9th Annual Zombietoberfest

Posted on by Thor

The 9th Annual Zombietoberfest was just held in Audubon Gardern District. If fell on the same day as one of my Orlando Urban Sketch Workshops, so we used it as our location. With parking sparse, I parked several blocks away and walked to our meeting spot at Stardust Video and Coffee. We were two students short, so we waited for a while in front of Stardust and then decided to get rolling while the zombies were still shuffling about. The quick lesson and worksheets advised artists to do a sheet of zombie studies that focused on gesture and building the figures from simple shapes.

Since this was a very crowded event, the challenge was to find slow moving zombies. Fast energetic zombies would be impossible to sketch. For instance, a zombie taking a selfie would only take a few seconds before they turned and walked away. I decided to focus on Deviant Dollz, founded by artist Linda Janssen. This collection of miscreant dolls seem possessed or the victims of a horror movie.

Several grand parents picked out a doll for their grand daughter who made a magnificent bloody zombie. I didn’t see their choice, but the grand daughter decided she would prefer a bloody and beaten Raggedy Ann doll that looked like she had been abused by Raggedy Andy. Pam Schwartz begrudgingly explained the teddy bears to me. They were tied together in such a way so that their snout was up another bear’s butt. Apparently there is a film called the Human Centipede in which the people can only survive if they eat the excrement from another. The goal was to see how long the people could survive without being fed. I don’t think i need to see that film.

There was perhaps one zombie for every 40 attendees. The most popular zombie costume seemed to be females in bloody prom dresses. I’m not sure a zombie film has been made yet in which zombies invaded a prom, but it cold make and interesting premise.  The Deviant Dollz booth was incredibly popular so I spent most of my
time trying to look around the crowd to see some of the dolls. Keeping track of all the artists in the crowd was impossible, so I let them all wrestle with the sketches on their own. Afterwards, we all met near the bloody zombie snow cone food truck to compare drawings and take a group photo.

Bastille Day in Audubon Park was a grey day for a beheading.

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Bastille Day is a celebration of the victorious French Revolution. On July 12th the Audubon Park Garden District hosted a Bastille Day Festival at 1603 Winter Park Road, which turned out to be a church. As Terry and I arrived, it was starting to drizzle. The weather didn’t stop Marie Antoinette from posing for photos and signing autographs. Another photo opportunity was a well oiled guillotine. Anyone could stick their neck out for a photo if they dared. I stood in the entry vestibule of the church to keep my sketch out of the rain.

A small outdoor market  featured Bamapana Vintage, Lady Day Vintage, Whisk and Bowl, The Crepe Company, La Femme du Fromage, The Yum Yum Truck, OhLaLa Petanque Club, and Olde Hearth Bread Company. Inside the church courtyard there was a wine and cheese tasting going on but this was a ticketed event that Terry and I hadn’t signed up for. I pressed my nose up to the window to see that the tasting room was packed. The courtyard also had some french themed art and a game of pin the hat on Napoleon. No one was playing the game, so I wasn’t tempted to sketch. The guillotine was moved out of the rain into the covered courtyard and I followed it to complete my sketch. Who would have the nerve to move a guillotine during a public execution?  It turned out that a photographer was in charge and he snapped photos of anyone willing to kneel down. I’m still convinced that those picture boxes are a passing fad. There was supposed to be baguette fencing but I never witnessed it.

The Audubon Market has produce and a sense of community.

Posted on by Thor

Mondays in Orlando offer few event options. If I’m unable to find a sketchable event, I always go to the Audubon Garden District Community Market at Stardust Video and Coffee (1842 Winter Park Rd, Orlando, FL). Tents start to go up in the Stardust parking lot as the sun sets. I like to order a drink at Stardust and sit back to watch all the activity.

On this Monday, I sketched the Stardust patrons who were soaking in the atmosphere. The market always has a live performer which also makes it the perfect spot to sketch. Produce and products are locally grown and crafted which make the market a healthy shopping option. When I order something to eat, I know that at least I ate one healthy meal for the week. With East End Market just a few blocks away there is no reason not to eat a healthy balanced diet all week, but as an artist on the run, I tend to only eat processed fast food before doing most sketches. Maybe a better diet could result in better sketches.

I’ve sketched a number of vegetarian and Vegan themed events and have seen and heard the merits of not eating meat, yet I haven’t yet followed up with a commitment to change my eating habits. It is hard to teach this old dog how to improve his diet. Eating is a quick necessity that I don’t think much about. I function primarily on caffeine and sugar. Perhaps that is why my sketches pen Iines are so shaky and nervous. Healthy living courses seem like such a luxury, yet im probably not functioning at 100%. Aching bones tend to be a distraction when getting lost in the creative process. Perhaps someday I’ll change.

Swamp Sista LaLa Friends

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Swamp Sista La La Friends began its inaugural year as an annual event on Saturday June 23, 2012. It was an epic celebration of mostly southern music, women, independent businesses (which happen to be mostly owned or ran by women), and the hippest community in Orlando (also managed by a woman). It took  place outside and inside Park Ave CDs, from 7PM – 11PM. The evening was a gathering of Swamp Sistas, soulfully connected women, (mainly) Southern women who love to keep their roots at the surface while also branching to a more contemporary sound.

Audubon Park Garden District, Park Ave CDs, and Beth McKee joined to bring Swamp Sistas together for music, fun, vendors, beer, and food in Audubon Park.

Beth McKee’s Swamp Sista group includes diverse and talented women from all over the South and also from all over Central Florida.

The goal behind this Swamp Sista La La is to raise awareness about local independent retail stores, especially record stores like Park Ave CDs, and local entrepreneurs, which Audubon Garden District often champions. By having a Swamp Sista La La at Park Ave CDs, Beth utilized the Swamp Sista network to bring people from all over the area to Audubon Park, showing them what a special place it is.

The parking lot outside Park Avenue CDs was crowded with merchant tents while Viveca Averstedt‘s swedeDISH Food Truck hummed on the road. I sat next to the outdoor stage to sketch Laney Jones and her band as they performed mellow folk tuned. I’m pretty sure I sketched her performing solo outside infusion tea once on a rainy dusk. It was a hot humid evening and by the time I was done sketching I decided to go. The swedeDISH Food Truck had a Thor hot dog which was supposed to be immense. I was tempted to order one but decided to hold off. A band was also performing inside Park Avenue CDs where there was air conditioning. Terry and I negotiated and then left.

Flat Mountain Men

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Every Monday from six to ten in the evening, the Audubon Community Market is held in the parking lot in front of Stardust Video & Coffee. On this particular evening I was going to be able to see the first run of 2012 Ourlando Calendars hot off the press. Julie Norris who did an amazing job designing the calenders had yet to see the calendars as well. A table was going to be set up in the market to sell the calendars. I spotted Julie and her daughter, Maya, at the Big Wheel food truck. I ordered a stuffed avocado dish and then joined Julie and Maya inside Stardust to eat. The avocado was delicious. Emily Rankin entered Stardust carrying a heavy box. She split the tape seal and cracked it open. Inside were the first 50 calendars. Julie and I each grabbed a calendar and started flipping through. I was happy to see the final product but I felt uneasy. The colors were more saturated and darker than I would have liked. I held my tongue, then Julie said, “What do you think?” I had to admit my concern and she agreed.

We were on a tight deadline to have the calendars ready for the holidays. The rest of the printing run was on hold till the morning while the printer ran another job. An employee was at the printer so I drove there to be sure the rest of the print run wasn’t as dark. A sample calender had been printed 10% less dark. I decided it was good enough. I then drove back to Stardust to sign some calendars and enjoy the music. Julie was leaving because Maya was tired. Emily was at the table selling the calendars and I signed a few before sketching the Flat Mountain Men. The parking lot stage consisted of a card table with an inverted cowboy hat and a stool. The music was rustic home spun fun. Folding tables were set up in front of the band where people came to sit and enjoy their food and the music. The two women seated right in front had known the musicians ever since high school. The band played “Walking the Tightrope” as the sky grew dark and the evening cooled.

Waiting for Zombies at Stardust

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Terry told me about Zombietoberfest in the Audubon Garden District. I was working at Full Sail that Saturday so I drove to Stardust Video and Coffee straight from work. I arrived early. The sun was still in the sky. I spotted a female zombie in the beauty parlor next to Stardust but as I ordered a pumpkin beer, there were no zombies in sight. I sat in a small booth next to the bar. A child’s portrait grinned at me from behind. A few people sat stating at their laptops. Perhaps they were laptop zombies roaming the earth staring at screen after screen.

I watched the bar maid as she coached a new recruit. Then she sat at the bar and did paperwork in her blood red dress. I sketched her quickly. I savored my pumpkin beer which was stronger than I remembered. Terry was going to meet me here but she was running errands. When the bar maid got off the bar stool, a female zombie took her place. From behind she looked perfectly normal in her black dress suit. Her face however was bruised and bloodied. She ordered a red drink, perhaps brain juice.

Two college girls were having a lively conversation. When they left, a group of women zombies took their place. One woman had blood flowing from her mouth and staining her white shirt. When my sketch was finished, hoards of zombies began to crowd in. I met Terry in the parking lot and we decided to get some Italian food across the street…

Big Wheel Food Truck

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Every Monday there is a farmers market that sets up in the parking lot of Stardust Video and Coffee in the Audubon Park district of Orlando starting around 6pm. I stopped by right after work at Full Sail. When I got there vendors were still setting up their tents. The Big Wheel Food Truck was parked at the entrance of the parking lot. Several flimsy roadside dividers were set up to keep cars from trying to pull into the lot to park. I decided I should order dinner from the truck. Inside the truck the three chefs were busy cutting and preparing the food. I asked if they were ready to take an order, and they weren’t. They suggested I return in about 15 minutes.

I sat across the way leaning back against a road sign and I began to sketch. Sure enough, 15 minutes into the sketch people started to line up for food. The Big Wheel Food Truck is proud of serving fresh local food that is prepared in small batches, “because, frankly, we think it just tastes better that way.” Their slogan is “Local is Lovely.” Cars kept parking in front of me so vendors could unload their gear. One fellow backed up and knocked over one of the “no parking” dividers. I picked it up for him. The next woman to back out asked if I could take care of the divider. Suddenly I was the gate keeper. I left the dividers out of the way and continued to sketch.

Finally I ordered my dinner. I decided to try a meatloaf burger made from local grass fed beef. The burger was topped with house made bacon with local lettuce, garden herbs and a big wheel onion. The burger was juicy and delicious with a creamy sauce but a bit to salty for my taste. I ordered Captain Eli’s blueberry pop to wash it all down.

Chef Tony Adams who founded the food truck had a tent set up in the market to sell local produce and to promote the truck. The truck uses twitter to let people know where the truck is parked. These up to the minute updates called “Chase our Wheels” can be found at twitter.com/bigwheeltruck. I showed Tony the sketch and asked for a business card. He thought their might be some in the truck so he jogged over and into the truck to search for them. He gave me someone’s card with his info written by hand on the back. I often run out of my business cards so I found it comforting and endearing that this was a true small local business.

Bastille Day

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Bastille Day in the Audubon Garden District celebrated all things French. Falling on a weeknight this year, it was a much smaller event than last year. I went to Stardust Video & Coffee right after work to meet Terry. There was no hint of Bastille Day, or the romance of Paris, so I ordered a Coke and asked where the French might be found. I was told to look at a poster on the door. The poster offered no other clue. I was in the right neighborhood on the right day but other than that, I was lost. After Terry arrived we were finally directed to go across Corrine Drive to Bikes, Beans & Bordeaux. It was a hot muggy night. There were a few tents set up in the parking lot. In Brighton Boutique there was a black and white film being shown. Bonnie Sprung had a tent full of her French themed paintings. There was also chocolates and fine wines.

Amanda Chadwick, Sarah Austin and Wendy Wallenberg started chatting with Terry. When those women start talking, the conversation heats up like an episode of “Sex in the City.” I wandered off to sketch. A live band caught my attention but they stopped playing the second I put a line to paper. I shifted my attention to the people sipping wine and talking at the tables. One woman wore a dark beret. Night settled in quickly. When I finished my sketch, I re-joined Terry. She was seated in a lone chair and I sat beside her in my camping stool. Amanda convinced me I had to try the wine. When I got to the wine table I glanced back and saw that she had decided to occupy my stool. The wine required tickets. The guy standing next to me offered me his ticket since he had to drive home. He offered me a second ticket and I told him to offer it to Amanda. I asked him to have her get up to accept it and I would steal my seat back. He offered her the ticket. She hesitated at first, then when she reached out, he backed up. She caught on fast shouting, “You’re trying to get me out of this seat aren’t you!” What is the world coming to when we can’t accept the kindness of strangers?

Zombietoberfest

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You know Halloween is approaching when zombies roam the streets of the Audubon Garden district. As Terry and I approached late that night we noticed a few zombies stumbling down Corrine Drive. There was a large crowd of zombies outside Park Avenue CD. We arrived at Stardust Video and Coffee around 11pm. When we opened the door, a loud pulsing rhythm shook us as a band played angrily. Decomposing bodies around us writhed to the beat. Terry clutched my hand as I searched for the right sketching vantage point. Rather than committing to a sketch of the band, I decided to search the other rooms for zombies.
The food and drink order counter had a line of zombies that stretched out the door. Chad Bruce and Dana VanZandt were seated at a small corner table and they waved us over. Chad’s sweatshirt was thickly spattered with blood. Dana was dressed as a huntress. When asked about their outfits, they demonstrated their method of hunting zombies. Dana had a human brain that she dangled from a fishing line off the end of a stick. Her job was to lure a zombie close using the brain as bait. Then Chad would unholster the golf club at his hip and strike the zombie down with swift blows to the head.
A zombie was checking his iPhone as he waited in line. A female zombie held a human brain on a plate. When she turned to me I noticed the bullet hole in the center of her forehead. She said she was one of the models at a Boudoir Bombshells photo shoot I sketched several months ago her name is Tamarie Lang. I tried to recognize her but couldn’t get past the blood and bruising. When the quiet demure woman in the red kimono finally turned around, her face wash ashen and blood was dripping from her lips. It was hard to notice if there was blood on her red kimono. Doug Rhodehamel stopped in front of me, frozen mid-stride in his walk. It took a few seconds for me to notice him and I laughed out loud at his attempt to get in the sketch.
When the sketch was done I considered going in the loud room full of writhing zombies, but Terry was tired so I decided it was a one sketch night . My zombie hunting was complete. The event was supposed to end at midnight anyway so I didn’t have time for another sketch.

The Second Annual Bastille Day

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On Saturday Terry and I drove to the Audubon Park Garden District to find out what Bastille Day was all about. Of course in France Bastille day is a celebration of French independence from the rule of monarchs. When we drove past Stardust Video and Coffee there were one or two tents in the parking lot and a water tank set up to dunk a mime. We almost left since it looked like nothing was happening. I expected to see waving flags, a huge crowd and plenty of French costumes. We wandered the side streets looking for a parking spot and braved the heat to walk over to Stardust. A thermometer in Terry’s car indicated it was 101 degrees Fahrenheit outside.
The door I usually use to enter Stardust was locked. We entered the door right in front of the food counter. I could hear a trumpet wailing in the room to my right so we walked that way. We were stopped and told that it would cost $10 to see the concert. I was annoyed since the event page said nothing about a $10 entry fee. He went on to explain that we would get 2 free drink tickets with the price of admission. I was ready to leave but Terry said, “Well, we are already here. Lets go in.” She obviously has a higher entertainment budget that I do. So we paid and got orange wrist bands (not red, white and blue?).
The Benoit Glazer Quartet was on stage. Terry and I sat in an empty booth close to the stage and I got to work on my sketch. The last time I had seem Benoit playing trumpet was at a concert at his home where he played with his kids. Once a month Benoit opens his home, referred to as the White House or Timucua, to musicians and artists. The quartet was really good and Benoit would end each song with some independence themed riff. The fact that he would introduce each song with his authentic french accent added to the days Bastille theme.
Between sets Darlyn Finch came over with her fiance Brad Kuhn and Beverly Browning, an author who had been on Yo Soy Latino a radio show with Darlyn that morning. Darlyn broadcasts a show called Scribblers Corner which talks all about literary events in and around Orlando. I was still rushing to finish my sketch. I was in a panic since Benoit and the other musicians were getting off the stage so I was quickly noting the colors of their clothing. I quickly threw down washes on the performers even as they packed away their instruments. I might have seemed rude but I couldn’t stop just because the music had stopped.
The next performers were Serina Jung and Lisa Firestone. Both are performing moms and their children were in the audience. Serina’s beautiful voice and acoustic guitar playing set the tone of the performance. Lisa offered back up on several of the songs on the piano but later she got off stage to let Serina serenade the audience on her own. The whole time she sang I was finishing up my sketch of Benoit adding delicate layers of watercolor washes. When she finished my sketch was complete.
Terry and I left Stardust in search of other events that were going on such as a Waiter race, a fencing demonstration and a dog show to see which mutts could best look like a french poodle. We walked over to Park Avenue CD’s and looked around the air conditioned store. The Moulin Rouge stage was still under construction. A few more craft vendor tents were set up. The Orlando Sentinel had a tent and table but no one was there. I joked with Terry that they must have all been fired as soon as the tent had been set up. We never did find any of the other scheduled events. We decided to get back in the air conditioned car and head off to hear some jazz.