Stardust

Posted on by Thor

I had been invited to the Market Colors Product Launch & Benefit Show at the new Redlight Redlight Beer Parlour (2810 Corrine Dr. Orlando). The event was to start at 7:30PM, and since I got off work at 5PM, I had some time to kill. I decided to get a bite to eat at Stardust Video and Coffee (1842 East Winter Park Road Orlando), which was just a block away. I ordered a humus plate and decided to sketch the Leopard Shark filled room. People gradually filled the bar stools as other patrons worked at their laptops. A group of women sat at a table next to mine and one woman discussed her divorce. As she put it, “Getting divorced is like having a car accident everyday for a month.”

When I was done with the sketch and the humus, I walked over to the new Redlight Redlight. The place was obviously still being refurbished since I could see through the front windows exposed wall studs and gypsum board lying around.  The front door was locked. I checked my watch and it was a little after the event start time. There were supposed to be performances by Chris Burns, The Silver Fleece, Tigerweather, Civil Parish, and Rubox. This was to be the first time people will be able to see, touch, and buy Market Colors products.

The goal of Market Colors is to empower crafts women from Kenya and Malawi in Africa by having them make very marketable iPad, cell phone and laptop cases. This creative endeavour should help these women raise themselves from the status quo of prostitution and AIDS. Proceeds from the event, were to be reinvested toward supporting the crafts women. Market Colors goal is to raise both awareness and funding to best support them.  I jiggled the front door handle again. Oh well, I might have missed a great fundraiser sketch opportunity.

Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center

Posted on by Thor

Rachel Steele invited me to go to the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center construction site for a hard hat tour. Site supervisors Joe Brown and Joe Westgate met us in one of the construction site trailers. Rachel and I were issued reflective vests and hard hats. I had been instructed to wears long pants and close toed shoes. Since I always wear hiking boots, it was easy to comply.  I was read some safety instructions and then we were off.

We walked the muddy path to the Arts Center’s skeletal structure. With Isaac looming in the Caribbean, Rachel asked how the  construction cranes ride out a hurricane. Joe explained that they are loosened and allowed to swing freely in the wind like a weather vane. Two towers stood apart from the rest of the theater complex. These will one day be stair wells. A large iron grid work structure was being assembled on the ground and it would be raised up to act as a support between the stairwell and the theater entrance. One such structure was already in place. We walked to the southern edge of the site to get a view of the Disney Theater that will seat 2700 people when it is complete. The proscenium was in place but re-bar was still being placed for the seating area. A large orchestra pit was lined in cement and a few balconies were assembled at the back of the hall. This space is intended for amplified performances including concerts, children’s shows and Broadway productions.

A smaller community theater will be in the center of the complex. Seating 300 people, the Jim and Alexis Pugh Theater will have a thrust stage for more intimate productions. A third Multi-Form Music Hall has yet to be started. Seating 1700 people it is impressive in that central seating rows can literally flip over using hydraulics to open up the space and even the walls move to adjust the space. A building was just demolished where this state of the art theater will stand but construction can not begin until more funds are raised.  The city is going to issue bonds to help raise funds. Construction on the two theaters started along with an arts education area and a huge outdoor plaza is slated to be completed by April of 2014. It was exciting to be on site imagining the future. Up in the Arts Center’s offices in the round building on the corner of Anderson and Orange Avenue, I met the Arts Center mascot, a calm white bull dog named Lilly. From the top floor, I had an amazing view of the whole construction site. Dark clouds loomed slate grey behind the city hall as wind whipped sand and grit in my eyes as I leaned into the wind to get back to my car. Children’s art whipped in the wind fluttering on the fence surrounding the site.

2012 Carbon Flow Tour National Championships

Posted on by Thor

The 2012 Carbon Flow Tour National Championships were held at Fantasy Surf, (5151 Kyngs Health Ave Kissimmee) on August 10th and 11th. The best flow boarders in the world battled it out for a chance at the National Title. Carbon is a company that manufactures the actual flow boards. They had a display in the crowded spectators area. The man working the Carbon table talked to me about possibly transferring one of my sketches to a board. I told him I would be interested and gave him my card. Large bleachers were set up to handle the spectators while the three judges and the announcer sat front and center against the glass.

The FLOW Tour had divisions for
body boarders and flow boarders, men and women, boys and girls, amateur
and professional, young and old. For the past ten years, the FLOW Tour
has traveled to many of the 55+ Flow rider locations throughout the
United States and has inspired an
ever-expanding level of competition among body boarders and flow boarders
around the United States – and it all comes to a head on the FLOW Tour which consisted of 10 stops across 7 different
states. With a prize purse of over $27,000 dollars; it’s no surprise
hundreds of riders from across the country travel with the tour to make
their mark in the flow boarding community.

Competitions required a minimum prize purse of $2500 as well as the
all-important point system. There were 10 events including the National
Championships. Each competitor’s best 6 results, including the
championships, were added together to bestow the 2012 season
champions in their respective divisions.

I found a seat at a table and decided this was to be my best sketch vantage point. Spectators and competitors would often stand obstructing my view of the judges but I would patiently wait for my moment to strike. The Judges were Matti Griffin, Robert Pals and Patrick Boyce. One competitor entered the competition having never been on a flow board. He wiped out again and again much the the amusement of the judges and spectators. Of course most competitors were doing a series of advanced tricks. The air was thick with the sharp smell of chlorine. Since I was nursing a cold, I decided to leave as soon as I finished my sketch to spare my lungs.

Beautiful Beloved

Posted on by Thor

Kassandra Kharis was an exotic and beautiful local artist who unfortunately chose to leave this world. I never met Kassandra but I did like her dark and mysterious art. On MySpace she had 6818 friends and she reached a Facebook limit with 5656 friends. As she wrote in her Facebook bio, “I
am an indecisive being, but loyal to a fault. An introverted extrovert,
I get anxiety in the most ‘usual’ of places and go into agoraphobia
mode from time to time, so good job we have the Internet, for the people
who can’t stand to be around people, yet don’t want to feel totally
alone either.”

I went to Bombshell’s Tavern, (5405 Edgewater Drive, Orlando), where a charity art event was going to he held in her honor. I went on the wrong date however, but I ordered a beer in her memory and did a sketch anyway. The pool table was active all night with the regular customers joking and competing for hours in this smokey dive bar. The jukebox supplied the 80s tunes. The game was briefly interrupted by the Olympic swimming event on TV.

The Kassandra Kharis Charity Art Event will be held on Wednesday, August 29st, 2012, from 8pm-2am. It is  being held to celebrate the life of our beloved friend and local artist, Kassandra Kharis. All proceeds will go to pay for her memorial services and excess funds will be donated to the American Humane Association in her name, since her love and concern for animal welfare was so great.

There will be Goth, Industrial and Alt Rock spun by DJ Spank,
Burlesque by Grotesque Burlesque, an Art Auction and Raffles of donated prizes.

Cover charge will be donation based only, so all of her friends can attend, but suggested donation is $5 – $10 for those that can contribute towards her fundraiser.
The event will be ALL AGES so that ALL of her friends and family can attend, though after 11pm, the Burlesque performances by Kass’ friends in Grotesque Burlesque will be taking place in the big stage room, which will be 18+ admittance.

Any artists or local businesses who wish to donate items for auction and raffle at the event, or entertainers who would like to perform at the event, please respond here or message, anna@dracofelis.com.

Full donation details can be found here.

 These were some of Kassandra’s favorite quotes…

“Find out what you’re afraid of and go live there.” – Chuck Palahniuk

“The only way to possibly find true happiness is to risk being
completely cut open.”

– C. Palahniuk

“If neurotic is wanting two mutually exclusive things at one and the
same time, then I’m neurotic as hell. I’ll be flying back and forth
between one mutually exclusive thing and another for the rest of my
days” – Sylvia Plath

The Homestead

Posted on by Thor

 There was a birthday potluck for Julie Norris and Amber Melendy at the Homestead on East Pine Street August 11th. Terry and I went bearing red wine, some humus and a small present for Julie. It had poured that day so there was little chance the outdoor fire pit would light up. The living room of the homestead was warm and inviting. Toddlers played as people chatted. Slowly people moved out to the porch. For the longest time I sat in a comfortable rocking chair On the porch. Terry was resting on Julies bed inside. Several women were discussing the results of a sexuality workshop. I met Russell Kramer who does custom bookbinding and he offered to make me a custom sketchbook. I hope to sketch him at work someday.

Greywolf agreed to kick things off with a Gong Flow at sunset. A Gong Flow involves vibrational energy cleansing in which participants
experience the deep transformational opportunity provided by prolonged
exposure to these therapeutic vibrations. Supplemented by singing bowls
and sacred rattles, the core of the sound emanates from a 40” Chau
Gong. The most mesmerizing sound came from the Buddhist bowls which would sing as Greywolf circled the rim with a wooden dowel. Everyone sat on the porch in the cool evening air as the flow began. Some sat quietly and meditated and others joined in with their own instruments and voices. The warm light from inside the home spilled out onto the porch. It was an epic journey of sight and sound.

The Geek Easy

Posted on by Thor

Some of the Skill Focus Burlesque girls will be going to Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia to spread the gospel of Nerdy Burlesque. Dragon Con is the largest multimedia, popular culture
convention focusing on science fiction and fantasy, gaming, comics,
literature, art, music, and film in the universe! This year, Dragon Con will be held Labor Day weekend (August 31 – September 3, 2012) in Atlanta, GA. Gas money is expensive though, so Ruby Darling threw a Free Dragon Con themed burlesque party at the Geek Easy to get folks drunk and sell them cupcakes! The Geek Easy is located in the back room of A Comic Shop
(114 South Semoran Blvd. Winter Park).

Cherry Bob-omb and Ruby Darling were behind the bar. Cherry had a luscious display of cupcakes in front of her. I decided to get a spoors cupcake which was awesome.Cherry’s other half, Mr. Bob-omb was next to the keg of free beer which was kept cool in an R2D2 ice bucket. There was a cardboard box for donations. The foamy Yuengling beer was quite good, and I stuffed some bills in the box. It is hard to write anything without sounding suggestive. Bob had to keep pumping the keg and done just right with plenty of wrist action and rhythm, it is hilariously suggestive.

At 11PM the Skill focus girls gave burlesque performances on two model stands that were arranged runway style. Shy LaBuff came to the event dressed as a Lord of the rings Dwarf. The fiery red bear matched her hair.  Her performance however was as Mario from the Mario Brothers Donkey Kong game. As always she was hilarious. Syber Digit added some sophistication to her routine and Ruby Darling really knew how to linger before each and every sensual reveal.

This brings me to another important reveal, The Star Wars Celebration VI is coming up August 23rd through August 26th at the Orlando Convention Center. The Skill Focus: Burlesque girls are going to celebrate Star Wars in their favorite way: Striptease!  They’ve got your light side and your dark side right here. The show titled Chan Shot First: An Intergalactic Burlesque Tribute, will be at Sleuth’s Diner Theater (8267 International Drive Orlando). Enjoy a fancy adult beverage from our Star
Wars menu of drink specials and be amazed as Skill Focus performs burlesque numbers as some of your favorite
scoundrels, princesses, and various life forms. The show is Saturday August 25th starting at 8PM.Parking is ample and free. Look for Ripley’s and the Crab House!

Tickets are $10 general public, $8 for members of the 501st

Doors and the bar open at 7:15pm

18+ only – nudity and nerdity!

Call 407-363-1985 to reserve your tickets now…seating is limited – don’t miss out!

Star Wars themed drink specials will be available all night long, plus a full bar and appetizer menu.

For reservations, call 407-363-1985. Seating is limited!

Disenchanted: Bitches of the Kingdom

Posted on by Thor

Disenchanted: Bitches of the Kingdom is having an extended run through August at Mama Mia’s because performances kept selling out. Word of mouth travels fast and these Bitches are rising fast. This hilarious production features the songs of Dennis Giacino and is directed by Fiely Matias. I have loved this production ever since I saw it at the Orlando Fringe Festival. The incredible Michelle Knight has reprised her roll as a saucy Snow White and she shines in the spot light. She started out the show belting out a note and holding it so long, the audience started screaming, laughing and clapping endlessly.

The room had a small semi circular stage big enough to hold Dennis behind the grand piano and the princesses.  The audience filled the small room seated around small tables. The cabaret style show suited the intimate space. Jenny Lee Stern began as Belle who sang Insane! Her hair was tightly pulled back and her eyes fluttered wide and bewildered as she watched the other princesses perform. As The Little Mermaid, her hair came down and she added an unexpected hard edge to the part with a biker chick attitude and tattoos. I ended up sketching her twice by mistake. This production is still in development, but it is destined to be an off Broadway hit in 2013. The show is moving to  Missouri next. Auditions are being held Friday, August 24 for its production at Stephens College in September 2012.

Authors at the Drunken Monkey

Posted on by Thor

My plan was to sketch an album release party and concert for Everyday Ghosts. I was early so I ordered some food and an iced coffee at The Drunken Monkey (444 North Bumby Avenue  Orlando). There was a group of authors seated at the table in front of me and I couldn’t resist a sketch. Much of the conversation centered around self publishing and how that has changed the scene for authors. There was some discussion about how social media has changed how they promote their work. Each author had something unique to add based on their experiences. I really should have taken notes. I could have learned a thing or two. A woman who looked like a naval officer had dinner alone while reading her iPad. As a matter of fact all the other costomers were staring at computer screens.

When I was finished, I walked across Bumby Avenue towards the Plaza Theater. I was surprised that there wasn’t a crowd at the entrance. Something was wrong. I stood outside the locked, darkened theater and double checked my calendar on my iPhone. Unbelievable! The concert was NEXT week! I was going to be out of town so I would miss the big premiere. Thank goodness I sketched while I ate dinner.

I no longer go to Drunken Monkey since they used one of my
sketches without consulting me on their Internet welcome page. I usually
support local businesses but I can’t support theft.

RDV Ice Den

Posted on by Thor

Matt McGrath invited my wife Terry to watch him play hockey at the RDV Sportsplex Athletic Club (8701 Maitland Summit Blvd. Orlando). His team is called “The Fire Ants” and he instructed us to go to the second ice rink away from the entrance. The RDV Sportsplex is immense. Entering the building which is right across the street from EA Sports, I passed an indoor Olympic sized pool and then walked a boardwalk looking down on a sea of work out equipment. The Orlando Magic corporate headquarters are in the building as well. Basketballs with player’s hand prints were on display as well as monster sized sneakers. I wonder if they will be removing Dwight Howard‘s sneakers when he follows Shaq to Los Angeles. Once again, Orlando seems unable to hold onto talent.

There were indeed two ice rinks and I went to the one furthest away from the main entrance. There were a few people in the bleachers, all of them women. I had never seen an ice hockey game in person before. When Terry arrived, I was half finished with my sketch. She discovered that The Fire Ants were playing in the other rink. Terry went to watch the Fire Ants while I finished my sketch. I walked down to the two women seated below me. I asked them the names of the teams. The EA Hammerheads in blue were playing Orange Crush in orange. The fans told me I should root for the EA team since they were. Orange Crush had a female goalie which had me thinking that I might have stumbled onto an all women’s team. After much study however, I decided all the other players were men.

Orange Crush was leading the whole game. In the 4th quarter the EA goalie skated to the sidelines allowing an easy goal for the Orange Crush. The final score was Orange Crush 5, EA Hammerheads 3. Terry told me Matt played a pretty good defensive game. I think that the Fire Ants is a great name for a team. I get itchy just thinking about it. The RDV Sportsplex offers endless sketch opportunities. I wish it was a little closer to home.

ALAK Block Party

Posted on by Thor

Not every sketch is a gem. This was a rare case where I tried to do a watercolor in the rain. The ALAK Block Party invitation put the address as 715 N Thornton Ave. Bands on the play list included Attic, Surfin Serf, Permanent Nap and of course the California based headliners ALAK. When I arrived, I didn’t notice any stage but I did see a food truck pulling into a parking lot.  That had to be where the event was. I parked down the block and hiked back. A musician was unpacking a drum set from the trunk of his car. It had just started to drizzle. He carried the drum set to the back of a small deserted alley. The La Espinada Food Truck didn’t have a generator, so she backed the truck next to the alley and then she searched for a power outlet. A tenant on the second floor apartment let her run an extension chord up through his window, tapping one of his outlets for a small fee.

I sketched as quirky cat banners were hung around the alley. This small alley was dubbed “Cloud 9” by the event organizer. A young crowd slowly gathered as the rain continued to lightly fall. I tried to salvage the sketch from the constant rain with no success. It became such a wet mess that I couldn’t work on it anymore. I called Terry and we agreed to meet for dinner at Dandelion Communitea Cafe. I bumped into Julie Norris as I was about to order. She had been busy storing a whole bunch of restaurant furniture and cookware.  Ethos Vegan Kitchen had just moved into a new location in Winter Park and the new space was fully furnished so they donated their unneeded furniture and equipment to Julie. A win-win for the Orlando Vegan community. I ordered an all Garden of Eden themed dinner that tasted great.

After dinner, Terry and I walked back to the Block Party to see if it had been rained out. By now the rain had stopped and die hard hipsters were still partying. Terry wasn’t impressed, so she headed home. I considered a second sketch, but I was still wet from the first sketch so I went home as well. I’m sure things heated up as it got dark.