Claire and the Potatos Perform at the Earth Day Festival

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The Earth Day Festival was held at Lake Eola on April 19th. This was the same day as the World Wide SketchCrawl, so I invited artists to come to Lake Eola for a sketch marathon. The festival was so crowded that I never met any other artists. I did one sketch in the artist vendor’s area which was slated as the meeting place. When that sketch was done, I walked around the festival looking for other artists and scouting out the next sketch opportunity. Of course, when I heard music, I was gravitated towards it.

Claire and the Potatoes performed under a tent right on the eastern shore of Lake Eola. Last year, Claire was bitten by one of Lake Eola’s swans, so she kept an eye out as she sang. I sat on a low brick wall and sketched. Most of the audience stood on the walkway. All of the music was original dealing with misunderstood youth and romance. The group is a sort of pop hipster comfort band, with a soothing retro sound with dark undertones. The band members are Leslie Rising, Guy Larmay, Marc Sirdoreus and Jim Myers.Someone shot a photo of me working on the sketch, so this sketch circulated a bit on Facebook. Because of that, I thought I might have posted this sketch before. I’ve decided to sign each sketch when it goes online to help avoid confusion in the future. With this sketch done, I decided to call it a day and head home. I was discouraged that I didn’t meet any other artists but it turned out they were out there enjoying their day of sketching.

Mark Your Calendar! Tonight, July 12 between 8pm and 1am, Claire and The Potatoes will unleash their new
album, “Have An Okay Time With Claire and The Potatoes!”, and they’re
doing it at The Geek Easy (114 S. Semoran Blvd)!

It’s the first chance to get the new album (three days early, too),
and the first five people to purchase one will also receive one of the
few remaining copies of their first EP gratis!
Opening the show will be
Bucket of Nails (unpredictable spazz-rock from Orlando)
and then Figments (rock and roll from Tampa)
. There is no cover, so get out and soak up some tunes.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

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Saturday July 12, 2014

1pm to 3pm Free.  Digital Arts Salon: Nathan Selikoff. Coral Springs Museum of Art Inc. 2855 Coral Springs Dr, Coral Springs, Fl.  Nathan Selikoff’s award-winning artwork has been exhibited and performed in galleries and venues throughout the United States and around the world, including Art Basel in Switzerland; Bridges Math Art Conferences in Portugal, Hungary, Canada and the Netherlands; the Maitland Art Center in Florida; AXIOM Gallery in Boston; the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art; the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art in California; SIGGRAPH Art Galleries in various US cities, and the Orlando Mini Maker Faire. Recently, Selikoff was one of a small group of developers to launch apps for the new Leap Motion Controller, a futuristic 3D motion control technology for computing. His experimental art app, Beautiful Chaos, allows users to explore the curves and ripples of mathematical equations brought to life in vivid color. In 2012 and early 2013, Selikoff participated in The Corridor Project, The Creative City Project, and the Cardboard Art Festival in Orlando, installing site-specific sculptures made from recycled cardboard inspired by some of his digital works. Selikoff was born in Atlanta in 1980. He received a BFA in Computer Animation and a minor in Computer Science from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, where he resides with his wife, Amy. He is also the founder of Processing Orlando, a bi-monthly meetup for artists interested in using technology, and provides freelance graphics programming and technical direction services through his company, Digital Awakening Studios. More on Nathan at http://nathanselikoff.com/

RSVP to attend a Digital Art Salon by calling (954) 340-5000 or email museuminfo@coralsprings.org (space is limited). For more information please visit http://coralspringsmuseum.org/digital-arts-salons.

7pm to 11pm Free. Art Hat Party. Wandering Eye Gallery 1600 E. 8th Ave. Suite E109 Ebor City. Artists decorate hats for a coveted prize.

8pm to 1am  Free. Claire and The Potatoes unleash their new
album, “Have An Okay Time With Claire and The Potatoes!”. The Geek Easy 114 S. Semoran Blvd Suite #6, Winter Park, Fl. It’s the first chance to get the new album (three days early, too),
and the first five people to purchase one will also receive one of the
few remaining copies of their first EP gratis! Opening the show will be
Bucket of Nails (unpredictable spazz-rock from Orlando)
and then Figments (rock and roll from Tampa)
.

Sunday July 13, 2014

10am to 6pm Free. Fashion Square Art Fair. Orlando Fashion Square 3201 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, Fl. On the 2nd Sunday of every month Gallery Fresh Art Markets and Orlando Fashion Square Mall proudly present our “Fashion Square Art Fair.” This is an indoor event showcasing 30 to 60 artists and fine crafts persons located throughout Fashion Square Mall.  http://www.galleryfreshart.com/gfam-fsaf-info.html

1pm to 3pm. $5 Film Slam. Enzian Theater, South Orlando Avenue, Maitland, FL. Originally a project of University of Central Florida’s Downtown Media Arts Center, Enzian became the home of FilmSlam when DMAC closed in 2006. Now in its fifth year at Enzian, FilmSlam continues to be a popular outlet for indie and student filmmakers throughout the State of Florida. FilmSlam will usually be held on the second Sunday of each month at 1PM at Enzian.

5pm to 9pm Free. Blues and Buffet Jam. The Alley, 114 S Park Ave, Sanford, FL. 407 328-4848.

The Lady’s of Eola Heights take the Abby by Storm.

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I went to a dress rehearsal for The Ladies of Eola Heights at The Abbey. I contacted Beth Marshall who plays the part of Pearl. This is the first time in a long time that she wasn’t producing or directing a show. She felt a bit at ease just being an actor rather than worrying about the overall production. Beth introduced me to the director Kenny Howard who thankfully knew of my work and was enthusiastic to have me sketch. He warned me that none of the actresses would be wearing make up. The set wasn’t finished yet as well, still needing a railing near the steps and a blue wall behind the center archway.

This is an original play written by Michael Wanzie. The estranged Locksdale sister reunited at their family home, in the historical Eola Heights neighborhood of Orlando, Florida, to plan their daddy’s funeral. It seems fiery-tongued Ruby (Blue Starr) dressed in a hot red zebra stripe dress, has taken to loose living and hard drinking, while older sister Opal (Peg O’Keef) has become a born again Christian. Matriarch Pearl (Beth Marshall) has gained weight and  had a Home Shopping Club addiction. In the opening scene Beth drove onto the set with one of those motorized scooters with an oxygen tank. It was a hilarious moment as she tried to parallel park it next to the dining table while Ruby waited.

As the sisters interacted for the first time in years, their dark past surfaced and it became clear that they are all dealing with their horrible past in their own ways. Each scene is punctuated by an appearance of their brother (Miss Sammy) who danced down stairs in gorgeous gowns to light hearted show tunes. His way of coping was to live in a beautiful fantasy world as a woman. Although the sisters are all polar opposites, they come together to bury their past.

The show is as funny as it is touching, a comedy with serious themes that take the audience on an emotional roller coaster ride. I was laughing out loud throughout the show and yet identified with themes that affect many estranged families. The abuse that surfaced at the heart of the show happens all too often in Central Florida.  I had a friend who couldn’t cope with that past. Don’t miss this locally grown gem.

The show runs July 10- July 28 at the Abbey (100 S. Eola Drive Orlando, FL) tickets are $30 to $45.

Proposed Mural for the Ivanhoe Village Offices

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Scottie Campbell the Executive Director of the Ivanhoe Village District asked me to consider doing a mural on the facade of the Fringe and Ivanhoe Village offices. The building was painted black which makes the offices a furnace in the summer. I created this composite sketch to suggest an overview of downtown on the facade. There wasn’t a working budget for the project, so George Fringe Wallace created a Power2Give fundraising page to raise the $5000 for the mural’s creation.

I like the idea that anyone in the community can contribute a small amount to make this idea a reality. As of this writing 2% of the needed funds have been raised. In 80 or so days I find out if this project will become a reality. Donor benefits include…

$1-99, a personal thank you on the Orlando Fringe and Ivanhoe Village Facebook pages.

$100-249, a digital photograph of the mural once it is completed (plus the above benefits)

$250-499,
an invitation to the public unveiling of the mural, including a meet
and greet with Fringe  and Ivanhoe Village Executives and the artist
himself, Thomas Thorspecken. (plus the above benefits)

$500 or more, a plaque at the site of the mural with your name on it as a donor (plus the above benefits)

The Local Fringe Pieview offered Hilarity and Drama

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On April 14th local production companies had two minutes to showcase their Fringe shows at the Orlando Shakespeare Theater’s Margeson Theater (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL). I go each year to get a feeling for which shows I can not miss. George Fringe Wallace and Michael Marinaccio acted as the MCs while Brandon Roberts acted as the Shepard’s hook to stop any acts that went over two minutes. Brandon was dressed in a giant fluffy diaper and had angel’s wings and a Cupid’s bow. I was hoping each act would run a bit long just to see what he would do next. He even tried to become part of the act when Enui, a circus arts acrobatic troupe took center stage. He stood tentatively on a teeter board but ran off when the acrobats bounded in.

The program had thumbs up and thumbs down symbols for easy future reference.  Acts I gave a thumbs up to, included: The Downtowner’s The Real 50 Shades of Gray (Hair). These plucky seniors aged 66 to 99 sang songs of love, lust and life with passion. A plant in the audience got up and stripped as they sang. The audience ate it up.  I liked, Camino Flamenco, The Aqua Saga and Jekyll N’ Hyde: a Rap Musical. I was saddened to hear that the the lead actor in Jekyll N’ Hyde, Carl D. Kirkmire just recently died at the age of 32. His performance at the Fringe preview was stellar and a real talent has left the stage.

Jeff Ferree introduced his puppet show, The Girl Who Fell Up the Chimney” by riding a tiny clown sized bicycle around the stage and shooting silly string at the audience. Last year he juggled spaghetti. His previews are always an inspired mess. I tried to sketch the puppet show at the Fringe. It was in a small closet which for some reason had a fire place. You had to lie on your back with your head in the fireplace to see the show. Unfortunately, the button to turn on the lights didn’t work no matter how many times I hit it. I’m sure it was a great sketch opportunity lost. Squeaky Wheel productions presented a song from Seasons which was incredibly sad. This show is my pick as the show that should go all the way to Broadway.

All together, 41 shows previewed that night offering an amazing variety of possibilities. Sometimes a preview can be alluring but that hint is lost in the final hour long production. For instance I loved the tender tall of love found in a Vietnamese karaoke bar, but Reincarnation Soup, ended up being confusing to follow since the actor jumped between so many different personalities in the final production. I felt shanghaied. Then other times it is nice to go to a show at the Fringe with no preconceptions and be pleasantly surprised. That is what the Fringe is all about, discovering something new and unexpected at every turn.

Teaching 2D Traditional Animation at Otronicon

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Sam Ewing who was the lead clean up artist for Stitch was asked to teach an animation class at Otronicon in the Orlando Science Center (777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL). I assisted Sam with one of these sessions. It is fun to see how enthusiastic young kids are about animation. Full Sail sponsored the classes offering Mac computers on which Sam showed some scenes of Stitch in action. Although Otronicon is a high tech conference, we taught low tech animation, giving the enthusiastic kids pencils and paper to put their ideas down. We had them storyboard very simple story ideas and then gave them flip books to do drawing after drawing to create the illusion of motion. Since these kids haven’t been told that they aren’t artists, anything is possible.

I teach traditional animation at Full Sail and an apathetic student wanted to know why he had to learn traditional animation techniques. At a Fringe pre-show warm up an actor asked the audience what was their one true passion in life. A wife’s hand went up and she said “My husband.” The actor joked that the husband’s hand didn’t dart up as fast since it was clutching a beer.  Another man asked about his one passion, had no idea. He didn’t have any passions. The audience laughed but it was also quite sad. I refuse to believe that anyone could go through life without a desire to express something, anything.  That is why we learn to write, to draw to photograph or sing.  How could a student spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and not have that basic passion? So many seem to want to coast through college with minimal effort.  I still believe one spark can ignite any fire. It is amazing to see the possibilities when a mind is set free.

Digital Captives at The Drunken Monkey

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I often go to The Drunken Monkey (444 N Bumby Ave, Orlando, FL) after work if I need to kill some time before heading out to an evening event. I enjoy the coffee, hot paninis and the local art on the walls. Patrons are almost always sitting alone staring at their laptops. While they are captives to their computers, I am captive to my sketch pad. My sketching must be more socially acceptable today because people are often busy working while in a crowd. Since everyone around me is so involved looking at computer screens, they never suspect that they are being sketched. I used to use a baseball cap to hide my gaze from suspicious models but now I can stare with immunity. At times I feel I should have been born at the turn of the century but it is easy to blend in while sketching today. Perhaps I have been born at the right time.

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.

Terry Teachout Interviewed at Rollins College.

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Terry Teachout, the drama critic of The Wall Street Journal, was interviewed about his views on theater at Rollins College. He is also the critic-at-large of Commentary, and the author of “Sightings,” a biweekly column for the Friday Journal
about the arts in America. He also writes about the arts on his blog,
“About Last Night”. His latest book, Duke: A Life of Duke Ellington, was published by Gotham Books. He wrote part of Duke at the MacDowell Colony and received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2012 to support the book completion. Satchmo at the Waldorf,
his first play, was premiered in 2011 in Orlando, Florida starring Dennis Neil as Satchmo. Dennis’s performance was powerful and convincing at that world premiere production.  It would be hard to imagine another actor filling those shoes. Since that production, Dennis moved to Los Angeles. Satchmo was
later produced last year by Shakespeare and Company of Lenox, Massachusetts,
Long Wharf Theatre of New Haven, Connecticut, and the Wilma Theater of
Philadelphia. 

Satchmo at the Waldorf transferred to New York’s Westside Theatre, an off-Broadway house, on March 4, 2014. It closed there on June 29, 2014, after 18 previews and 136 performances. According to The New Yorker,
“Teachout, Thompson, and the director, Gordon Edelstein, together
create an extraordinarily rich and complex characterization. The show
centers on the trumpeter’s relationship with his Mob-connected Jewish
manager of more than thirty-five years, Joe Glaser Thompson forcefully
inhabits both men, and throws in a chilling Miles Davis, delivering an
altogether riveting performance.” Thompson won the 2013-14 Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama Desk Award for “Outstanding Solo Performance” for his performance in the play.

After reviewing so many shows that didn’t work, Terry gained insights on what does work best in theater. The simple act of constantly writing made it possible for him to create any scene needed with honest compelling emotion. Sometimes simple persistence and perseverance is what is needed to keep the creative process going. Terry remains an inspiration, sharing his insights with Rollins students year after year.

Weekend Top 6 Picks

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Saturday July 5, 2014

9am to 3pm Free.  Sanford Farmers Market. Downtown Sanford at First and Magnolia Sanford FL. A small farmer’s market.

7:30pm to 9:30pm Free. The Geek Easy with Amy Watkins and Open Mic. The Geek Easy 114 S. Semoran Blvd Suite #6, Winter Park, Fl. Open to all: Musicians-Lyricists-Artists-and Poets of all kinds

Bring out the cape and have some fun http://poetry.meetup.com/362/

 8pm to 10pm Free. Brandon Geurts — Vespertines. The Falcon 819 E. Washington Street, Suite 2, Orlando, Fl. Solo show by Brandon Geurts. Featuring works from his ongoing series of drawings, Vespertines. brandongeurts.com

Sunday July 6, 2014

10am to 6pm Free. Lake Eola Farmers Market. Lake Eola South East Corner.

10am to 12:30pm $10 Crealde Sketch Class. Crealdé School of Art, Saint Andrews Boulevard, Winter Park, FL. Sketch from a live model.

1pm to 3pm Free. Yoga. Lake Eola East end. Every Sunday.

Fundraiser for Nap Ford Held at SAK Comedy Lab

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The Nap Ford Community School Believes that all students can learn and be successful members of society, the School provides educational programs and services, which foster academic success, health and wellness. Dr. Jennifer Porter Smith the school’s Executive Director was at the fundraiser to give insights to the school’s mission. Artwork by students of the school was on display to be auctioned off and everyone who attended got a small piece of original artwork inside the program. There were also the usual auction items like Orlando Magic jersey’s signed and framed to be tucked away in some man-cave.

The free public charter school consists of a dedicated and highly qualified group of individuals operating
collectively to ensure that they provide the best education possible to
each child that enters into their school community. As a health and wellness
charter school we educate the whole child-mind, body and spirit. They work each and every day to uphold our common belief that every child
is valuable and deserves to be well prepared for the opportunities that
this world holds for them.

Their goal is to:

Expand the student’s understanding about the world they live in and
opportunities they have for learning. Expand the student’s understanding of their rich cultural history
on a personal and global level.