City Beautiful Church

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I went downtown to the Lake Eola band shell to meet Sarah Lockhard and a Voci dancer named Brie to discuss possibly doing a live projected sketch during a dance performance. Cory Violence would be reading a Tom Waits poem called Watch Her Disappear. Apparently every day in October there will be public performances like this all around town. When I got close, I noticed musicians playing in the parking lot behind the Polish Catholic Church. Meals were being distributed to the homeless and the music suggested that they surrender to Jesus.

When I got to the band shell, I sat in the back row and waited for Sarah. A band was setting up on stage with a large screen behind them. The screen and projector system would be perfect for the performance piece Sarah was considering.  One of the tech guys walked up to me and introduced himself. He was a former student of mine who was volunteering to help out with the City Beautiful Church concert. Since Sarah was a no show, I decided to sketch the band as they did their sound check.

Cole Nesmith explained that this church would be moving into a new bricks and mortar establishment just south of Lake Eola in a couple of weeks. In the mean time they were worshiping in the park. The band was quite good, playing lively and uplifting Christian rock. I’d never heard the songs before. Some of the lyrics were, “There is an army rising up. Break every chain. I may be down but I will rise. It may be dark but God is light.” Cole gave a sermon about the Prodigal Son, who took his fathers inheritance, squandered it and then returned home begging for food and forgiveness. The point of course was that god is all forgiving and full of love. Clouds of gnats swarmed around my head. I swatted they away as I drew. I finally had to leave in the middle of a song to get away from the bugs. A couple ran after me as I walked around the lake. They wanted to see the finished sketch. Their son was at the key boards.

Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts Construction

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I went downtown to the construction site of the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts. My plan was to sketch the children’s art that covers the fencing surrounding the site. As I walked down Magnolia however, I couldn’t resist sketching the Methodist church spire against the dark storm clouds. A building across the street from the church was being demolished to make more room for the Arts center construction.

Dark rust colored beams were beginning to rise from the construction site. The buildings were taking form. A web cam tracks the building’s progress 24/7. Part of me wants to get on the construction site to do a series of sketches  documenting the progress. Then again it is boiling hot outside with little hope of shade on the site.

I thought I would be sketching in the crowds of people rushing home at 5pm, but the streets were eerily vacant. Only the vehicular traffic left the impression that Downtown was bustling. A bus driver stopped next to me and the doors opened with a hiss. I was about to explain that I wasn’t waiting for a bus, but she said, “I just wanted to see the sketch with the color, I saw you when you started the sketch.” I held up the sketch so she could see and she gave me a thumbs up. One fellow wearing a tie stopped to see what I was doing. He said, “That’s my building!” Apparently he must be the architect. A lightening flash blinked brightly on the horizon. The rain held off long enough so I could get back to my car. Then it poured.

The HeART of Theater

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0n May 10th and 11th, Central Florida Community Arts presented, “The HeART of Theater, An Evening on Broadway.” The event featured the Central Florida Community Choir, orchestra and Dance Team, at the Northland Church (530 Dog Track Road). When I pulled into the church parking lot, I saw a mini van unloading seniors in front of the venue. My NYC snobbery kicked in and I expected to experience an amateurish production. Most folks waiting in the lobby did have grey hair but I had to do a reality check, so do I.  The worship center was huge and the large crowd in the lobby filled maybe a third of the available seats. I sat midway back so I could capture the immensity of the space.

Joshua Vickery, the founder and Executive Director introduced the evening. He stressed that Central Florida Community Arts positively influenced the community by connecting, serving and performing. The group has a vision to make the performing arts more accessible and to help local charities achieve their missions. This volunteer singing group has performed for the Coalition of the Homeless, Runway to Hope, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Hope for the Nations, Florida Hospital and many other great local organizations.

The ongoing theme to the Broadway Musical numbers performed, was how the arts inspire and enrich the artists who perform. Staged scenes, and dance numbers punctuated the evening between choral performances. I was swept along by the shear power and enthusiasm of the performances. This was an energetic evening of music that far exceeded my expectations. The last piece called “You Can’t Stop the Beat“, had everyone standing, clapping and singing along. Beach balls floated down from the catwalks high over head and the audience batted them about. This was an energetic, wild evening, with CFCA splashing on the Orlando Arts scene like a tidal wave reaffirming the creative spirit. I’m indebted to Sharon Hegedus, who first introduced me to this amazing group.

Upcoming performances include, American Pops on May 19th, The Classical Music of John Rutter on August 11th and a choral concert version of the musical, Titanic on September 7th to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking. On August 4th there is The Heart of the Arts Gala, held at the Gaylord Palms, which will raise funds to help CFCA impact the community where we work and live.

Central Florida Community Arts

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I went to a Central Florida Community Arts rehearsal at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church (1655 Peel Ave). This was a combined rehearsal with all 200 singers. Sharon Hegedus, the Director of Community Involvement for CFCA had suggested I come to the rehearsal to get a sketch. When I arrived, the parking lot was already crowded with two volunteers helping guide cars to the few remaining open spots behind the church. Listening, I walked towards the sound of people kibitzing in the entry to the church hall. Two tables were set up with name tags the singers. The woman asked my name and I had to explain that I was just there to sketch.

Dianne Sheets stood at the front of the church to welcome everybody. She is a voice coach who works with Christian Singers and has branched out to coach country western singers as well. She has started traveling to LA and NYC to meet up with her clients. She was in charge of warming the singers up. She had everyone stand and face left and everyone massaged the shoulders of the person next to them. Darn, I should have sat closer! Everyone then faced right and returned the favor. Dianne asked for a volunteer with a nice long neck. “I have a long neck” I thought. She grabbed a guy from the second row and told him, “I’m going to put my hands around your throat.” Everyone laughed. She demonstrated how to further loosen up the neck and vocal chords.

A children’s choir gathered in the back of the church then assembled at the front of the church.After their song, someone shouted, “Aren’t they adorable!” There was a standing ovation. Joshua Vickery took over, directing the rest of the rehearsal with a chipper Disney attitude. Half way through, he said, “I’m going to get I’m trouble for saying this, but, this is the best choir in town!” Much of the rehearsal centered around the song, “You can’t Stop the Beat!” At one point everyone laughed when the harmony was lost and they scattered, loosing the beat. The rallied on the next pass. Sections of the choir would stand and sing just their part before all the voices were combined in harmony. The chorus was on fire as they sang “This is the Moment.”

The chorus has a performance coming up on May 10th and 11th titled “The HeART of Theater, an Evening on Broadway.” Performances are at 7:30pm at the Northland Church (530 Dog Track Road, Longwood). Tickets are $10.

Young at Heart Chorale

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Directed by Jodi Tassos, the Young at Heart Chorale is a dynamic group of seniors ages 55 and over who love to sing. Their repertoire covers many styles and genres but specializes in favorite standards and show tunes. This group presents programs for a variety of community organizations throughout Central Florida.

Young at Heart rehearses at the First Congregational Church of Winter Park (225 S. Interlachen Avenue) in the Fellowship Hall, an easily accessible room on the first floor. I wasn’t sure where Fellowship hall was, so I wandered into the church office and a secretary guided me down the hall to the singing rehearsal. I could hear the harmonious voices echo down the hall. Rehearsals are on Tuesday afternoons from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Tuition is $50.00 per semester and best of all, there’s no audition necessary! The Young at Heart Chorale maintains a busy performance schedule throughout the year, as well as a busy social calendar.

On the day I went by to sketch, George Sumrall was playing piano. He was filling in for Gail Fote who usually played, but she was on vacation. Chere Force had given me the tip about this singing group and when I entered the hall, I saw her and waved. She came over before I started to sketch and welcomed me. Jodi noticed me and asked, “Do you intend to sing.” Flustered, I said, “No, I don’t want to throw anyone off, I’m here to sketch.” Jodi was delighted. She shouted out, “Remember everyone, smile and look like your having fun, because you’re being sketched!”

The group began by singing “Alexander’s Rag Time Band.” When they started singing “Putting on the Ritz”, I couldn’t help myself and I sang along. I figured, singing off key with “putting on the Ritz” was kind of expected. My monstrous singing put the Young Frankenstein to shame. Other show tunes included, “I dream of Genie” and “Beautiful Dreamer.” The singer seated directly in front of me was very serious and he often offered advice when he felt a harmony was off pitch. Jodi would run the group through that section again till it felt right. What she stressed more than anything, was, “Have fun!”

Faith Arts Village

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Faith Arts Village (221 East Colonial Drive) is a ministry of Park Lake Presbyterian Church that provides a place where the faith community and local artists can work together to share their gifts of inspiration, beauty, and spiritual expression to promote peace, understanding, and well-being in the larger community. As a ‘village’ it will emphasize the activity and integration of many constituents: local artists, church members, community patrons, schools, and civic groups. Faith Arts Village Orlando may include:

* Studio space for artists

* Green and exhibit space for community gatherings

* Meeting and classroom space

* Gallery space

* Open air markets

* Outdoor performance space

* Cafe space for refreshments

* Possible future residential space for designated guests

* Teaching art as an expression of faith

When I arrived it was dusk and the old motel loomed dark before me. Its dark iron gates made it resemble the Bates motel on the deserted side of the motel I approached from. I heard music however and then the hum of a food trucks gas generator. In the parking lot behind the motel there were folding tables and chairs set up. The ground floor motel rooms glowed warmly. I walked into the various rooms to inspect the arts and crafts. I spoke with one artist and she told me that rent for one of these studio spaces would be $300 a month. Considering she wasn’t selling much work, that price would be too steep for her. Donations were accepted for Second Harvest Food Bank.

At work Larry Loria told me about the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria Virginia. There, an old factory was converted into artists studios. Artists were only charged $50 a month, so they only needed to sell one piece of art to cover the rent. That project revitalized the historic district and now it is an expensive and exclusive neighborhood. I wondered if Faith Arts Village could do the same thing. It is located just a few blocks away from an intersection where I always see people with cardboard signs begging for money from cars at the stop light.

In another room, Mary Hill was helping children paint picture frames with bright tempera paint. I love watching kids paint. They have no preconceptions and they work with raw abandon. Mary rushed to fill cups with paint. One boy asked for gold and she was pleased to find she actually had gold paint. I leaned forward and dipped my brush into some of the bright pink paint. A little blond girl looked at me with a touch of anger, her lips pouting. “Mine!” she said. He mom coached her that it was polite to share. Will Benton, the executive director of the village welcomed me warmly. He asked me to paint something on his T-Shirt. An infinity symbol was already painted, so I added a fish symbol with a single brush stroke.

The Village seemed to have more of a flavor of a family friendly crafts fair rather than a serious place to create art. But of course that might change as the place grows and as artists start using the studios. The motel is still being refurbished and all the artists were only there for the duration of the event that night. This could be the seed of something Orlando desperately needs, a true arts district. The event was part of the monthly “Third Thursdays” downtown gallery hop but the motel is so far from downtown that it was invariably isolated from that event. As I left, a father asked if I would show his son a sketchbook. The boy was delighted flipping the pages like he was devouring a comic book. A new urban sketcher might have been born that night.

National Cathedral

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Terry and I flew to Washington D.C. to get some time away and to see the fall colors. The Saturday after we arrived, was International Sketch Crawl Day.
I hooked up with the Washington D.C. artists online and arranged to meet them at the National Cathedral.Terry and I got a rental car for the week.
We were given directions to the Cathedral by Terry’s cousins who had put us up for the night. We of course got lost in the maze of D.C. streets but we got to the Cathedral.I jumped out of the car and Terry drove off searching for a parking spot.It was such a gorgeous morning, crisp and cool.

As I walked towards this imposing structure, I noticed someone sitting on a portable stool.I introduced myself. He was Christian Tribastone the Washington D.C. correspondent for Urban Sketchers.Christian was half finished with his sketch of the Cathedral.I was the first artist to arrive. I breathed a sigh of relief. After we talked for a bit, I wandered off searching for my sketching vantage point. I decided Christian had the right idea so I walked further back on the green lawn and started to block in my sketch with Christian in the foreground.

Artists stared to arrive one at a time. A young woman named Meredith sat down not far from where I was working. Terry came back and told me Meredith had a very accurate way of drawing.I wanted to walk over and introduce myself but I resisted, keeping my focus on my sketch. By the time I finished my sketch she had moved on.
I texted Terry and we met near the steps of the Cathedral.
She had coffee that morning so we searched for the public bathrooms which we found in the catacombs under the building. I peeked inside the building, but I knew there wasn’t time for another sketch. Instead, we explored the garden which was beautiful.We found several artists sketching and took a peek as we walked by.

One artist showed me his fountain pen which was called a pen and ink sketch pen from Berkley. Christian texted letting me know all the artists were gathering to move to the next location. I arranged a group photo and then we all hiked down Massachusetts street past all the embassies toward Donovin Circle.We stopped at several embassies but never long enough to sketch. The Iraqi embassy was deserted…

Harbor House Breakfast Fundraiser

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Harbor House held a fund-raising breakfast at the First Baptist Church (3000 South John Young Parkway). I was invited by the second Vice President of the Harbor House Board of Directors to attend and sketch. When everyone filed into the room and sat down at the circular dining tables, the first order of business was the screening of a news story about domestic violence. The facts presented were staggering. Between 2009 and 2010 there was a 20% increase in domestic violence cases in Central Florida. As the economy gets worse, the violence in Central Florida is on the rise. Twenty six people died in the last 12 months due to domestic violence. 759 women and children were sheltered from the brink of deadly violence at Harbor House. There is a pandemic of violence by men against women and children in our state.

Carol Wick, the CEO of Harbor House said, “The city beautiful may be considered the happiest place on earth…until you go inside Central Florida homes.” She told the story of an event that happened in a quiet neighborhood apartment complex. Neighbors began to hear the screams of a woman calling for help inside an apartment. There were the brutal sounds of her body hitting the walls. Everyone knew what was happening, yet no one called 911. The next morning an elderly woman went to the manager and said, “You better check in that apartment because I think a woman was murdered.” The woman had indeed been murdered. This story makes me angry and outraged. Outrage is nothing without action. Some people simply say, “Well why didn’t she just leave?” In many cases women were trying to leave an abusive partner when they were killed. Had anyone in that apartment complex called the police, that woman would be alive today.

Carol talked about a new program called Project Courage which engages every member of the community to help stop the violence. This program creates support for survivors of abuse, holds abusers accountable for their actions and teaches all members of a community to recognize abuse, respond to it effectively and refer people to assistance. The glimmer of hope I clung to when confronted with the staggering facts about domestic violence was the idea that none of us is alone, as a community we can help stop the violence. By recognizing how we can help others, we become part of something much larger than ourselves.

Sultana Ali got up and said, “Batterers are the stealers of dreams. Not on our watch will this be allowed to happen anymore.” Everyone was asked to vizualize a world in which children do not have to fear going home, a world in which every member of the community actively helps stop the violence. Gifts donated at this fundraiser saved lives.

“So I fight with one hand and love with the other. In my dreams, I love with both hands and the fighting is over.” – A Survivor

Pumpkin Brigade

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The first sign of fall for me this year came when I was driving north on Apopka Vineland Road and I spotted this pumpkin brigade. I was heading out to another sketching location but when I got to the next corner I had to turn around. The 18 wheeler was parked in the grass behind Saint Luke’s Methodist Church. I walked around for a bit and peaked inside the truck to see the hundreds of pumpkins both large and small. I noticed bags of granular ant killer scattered here and there. I considered leaning against a tree but there was a huge fire ant mound at it’s base with granules sprinkled on top. Pallets were arranged in neat rows and the line of adults and children stretched from the back of the truck to the pallets. I chose to lean against a chain link fence that surrounded an electrical power generator.
Halfway into the sketch a man and woman approached me and asked what I was doing. Before I explained, the woman said, “We provide a safe zone for the children.” Wow! She thought I might be a sexual predator, a stalker, a menace! She checked my half finished sketch with little interest, then turned toward the truck and said, “So you find this inspiring?” I countered back with, “Yes, of course how often do you get to see a pumpkin brigade?” I gave her my card and told her to check out the blog. Then she said, “Are you a member of Saint Luke’s?” “No” I replied, “though I have sketched quite a few churches in town.” I doubt I will be going to a service at St. Luke’s anytime soon since the first member I met seemed less than welcoming, perhaps a touch paranoid. Regardless I am happy I stopped and didn’t let this rare moment go unsketched. I am left wondering what moral lesson can be learned from carving pumpkins.

Unity

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I was invited By Sultana Fatima Ali to attend Unity Church of Christianity (4801 Clarcona – Ocoee Road). She was going to be singing two solos this Sunday and I was looking forward to the performance. The church was modest in size set back a way from the road. I pulled into the dirt parking lot up front and made my way to the sanctuary. I felt a little trepidation as I entered but those thoughts were quickly set aside. Unity is not your average church. Their Christianity embraces ideas from Buddhism, Native American Culture and Metaphysics. This more open minded approach is unexpected and illuminating.
The sermon by Robert Marshall was inspiring in ways I didn’t expect. His whole sermon centered around the idea of light. As an artist this is one thing I am thinking about all the time, and his sermon offered up the subject with creativity. I liked the idea that we are beings of light, that we radiate light into the world and affect others. He stressed that light is all about motion while darkness is stagnant. Darkness is a manifestation of the world’s physical limitations that bind us and hold us back, whereas light brings us peace, joy and illuminates our pure creative potential. When we are filled with light we can experience enthusiasm and we discover and embrace our unlimited potential. He touched on the idea that light can act as a sort of armor that casts away fears and the inevitable thoughts of “I can’t”. There is an unlimited part to our inner being that just needs to be illuminated. When the sermon was over, I was fired up and ready to unleash my full creative potential. I was of course sketching the whole time he spoke and I worked with a renewed sense of energy and urgency.
Near the beginning of the service people were invited to stand and greet their neighbors. Everyone was hugging and I soon found myself hugging strangers as if I had known them for years. The first song Sultana performed was “Coming out of the Dark” by Gloria Estefan. This tied in perfectly with the days theme of light, joy, enthusiasm and infinite possibilities. After her performance the congregation gave her a standing ovation. This sort of excited outburst was unheard of in the Methodist church of my youth. Sultana’s second song, “Just Around the River Bend” from Pocahontas came about from a conversation I had with her once where I pointed out that life can present you with a crossroads and she concurred. She knew also knew that I worked on that film.
At the end of the service everyone joined hands and sang together. I left feeling a warm glow of fellowship. In a back room of the church food had been prepared and I was invited to have some lunch. The amazing scents filled the hallway as I went back. My spirit and body were recharged and ready to take on the world. I actually stayed for the second service since I needed more time to finish my sketch. I had just enough time to finish up.