sculptures that chirped if you stood too close, or wooden frogs with ridged backs that made noise when a stick was rubbed across it’s back. There were clothing vendors and a huge fresh fruit and produce market. Fish were stored on ice and one lady had a large shark for sale. I heard music in the air and walked towards it. Vincent Van Gogh walked these cobbled streets and perhaps he frequented this market trying to stretch the money his brother gave him or supplies.

Terry shopped, as I hunted for a sketch opportunity. Musicians were playing outside Cara-Ann Boutique. Shoppers, stopping to listen stood at a polite distance. The band was called Dos Amigos with Joselo Gonzalez and Louis Pousa on guitars. They were joined by a cello player whose name I didn’t catch.  I tapped my foot to the beat as I sketched their hip fedoras and slick black silhouettes. Crowds gathered and left between sets. Cara-Ann came over to inspect my sketch and she seemed delighted although I didn’t understand a thing she said. Joselo talked to me once they were done playing and he gave me his business card.

Graham Toms

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At Full Sail University, Larry Lauria brought in Graham Toms, a former co-worker from Disney University. Today, Graham is a spokes person for New Tech Lightwave 3D modeling software. He basically showed us samples of his work using the software. He was asked by a Texas cattle rancher once to paint his prize bulls. Graham modeled and posed the bulls in Lightwave and then used those renderings as reference for his painting. I had never considered using 3D software in that way. Having a traditional background and embracing new technology gives him more ways to express himself.

His daughter was traveling with him and she sat in the corner doing her homework. Most of his modeling is of fantastical creatures. His paintings are extremely detailed allegorical works.  He showed us how he loosens up when he draws by drawing circles and waving lines just to get his hand and brain warmed up. He doesn’t like to listen to music when he works although he knows of other artists who do amazing work while listening to classical music. It seems like a pretty sweet deal to show samples of the work you love to do, while discussing your process.

Graham also demonstrated the software by modeling a horse quickly in 3D using Sub-D’s. The fact that he has sketchbooks full of drawings of horses made modeling a quick and intuitive process.

The Big Dog Show

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At the foot of a walkway bridge that leads from the Mennello Museum to the suburban neighborhood on the opposite side of Lake Formosa is a “Red Dog” sculpture by Dale Rogers.  I love walking across that bridge as the sun sets. Snapping turtles leisurely paddle their way through the thick green water for a breath of air. The bridge is now part of the Dinky Line Trail, an exercise trail that will weave through the Virginia Drive, Ivanhoe Village, neighborhood. Under current plans, the trail ultimately could stretch from the new
arena in downtown Orlando past Lake Highland and the city’s Loch Haven
Park before terminating at Mead Garden in Winter Park, where it could
eventually tie into other trails. Also on the drawing board: a spur to
Lake Baldwin.

Driving past the Mennello, I saw a pack of huge rusty dogs, which were giant versions of the “Red Dog” in he Sculpture Garden and around the entrance to the museum. I had to pull in. The museum has welcomed back Rogers with a fresh pack of twenty 8-foot-tall, 10-foot-long sculptures of dogs made of Cor-ten steel. Small  versions are available for sale in the gift shop. Rogers has said that he thinks his work gives you a dog’s eye view of the world, and he hopes art, the public and animal welfare can all come together for a good cause. The show is open to the public now through March 17th, 2012.

Today, Saturday DECEMBER 1st, there will be a Big Dog Show Happy Hour
from 4 to 6 p.m. Admission is free.
Bring your four-legged friends to this outdoor reception for Dale Rogers and the new installation of 20 Brown Dog steel sculptures. Refreshments for sale for dogs and their owners from The Spork Happy Food Cafe and Puppy Love Cafe, along with litter bags. Bring donations of pet foods and supplies to donate to local animal shelters. Adopt one of the rare breeds to benefit Canine Companions for Independence and A New Beginning Pet Rescue.

Art Reach Orlando

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At Urban ReThink, Brendan O’Connor started telling me about several mural projects he is helping spearhead.  He spoke excitedly about a mosaic mural that was in the planning stages in Apopka. Migrant workers were being asked to contribute items that came with them when they moved to Florida. QR codes and micro chips might also be embedded in the mosaic so that anyone with a smart phone could scan the mural and listen to interviews and history behind the items. He then invited me to Corner Lake Middle School in Bithlo the next day to sketch the beginning stages of a mural being started there. Christie Miga is the artist in residence who created the mural image.

When I arrived, the hallway was crowded with kids. Two young girls were tracing lines on an image projected on the wall.  The rest of the kids were sitting in the hall doing their homework or playing tag. Brendan O’Connor quickly introduced me to everyone. Brendan and Sarah Zimmer work for Art Reach Orlando as project managers. Marsha Selby is a teacher from the school. She’s a science teacher that does art on the side in her own free time since the school doesn’t offer it. Unfortunately the traffic on Colonial Drive got me to the school about half an hour late. All the kids were packing up to get back home.

I decided to try and get a sketch anyway. Do to a minor glitch, Christie needed to readjust the image.  Those adjustments gave me time to finish my sketch. Sarah and Brendan helped her make all the adjustments.  The work went quickly now that the hall was quiet. I remember similar adjustments had to be made the first day I had students help me with the Mennello Museum Mural. I asked them to cover the wall with pencil grid lines every foot. I went inside the museum to sketch several people for the mural. When I came back out, I  found the grid started out good but then the grid lines arched upward by the time they got to the other end of the wall.

Christie Miga’s mural image was developed in Illustrator on the computer. She explained that they were just projecting the background elements today. Later other elements will be layered on top. The image to start had large arching shapes that looked like hillsides. Time will tell what the final image looks like. Christie wanted to keep the image simple to start.

Arles

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I was excited when we got to Arles, France which was the home base for Vincent Van Gogh when he did hundreds of his vibrant post impressionistic paintings. We went inside the asylum where he was interred after he cut off his ear. The inner courtyard  garden was supposed to be planted exactly as it was when he painted it a hundred years ago. It was instead ripped up with all the soil in chaotic piles. It was a depressing sight so I decided to settle instead in a bustling public square called Place de La Republic. The street to my left was full of shops which Terry explored as I sketched.

In the center of the square is a fourth century Roman Obélisque. It was first erected by the Roman Emperor Constantine II in the center of the a large open-air venue used for public events in Arles. After the circus was abandoned in the 6th century, the obelisk fell down and was broken in two parts. It was rediscovered in 14th century. And it was re-erected in its
current location in 17th century on top of a pedestal designed by
Jacques Peytret. A fountain at the base was designed by Antoine Laurent Dantan in 19th century.

Diet Coke was being offered for free from a tricycle with a portable refrigerator on the front of it. Large groups of boisterous school kids sat at the base of the of the Obélisque. Empty coke cans littered the ancient paving stones at my feet. It is a shame I don’t like Diet Coke, I was offered some every fifteen minutes or so.

Palais Des Papes

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When Terry and I arrived in Avignon, we immediately took a walking tour to the Palais des Papes, or the Pope’s Palace.The entire city of Avignon is surrounded by a fortified stone wall. We followed the wall and winding cobbled streets to the Palais. I settled in and sketched from the public square while Terry explored the gardens. The sky turned slate blue and threatened to rain. I considered sitting under a cafe umbrella but it blocked my view. I got half way through the sketch before it started to rain. My compact umbrella got me through the rest although the page still got soaked.

 When Terry got back, we climbed the steps to explore the gardens together. I walked the streets of Avignon often since I needed to find an internet cafe from which to post. I was exploring back alleys and narrow roads like an expert by the end of our week long stay. We discovered some really wonderful places for dinner but we also discovered that reservations are always required.

Terry witnessed a woman at the Palais church who was screaming during the recessional, and had to be forcibly removed.  We later saw the same woman at a restaurant and Terry said to me, “Hey, that’s the crazy lady I told you about.” Unfortunately, the woman understood English. And she told Terry that she wasn’t crazy. She does however have conflicting viewpoints from the church. I thought for a minute that the woman might be the owner of the restaurant. The Maitra d asked us if we had a reservation, which unfortunately we didn’t. As he walked us to a restaurant around the corner he did relate that the woman was a bit of a character.

Nimes France

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After a week of exploring Paris, Terry and I traveled south to Provence to explore the smaller, and warmer cities. We used Avignon as our home base staying in Lumani, a bed and breakfast inside the ancient Medieval city walls.  One of the owners was a working artist and her studio was at the back of the public courtyard.  One evening it was illuminated and I sneaked in to catch a glimpse of her abstract paintings. Grape vines covered the old stone walls. Nimes was a short ride in our rental car, an automatic Porche, which was a hybrid car that unfortunately lurched whenever the foot was removed from the accelerator. When we got to Nimes, we parked in a shopping district but after examining the street signs, we decided to drive into an underground parking garage.

We walked to this historic Roman Amphitheater, Arenes Colosseum, built in 70AD and remodeled in 1863 to be used for bull fighting.   The ring is used twice annually today for bull fights. Pablo Picasso was inspired to create many bull fighting themed paintings after attending a fight at the Colosseum. The bull fighter in my sketch is a bronze statue and I didn’t catch the name of the artist. One woman approached me asking for a donation for her cause. She would have made a good Public Relations professional. Terry explored the inside of the Colosseum while I sketched the outside. It has seen plenty of wear and tear through the ages, but is just as functional as the day it opened.

Sacred Slave Stories

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“Sacred Slave Stories,” created by Dario J. Moore, tells the stories of actual slaves through original music and the emotional impact of dance. The Center for Contemporary Dance has received a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, which it will use to produce Moore Dance Project’s “Sacred Slave Stories” for Orange County schoolchildren. This is the second year that “Sacred Slave Stories” has received a grant through the program. The contemporary dance program will be presented to 1,000 students from Orange County Title I public schools throughout February in partnership with the Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center in Sanford.

Student presentations of “Sacred Slave Stories” are further supported by funding from United Arts of Central Florida, the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs, Darden Restaurants, Inc. Foundation and Target Stores.

I went to the Center of Contemporary Dance to sketch a rehearsal of “Sacred Slave Stories.” The personal stories gathered are harsh and real. A woman related how severe a beating she got when she ate some bread she found while she was cleaning a home. The contemporary dance was narrative and powerful. A dancer raised a fist in anger but was held back by his lover. Male dancers moved huge imaginary loads on their backs, pausing under the weight. The dance is meant to convey hope while acknowledging the harsh and brutal realities of slavery.

The Center for Contemporary Dance 
presented its 2012-2013 Season Preview, which took place 
on Sunday, November 18, 2012 at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter
Park.  This season preview introduced  the organization’s Eleventh
Annual Season of Dance, and included sneak-peek performances of upcoming
works in the 2012-2013 event season.