Storytelling Drawings

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In the 2D Animation Lab at Full Sail, students returning from the lunch break are asked to do a storytelling drawing. They are given a theme and asked to do some thumbnail drawings and pick one idea to execute. The drawings aren’t supposed to be highly rendered works of art, but rather simple, playful ideas. Sample suggestions include, standing in line, waiting for an elevator and moving something heavy. At the end of the 10 classes there are six or seven examples from each student and the best three are graded.

Pirates of the Caribbean had just come out in movie theaters. Larry Lauria came up with a new theme called “Pie Rats of the Caribbean.” Dan Riebold likes to tackle each storytelling himself on the white board. His whimsical sketches help inspire and challenge the students. Often there is a movie screen which he works behind like the Wizard in the “Wizard of Oz.” Dan was drawing a rat which had just been punched by a slice of pie. The vicious pie had not been sketched yet. Larry likes to do small sketches as well. When the students were finished, they were asked to tape it up on the white board. Of the ten to twenty students it is always fun to see all the different ideas that students generate.

Britt Daley Music Video Released!

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I did a series of sketches the day Britt Daley’s music video was being shot in the Orlando Repertory Theater. Since that day, Scott Wilkins, the writer and director, has been working feverishly at an editing bay to polish the final cut. This video was shot gorilla style in one day featured the talents of some amazing local performers who volunteered to create some fun lighthearted magic.

Britt invited cast and crew to her parents home for a special advanced screening. People brought side dishes and Britt’s dad lit the grill for a barbecue. Terry and I arrived first and Britt showed us her private recording space in a room beside the garage. As more people arrived, they hung around the kitchen counter before retiring to the screened in porch. Scott arrived later and when he tried plugging in the hard drive, it didn’t work. It was assumed that the adapter on the hard drive was broken so he rushed out to see if he could find a replacement at a Radio Shack.

The food was served, and periodically Britt got a call from Scott who was having no luck finding an adapter. He eventually returned, annoyed and defeated. After dinner Britt pulled out her laptop which had a very early edit. Scott explained how he intended to multiply shots and he was embarrassed that a more polished edit wasn’t available. We also watched a blooper reel with silly outtakes. There was plenty of laughter. The next week it was discovered that a breaker had burnt out in the Daley residence. The adapter was fine, they just needed to find a working wall outlet.

Now all the blood sweat and tears has paid off as the final edit is now going viral on You Tube. Enjoy the latest from Orlando’s own electro-pop goddess!

The Drop Cloth

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A refreshing breeze blew through the barn. A drop cloth was nailed to the rafters. The steam rising from the boiling cauldron full of sugar cane juice, had to be protected. They didn’t want it to cool too quickly. There were Krispy Cream donuts on the table. It’s a shame I wasn’t hungry. The man seated next to me was a virtuoso with a fly swatter. He killed every fly that landed anywhere near him. I feared that if a fly landed on my sketch, he would react, and with a flick of the wrist, leave a bloody mess on the sketch. I occasionally waved a fly away from my face. Glass cups and boxes were repositioned on the table to widen the killing field.

I was offered some boiled peanuts which I never tried before. They were wet, salty and delicious. The next time I see a boiled peanut stand on the side of the road, I am stopping. Orange County Sheriff Justin Barley drove up in his patrol car. He introduced himself to everyone in the room and then there was a lively conversation about petty crimes in the area. More sheriffs arrived. I think they came for the food.

Patrick Greene’s mom started putting out a lunchtime spread. There was a mound of crispy fried fish, the tails still intact. There were cornbread nuggets also fried, and a beef stew that was thick with Lima beans, thick cuts of meat, and an oily sheen. I waited till all the helpers had served themselves and then I tried a little of everything. I kept sketching as I ate. A hound dog curled up on a rusty bed spring behind me. Chickens were clucking in a coup. Distracted, I mistook their clucks for the sounds of children in a playground.

Several of the men started checking out the sketch. The fellow with the grizzly black beard asked, “How long you been in Florida?” I knew where this line of questioning was leading. I said, “Over twenty years”, perhaps stretching the truth a bit. “Well,” he said, “Not a bad sketch considering you’re a Yankee.” The man across from me commiserated. “I’ve been here 49 years and they still consider me a Yankee!” We laughed.

When I had to leave to get to class, I shook the hand of Patrick’s step dad. I hadn’t been introduced yet, but I suspected that this stoic man was in charge. His face glistened as he stood beside the cauldron, the steam wafting in front of his face. Patrick explained that the steam from the cane syrup actually leaves a sweet crust over everything it touches. A rural Midas Touch.

AADW 2012 Events Calendar

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Buy Now

This calender is only available through pre-order and at special events.

From Julie Norris on behalf of OurLando,

Ourlando had a brilliant idea that I think you will be interested in partnering with as a fundraiser for your organization. We took Thomas Thorspecken’s brilliant sketches of Orlando area arts & culture events, and used them to create a MUCH needed 2012 Event Calendar. Plus we made it a fundraiser for area organizations with a custom cover = the local arts lover dream gift that gives back to great independent organizations and supports Thor’s work!
We just put the final touches on the the project and are planning to go live with pre-orders as early as this Monday (12/5/11). I wanted AADW readers to be one of the first to see the partnership opportunities to either get your event listed and or have a custom cover.

If you know of a local arts organization who could benefit from this fundraiser, then please have them take a thorough look at this partner’s page, and then fill out this form to reserve a space. Since we are working on such a tight holiday deadline, the sooner the better for this information to be returned to us. We will let you know as soon as your partner info is updated on the online store so you can send an email blast to your list to fulfill pre-orders.

Please note, this is produced as an Ourlando publication and we are asking that all partners become a member of Ourlando and join with us in support of local & independent efforts (if you aren’t already). Please sign up online now if you can, otherwise we just need your commitment that you will join and we can deduct your membership fee from your donation when we pay it out in January.

We know that this is a tight turnaround, but we just came up with this idea mid-November and are so passionate about Thor’s work and promoting all the local goodness we just couldn’t wait until next year to do it. This is a volunteer undertaking by myself and Emily Rankin on behalf of Ourlando and in support of Thor. I will be handling the design and website and Emily will probably be communicating with you about this moving forward.

Thanks for all you do to co-create a better Ourlando and have a fabulous day!

Julie Norris
Consultant, Writer, Adventurer & Ecopreneur
http://julienorris.wordpress.com
Dandelion Communitea Cafe, Co-Proprietor
Front Porch Radio, On Air Host
Gaia Mama, Holistic Blogger
“Be the change you wish to see.” Mahatma Gandhi

Boiling the Cane

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Patrick Greene told me about his family’s tradition of harvesting and boiling cane in late November. I got up at the crack of dawn and drove east through downtown. There was a violent panic to the traffic as people rushed to their jobs in the city. I drove till the East West Expressway ended and then continued east. I missed the farm’s driveway on my first pass. I turned around in the parking lot to a natural preserve. I wasn’t sure how far to drive down the dirt road, so I followed it back to a barn. When I got out of my truck a hound dog let out a hollow howl. He was harmless, he came up and sniffed my hand.

A dozen men, many with cowboy hats, sat around several tables swatting flies. I asked for Patrick and they directed me back to the house at the road. I drove back. Patrick greeted me at the front door. His mother was in the living room and she apologized for the mess although everything looked in it’s place to me. She is an artist herself and she pointed to several rendered pencil drawings that she had done. They were framed and looked good against the dark wood paneling.

Patrick walked back to the barn with me and introduced me around as “the artist.” The cane had already been harvested. Then joked that we should have gotten up much earlier to help with that. The cane was crushed by a mechanical crusher and the sweet liquid was gathered. My sister Pat Boehme had some cane growing in her yard in Port Charlotte. I asked to cut a stalk so I could see how it tasted raw. I cut out the soft inner pulp and chewed on it. Raw cane is delicious but once the initial burst of flavor passed, I had to spit out the chewed pulp. A neighbor said that as a child, he was given raw cane as a treat instead of candy.

Back in the barn a large cauldron full of cane juice was boiling. Thirteen rows of cane were not harvested since they had plenty of cane juice for the boil. The heat was intense and the steam rose. Several men were always on hand to skim the surface removing the debris and thin film that rose to the surface. All morning the furnace blazed. An inner metal cylinder was placed inside the cauldron and mesh was wadded up and inserted around the edge to soak up more of the film. A breeze began wafting the steam away. Several men tacked up a green drop cloth to block the breeze. It seemed the steam needed to linger and rise straight up for the boil to be most effective. By the end of the day all that would be left was a thick syrup which the women would bottle. This is a true old Florida tradition, a look at an art form that is fading away in our fast paced times.

Gratitude Bonfire

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Julie Norris opened her home on a cool crisp evening for a front porch party. Terry and I arrived in separate cars after a farewell reading at the Kerouac house. There was a wide assortment of whole fresh foods on the porch. Julie is helping me assemble a 2012 Calendar, so I handed her some design elements she had asked for. Julie asked Terry if she wanted some cider and they went into the kitchen to heat some up. I heard music out behind the house so I wandered outside. Julie had a large vegetable garden and I avoided stepping on several large leafed pumpkin vines as I made my way toward the singing.

Perhaps a dozen people were seated around a fire pit, basking in it’s warm glow. There weren’t any chairs, so I went back to my truck to get my artist’s stool. In the light of a street lamp, I was thrilled to see my breath as I exhaled. I rushed back to the fellowship of the fire to warm up. After several songs, I decided I had to try and sketch. When Terry came out, I was surprised that she sat across the fire from me. I relaxed when she started singing and even leading, by looking up lyrics on her iPhone. After we all sang Fulsom Prison Blues, by Johnny Cash, a woman to my left said we had to see this song sung by a five year old on You Tube. She said it was the funniest thing she had seen in a long time.

Roger and Gailanne Amundsen of Jubal’s Kin were relaxing beside the fire. They had just performed at a huge concert at the Citrus Bowl. Gailanne came over to glance at my attempt to catch the firelight. She had seen a previous sketch I did of Jubal’s Kin at Urban ReThink and she liked it. It made me happy to rub shoulders with so much raw talent in the hidden dark corners of undiscovered Orlando.We all sang “Hallelujah“. Even our imperfect broken harmonies sounded divine. I felt grateful and warm. Perhaps I am in the right place at the right time in this chaos of life. “It was a cold and broken Hallelujah!”

An improvised blues song began and everyone wanted Julie to make up some lyrics. When she sang her blues everyone clapped along with the beat. People joined in adding their own blues to the mix. The warm voices filled the cold void surrounding the fire. Terry was tired and wanted to go home. I rushed the sketch so I would get home soon after her. I hugged Julie to say goodbye and turned my back to the warm glow.

Seven Lives of Chance

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Dina Peterson told me that a film was being shot at Urban ReThink (625 E. Central Boulevard). I had several hours open before I went to Full Sail that night. She told me that an entire room would be filled with balloons and that there would be a line of extras waiting to get inside. There were no actors around when I arrived, so I sat across the street and started blocking in the architecture. The last time I drew this building it was the Urban Think bookstore which had to close because of the recession. It was a vibrant artists hub then and it is even more vibrant today. This is where I would experience a fraction of Seven Lives of Chance.

As I sketched, Banks Helfrich, the writer and director, parked his car and pulled out a dozen balloons. He and an assistant were dropping off some equipment at Urban ReThink. He stopped over to say hello and let me know that the cast and crew were right down the street shooting outside a Publix supermarket. I don’t know the story behind Seven Lives of Chance but there are plenty of balloons involved. Banks described the first day of shooting which involved recreating a digestive tract using urethane foam. As he spoke the balloons he was holding kept getting blown in front of his face. He batted them aside.

Rather than rush down the street, I decided to keep working on the sketch I had started. Banks let me know they were coming to shoot at ReThink next in half an hour. They were a little behind schedule. Actor, Richard Regan Paul, said hello. He seemed to know me, yet I couldn’t place him in my rattled brain. He was in a scene with Jodi Chase. The scene was shot from inside a ReThink conference room looking out at the actors on the sidewalk. After a take, Banks ran out to the actors on the sidewalk and he described their motivaion with animation and plenty of gesturing.

Dina Peterson waved hello and she shouted out the shooting schedule to me. The line of extras wouldn’t arrive till after I was gone. Dina directed several extras who walked behind the actors in the scene. As one shot was being filmed, Dina raised her arms in panic. A pedestrian was walking right into the shot. She couldn’t stop him. This was a small production that couldn’t afford barricades. Perhaps this unsuspecting extra will end up in the film.

A giant red balloon was inflated in the conference room. It must have been incorporated in the shot somehow. The sound man kept the mic above the actors out of the shot. I couldn’t hear the dialogue, but it looked like Jodi was ready to leave and Richard wanted to tag along. When I finished my sketch, I crossed over to thank Dina for inviting me. She was discussing schedules with the extras and she looked like a thousand derails were buzzing in her brain as yet unresolved. This was a 90 minute feature film being shot in seven days. They had just one chance to get it right.

Improv at Full Sail

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As part of my continuing education at Full Sail I took a two hour workshop that taught the basic principles behind improvisational performance, and how to use the hidden communication framework within improv to connect with students.Ten to fifteen Full Sail instructors and staff gradually filtered into the classroom. Adam Bellis and Simon MacDonald, both SAK comedians were at the front of the classroom. They asked people to sign in as they arrived. They had a few power point slides but from the start it was obvious that participation would be needed from everyone. Everyone was asked to stand in a circle to participate in an acting warm up exercise.

The game was called GO! The premise was simple, you must point to someone in the circle. They would say “Go” and then you would walk to take their place. They would then point, seeking permission from someone else. It was surprising how tricky this was. You really had to listen. There was a sense that decisions and permissions were rushed. In another pass the verbal, “Go” was replaced with a simple nod. Being a visual person I found this easier yet following the flow sometimes left me glancing around aimlessly. Was I making a fool of myself? Was everyone thinking the same thing?

The next exercise was called, “The Name Game” or Johnathan’s alliteration. You had to state your name and then add a descriptive action while acting it out. Everyone in the group had to repeat the name and action. I think I said something like, “Thor is thirsty” as I acted like I was sipping tea. What was I thinking? Everyone repeated the action raising their pinkies delicately. By the end, I felt I knew the people around me. This was a perfect ice breaker.

Adam and Simon then conducted an improv where they were puppets being manipulated by audience members. I volunteered and controlled Adam. It was fun raising his arms to gesture as he spoke. They worked together building a sacred bridge of trust. They validated each other and forwarded the story by creating new options. It is easier to tear down a bridge than to build it. Everyone in the room was free to openly express themselves which was a good environment to communicate and learn in.

It turned out that Simon is producing a Fringe show this year which is a Star Wars musical. I love the premise and I hope to sketch rehearsals as it develops.

Art Critique

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Parker Sketch has organized a monthly critique group. I haven’t really gotten feedback on my work since I was in college. That is longer than I care to admit. The last session was held at the Barefoot Spa. I decided to bring a five foot panel that I had just started. All together 19 artists were slated to show their work. Seated in front of me was a woman named Loraine Del Wood. Her name was just Loraine Wood but someone told her, “Your name is so boring.” From then on she included her middle name for an exotic touch. When she discovered that I worked for Disney Feature Animation in the past, she told me about her animation background. She had worked as an inker and painter at Columbia screen Gems in the early years. Hand drawn animation was transferred to a clear acetate cell and then the character was painted on the back of the cell. She had worked on many animated characters. The one that stuck in my mind was Tubby the Tuba.

She loved animation and talked to different animators to learn their craft. She was told “Women don’t do animation.” Her husband worked on live action films so she left animation and assisted him on such films as Some Life it Hot, The Pink Panther and West Side Story. Her art fell to the wayside and she took a 40 year break from 1964 to 2004. She showed a series of paintings she did of women wearing black wide brimmed hats.

Painter Richard Colvin showed 2 paintings. One was of John Ashcroft standing in front of a statue which was partly draped. Ashcroft later insisted the statue be properly draped. He stopped doing this sort of political art since he felt he was preaching to the choir. In one year he experienced the grief of 11 deaths of family and friends. He started doing more traditional landscapes. He experienced a mad rush of creativity, doing 30 paintings in two months.

Marla E. Artist showed a large plaster base relief which was going to be used to cover a flat screen TV. The image was divided in two so it could be separated to display the TV. She wanted to sign up on Facebook as Marla E but it didn’t allow initials for a last name. Her occupation as artist was tagged on to her name. Facebook is the new Ellis Island, forcing name changes as people immigrate to the digital realm.

The Mennello Christmas Tree

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Angela Abrusci offered to take some high quality photos of the five foot long painting I did for Margot Knight. We agreed to meet at the Mennello Museum to take the shots. Some shots were taken as the painting leaned against a brick wall and then we layed it flat in the parking lot. It was a cloudy day which she said made for better diffuse light. Autumn Ames wasn’t sure how to ship such a large painting, so I decided to ask Kim Robinson in the Museum, her advice. From the basement she found a large shipping box called a strong box. Inside was coated with foam soundproofing material. The box was just six inches shorter than what I needed for the painting. She also suggested that the panel be wrapped with glassine which would keep the foam from sticking to any paint.

Kim and Genevieve Bernard were getting ready to put up the museum’s Christmas tree. The wooden tree was designed by artist Anita Lam in 2000. She called it “The Out in Aspen BB Tree.” The branches were wooden dowels. They all had numbers which corresponded to the height they were placed on the trunk. Branches were collated and piled on the floor. Angela stayed to help and she snapped pictures. An old metal American flag was added to the top of the tree. It bobbed on its spring just barely clearing the water pipes.

Many of the ornaments were original works of art by local artists. The Museum put out another invitation to artists to submit ornaments for the tree this year. Genevieve went to an inner city school to participate in Career Day. She had the children make craft paper ornaments which she planned to string up on the tree. On her iPhone, Billy Holiday was singing “Nice Work if You Can Get It” as she strung the ornaments together using red yarn. Outside the giant bay windows the lake sparkled and a large colorful sculpture by John Robert Wolf moved slowly in the breeze. Kim stacked apple ornaments below the tree.

Gail Pergande stopped in to watch with her dog. Once the tree was full of ornaments, we all went out to lunch at Shakers in College Park. I hadn’t finished my sketch yet so after lunch, I returned to the museum to add color washes. I was inspired by the bright colors in the Earl Cunningham paintings on the walls.