67 Books

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In honor of National Library Week (April 11-17, 2010), Brian Feldman organized a week long performance where 67 Orange County Library System (OCLS) card holders read aloud for one hour at a time from any book they choose from the OCLS collection, on the entry roof of the Orlando Public Library downtown branch. The event is an independent production of Brian Feldman Projects and is supported through in-kind donations of area businesses and individuals, and has not been paid for by the Orange County Library System.

Every reader to this point had been taken up to the roof overlooking the entryway to the library. This area is like a large never used balcony with a grand view of the street below, and makes for an impressive staging area. Mary Hill was open to the idea of me sketching her as she read Thomas Morton‘s book “Contemplative Prayer.” She was set up with a wireless mic and she then began to read. Speakers carried her voice to any passersby, and on rare occasions someone would look up and notice her perched high above the entry. When she reached for a sip of water, a homeless man across the street threw his hands up in the air and cheered. The sun was pounding down that afternoon and I sketched from the only patch of shade on the roof. After Mary had been replaced with another reader, she said her eyes had dried out and she had trouble focusing. She laid down for a while and rested on the concrete ledge before we both went back down to ground level using the scissor lift.

Harriett Lake is a renowned Orlando philanthropist and supporter of the arts. When I discovered she was going to be a reader, I knew I had to sketch her. Her choice of “The Catcher in the Rye” was also a bit controversial since this book at times has been banned from school curricula. Harriet told Brian she couldn’t go up in the lift because of her age and slight disability. She was seated in one of the two red camping chairs Brian had set up on the street level near the computer which was mission central. Harriet needed a more comfortable chair so a wheelchair was bought out for her to sit in. Harriet’s enthusiasm for the book was evident from the start as she read a newspaper article about the book and author, J. D. Salinger. She lost her grip on the article when she finished and the paper started to blow down the street. A passerby picked it up and tried to hand it back, but she was already reading the book and didn’t notice him.

Amanda Chadwick came over with her very frightened dachshund. She tried to calm the dog, but it would jump and scurry any time there was aloud noise. In front of the public library, there are many loud noises. Ambulances rushed by, the electronic lift screeched and groaned. People exiting the library bust out with loud laughter and joking as they escape the deafening silence from inside. Through it all, Harriet read with enjoyment the small orange paperback.

She read, “Pencey was full of crooks. Quite a few guys came from these wealthy families, but it was full of crooks anyway. The more expensive school is, the more crooks it has – I’m not kidding.” Twice she stopped reading and started laughing. She shouted out, “This is a funny book, I forgot how darn funny it is.” I laughed out loud as well sharing her delight. Homeless men with backpacks and business men in suits shuffled by. A few times people stopped, surprised by all the camera equipment and lights and they listened for a brief moment before hurrying off.

She read aloud, “People never notice anything.” This seemed so appropriate as people rushed all around her always focused on a destination rather than savoring this moment here and now. Harriet was the last reader for the day and when her hour was up Brian approached her and let her know. She shouted back, “What? THAT was an hour?! It didn’t feel like an hour!” I laughed out loud again. When you’re doing something you love, time flies and life always finds a way to interrupt the process. There was magic in the moments Harriet was reading in front of the library. The fact that she was so much closer to all the activity on the street, and the fact that nothing phased her made this feel like an important and meaningful sign that art endures amidst life’s chaos.

I will be reading as part of 67 Books on Saturday April 17th from 3 to 4 PM. I am not entirely sure which book I am reading yet, but in the running are “The Fountainhead” by Ann Rand and “Book of Sketches” by Jack Kerouac. Which do you think I should read, any suggestions?

Hip Dog Hydrotherapy

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I arrived at Hip Dog Hydrotherapy (4965 Palmetto Avenue) just as Linda Brandt was getting in the pool with her dog Otis. Otis lost his right front leg to bone cancer just over 3 years ago. At the time she was told he would probably only live 6 to 9 months. They offered to do chemo and radiation treatments which might prolong his life to 11 months. She decided to spare Otis the radiation and chemo. For 2 months after the leg was gone Otis experienced phantom pain symptoms. Linda would hear him yelp in pain for no apparent reason. She bought him in for acupuncture and she feels that helped the pain. His recovery from the amputation was fairly rapid. He was up and walking within a week.
In the pool Cherylann Blay-Marques was massaging Otis’s hip joints. He floated peacefully as Linda held his outstretched paw for support. Hart Campbell, Cherylann’s assistant would often also help keep Otis secure and afloat. Hart’s basset hound, Brain, was curious about what I was doing. Hart warned me to watch my pallet since Brain would most likely stick his nose in it. Brain came over and sat on my foot the whole time I was sketching. In the pool Cherylynn grasped Otis at the base of the skull and he let out a moan of pleasure. When all his joints were loose Linda backed up to the pool steps and Otis swam over to her. His movements in the water were graceful and smooth even with 3 legs. He hopped up out of the pool and shook the water off of his fur. Linda went to change out of her wet clothes and he waited anxiously for her, standing stoically by the fence.
The next appointment was for Oakly a black pointer who was terrified of water. His owner Julie Thompson has to drag him to the pools edge with the leash. He dug his claws into the concrete and they scratched in resistance. He tried sitting and leaning back resisting the pressure of the leash. Julie had to lift him up and he squirmed as she placed him on the pool steps. He tried everything possible to get his feet out of the water. If Julie held his front quarters he would step his hind quarters up and out. It was a long comical struggle between owner and pet. When he went in deeper water, he panicked and thrashed his front legs high up above the water splashing like crazy. It was just like a child play acting like they were about to drown. Finally Cherylann grabbed him securely. She began to massage him and he relaxed instantly. She wanted to assure him that he was in control of the situation so she let him go and allowed him to swim out of the pool. This time he swam with grace and speed. He actually seemed to enjoy the swim.
Hip Dog Hydrotherapy has been around for 9 years. Tom Nowicki who is also an actor started the business. Cherylann started working there 4 years ago. The business has grown into a non-profit and they have helped over a thousand dogs over the years. The business rents the pool from the owner of the property and the place is now up for sale. They are now looking for a new home for this inspiring enterprise.
Driving home I was surprised when I got choked up thinking about what I had just sketched. It is rewarding to watch a pointer overcome its fears and find joy in its natural behavior. Otis proved the vets wrong and is still going strong and enjoying life. He isn’t letting his small handicap slow him down. As his owner Linda said, “I’m a very proud dog mommy! Otis is my hero.”

Crealde Welcome Garden Mosaic

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At the last minute I decided to go to Crealde in Winter Park for a Sunday morning sketch class. When I got to the school I saw this mosaic being created and I stopped in my tracks and wanted to draw. I had come to draw from a model however, so I went into the studio and started to set up, but I couldn’t stop thinking about the mosaic being created right outside the door. The model was a beautiful young girl but I finally decided to pack up my supplies and I went outside to sketch the artist at work. Her name is Lynn Tomlinson. She worked non stop for well over two hours. She would use the snippers to snip tiles and then slather on the fixative or cement and set the tile in place. The whole design was already drawn out and much of her attention on this day was devoted to placing bright yellow and orange tiles around the school name. Lynn said that she had designed the mural along with Nicki Pierson.
The Crealde Welcome Garden Mosaic is being created to celebrate Crealde’s 35th anniversary. All the funds for the mural’s creation came from grassroots fund raising. The mosaic has been in the works for many months now. Artists have been pressing tiles as a way to raise money for the project. An individual could press a tile for just $20 and a business could sponsor a tile for $100. These sponsored tiles are the green oval shapes in the sketch. The mosaic is taking shape quickly thanks to the many volunteers and artists who have worked together collaborating at every step in the process. I have no doubt that the next time I stop out for a sketch class, this mosaic will be finished. Besides the mosaic, recent renovations to the campus were funded by a recent $100,000 grant from the Orange County Cultural Affairs Council for a campus facelift, including a new entry that extends into an attractive patio area and beautiful landscaping bought out to the front of the property. All these changes are a huge milestone for Crealde.

Florida Film Festival – No Grits No Glory

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Friday evening the Florida Film Festival kicked off with a fabulous party called “No Grits, No Glory“. When I drove into the Enzian parking lot, an attendant stopped me and made sure I wasn’t there to see the film that was slated for that night. He told me there had been a mistake in one of the ads and he wanted to be sure I was coming to the party. I immediately sat down and started to sketch the marquee which invited guests to the 19th annual Florida Film Festival. A reporter and cameraman set up on the steps and stood around for sometime, perhaps waiting for a live feed. The reporter then delivered his lines quickly and they both drove off in the Channel 6 news van. Lance Turner, a photographer approached me and asked if I would be doing many sketches at the festival and I explained that I intended to sketch as much as possible this year. He then took several pictures as I worked and disappeared into the growing crowd. Later in the evening, Brian Feldman told me that he had personally placed the lettering on the Enzian marquee as practice for an upcoming performance. I later saw him being interviewed by Orlando Live about his 67 Books project.
When I finished my first sketch, I went inside and sat up front near the stage to watch this amazing brother and sister singing team of Thomas and Olivia Wynn. They harmonized beautifully and the songs resonated deeply, leaving me feeling sad and uplifted. Listening to them sing was the highlight of the evening for me and the music made sketching a breeze. This brother and sister team was later joined by the drummer and several guitar players. The group is known as Thomas Wynn and the Believers. I was tapping my foot and swaying side to side the whole time. I became a believer.
The theme for the evening’s food was southern and I tried a few samples, but I didn’t want to waste to much time eating when there might be another sketch to be made. A server warned me that the pork was hot and boy was it! I chased it down with some shrimp which soothed my screaming taste buds. I then wandered outside and was shocked at how crowded the Eden Bar had gotten. I wandered elbow to elbow in the crowd for a while but decided after trying some desserts that I didn’t have another sketch in me. I couldn’t find a place to rest my eyes in this ever-changing sea of people. I decided to head home and rest. The Florida Film Festival is like a sketch artists marathon and I have to pace myself.

Philharmonic Concert

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My wife had tickets to the Tribute to Leonard Bernstein concert at the Bob Carr performing arts center. We were seated back in row N. I felt quite claustrophobic, unable to move my arms without bumping the person seated next to me. Terry also acknowledged that these seats were a tighter fit than usual. I knew what to expect with the first half of the concert since I had sketched the rehearsal the night before. When the intermission rolled around I was glad for the chance to stretch my legs and arms. Terry lead the way up to the patrons lounge where people were lined up for champagne and wine. When we returned to the theater, we sat in the front row so I could do a quick sketch of this historic performance.
This was the last performance by conductor Andrew Lane at the Bob Carr. He was resigning from the Orlando Philharmonic which he had helped foster and grow for the last 17 years. For this reason the concert had a bitter sweet feel to it. When Andrew waved and walked off the stage it was for the last time. The orchestra and audience gave him a long standing ovation. Toasts were offered in his honor at the back stage gathering after the concert. There were plenty of rumors circulating about reasons for his departure, but the bottom line remains the same, Orlando has just lost a great conductor who helped inspire the orchestra to push themselves to new heights. I for one will miss him.

Philharmonic rehearsal

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I went to the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center to watch a rehearsal for “A Tribute to Lenny” conducted by Andrew Lane. In the lounge there was a younger crowd than usual having sandwiches and drinks prior to the rehearsal. I thought I was going to an event that is usually attended by board members, where the board members are invited to sit on stage right next to the performers. I quickly made my way onstage. I was surprised to find none of the other patrons back stage. I got a chair but when I sat down, I couldn’t see over the whole orchestra. I decided I had to sketch standing up.
This concert was a tribute to Leonard Bernstein, with selections from Candide, On the Town, and West Side Story. I love the overture to Candide and it helped me relax as I blocked in the sketch.
Soprano Angela Mortellaro was standing right behind me as I worked. I started feeling self conscious thinking I might get kicked out of the wings when Union stage hands realized I was in the way. I even thought Angela might ask me what I was doing and ask me to leave. When she walked onstage to sing Glitter and be Gay from Candide, she turned to me and smiled as she walked by. I realized she had much more important things on her mind. Her performance was stunning she has a range that the music fully put to the test. The song left me felling joy and excitement mixed with a deep sadness.
As is typical in a rehearsal there were many stops and starts. The harp player didn’t play for the longest time. I had planned to sketch her playing but instead she sat through most of the rehearsal reading a magazine. I patiently waited to catch her performing and then I sketched frantically thinking she might stop before I finished. The same was true for the string players who would remove the instruments from their chins and hide it in their laps. I was just about finished with my sketch when half the program had been performed. The orchestra went on a break and I put down my final washes and packed up. I decided this sketch was enough for one night. I planned to see the concert the following evening with my wife.

Zora Neale Hurston Festival

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The Zora Neale Hurston Festival is held in the final weeks of January. The festival is held in the small town of Eatonville which is just north of Lee Road. Eatonville is the the oldest incorporated African American municipality in the United States. Zora Neale Hurston is one of most significant authors of African-American culture in the world, and many of her works celebrate her hometown of Eatonville, right here in Central Florida! 2010 marked 50 years since Hurston’s death.
The event features museum exhibitions, public talks, panel discussions, workshops and concerts. It culminates with a three-day weekend Street Festival of the Arts, which features everything from literacy programs for children; performances by local, regional and national acts; Juried Arts competitions, presenting fine artists with their original artwork in competition for cash prizes; an international marketplace, where visitors purchase wares from around the world, an international food pavilion featuring an array of food options and more.
When I got to the Eatonville, I found Kennedy Boulevard, the main road, closed to traffic. I pulled into a small churches dirt parking lot. I walked down the boulevard past a local bar and many small somewhat rundown wooden homes. Soon there were vendors tents and I walked the length of the vendors area looking for a subject for a sketch. I finally settled on this collection of large wooden sculptures. The proprietor wore a brown leather jacket and light brown pants. Once in a while he would move some of the larger pieces, I suppose figuring the new arrangement would draw in more costumers. Periodically people would look over my shoulder to see what I was up to. One woman told me all about a silk painting she had bought for really cheep. She later returned and showed me the artwork she had bought. The image is created entirely with thin strands of colored silk pasted down in a spiral pattern. The silk caught the light and sent it back to the viewer with a bright shimmer. Another family stopped to look, and it turns out the young boy has been teaching himself Flash animation on the computer, so I explained about how I had worked for Disney Feature Animation for ten years. They asked me for advice on any books about animation I might recommend and I gave them my top pics.
There was plenty of color to be seen at the festival although my sketch seems to only demonstrate a sea of brown. I ordered some food from a vendor and listened to some gospel music before I headed home.

The Doggie Door

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Debbie Hayle invited me to go to the Doggie Door (329 North Park Avenue, Winter Park) to go to a meeting of the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel club. The King Charles Spaniel is the same breed of dog that Charlotte York became obsessed with in “Sex and the City”. When I arrived there were a few dog owners in the store but over time more and more Spaniels and their owners arrived.
Debbie had a cake made with a photo of her first Spaniel on the frosting. These dogs are a very excited and active breed. There was plenty of sniffing and tail swishing going on. Some owners were not content with just one dog and they walked in with a pack of spaniels. The bull dog in the sketch is actually a ceramic sculpture.
One little spaniel started growling and snapping at the other dogs. The owner immediately took the dog outside. Debbie had invited a professional animal trainer to come in and give a talk. He approached the woman with the aggressive dog and then demonstrated how she should be training him to stop the aggressive behavior. Rather than remove the dog from the situation he simply tugged at the collar to get the dogs attention. He would then reintroduce the dog to the situation where the aggressive behavior was initiated. If the dog behaved he was rewarded, if it was aggressive again he tugged again to get the dogs attention. The dog soon knew without a doubt what the trainer wanted it to do. Within a minute the dog was no longer being aggressive towards the other dogs.

A DRIP Day-glow Paint Surprise Party

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This sketch was done a while ago as DRIP prepared to perform at the City Arts Factory. Evan Miga is busy preparing the printing press while David Traver is working on hanging mirrors from the rafters. Samantha Hudson is the dancer waiting in the wings. For this performance the dancers used the press to print edible ink on small cakes that were then offered to the audience. After this sketch was done Jessica Mariko asked to see what I had done. As I was showing her a City Arts staff member approached me and said “Excuse me this is a veeery exclusive event, you will have to leave.” Then with a flick of his wrist he said “Shoo!” My sketch was finished and I was ready to go anyway, but once again I found myself not welcome.
Months later I was invited to go to a surprise birthday party for Evan. The party took place in a small children’s art studio off of Colonial Drive called “My Art Studio” ( 4401 East Colonial Drive, Suite 106). I arrived early as instructed with a towel and a change of clothes. I entered an empty room where dancers were painting Happy Birthday in day-glow green paint on the walls. I helped by painting a blazing sun under the birthday lettering. Terry stopped in but she was still in her work clothes. I suspected things would get messy. I decided to leave my sketchpad in the safe room. When the main lights were turned off and a black light turned on the lettering glowed vibrantly. Jessica informed us that Evan was on the way and so we all hid behind a table for the surprise. We all crouched behind the table in the dark for the longest time, the anticipation growing. The plan was that Christie would walk Evan to the center of the room and then the black light would flick on and we all would shout surprise while stripping Evan and getting him into grubby work clothes. Then he was doused with a full bucket of watery paint and hit with silly string.
Paper was taped to the walls and we all painted at each and had to move on when the music changed. The music changed often until there was barely time to get one stroke on each page. Soon we were just throwing paint at the walls. Then the paint war began and I was caught in the cross fire! Everyone started throwing sponges soaked in paint at each other. Then paint was thrown straight from the bottles. Syringes were used as high power paint pistols. Before I knew it I was soaked head to toe, a living day-glow Pollock painting. When there was finally no paint left, Evan started hosing people down. For whatever reason this room had a garden hose and a drain in the center of the floor. He hit me with the cold spray and I washed the paint off my head and arms as fast as I could. Afterward we all lay down on the wet floor and had a group photo taken with Evan in the center. DRIP certainly knows how to throw a creative birthday party! It turns out anyone can plan a paint party at “My Art Studio.”

Rebounderz

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Rebounderz (408 South Ronald Regan Boulevard, Longwood) his an indoors trampoline arena with 7,460 square feet of rebounding surfaces. The trampolines not only cover the whole floor, but also the walls. This was my second time going to Rebounderz. Katie Windish first told me about Rebounderz, and I finally went, thanks to a facebook invite from Amanda Chadwick. The first time I went, I didn’t do a sketch, I simply jumped for as long as my body would allow me. You rent shoes just like in a bowling alley and are given a wrist band with a number which allows the staff to know how long you have been bounding. I was given a quick series of lessons from one of the “referees”. I was taught how to roll and advised against landing straight legged on any of the green mats. I was told that if I wanted to do somersaults, I should ask for more advice. I had no intention of doing somersaults.
I limited my activity to bounding straight up and down trying to gain more height by throwing my arms up as well. Within ten minutes I was exhausted. I tried bounding off the walls, but I tended to just go splat and then slide straight down till I found myself seated on one of the mats. While seated I watched one guy bounce off a wall and then bound off the floor trampoline and complete the circuit by bounding off the other center pyramid shaped trampolines.
During the course of doing this sketch two girls had to be helped out of the room being supported by a friend and one of the referees. They hopped on one leg just like a football player being guided off the field. I don’t know how serious their injuries were. You might notice that the line work in this sketch is a lot more hectic than usual. That is because when seated on the green mat, I would be violently bounced around anytime someone bounced on the trampoline in front of me. Rather than loose patience, I simply learned to stop drawing when they bounced and then put down a quick pen stroke before they bounced again.
How often is it that you get to do something completely new? Rebounderz was certainly a new experience for me, and it is a really good workout.