Drink and Draw

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Sarah Jane Rozman hosted a Drink and Draw at The Nook on Robinson (2432 E. Robinson St, Orlando, Florida). I host an Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) once a month as well so I decided to stop in to see how this Drink and Draw differed. The biggest difference was that a winner got $$$ for their bar tab! The artists in attendance all were given a theme so all the at produced tied together. Finished pieces were taped to the wall. Since I was working on this sketch, I didn’t follow the rules.

The good thing about this venue was that the Drink and Draw directly followed Tasty Tuesday which is a food truck event that happens each Tuesday in the parking lot behind The Nook. This guarantees that Tuesday nights are going to be pretty crowded. I knew Sarah since she used to work at Art Systems in the print department. Unfortunately the color printer seldom worked so I started getting my prints at RT Art instead.

In 2019 I let ODD lapse since Orlando Urban Sketchers were hosting so many successful sketch events. Unfortunately those outing were almost all on days I was teaching art at Elite Animation Academy or Crealde School of Art. I still try and sketch every night so my best chance to meet fellow artists is to start hosing ODD events again once a month.

The Sower

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Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens (633 Osceola Ave, Winter Park, FL) was kind enough to allow my Sunday morning Crealde Urban Sketch Class students a chance to sketch in their gorgeous sculpture garden. I decided to do a very quick sketch of a student as she sketched The Sower.

The Sower created in 1911 is a prime example of Polasek’s mastery of the human form, the dramatically
modeled figure of the Sower has a classically inspired face and a
strong, muscular body. Using the parable of Jesus about the sower – “a
sower went forth to sow” – as his inspiration, Polasek’s interpretation
shows a man scattering the seed of good throughout the world. Sower won
an Honorable Mention in the spring 1913 Paris Salon.

Albin Polasek, (born February 14, 1879 and died May 19, 1965) was a
Czech-American sculptor and educator. He created more than four hundred
works during his career, two hundred of which are now displayed in the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens in Winter Park, Florida. 

In 1950, Polasek retired at age 70 to Winter Park, Florida, design­ing his home on pic­turesque Lake Osce­ola.
Within months he suffered a stroke that left his left side paralyzed. He subsequently completed eighteen major works with his right hand only. Towards the end of 1950, at age 71, he married former student Ruth Sherwood
who died 22 months later in October, 1952. In 1961, Polasek married
Emily Muska Kubat. Upon his death in 1965, Polasek was buried beside his
first wife in Winter Park’s Palm Cemetery, where his 12th Station of the Cross (1939) is his monument. Emily M. K. Polasek died in 1988.

Runway to Haiti: Ambassador Event & Photo Opportunity

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I went to Macbeth Studio (37 North Orange Avenue, Suite 900, Orlando, Florida) to sketch the Runway to Haiti Ambassador Event. Rebuild Globally and Macbeth Studio  joined forces to host this event to promote the upcoming fundraiser, Runway to Haiti: A Night of Impact and Ethical Fashion!

Many Central Floridians had volunteered, donated, traveled, modeled, and represented REBUILD globally over the years and became that organization’s biggest community advocates.

Rebuild Globally was born from the disaster of
the 2010 Haiti earthquake and survived in its wake by embarking on a
mission to provide a sustainable, entrepreneurial solution for
survivors. It is is a nonprofit organization promoting prosperity by growing an
educated and skilled workforce in Haiti and ensuring a pathway to
dignified employment.They believe education and job training programs are the most powerful
weapons in the fight against extreme poverty. We create powerful and
holistic programs that empower men and women to obtain degrees and work
placement, ending the cycle of poverty in their lives, their families’
lives, and in their communities.

The ambassador Event was a fun and casual evening and help spread the word for Runway to Haiti: A Night of Impact and Ethical Fashion.

This event included great photo ops with a one-of-a-kind backdrop designed by local Haitian artist Patrick Noze, as well as some food and refreshments. Julie Colombino the CEO and founder of Rebuild Globally posed for a photo as I sketched. In the mural behind her a woman held a basket on her head with one hand raised to keep the basket balanced. Julie mimicked the pose and I assume the photographer, Jim Hobart lined things up just right so that it seemed like she had the two dimensional basket on her head. Jim is a board member of Rebuild Globally and he has taken some amazing documentary photos of  this organizations amazing work over the years.

REBUILD globally creates powerful and holistic programs that empower men and women to obtain degrees, work placement, and end the cycle of poverty in their lives, their families lives, and in their communities.

Aku Aku Tiki Bar

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I went to Aku Aku Tiki Bar ( 431 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL) to taste the Tiger F#cker with a local muralist and his partner. During
the 1940s and ‘50s, tropical drinks were a sensation, cooling down
sweltering adults across the country. Ernest Raymond
Beaumont Gantt of Los Angeles Bar, Don the Beachcomber and Victor Bergeron of the Trader Vic chain popularized these refreshing sippers. 

The Tiger F#cker cocktail created by Aku Aku’s Eric Solomon is becoming famous. It is made with 44* North Huckleberry Vodka and House made Jalapeno blackberry syrup. It was a sweet concoction that had a hot after bite and a serious kick. The bar itself was a refrigerated sheet of metal which was very cold to the touch. So if you sauntered in on a hot Central Florida day, you could cool down just by resting your elbows on the bar and sipping a tropical drink.

Puffer fish and surf board hang from the ceiling. Conversations at the end of the bar turned to game nights and card games. This is definitely a place I plan to return to to drink and draw.

The Battle of Townsend’s Plantation Civil War Festival

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A re-enactment of Townsend’s Plantation Civil War Battle was waged at Renningers Mount Dora Flea Market and Antique Center (20651 US-441, Mount Dora, Florida 32757). The festival featured live Civil War Re-enactments, living history exhibits, folk
music, weaponry demonstrations, authentic camps and Sutlers, full scale
artillery, cavalry and soldiers in time-period uniforms and weaponry,
a Civil War era Dress Ball, and more. 

I stopped at the Medical Department wagon and tent to sketch the basket of severed limbs and the exhausted doctor who was happy to offer insights into the medical tools of the trade back in the 1860s. The rest of the morning as spent sketching civil war camps of both Union and Confederate soldiers. Those sketching opportunities were periodically interrupted by muster drills as the troops prepared for battle.


My 5th great grandfather Augustus Elias Julius Thorspecken was a doctor n the civil war era, so his dexterity with a saw blade must have been impressive.

Weekend Top 6 Picks January 4 and 5, 2019

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Saturday January 4, 2019

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. John H Jackson Community Center, 3107, 1002 W Carter St, Orlando, FL 32805. Purchase
quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own neighborhood by local
farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando, and other community
growers.

10am to 4pm. Free. Sanford Farmers Market. First and Magnolia Sanford Fl. 

8pm to 10pm. Free. Shuffleboard. Orlando’s Beardall Courts 800 Delaney Ave Orlando FL.

1st Saturday of each month. 

Sunday January 5, 2019

10am to 4pm. Free. Lake Eola Farmers Market. Lake Eola Park, 512 E Washington St, Orlando, FL 32801. 

10am to 2pm Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources. 

Noon to 3pm Donation based. Music at the Casa. Casa Feliz Historic Home Museum, 656 N Park Ave, Winter Park, FL 32789. Members
of the public are invited to visit our historic home museum on a Sunday
afternoon to listen to live music and take a tour of our historic home
museum and the James Gamble Rogers II Studio by trained docents.

Montreal Canada

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I joined Pam for a conference in Montreal for best practices in Oral Histories. The nocturnal view from the hotel window reminded me of New York City. While the conference was gong on in the daytime, I explored the city with my sketchbook. I went to several really good art museums and the restaurant scene was booming.

I also spent time sketching in the conference specifically at the presentation given by the Orange County Regional History Center about the oral histories being collected in the wake of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

Local Varkers Market

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Pam Schwartz and I went to Aardvark Beverages (2610 South Ferncreek Ave, Orlando, Florida 32806) for the Local Varkers Market. This market was weekly on Tuesday Nights. Pets were encouraged, so we brought our pup Sprout. It is a vintage and handmade market with 20 Vendors, Live Music, Craft Beer, Wine, Coffee, and Food. The Free outdoor market ran from 5pm until 9pm.

All ages were welcome. With all encouraged to bring the whole family out for a community celebration!

If you are interested in becoming a vendor please email Suzette. It was bitter cold that night so I decided it was best to sit close to the open fire to sketch. Sprout made friends with many of the vendors as I sketched. It was a community effort to get the flames started and well fed. The logs crackled and spit out sparks which rose up. blending with the cold evening stars.

Christmas in Iowa

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Roger and Jenni had a new baby, Maxwell, who was the center of attention at the Schwartz abode this year at Christmas. This little bundle kicked and squirmed constantly. He also seemed to be consistently amazed by a ceiling fan. Jenni explained that it might just be the contrast of dark against light that caught his eye. Pam’s other nephew, Cooper, just two days older than Max, didn’t get to visit as long as he had to head off to other family engagements.

The Christmas tree was half sized this year and was entirely set up by Pam’s nephew Easton. The star on top was cocked to the side at just the right quizzical angle. When the whole family arrived on Christmas day there were so many loud, boisterous conversations and arguments happening at the same time that I was rather overwhelmed. The best way for me to maintain some straight forward train of thought was to keep adding lines to the sketch. Christmas movies flickered on the TV, including The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Klaus.

Christmas dinner included huge steaks and cheesy potatoes, followed by multiple pies and then games.

Christmas Day Baby Photos

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Christmas day followed a full day of High School Senior photos shot in scenic spots around Iowa. Kim was the photographer and Pam art directed, finding scenic spots to shoot the photos around the countryside. Over 700 photos were shot of Destiny in her new Christmas outfits that Pam helped her pick out. On Christmas day, family gradually trickled into the Schwartz abode with the anticipated present opening happening in the living room.

Pam’s nephews and nieces ripped through paper to unveil electronic furby styled toys and tiny foxes that hang onto fingers. The tiny creatures apparently learn phrases and repeat them. There are 2 new babies in the family and Kim bravely set up a photo studio in the entry hall to the house to take photos of the two well-behaved babies. When it came time to shoot the photos, however, both kids became cranky and uncooperative. One did not like the cushion bed set up and was more comfortable lying directly on the floor. Models are known for their face gymnastics but these two went red faced as they struggled to poop during the shoot. Large bulb Christmas lights were set up in a circle around the kids to make it clear that these were Christmas scenes. A Christmas ornament was used to get these would be models to focus.

Every minute of the shoot was a challenge with moms and the photographer struggling for the best possible shot.