Orlando Story Club Concluded Its Season With “Best Of 2017.”

Posted on by Thor

Orlando Story Club is held quarterly at The Abbey, 100 South Eola Drive, Orlando, FL 32801. The December 2017 edition of Orlando Story Club featured the  2017 winners who shared their best personal narratives in hopes of being crowned the
best storyteller of the year. All qualifying storytellers are given the
opportunity to put their name in a hat, and chosen individuals are
selected randomly to share their stories for the enjoyment of the local
community. The December event theme was “Best Day Ever” and the
benefiting organization was ArtReach Orlando.

All
storytellers who placed in the top three during one of the 2017 events were invited to compete in the finale. Three randomly selected judges
scored the storytellers. First, Second, and Third place winners
received a prize. Drinks, refreshments
and laughter were available in abundance. Each event throughout the year had
a different theme and all proceeds raised support different Orlando
philanthropic causes.

Jack Graham told a story of a road trip to see the total eclipse of the sun. The eclipse totality could be seen in a 500 mile wide stripe that ran cross the united states. It crossed over Charleston South Carolina which is where I went to see the once in a lifetime event. Jacks road trip was filled with laugh out loud suspense and a rouge police radar tracking device. Clouds threatened to hid the sun but at the last moment the clouds parted to allow for a clear view. The world grew dark and the birds became silent and creatures of the night began their songs. The real magic of it all however was sharing the experience with friends.

Jesse James story of “The Impossible Dream” garnered a higher score from the judges. He spoke of his longing to start a family but realizing that he could not father a child. He met a woman who shared his dream and together they started the long arduous process of adopting a child. When he spoke of his trip to Korea to finally pick up the child his voice choked up as he recalled the incredible moment when he saw his daughter for the first time. Hearing such inspiring stories is what Story Club is all about.

Janessa Gursky explained the focus of the December charity partner which was ArtReach Orlando, which promotes
creativity and art projects that in return develop a positive platform
and chance for self-expression for children in underprivileged areas of
Orange County. The grant program, ArtReach Orlando Artist-in-Residence,
supplies teachers with additional content and learning material that
fosters comprehension among children, while encouraging and supporting the
teachers and students involved. The organization aims to empower its
participants and children as it maintains a focus of improving youth’s
self-esteem, self of being and belonging in the community. These lofty goals are the reason I tend to sketch each and every day.

Here is the schedule for 2018:
January 17: This is Orlando – benefiting Zebra Coalition
April 4: Make My Day – benefiting Summer of Dreams
May: Fringe TBD
July 18: What a Mess! – benefiting Pet Alliance
Oct 10: Down to the Wire – benefiting Homeless Coalition
2018 Championship Dec 12: My Favorite Things – benefiting ArtReach Orlando

Hope

Posted on by Thor

In June, Brendan O’Connor, sent me a Facebook message, “Thomas I’ll be headed out to the Hope Community Center in Apopka (1016 N Park Ave Apopka, FL) on Thursday around 11:30 to work on the mosaic-mural for the afternoon. You’re more than welcome to join!”

Brendan is a project manager for Art Reach Orlando whose mission is to support art projects that foster creativity and hope, develop
self-esteem, and offer children a platform to reflect, re-vision, and
rejoice. By fostering creativity they are encouraging and empowering
children to imagine the positive changes they wish to see in
their own lives, their communities, and the world.

The Hope Community Center is a service and learning community dedicated to the
empowerment of the Central Florida’s immigrant and working poor
communities through Education, Advocacy and Spiritual Growth. Janis Neunez is the artist who designed the mosaic mural that will surround the back entryway to the center. The
story of the area’s migrant workers will be told through through the
placement of tiles and objects donated by migrant worker families and through interactive computer chips
placed in the mosaic. By activating the chips with your smart phone, you can see
images and hear the stories of the men, women, and children who made the
Tree of Life mosaic at the center and make up the real life mosaic of
our Central Florida community.

Brendan had to work from the top of the ladder using acid to clean an area. I was nervous that someone might open the door fast and send him tumbling. A dear friend Melissa Kasper recently fell off a ladder breaking her nose, so the possibility was fresh on my mind.  I’m glad to report that no artists were hurt during the creation of this sketch.

Art Reach Orlando

Posted on by Thor

At Urban ReThink, Brendan O’Connor started telling me about several mural projects he is helping spearhead.  He spoke excitedly about a mosaic mural that was in the planning stages in Apopka. Migrant workers were being asked to contribute items that came with them when they moved to Florida. QR codes and micro chips might also be embedded in the mosaic so that anyone with a smart phone could scan the mural and listen to interviews and history behind the items. He then invited me to Corner Lake Middle School in Bithlo the next day to sketch the beginning stages of a mural being started there. Christie Miga is the artist in residence who created the mural image.

When I arrived, the hallway was crowded with kids. Two young girls were tracing lines on an image projected on the wall.  The rest of the kids were sitting in the hall doing their homework or playing tag. Brendan O’Connor quickly introduced me to everyone. Brendan and Sarah Zimmer work for Art Reach Orlando as project managers. Marsha Selby is a teacher from the school. She’s a science teacher that does art on the side in her own free time since the school doesn’t offer it. Unfortunately the traffic on Colonial Drive got me to the school about half an hour late. All the kids were packing up to get back home.

I decided to try and get a sketch anyway. Do to a minor glitch, Christie needed to readjust the image.  Those adjustments gave me time to finish my sketch. Sarah and Brendan helped her make all the adjustments.  The work went quickly now that the hall was quiet. I remember similar adjustments had to be made the first day I had students help me with the Mennello Museum Mural. I asked them to cover the wall with pencil grid lines every foot. I went inside the museum to sketch several people for the mural. When I came back out, I  found the grid started out good but then the grid lines arched upward by the time they got to the other end of the wall.

Christie Miga’s mural image was developed in Illustrator on the computer. She explained that they were just projecting the background elements today. Later other elements will be layered on top. The image to start had large arching shapes that looked like hillsides. Time will tell what the final image looks like. Christie wanted to keep the image simple to start.