Topographies

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“Topographies” a series of sculptures by Barbara Sorenson are on exhibit in front of the Orlando Museum of Art. These bright primary colored resin and metal creations will be on exhibit through April Fool’s Day. On March 18th, “Art and Dance: A Pas de Deux” a piece inspired by Sorenson’s Work will be performed in this court yard. The piece will feature Orlando Ballet Dancers choreographed by Robert Hill and Eric Yow.

On exhibit inside the museum is “Made in Florida” featuring three exhibitions and a gallery display. Work in the exhibit features artists who were inspired by the sunshine state. Florida’s unique landscape and culture has inspired artists from all ages. The eclectic permanent collection features work of such acclaimed artists as John Singer Sargent, Cecilia Beaux and Robert Rauchenburg.

I found myself in front of the Museum at dusk with an hour to spare since I planned to attend a piano recital across the parking lot at 7pm at the Margison Theater in the Shakes. This recital, which was part of ArtsFest, was to feature Hyung-Min Suh, the third place winner of the second Florida International Piano Competition. There weren’t many cars in the parking lot. At 7pm I walked into the empty theater. The building was deserted. I checked out the intricate set that was built for “Romeo and Juliet“. The set was gorgeous with a root-like structure holding up an isolated platform as well as the infamous balcony. Now, I really want to see, and sketch the play. This was the second time an ArtsFest event I planned to sketch was MIA. This year’s Fest must be in some disarray after United Arts lost Margot Knight and Cory Warren. An unexpected disadvantage of drawing on a tablet at night is that big beetle and tiny gnats were attracted to the screen’s light.

Madly in Love with Me Celebration

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Around Valentines Day, I went to Dandelion Communitea Cafe to sketch the Madly in Love with me Celebration. Apparently this Celebration was happening in 22 countries and over 500 cities. In the parking lot there were some artists tents set up. Bonnie Sprung had some paintings and delicate scarfs with intricate patterns. Lauren E. Lee was just putting out some hula hoops when I arrived. I knew there might be a drum circle but the event was much smaller than I expected. The woman in charge of the Love Celebration sat alone lightly tapping her drum.

Four lanterns were placed around the fire pit. She took each lantern and walked it out to the edge of the small lawn where she said said a prayer. Her husband helped start up the fire pit. Someone took a container from a Tiki Torch and poured the liquid on the struggling embers. The liquid wasn’t kerosine, it was water. After much struggle, the flame eventually burned bright. Since I was the only other person seated near the fire, I was coached in a drum beat prayer that had me imagine going back to the time when I first heard my mothers heart beat while I was in her womb. At first I thought I might have to fold my hands in in prayer, but I kept sketching. Incense was lit and someone moved it in arcs around my feet and body as I worked. This must be some sort of cleansing exercise. The woman acting as the master of ceremonies announced that at midnight, she and her husband would be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. They kissed.

Lauren joined us at the fire and she played saxophone while a little girl twirled, improvising her dance to Lauren’s song. More people joined in for the final incantations, bowing their heads. It was a crisp, cool evening and before the sketch was done, I smelled of fire and incense. There were a few jokes about what self love might mean, but this gathering lifted that notion to a higher plane. I was given a white cut out heart with intricate silver patters swirling on it’s surface. It will make a fine Christmas ornament next year. A large group photo was taken in front of Dandelion and after some coaxing, I joined in.

The Fountain Works

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I have been working the grave yard shift till 1:15am at Full Sail. That means most events I usually go to sketch have to be bumped off my calendar for work. I could sketch at some clubs after 1am, but I don’t have it in me to sketch after working at Full Sail. For this reason I have been finding myself downtown with no preconceived notion of what I should sketch. I tend to park around Lake Eola since I like to use the public restrooms, before, or after I get a sketch done.

On this day, I sat myself down on the soft pine needles and sketched the fountain which was working after a long hiatus of stillness after it had been struck by lightning more than a year ago. No expense was spared to get this Orlando icon back up and running. Once the sketch was done, I packed my supplies and headed back to work.

Food Truck Bazaar

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Mark Baratelli sent me an e-mail letting me know that he had a framed “Best Of” award for the Mennello Museum mural that I did. He was hosting an Orlando Food Truck Bazaar at Fashion Square Mall and he said he would have the award with him. I of course would travel any distance for such a major award. The sun had set by the time I got to the Bazaar. About 35 food trucks were circled up, like western covered wagons. The first two trucks, Firehouse BBQ and Twisted Cuban were the brightest trucks in the bazaar with flashing lights and bright red paint. I sat down in the middle of the “coral” and started sketching.

Unfortunately, by the time I was finishing the sketch, many of the food trucks were running out of food. Viveca Averstedt of “swedeDISH” food truck looked over my shoulder to admire my work. Her blue truck with yellow stripes was also running out of food and they were cleaning up. She offered me an onion and cheese pie dish. I asked, “how much.” And she offered it to me on the house. It was absolutely delicious. The crust was light and flaky and the cheese and baked onion pie was sweet and rich. It came with a side salad with a tangy vinaigrette dressing. I might be tempted to come out to the next food truck bazaar to see what else she has on the menu.

Mark Baratelli found me and gave me the award for the Mennello museum mural. He said it was a good turn out with 1,500 people stopping out during the course of the evening. These bazaars are spreading throughout Central Florida and the trend continues to grow. People love to come out on cool winter nights to sample the food and relax in lawn and camping chairs. A few days later, I saw the swedeDISH food truck parked beside Tom & Jerry’s Lounge near the Enzian. It seems quite a few food trucks park there in their off hours.

City Arts Factory

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As part of ArtsFest, City Arts Factory opened its doors for free. Actually, I’m pretty sure you can walk into City Arts Factory anytime for free anyway, but they were also offering a chance to register for a chance to win gift pack including tickets for two to SAK Comedy Lab and Jazz Brunch at the Grand Bohemian Hotel. Since I had time in the afternoon before going to Full Sail, I decided to go to City Arts to sketch. Of course the place was empty.

The hallways were lined with “Youthful Expressions” from children from the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida. It was fun to see some of the pieces awarded red, blue and yellow ribbons, just like in a Country Fair. The work was from children in the surrounding four counties. The winners of this exhibit would move on to exhibit in the Regional South Eastern competition. Winners from that would move on to a National exhibit. I still remember the thrill I had as a child when I won a blue ribbon in a county fair in New Jersey. Any one of these kids could one day become great artists if their work is valued. Perhaps one day, I can help inspire these kids.

I decided to sit in the hallway and sketch “Orlando Guitartown” created by Munte Olinger. The large Guitar was inspired by Counting Crows and contributed to the space by Ford Keane and Jennifer Quigley. I remembered that Ford Keane is the owner of the building that houses Avalon Gallery and he is the President and CEO of City Beverages. Jennifer Quigley is Principal of WBQ Engineering. Children’s art consisted of, a bowl of spaghetti, a sea monster, and a series of colorful circles.

I was most intrigued by hand prints in cement in an indentation in the tile floor. These were hand prints of Mayor Buddy Dyer, Ford Keane and Jennifer Quigley. This must have come about when Orlando had lofty ambitions of becoming Hollywood East. A pair of pliers and some nails were placed on the cement and then the hole was filled with a piss yellow resin. The only people that entered the hall were searching for the restrooms in the back. A husband fingered his cell phone as his wife was in the bathroom.

Rite of Spring

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As part of Arts Fest, the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra opened up the Bob Carr so anyone could see them as they rehearsed Igor Stravinski’s “Rite of Spring” as well as Beethoven’s Symphony Number 6 “Pastorale“. I sat near the front row with a view off into the deep off stage wings. During any actual performance, sound panels are set up which block a view off stage. Cole Nesmith was there with some of his friends seated one row behind me in the center of the auditorium. He looked a bit ragged and worn with exhaustion from having set up and dismantled his 20 foot high “Tree of Light”. After a heavy tree branch broke off and crashed to the ground, he is having a 3D model made and getting a structural engineer to check the tree’s stability. I admire the huge Live Oak trees I see around town now all the more. Any tree is a marvel of engineering.

Conductor Chris Wilkins introduced “Rite of Spring” to the sparse audience. He said that in the ballet, a woman danced to the music in a pagan ritual to the point of exhaustion and beyond. He wouldn’t say more since children might be present. The music war raw and primal. I had never heard it performed live and the dissonance and complexity of the piece were exhilarating and unexpected. I only knew of the music thanks to Fantasia. This is the pop cultural image of primordial creation that has been burned into our collective memory.

Most of the audience cleared out during the break after “Rite of Spring” was performed. They missed the second half of the rehearsal. I had plenty of work still to do on the sketch so I worked right through the orchestra’s break. When “Pastorale” began to play, I began splashing pools of color on my sketch. Of course “Pastorale” also was in Fantasia. This music evokes feelings of a much more peaceful time perhaps on a country estate. Walking back to my truck, the music gradually was overwhelmed by honking horns, and the rush of traffic as people hurried about downtown.

Dog Powered Fundraiser 2.0

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D-D-DOG POWERED ROBOT: UPLOAD DPR FUNDRAISER 2.0, tonight, Saturday, February 25th 2012 from 7:00pm-11:00pm. You have only minutes before the awesomeness begins at Stardust Video & Coffee (1842 East Winter Park Road.)

Dog Powered Robot is returning…and he is bringing the whole robot crew with him! To ensure mega-awesomeness, he has activated the ultimate upgrade of ANDY MATCHETT & THE MINKS! Prepare to have your mind circuits blown!

Join TEAM DPR as we celebrate and raise money for our 2012 full length Fringe show: DOG POWERED ROBOT AND THE SUBSEQUENT ADVENTURE.

Post script: Three prints of my sketches of Dog Powered Rehearsals and performances are still on display in Stardust Video and Coffee through March 15th. Prints sold help raise funds for DPR.

Full Sail Construction

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Construction at Full Sail is an on going process as the school takes over store after store in the strip mall where I work. Once the tenants leave, the whole facade is usually stripped of all its brick work and then a new facade is put in place with strips of aluminum and paneling. Birds nest in the stripped facade and they get angry, chirping loudly when their nests are confiscated by construction workers. Glass paneling is decorating the building that used to be an Albertson’s Supermarket. All the temporary fencing just means I have to walk further to get to the few remaining restaurants when I want to get some lunch. A new coat of stucco usually polishes off the job before students start filing in.

Drunken Monkey

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That clock on the wall must have stopped. I agreed to meet Terry for a Beau Soleil concert at the Plaza Theater. Beau Soleil is a Cajun band and Terry just loves them as do I. I decided not to sketch the concert, so instead I went over to the Drunken Monkey right across the street to eat and sketch. I ordered a hot Portobello mushroom sandwich that was absolutely amazing. To drink, I ordered a mango slushy. A guy seated on a couch in the corner of the room was reading his iPad. Hear no evil and speak no evil wooden monkeys were squatting on a bookcase full of board games. The woman seated at the table in front of me had the intriguing habit of holding her index fingers over her lips when she wasn’t speaking.

A heart made of broken mirror shards was mounted on four colorful panels next to the door. As I sketched, someone approached and said, “You’re that artist!” I didn’t quite know how to respond. It was Banjo Bob. He showed me a painting of an owl on a wood panel he was working on. He had been painting outside, but it had started to drizzle. Banjo works at the Drunken Monkey and he said I could exhibit my sketches there any time. I just might take him up on that offer sometime. Hot soup, hot coffee, warm heart. I always enjoy returning to the Drunken Monkey.

The Beau Soleil concert was amazing. The crowd was older than I expected with plenty of gray hair. When I glance in the mirror however, I realize, I fit right in. Terry and I danced quite a bit. Since I wasn’t sketching, I soaked in the music and drank. After two beers I was dancing like Fred Astaire. Terry suggested we show off our best Cajun dance moves. Another couple had some really smooth moves as well. Between sets, I talked to the woman, Joanne Conero. She and her husband Al teach dancing up in the Villages. She was also a member of the Clearwater environmental group. It was at a Clearwater festival more than 20 years ago. Incredibly small world. When Terry returned with another beer, we were shown a new move which we now have to try out sometime. I miss the Clearwater, a community with a heart and a cause.

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. This was the sketch stolen.

American Shoe Repair

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American Shoe Repair (616 North Bumby Ave) is one of the few if not the only place to get your shoes repaired. I went based on a reader’s tip. The room where repairs are made is segregated from the rest of the store. When I told the store manager that I wanted to sketch, he seemed very leery. His wife was intrigued however so I was allowed to sketch from behind a glass partition. The large red machine was a burnisher. A large cylinder spun to polish the leather. High heeled women’s shoes were piled up everywhere. People must be repairing their shoes in this economy rather than buying new pairs. I do have some shoes at home that are a bit worn in the heel. Now I know where to bring them.