Weekend Top 6 Picks for November 9 and 10, 2019

Posted on by Thor

Saturday November 9, 2019

10am to 5pm $10-$15 Orlando Maker Faire. Central Florida Fairgrounds 4603 W Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32808. If
you like combat robots, you’ll LOVE Robot Ruckus. The signature event
during Maker Faire Orlando 2019 will feature robots from 150 grams to
250 pounds in two arenas, and special appearances from your favorite
televised robot battle teams! Learn more: robotruckus.org 

For
2019 we are expanding the Combat Robot event at Maker Faire Orlando
2019 with a new name, twice the space, more seating, and more of your
favorite teams from TV!
The Maker Faire Orlando 2019 ticket includes Robot Ruckus!

8pm to 10pm $10 Emily Dendinger’s play The Grand Illusion Show (which will involve some magic). Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803.

In Emily Dendinger’s The Grand Illusion Show,
Adelaide Hermann must fight her nephew Leon with wit, will, and magic
to win the rights to her dead husband’s magic show. “This play is a
magic trick, and like all good magic tricks, what you think is happening
in the text isn’t necessarily what’s really happening in the story.”

10:30pm to Midnight Order a drink of food. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801. Hot blooded flamenco dancing set tom acoustic guitar.



Sunday November 10, 2019 

11am to noon. $5 Yoga. Lake Eola near red gazebo.

1:30pm to 4:30pm $5. Accidental Historian Urban Sketching Workshop: Sunday in the Park with Thor. For students 14 to 24 years old.

Bridging past and present, this workshop guides students to capture
the present day in a sketch beside the photographic past. Inspired by a
1920s photo by T.P. Robinson, we will sketch the Sperry Fountain at Lake
Eola. The fountain is made of wrought iron and has a duck base with
water flowing from the ducks’ beaks and an acanthus leaf.

Students in this workshop are tasked with creating a modern
interpretation of the fountain. The sketch will begin with the same
sepia watercolor tones that exist in the photo. In the distance,
however, is the amphitheater, which is brightly painted with the colors
of the rainbow. Trees will likely block your view of the fountain, but
you will learn how to walk around to catch a view and add it to your
sketch.

All skill levels are
welcome. Sketching materials will be provided by Sam Flax Orlando. The
sketching portion of the workshop will take place outdoors. Participants
should dress appropriately for the weather and bring water and a snack.
Participants can bring a folding chair or stool to sit.

Workshop schedule
• 2 p.m. Meet inside the Orange County Regional History Center

• 2:05 p.m. Introductions

• 2:25 p.m. Tour of The Accidental Historian exhibit

• 3:15 p.m.Sketching instruction outside at Sperry Fountain at Lake Eola Park

• 4:30 p.m. Sketchbook Throwdown

About the Instructor: Thomas Thorspecken

Thomas “Thor” Thorspecken is an illustrator and journalist working in
and around Central Florida. He attended the School of Visual Arts in
New York City. In his ten years as a freelance illustrator in New York,
one of his assignments for the Daily News included sketching
historic buildings throughout the city for a column called “Undiscovered
Manhattan.” Thor relocated to Orlando in 1993 to work for Disney
Feature Animation. After a decade, the studio closed, and so he
continued to pursue his passion for art through teaching and sketching.

His website and blog, www.analogartistdigitalworld.com,
began in January 2009 with a resolution to post a sketch every day. He
describes it as “his way to finally put down roots, to become part of a
community, one sketch at a time.” More than 4,000 sketches later, he’s
still capturing our community.

Follow Thor on Instagram: @analogartistdigitalworld, Twitter: @analogartist, Facebook: Analog Artist Digital World, and subscribe to his blog: www.analogartistdigitalworld.com

About the Series: The Accidental Historian Young Artists Urban Sketching Workshops

Catch the world around you one sketch at a time! Join Urban Sketchers
Orlando for any, or all three, sketching workshops in downtown Orlando
for artists aged 14 – 24. In conjunction with the History Center’s
newest exhibition, The Accidental Historian,
these classes for all skill levels will get you sketching on location
and capturing history as it happens. All art supplies are included,
courtesy of Sam Flax.

4pm to 6pm Free. Morgan Samuel Price Art Opening. The University Club, 150 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801.

Accidental Historian install.

Posted on by Thor

At the Orange County Regional History Center, (65 E. Central Blvd. Orlando, Florida 32801) I watched as a large cartography sketch by J.O. Fries was projected on a wall  for the Accidental Historian. This Central Florida sketch shows Lake Holden and Lake Jessup. Fries filled book after book with these detailed drawings were done as he paced off the woods and back roads by foot. The land was graphed off into a grid and then details were incorporated with old school pen and ink on paper. Trees look like arrows and wetlands are fields of dashes. His job was to document every mile and yard of the barren Central
Florida landscape. His hand drawn maps documented lakes swamps and dirt
roads that then dominated the landscape. Today Google satellite views
show the same landscape littered with strip malls and suburban sub
divisions.

I helped hand draw one section of this huge wall display. It involved working on each panel while on hands and knees. After a while the repetitive nature of the marks made became second nature. Quite a few different History Center  staff took turns adding to the large hand drawn map, yet it all pulls together in the exhibit.

Because I am interested in family history I was fascinated by the diaries on display and he funeral books citing caused of death for Orlando citizens over the years. Fries daughter wrote intimate diaries in her native tongue which I believe was Swedish. Transcriptions detailed how her family adjusted to the Florida climate.

This is a fun show with many Instagramable selfie moments. The opening of the show had a large image of the Lake Eola fountain half of the image is drawn by me with the rainbow colored amphitheater in the background and the other half is a photo form the 1920s by T.P Robinson.

The exhibit is up through January 20, 2020.

Other events surrounding the exhibition:

First Friday Lunch and Learns

History Center staff offer a behind-the-scenes look at the museum and share their research.

Also a public exhibition of the shortlisted design team submissions will take
place from October 3 to October 9, 2019 at the Orange County Regional History
Center in Orlando, Florida. This will be accompanied by a digital
exhibition of the shortlisted teams’ proposals on the onePULSE design
competition website. The public will have an opportunity to share their
comments.

The six shortlisted teams (in alphabetical order) are:

  • Coldefy and Associés with RDAI, Xavier Veilhan, dUCKS scéno, Agence TER, Prof. Laila Farah
  • Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Rene Gonzalez Architects with Raymond Jungles, Inc.
  • heneghan peng architects, Gustafson Porter + Bowman, Sven Anderson & Pentagram
  • MASS Design Group, Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Sasaki, Sanford Biggers, Richard Blanco, Porsha Olayiwola
  • MVRDV, Grant Associates, GSM Project and Studio Drift
  • Studio Libeskind with Claude Cormier + Associés, Thinc, and Jenny Holzer

VIP Opening of Accidental Historian

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The evening of September 21, 2019 was the VIP reception for Accidental Historian at the Orange County Regional History Center (65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801). This is the first exhibit to feature sketches from the Orlando Urban Sketchers group. 

The premise of the exhibit is that artists,
bloggers, urban sketchers, photographers, and more could be historians without even realizing it. In this exhibition, created patrons, learn how individuals who are
absorbed in documenting the world of today accidentally become some of
Central Florida’s finest historians for the future. You can catch a glimpse into
some of the museum’s favorite collections that were created capturing the moments more
than 100 years ago.

The Accidental Historian features both historic and
contemporary work and collections, including drawings by the renowned
artist and teacher Ralph Bagley, Urban Sketchers Orlando, poetry by
Orlando’s inaugural poet laureate Susan Lilley, audiovisual work by food
blogger Ricky Ly, historic images by photographer T.P. Robinson, and
more.

A pillar of my sketchbooks from eight years of my daily sketching are in a glass case in the center of the room. The corner of the room is designed to look like an open spiral bound sketchbook and reproductions of sketches done by members of Orlando Urban Sketchers are scattered across the spread along with biographies and information about the artists.

I knew going into the reception that I wanted to sketch the huge transparencies that had been printed of a shuttle launch. They were framed in light boxes which made them glow as bright as an actual launch. A wall was dedicated to the people of central Florida over the years and a sketch I did of a flea market blues performer fit in snugly.

This exhibit is on display through January 19, 2020. Be sure to stop by the History Center and check it out.

Weekend Top 6 Picks for September 28 and 29, 2019

Posted on by Thor

Saturday September 28, 2019 

10am to 5pm. Adults $8. Accidental Historian. Orange County Regional History Center 65 E. Central Blvd. Orlando, Florida 32801. You might be a historian without even realizing it! That’s certainly
true of many bloggers, urban sketchers, photographers, and more. In this
engaging exhibition, created at the History Center, learn how
individuals who are absorbed in documenting the world of today
accidentally become some of Central Florida’s finest historians for the
future. Catch a glimpse into some of our favorite collections that were
created for the now – more than 100 years ago.

The Accidental Historian features both historic and
contemporary work and collections, including drawings by the renowned
artist and teacher Ralph Bagley and Urban Sketchers Orlando, poetry by
Orlando’s inaugural poet laureate Susan Lilley, audiovisual work by food
blogger Ricky Ly, historic images by photographer T.P. Robinson, and
more. Also on display is a tower of my sketchbooks from documenting Orlando Arts and Culture over the last 8 years.

7pm to 9pm  Free. Brewery Tour. Orlando Brewing, 1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, FL.

10:30pm to Midnight. Free but get food and or drink. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801. 

Sunday September 29, 2019

11am to Noon. $5 Yoga. Lake Eola near red gazebo. 

Noon to 2pm Free. Bobby Koelble Presents Jazz in the Garden. 1300 S Denning Dr, Winter Park, FL 32789.  Join
us as we enjoy an afternoon of electric Jazz music, tasty food, craft
cocktails, and shopping in a beautiful, serene setting all while helping
to benefit Mead Botanical Garden.

Bobby Koelble Presents Jazz in
the garden, is a series of Jazz concerts that will be hosted by Mead
Botanical Garden. The shows, that will fall on the last Sunday of the
month from September thru November, will consist of world class
musicians performing a collection of your favorite Jazz standards with a
twist. 

There will be food and beverages available for purchase,
a shopping area curated by Suzette’s One Of A Kind Finds, as well as a
limited number of VIP passes which will include a brunch buffet catered
by Bites and Bubbles, beer or cocktail and a VIP viewing area.

7:30pm to 9:30pm $10-$20 suggested donation. Please also bring food or wine to share.  CF2’s 7th Annual Composer DIY Salon Concert.  Timucua 2000 S Summerlin Ave, Orlando, Florida 32806. For
seven years, Central Florida Composers Forum (CF2) has been offering
its members a first-come, first-on, get-er-done yerself opportunity to
present work to the Orlando/Central Florida public. The composers
themselves perform or arrange for the performers. That always means a
wider variety of sonic possibilities than a more typical, curated CF2
concert featuring a unified instrumentation.

This program
features Rebekah Todia’s Crossing The Bar, for piano and voice; Melody
Cook’s For Two Voices, No. 2, for clarinet and piano; Holly Cordero’s
Personified Bliss, for string quartet, Bob Jr.’s Conjure the Storm, for
piano, guitar, bass, and drums; Paul Austin Sanders’ electronic
compositions Danze Africanne, Spirit of the East, and Bop Latinesque;
and premieres of Alex Burtzos’ X Codes, for violin, clarinet, and piano,
and also his Perforation, for solo piano.

All ears are welcome.