Florida Creatives Happy Hour

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On November 19th, the Florida Creatives Happy Hour was held at The Courtesy, (114 North Orange Avenue Orlando, FL). The Florida Creatives happy hour happens on the third Monday of every month. Things get started at 6PM and go until 9PM or later most months. The Courtesy is a new establishment in an old building riding the “mixology” wave – they make some interesting cocktails and serve up craft beer and wine too. They are in that building that was boarded up for the past few years at the corner of Washington and Orange Avenue downtown. Don’t let that scare you off, it’s a really great new place. 
If you’re not into cocktails or beer, the Courtesy makes their own sodas and carries some excellent Ginger Ales and non-alcoholic delights.

Ryan Price, who organizes the event greeted me as I considered what to order at the bar. He advised me to try a beer and I took his advice. It was a decent ale. Dana Mott joined us at a corner table which had a large birds nest as a light fixture. Ryan was anxious because the Fringe was holding it’s lottery that night to see which shows would go into the 2013 Festival. Ryan submitted a show idea which involved improvisation around a classic Hitchcock Murder Mystery called “39 Steps”, originally a book by John Buchan. It was fortuitous that Dana was there because she had years of improve experience having studied with Jeff Wirth who has since moved to NYC. I sketched as they chatted about the creative possibilities. Ryan had to leave early to get to the lottery. It turned out that he will be in the 2013 Fringe Festival and I can’t wait to see what becomes of the idea. Terry came out to say hello and then she and Dana left and I finished my sketch up on my own. The proprietor saw what I was working on and offered me a free beer. I already had two under my belt and I had to get home so I had to refuse the offer.

On February 4th at Chase Plaza on the 10th floor, come and join some of the passionate creative minds of Orlando in one of the longest-running happy hour meetups in the state of Florida (almost 6 years!). Be sure to check the Florida Creatives website since the venue can change month to month. The goal is to provide a safe environment to share your schemes, unearth passions and meet mentors or co-founders. There is always get a pretty diverse representation – lately there have been graphic designers, lawyers, illustrators, city planners, start up founders, tech folks and a plethora of others.

This is by far one of the best ways to “get involved” in the community. The people at this Happy Hour are plugged in to what is going on and who is doing it.

Eladio Sharron and Carrie Wiesinger

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On November 11th, as part of the Accidental Music Festival, Eladio Sharron and Carrie Wiesinger performed Latin American works for flute and guitar, including Cronicas Del Descrumbiento by Robert Sierra, Fantasia by Inocente Carreno and Histoire du Tango by Astor Piazolla at the Timucua White House (200 Summerlin Ave). There was no visual artist on stage that day.

I tend to like to sketch from the second or third floor balcony, so I climbed the spiral staircase and found a spot to sit. Wendy Wallenberg was busy setting  up the snack and wine table in the next room. She signaled me from the entry gesturing to let me know I didn’t greet her properly.  Paintings by Christie Miga were on display and a large painting with 3D objects sticking out of it was right next to me. I stood and leaned against the wall overlooking the railing as I sketched. I was afraid that I might nudge Christies painting as I struggled with my sketch, sending the painting toppling down hitting audience members below. I don’t know why I always imagine the worst. Nothing horrible happened. Instead I experienced beautiful music in an intimate setting.

Corridor Project at Plaza Live

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Patrick Greene helped facilitate a parking lot performance before the Deerhoof concert at Plaza Live. It was the second Corridor Project production.  When I got there it was just starting to get dark. Patrick had a megaphone and there was some negotiating with the Plaza Live staff to clear an area in the parking lot for a staging place. Having no idea what was to come, I decided to step back and sketch a long shot of the parking lot scene to see what developed. Hannah Miller parked a pickup truck and pulled out a huge tree trunk set piece. A car was asked to park at the end of the row to avoid any other cars from driving into the staging area. I saw brown sheets being unfurled on the pavement and on the tailgates of parked cars. The parking lane was being converted into a forest glen.

An Ibex puppetry kite hinted that the performance was about to start, so I finished the sketch and moved closer. Voci Dance performed with the help of Tiny Waves and The Shine Shed Collective. Performers were all dressed in exotic woodland creature costumes. The dancers moved nimbly between the tree trunks, performing to live music. I sketched a strange bird-like creature with drums before he marched off into the woods. I wasn’t sure if Sarah Lockhard was a fox, beaver or a hound but all the dancers moved with grace. Hip bones became headdress eyes and antlers. It was all very primal. When the performance ended, sheets and set pieces quickly were gathered up and the magic disappeared.

Fireworks

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In the week between Christmas and New Year’s day, all the large tents on Colonial Drive are converted from selling Christmas Trees to selling fireworks. Dry Christmas Trees and fireworks are both explosive with a simple spark. The proprietor of this fireworks tent actually has a little pup tent set up inside where he sleeps at night. You can buy anything from firecrackers to large mortars. Boxed sets are arranged on most of the shelves offering a wide variety of bangs for the buck. A bus stopped, dropping off passengers. They narrowly avoided getting hit by oncoming traffic as they crossed Colonial. A busted strip mall sign was naked allowing the wind to blow through the rusty frame.

On New Year’s Eve, Zorro my pet cockatoo raised his crest in surprise and concern every time a rocket blast echoed down our suburban street. New Year’s Eve isn’t his favorite holiday.  I sat watching a Twilight Zone marathon until minutes before midnight and then I switched the channel to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Years ago I was in that crowd with friends, and we ripped up our Playbill programs from the play we had just seen, creating confetti. In downtown Orlando, a beach ball sized ball was suspended from a flag pole above Latitudes bar. Illuminated with orange Christmas lights, it didn’t pack quite the same punch as the Times Square ball.

Moulin Rouge Gala- A Show Extravaganza

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I went to the Winter Park Community Center, (721 West New England Ave. Winter Park), on December 2nd to the Moulin Rouge Gala. I felt it was important that an artist be at the Gala. Toulouse Lautrec wouldn’t have passed on the opportunity. Every two years Le Salon Zizou works with a local charity and other participates to put together a combination of hair, fashion and entertainment to raise money for charity. This year they worked with the Disability Wellness Center in Sanford to help raise money for the EKSO suit for paraplegics. There are ONLY 20 world wide and this will be HUGE for Central Florida to have the first EKSO suit used for physical therapy when the other 20 are used for studies.

When I arrived, the dancers from Emotions Dance got on stage to loosen up and get used to the size of the stage. Larissa Humiston stood in front of the stage to let them know what worked and what didn’t. After them, a woman performed solo with Hula hoops and large geometric forms that she spun above her head. The ceiling was rather low which resulted in her crashing the huge cube shape into the ceiling beam. A singer discussed her song with the DJ. People in wheel chairs took to the stage. Blinking lights were on the chairs making for quite a display. Then negotiated the stage in a pre-planned choreography.

The twenty or so models arrived with outlandish hair stylings. I noticed model Jenny Coyle, from Sketchy Broads, with her hair bundled up in three huge Princess Lea buns. Le Salon Zizou, in association with the West Orlando Rotary Club, presented their 3rd annual Charity Hair Spectacular.  The real highlight of the evening came when Sarah Anderson got on stage with her wheel chair. With an assistant to spot her, she strapped herself into the EKSO Suit. As she did so, she talked about the day in 2003 when she lost her ability to walk. She was skiing that day and for whatever reason, she had an ominous feeling that she shouldn’t be on the mountain that day. Regardless, a horrible fall on the slope resulted in her becoming a paraplegic. Doctors told her that she would never walk again. She leaned forward and raised herself from the wheel chair.  She walked across the stage as the servos, gyros and computerized pistons responded to her weight shifts allowing each step in succession. Sarah stood onstage during the auction and the bidding got heated. “Never say never!”

Trash Cinema 101

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Trash Cinema 101 is a live, interactive experience, with bad films, good friends and ZERO class! Each month, Logan Donahoo guides you through his own cinematic wasteland, and brings you out the other side with drinking games and trivia – all wrapped in a campy, lewd, irreverent shell! For the month of December Logan promised to screen a 1964 holiday cult classic called “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.” The screening was at The Venue, (511 Virginia Drive, Orlando).  The Venue is a new performance space that Blue Star established in the Ivanhoe Village district. She had to make some major renovations to satisfy the Orlando code enforcement including a huge wheel chair ramp onto the stage. The stage is rather small, so the ramp effectively takes up one third of the foot room.

I knew Logan had to paint on his signature magenta face mask prior to the screening, so I arrived early so I could sketch him doing him makeup.  I had never been to The Venue before. The front building, a steep A frame structure was used as the lobby where people can grab a drink and mingle.  There was a photo of Great Aunt Grace hanging on the wall. A couple arrived wearing tin foil beanies with a uni-horn. The Beatles were performing on a big flat screen TV.  Keyvan Acosta arrived and paid using a credit card. The ticket person had an iPhone with one of those square swipe devices. He signed his name with his finger on the iPhone screen. There was a 30 cent service charge but it must be worth if for the high tech cool factor.  Keyvan lamented the fact that every girl he dated ends up leaving town. Just as he starts to get to know a girl he has to meet someone else and start over. It is like trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle where the image on the pieces keeps changing. Orlando is a rather transient city.

Logan was running late, and so the makeup was done quickly with the audience seated in the theater. He used two strips of masking tape to create a clean hard edge to his mask. A patchwork quilt covered the upstairs dressing room entrance. There was a candle on the table I sketched from in the theater. The film was every bit as strange and quirky as Logan promised. Children martians had thick face paint that looked like black face on film. Logan’s ongoing commentary on the low budget film made the screening laugh out loud funny. I’m a  newly converted Trash Cinema fan.

Citrus Bowl Parade

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On December 29th, I got up at 8AM to get downtown to sketch the Citrus Bowl Parade as it formed. The sky was grey, and as I drove downtown it started to rain. Walking from my suburban parking spot, I passed a church charging $5 to park in their lot. As I got near the Courthouse, it began to pour. My wind breaker stopped most of the rain but my jeans got soaked. Hundreds of girl scouts were huddled in the courthouse overhangs. I considered sketching some military vehicles, but by the time I got my sketchbook out of my bag, the rain stopped and the drivers jumped in the jeeps and drove off.

Far in the distance I saw the Citrus Floats parked down by the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center. I walked down to the corner of Hughey and sketched the floats. They were the exact same floats I sketched last year. I believe they rubber band the fruit to the floats in the parking lot of what used to be the Amway Arena. A Shriner in a tiny Model A buzzed past me on the way to the parade route. When the floats are not in use, they are stored by the Citrus Bowl. You can see their naked skeletons from the East West Expressway. Then added a bright splash of color being covered in yellow grapefruits and oranges. As I sketched, it started to rain again and I retreated under the I-4 overpass.

Someone asked me where the parade route was and I pointed him to Orange Avenue. I realized he must have considered me an authority since I was wearing a NYC police cap. Terry called to let me know she had come to the parade and she was parked at her office. I finished the sketch and walked to the parade route. It began to pour again. I huddled near the Bank of America building and then darted to an overhang near a pizzeria. A little boy splashed in a curbside puddle. Someone walking by under an umbrella said, “He’s got the right idea.” The boys mom shouted out, “Stop standing in the puddle, you’ll get sick!” Defiant, the boy shouted back, “I won’t get sick.” The parade started. Marching bands took formation and marched by. The color guard girls flags were soaked and heavy. The high winds made it close to impossible for them to spin the flags. They laughed as they tried. The girl scouts walked past with their clear ponchos billowing violently in the wind. A large gust caused all the girl scouts to scream.

The Roadrunner Shriners in their tiny but very loud go-carts spun in circles on the rain soaked pavement. I was afraid they might spin out of control into the crowds on the sidewalk. They were having a blast in the rain. The marching band from the University of Nebraska marched past, with the brass and drums extra loud. The cheerleaders with their red and white pom-poms shouted out, “Go Huskers!” I ordered two slices of pizza and sat at an outdoor table to continue watching the parade. Terry met me at the Pizzeria. There was a large pile of Mardi Gras beads on the table I was sitting at. The pile of beads were all knotted together and Terry got to work trying to undo the knot. When the parade had passed, she continued working on the complex task. I watched the people migrating back to their cars. When the rain slowed to a drizzle, I made my way back to my car and she walked back to her office.

Full Sail’s Got Talent

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After class on November 29th, I went to the Full Sail Live venue to sketch the talent show. When I got there the place was pretty empty but it quickly filled up as I blocked in the stage on my sketch. The
Student Community Association presented “Full Sail’s Got Talent,” a
showcase featuring some of the school’s most talented performers.
Students competed on stage to be crowned the winner of this annual
event. Full Sail’s Got Talent was free and open to all students and
staff. Four faculty members sat in front of the stage to act as judges. One female judge was brutally honest in her judgements and the audience full of students at times booed her.

I spent my time watching the camera operator as  he danced around with the tripod on wheels. He never stopped moving and the student responsible for feeding the electrical cord had to keep up with him. Lighting also changed constantly which made for a challenge as I painted. Evan Frazer and Brandon Mirador (Replay &
Frazer) won the Annual Full Sail’s Talent Show. They performed as a dance team to many of the most popular dance songs. It was sort of a history of dance. 0ne dancer wore a blank faced mask which added to the edgy mystique of the act. Abruptly the music stopped and the two performers stood on the stage, not sure what to do. I’m not sure if that was part of the act or a mistake.

Allison Gammill was the Runner up. She had a sweet voice and sang from the soul. Most of the other acts were fast paced rap singers, whose words were garbled and often lost. When Allison performed, standing center stage in her elegant dress, her talent shone and her stillness stood in stark contrast to all the gesturing on stage. One of the judges said he had a crush on her. That is what happens when you sing from the heart.  I don’t understand this pop-cultural obsession about standing on a stage to be judged however. The caged birdsings of freedom.

Enzian’s Makeover For 2013

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For 28 years, the Enzian has shown thousands of great movies to millions of people in an environment that encourages friendship and community. The annual Florida Film Festival brings famous and infamous film directors, producers and actors to Central Florida. Between screenings, if you turn to your neighbor at the Eden Bar, there is a good chance they are in the business of making films. At the lavish parties at the Enzian, people have met, fallen in love and formed lasting friendships.

The theater is however showing its age. The curtains are torn, the chairs are worn and the carpets have certainly worn from thousands of feet and spilled drinks. The theater is getting a makeover. Everything that is worn out or broken will be replaced. New carpets and curtains have already been installed. New furniture will allow the service staff more room to take orders and serve food while also improving sight lines for the audience. Technological advances, already in place, have improved the movies picture and audio.

In 2013 the Enzian Theater will continue to renew, revive and refresh. The makeover will enhance the movie viewing experience without detracting from the unique character of place. The theater will still have a cozy feeling, where you can enjoy films with friends. Large semi circular seats will be replaced by lighter more streamlined seating. Circular tables will be replaced by more compact and ergonomic square tables saving space. Benches will be added to the back of section C again saving space.

I was hired to do a sketch of the theater as it will look after renovations. I sat up in the projection booth and sketched as the theater filled with patrons for a screening. The projectionist introduced herself and she reached over me to press a button. As the theater went black, I turned on my book light and continued to paint. I used a computer rendering from Raleigh Design to place new tables and chairs into my location sketch.

The Enzian is inviting patrons to be part of the enduring legacy by investing in the makeover. For as little as $25 you can “own a piece of the Enzian” and express your appreciation for this unique cultural icon.

$5,000 makes one booth a reality.

$3,000  makes a banquet seat and a table a reality.

$1,000 makes a chair or 4-top table a reality.

  $500 makes a 2-top table a reality.

  $250 makes a coffee table a reality.

    $25 makes one square foot of carpet a reality.

All donors of $250 or more will be recognized by name on a beautifully crafted commemorative plaque that will be permanently displayed at the Enzian.

Best Sketches of 2012

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Vote results are in for the best sketches of 2012.

1. July 18, (the Parentheticals),  nominated by, Mathew OGrady with 54% of the votes.

2. Oct 10, Blog Con, nominated by Bess Auer with 12% of the votes.

2. (Tie) Oct 24, Sunday in the Park with George, nominated by Zac Alfson with 12% of the votes.

3. Feb 21, Night of Fire. Analytics nominated post. With 4% of the votes.

3. (Tie) May 18, The Eighties Strike Back. Analytics nominated post. With 4% of the votes. 

3. (Tie) December 13th,

Last Tango in Paris. Nominated by Hengua, with 4% of the votes.

3. (Tie) June 6, NAMTA. Nominated by Analytics, with 4% of the votes.

 

3. (Tie) September 4, RAW: RADIATE. Nominated by Analytics, with 4% of the votes. 

 3. (Tie) January 5, We Buy Gold, Nominated by Analytics, with 4% of the votes.

To maintain the one a day posting schedule, here is a sketch of a Mall window display from the AADW Archives. The writing was on the window of a Saks Fifth Avenue store. The display was designed by Shepard Fairey of Studio Number One. Shepard was best known for doing the red white and blue Obama campaign poster.