Art Deco Weekend

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Orlando Urban Sketchers, Miami Urban Sketchers, and Tampa Urban Sketchers, will be a part of Art Deco Weekend in trendy South Beach Miami  this year. You can sketch with us at the Miami Beach Historic
District to capture the essence of the 1920 Era in your
sketchbook. This event is FREE. All ages and all drawing levels and skills are welcome.

The Art Deco Weekend festival by the Miami Design Preservation League is thrilled to include for the first time the Urban Sketchers in their official program with a series of Sketch walks, Urban Sketching
demonstrations and “Drink and Draw” events. Join us as we draw the
architectural gems of the Miami Beach Historic Art Deco District and
capture the essence of the 1920s Art Deco Weekend Festival Events.

A Sketchwalk is
an interactive walking tour run by urban sketcher leaders, where participants stop to pull out their sketchbooks and capture the scene in
a drawing. These on location from observation sketches tell the story
of place, time, and community. Equipped with inks and colors, urban
sketchers use their personal drawing techniques, interpreting their view
through their own styles. At each walk, through a ceremonious
“Sketchbook Throwdown”, the incredible variety of work captured is
shared and discussed, providing inspiration and a fascinating show and
tell for all.

The primary leading instructors are; James Richards,
Thomas Thorspecken, Gaston McKenzie and Greg Bryla, together with
instructors members of the FL USk chapters.

I will be hosting two demos, called, Leaf Something Behind.

Location: Versace Mansion – South beach park, opposite the Villa Casa Casuarina (1116 Ocean Dr., Miami Beach, FL 33139).

Description: As artists our goal is to leave something behind with the sketches we create.

Using found object Grape Leaves to do a pen and ink sketch of the active festival street scene.

On the beach front there are Sea Grape trees that have large round leathery leaves.

We will hang out in the beach front park or on the street as I do a sketch of the scene in pen and ink on one of these leaves.

The leaves can be mailed as post cards and I plan to test this out with the finished sketch.

Should
you like to do a leaf sketch yourself, I can’t guarantee there are
enough lying on the ground, but there were plenty last time I visited.

What to bring:
Bring your sketchbook and sketching supplies of your choice. As this
event is OUTDOORS be prepared with drinking water, portable chair/stool,
and appropriate clothes for the weather.

Where: Sketch walks commence at the Urban Sketchers tent (1001 Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL 33139).

Orlando Scrabble Club

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Pam Schwartz is ultra competitive and loves games. She joined me on a trip to Wirz Park (8006 Mark David Blvd Casselberry Florida) to attend Orlando Scrabble Club. We got to meet other central Florida Scrabble players. Everyone is welcome, from new players to tournament players. Scrabble is a word game where you get tiles with letters on them and the player with the most points on the board wins. Different letter tiles have different numeric values. For instance Y is worth 4 points while vowels like A, E, I, O, U are worth one point. Scrabble has a game board, 100 letter tiles, a letter bag, and four racks.

I am not good at word games so I figured I would be safe sketching while I watched Pam play. I thought this would be a nice relaxed community of players but Scrabble players are hard core. Each table had a times to keep the action moving at a break neck speed. Players at each table had to agree on which dictionary to use in case there was a dispute about a word. The room was tense. There must have been quite a few serious tournament players in the room. Pam later let me know that players she was up against new the most obscure words. She was the beginner in the room but she was a good sport.

The Orlando Scrabble Club is the best place for meeting other players in the Orlando, or central Florida areas. They meet Mondays at 7:00 p.m. at the Wirz Park Recreation Building in Casselberry, FL. Visit their meetings page for a map and directions to the venue.

Take pART, A Festival of the Arts

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I went to St. Luke’s United Methodist Church (4851 S Apopka Vineland Rd Orlando Florida) to Take pART in a Festival of the Arts held in their community Room. This used to be the place I went to vote so I was aware of  the location. St. Luke’s hosted this
new event celebrating creativity and local artists.

 The year’s theme was “Footloose and fancy free,” in
partnership with St. Luke’s summer musical Footloose. All were welcome
to submit original fine art related to the theme.

Take pART was a free event open to everyone. Art lovers and creatives could enjoy a stroll through “Artist Alley” to view artwork in the Fine
Art Gallery. There were featured artistic demonstrations and
workshops, where you could make and take your own artwork. There was
even a creative kids corner for budding artists. Pencils and markers could be found on each of the round tables and that is where I set up to sketch.

The evening’s main event was an Open Mic Night starting at 6:00 p.m. It was largely an evening of Karaoke. The one song I took note of was Killing Me Softly composed by Charles Fox with lyrics by Norman Gimbel. The song was written in collaboration with Lori Lieberman, who recorded it in late 1971. It was a number-one hit in 1973 for Roberta Flack.The performance at Take pART wasn’t quite as haunting. I ended up sketching a woman performing a spoken word piece.

Set build for Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley

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I went to the Orlando Shakes scenic shop to watch the set build for Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley by Lauren Gunderson and Margot Melcon. Jeff Ferree with his unicorn, hotdog, and patriotic popsicles shirt,was busy populating several book shelves. The shelves needed books and he realized there was plenty of left over styrofoam in the shop, so he decided to create the book using the foam rather than getting a whole lot of heavy books. Once the book forms were cut they then needed to be sanded and the ridge of the binding needed to be added. In the background, Hannah Kleinpeter, was sanding consistently as I sketched. I actually started my sketch with her since she was so focused on the task at hand. All the cutting and sanding had to be interrupted for a while when the theater next door filled up with students excited to see a show.

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley will light up your holiday season. It is
a touching romantic comedy with a gorgeous set with lots of custom books. Jane Austen’s quick wit and lively humor are
preserved in this Pride and Prejudice sequel. All your favorites, Lizzy,
Mr. Darcy, Jane, Lydia, and especially Mary Bennet have gathered for Christmas.
Awkward and bookish, Mary had been written off as a spinster, but when a
curious visitor comes for the holiday, Mary blossoms, finding a kindred spirit
who challenges her intellect and just may capture her heart. Can Mary become
the heroine of her own destiny? Could this mean independence for the dutiful
middle sister? The delightful love story unfolds like a Christmas card for
Austen devotees and newbies alike. 

Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley runs through December 29, 2019.

Orlando Shakes in the Margeson
Theater

John and Rita Lowndes
Shakespeare Center

812 East Rollins Street,
Orlando, FL 32803

Ticket Information:

Wednesdays – Saturdays
at 7:30 p.m. and every Sunday and select Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. – starting at
$30.  Preview Performances and
Senior Matinees – starting at $20.

CAST

Mary Bennet: Kristin
Shirilla

Arthur de Bourgh:
Cameron Francis

Elizabeth Darcy : Lauren
Culver

Fitzwilliam Darcy: Brett
D. Waldon

Jane Bingley: Samantha
Potak

Charles Bingley: Preston
Ellis

Lydia Wickham: Brandy
Bell

Anne de Bourgh: Jillian
Gizzi

CREATIVE TEAM

Director: Anne Hering

Scenic Designer: Chris McKinney

Lighting Designer: Larry Rodriguez

Costume Designer: Howard Vincent Kurtz

Sound Designer: Britt Sandusky

Lighting Design Assistants: Sierra Goins,
Kelsey Monteith, Joe Gugliuzza, and Levi Roberts

AEA Stage Manager: Paige Gober

The Matador Orlando

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ODD (Orlando Drink and Draw) was held at The Matador Orlando (724 Virginia Dr, Orlando, Florida 32803). The Matador has the best of both worlds: It’s a dark dive with plenty of seating, where you can get an adventurous craft cocktail or just order up your usual drink. The patio is typically jumping after hours, but happy hour is normally chill. It’s almost too easy to order round after round in this well-rounded Ivanhoe watering hole.

Orlando Drink and Draw ventures to a new bar each month to sample beers and sketch. There is no model fee and no instruction. This is just a chance to get out, meet fellow artists and draw. I’m hoping to sketch in Central Florida’s best dive bars, so suggestions are always welcome.

I can acknowledge that the place is indeed “Chill” on a Monday during happy hour. One person sat at the bar talking to the bartender and a couple finally entered as I was finishing the sketch to play a game of pool in the back corner of the room. I love the blood red walls and the Spanish themed, gilded, reverent, bull fighting memorabilia on the walls.

The craft cocktails are unique and must change with the seasons. There was a touch of citrus in each drink I sampled.

Old Fashioned

  • four roses bourbon, sugar, bitters, orange – $10

Gin andd Tonic on Tap

  • half moon gin, jack rudy tonic, orange – $8

Matador Mule

  • rye whiskey, ginger beer, bitters, lime – $9

Seasonal Collins

  • vodka or gin, rotating syrup, soda, lemon – $9

Hemmingway Daiquiri

  • rum, luxardo maraschino, grapefruit, lime – $9

Sunflower

  • gin, st. germain, cointreau, lemon, absinthe rinse – $10

Tis the Season: A Holiday Extravaganza!

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The Central Florida Community Choir, members of the CFCArts Symphony Orchestra, as well as the CFCArts Dance Company present Tis the Season: A Holiday Extravaganza! This joyous holiday concert will have you dashing into the most wonderful time of the year! Enjoy your favorite holiday classics like “O Holy Night”, and “Deck the Halls” while rocking around the Christmas Tree to some modern holiday hits!

Join the powerful 300 voice community choir, rockin’ musicians of the symphony orchestra, as well as the high-kicking, spectacular members of the CFCArts Dance Company for what has become one of Central Florida’s most celebrated holiday traditions! Gather your family and friends to sing along as CFCArts celebrates the season of joy, peace, community, and hope.

All seats are assigned, so you’re encouraged to reserve your seats in
advance! Tickets are $10 each for Advance Standard Reserved seating ($15
At-Door), $15 Prime Seating, $25 Premium Seating, and $50 for Premium
Plus Seating (Premium Seating, plus a CFCArts Cookbook). For groups of 10 or more,
reach out to CFCArts Box Office at  (407) 937-1800 ext. 710 for our
Group Sales services and group discounts on select tickets.

Remaining show date: December 14, 2019 at 7:30pm

Ticketing questions? Contact the CFCArts Box Office: (407) 937-1800 ext. 710.

At Northland Church, 530 Dog Track Rd, Longwood, FL 32750.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for December 14 and 15, 2019

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Saturday December 14, 2019

9am to 3pm Free. Holiday Amaryllis Festival. Nehrling Gardens, 2267 Hempel Ave, Gotha, FL 34734. Pictures on the porch with Santa and Mrs Claus. Hybrid Amaryllis Bulbs and blooms. Nature themed vendors. Eco activities for kids.

6:30pm to 8:30pm Free. 7th Annual “Violectric Holiday Show”. Walt Disney Amphitheatre at Lake Eola Park located at 99 N Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, Florida. Following
another electrifying year of performances alongside legends like Wayne
Newton, Lady Gaga, Tim Burton, Morgan Freeman and Emeril Lagasse,
renowned “Vinylinist” and Founder of “Violectric” Michelle Jones will
join the talented musicians of the Central Florida strings. Free and open to the
public, the LIVE concert, presented by the City of Orlando Department of
Families, Parks and Recreation, will feature traditional holiday songs
like, “O Christmas Tree,” “The First Noel” and “Hanukkah, O Hanukkah”
mashed up with classic rock tunes and modern hits like “Born to Run,”
“Heroes” and “Sweet Dreams,” delivering a fun-filled, energetic and
highly-unique holiday show unlike anything seen and heard before.  Plus,
Violectric has teamed up again with Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando for
the pet-friendly show.  Attendees are encouraged to bring their pets, a
pet supply or make a donation to Pet Alliance.  View Pet Alliance “Wish
List” at https://petallianceorlando.org/ways-give/wish-list/.  

7:30pm to 9:30pm $50 Premium Seating (seating in front and center sections – Floor 2, Floor 3 and Floor 4 – and some CFCArts merchandise), $25 Premium Seating (seating in front and center sections – Floor 2, Floor 3 and Floor 4), $15 Prime Seating (seating in the center floor or center balcony – Floor 7, 8 and 9 and  Balcony 5) $10 Advance Standard Reserved Seating, $15 At-Door Standard Reserved Seating, Children 3 and under free. Tis the Season: A Holiday Extravaganza! Northland Church, 530 Dog Track Rd, Longwood, FL 32750. This joyous holiday concert will have
you dashing into the most wonderful time of the year! Enjoy your
favorite holiday classics like “O Holy Night”, and “Deck the Halls”
while rocking around the Christmas Tree to some modern holiday hits!

. 

Sunday December 15, 2019

9am to 11am $10 for Guests, $5 for Mennello Museum Members. Yoga in the Mennello Museum Sculpture Garden.  Mennello Museum of American Art 900 E Princeton St, Orlando, Florida 32803. Fall is in the air and The last Sunday of every month is Yoga in the Sculpture Garden at Mennello Museum of American Art!
Start your Sunday morning out blissfully with a relaxing lakeside flow.
Practice is suitable for beginner to moderate levels and will be led by
certified instructors from Full Circle Yoga, Winter Park. Don’t forget
to bring your own mat and water to practice.
Learn more about becoming a museum member » mennellomuseum.org/support.

Your
practice also includes a complimentary pass to enjoy the museum’s
indoor exhibitions at your own leisure during our operating hours.

Full Circle Yoga Instructor: Sarabeth Jackson.

10am to Noon. 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. 

Phantasmagoria: Through a Christmas Darkly

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Pam and I went to a performance of Phantasmagoria: Through a Christmas Darkly at The Center for Fine and Performing Arts at Seminole State College. This wasn’t you usual Christmas fair with 3 ghosts of Christmas, it was much darker. Students form Seminole State got to work with the actors of this critically acclaimed acting troupe. The Victorian Horror Troupe recently celebrated their 10th year of production. I have had the pleasure of watching this company grow through the years. They used to perform each Halloween but have since grown to include the main stage show, a mini touring group and appearances at events throughout the year. They have grown from Central Florida to Saint Louis Missouri, and Atlanta Georgia.

The premise is simple, members of the troupe must pull a story from a box, and once a story is started it must be finished. Some stories are so sinister that just telling in itself can be dangerous. This performance was tight and polished, with each character seeming very comfortable in their role. Hawthorn (Cory Volence) was trying to begin a tale but Alteza (Camille Vela) was overacting her part as a dark sinister apparition with a black cloak. Every time Hawthorn tried to speak she let out an unearthly wail. This offered a hilarious reprieve as Hawthorn finally had to drag her off stage under one arm. Each character in turn had their moment to shine as they shared the horrors of the season.

The show culminated in a horrific retelling  of the Krampus myth. I saw children get out of their seats and stand on tip toe to get a better view of the demon best known for putting coal in stockings and much worse for those that misbehave.

Be sure to catch Phantasmagoria’s A Christmas Carol – Orlando Performances at The Shakes (812 E Rollins Street Orlando Fl.) Performances are on December 13, 14 and 16th at 8pm each night. This show offers a uniquely dark adaptation of Charles Dickens’ classic holiday tale “A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas”.

Tickets: – Adults – $25.00 / Student/Senior/Military – $15.00
Also availability for Will Call CASH ONLY at the door by calling the Phantasmagoria Hotline: (407) 476-5121 and leave a voice mail.

Additional Performances on Tour
DELAND: Athens Theater – December 18th
MOUNT DORA: Mount Dora Community Center – December 19th
OCALA: Reilly Arts Center – December 20th
SANFORD: Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center – Dec 21st
EUSTIS: Historical State Theater – December 27th and 28th

41 Annual Christmas in the Park

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Pam Schwartz and I met at Winter Park‘s Central Park (150 W Morse Blvd, Winter Park, FL) for the 41st Annual Christmas in the Park hosted by The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art and the City of Winter Park.

At 6:15 p.m. nine century-old Tiffany leaded-glass windows were lit. They were scattered across the lawn with two framing the chorus on stage. When I arrived I voted against muscling my way up to the stage, instead I was fascinated by the lines of people who would needed to shoot cell phone photos of the stained glass. I recognized the docent who was cheerfully talking to people about the history of the stained glass panel.

On the Central Park main stage the 160 voice Bach Festival Society Choir performed. I was seated behind a hedge and a secondary stage so I never actually saw anything that happened on stage. However the constant stream of people pressing close to the stained glass was just as entertaining for me.

Anyone who stopped to read the tombstone label was illuminated a ghostly green from below. This particular Memorial Window created  in 1909 was for a chapel for the Association for the Relief of Respectable Aged, Indigent Females which provided housing and pensions for poor elderly women. The ARRAIF was located at 891 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, N.Y which was founded in 1883 and closed down in 1974.   In 1908, a Mrs. Sage gave the association a gift of $250,000, that was used to  extend the building south to the corner of West 103
Street. The architect for the addition was Charles Rich. The addition
included the installation of Tiffany windows to the Chapel.

Tiffany wanted to return the art of glass making to the glory days of Medieval churches. Each piece of glass has a variety of color, tone and texture that became known as opalescent. The glass has imperfections, streaks, bubbles and folds that become a part of the beauty of the finished piece. The design was symmetrical yet elements within that design stepped outside of the symmetry creating some tension. I love any art that accepts imperfections as part of the process.

The crowd on the lawn came prepared for the occasion. Some had entire picnics with bottled of wine and Christmas lights to decorate the tableau and themselves. One of the songs was of course Jingle Bells and people knew to come to  the concert with their own jingle bells that they jingled and jangled in time to the music.

Rigoberto Torres

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Rigoberto Torres began working at his uncle’s statuary and mold factory doing religious-themed pieces. He was trained in using air brushes and mixing colors. In 1980, a cousin introduced Rigoberto to artist John Ahearn who was doing live casting of peoples’ faces. He went to school, while at the same time helping John do his live casting. He learned that he is good at working with people.

He asked John if he could borrow some of the equipment and do some live casting in his neighborhood. He did a sculpture of his friend named Felix out in the street of his neighborhood in the Bronx. It was good to do things out in the open because more people can get involved. Less explanation is needed. John was living on 10th Street and Rigoberto asked him if he wanted to move out to the Bronx. They then worked together for more than 30 years. They rented a studio and had a store front.

Throughout the years they improved their technique of casting. A table must be set up and 2 straw are put in the nose while a shower
cap covers the hair. The entire face is covered with the mold material
with a gap at the back of the head so it later can be peeled off. They used to use straws that point out and switched to the newer straws that were curved up. They used to use a Vaseline but people complained because it would not wash off for weeks. They used to have the person wear one shirt but then for girls they decided to use 2 shirts so one could be cut off, leaving the other in place. They then decided to cut the shirt up the back beforehand so it was easier to come off. They learned to work faster. They found a material that would set faster and in time people could be done in less than 20 minutes.

Every weekend on Friday or Saturday, they would use the studio window to get a table out onto the sidewalk. On the side of the building the super allowed them to hang a series of finished busts. People would stop to ask how they could get involved. It was a way to interact with the community. The more you do the more they want. Kids who have seen casts being made in the street for months and months, then decide they want to be involved. It is a good feeling when they go after you.

Rigoberto has created so many busts and sculptures that he has lost count. Many he gave away as well. They are happy when they carry their own piece home. If they break them or scratch them he fixes them up. Sometime he makes a deal, if he makes a new one he gets to keep the old one. He makes three copies from any mold. One for the gallery, one for exhibition, and one for his collection. John did a cast of a boy named Thomas, he was 5 years old. Rigoberto wanted to top that, so he did a cast of his daughter at 2 years old. He tries to do things to improve himself as an artist.

He moved to Orlando after experiencing medical issues in the Bronx. A cat scan showed a blood clot at the back of his scull, pressing on his brain, which caused memory loss and blindness. I can think of nothing worse for a visual artist than to experience blindness. After more than 6 months however, he was able to regain his eyesight. He joked that the one thing he continued to have trouble remembering was the named of who he owed money too.