Spiral Circle Jubilee

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Spiral Circle Bookstore and More (750 N Thornton Ave, Orlando, FL) celebrated it’s 5oth anniversary on May 17, 2025. To mark the occasion, Julie Wilder the owner and proprietor was introducing a new aspect to the magical shop called the Jubilee Tea Garden.

Crowd funding will soon end for the Jubilee Tea Garden. At the 50th celebration samples were offered for the first time. Tea and other delights are served in a small structure behind the bookstore.

Julie opened Dandelion Communitea Cafe 20 years ago with a partner. That tea house became a hub where people came together to share ideas. I went there often to sketch. When Julie became a mother, she had to sell her share of Dandelion. After she left, that amazing place was shut down after being mismanaged.

Jubilee will bring back the magic of sipping tea and relaxing with friends. Food is ordered from a blue and gold window behind the bookstore. People then can sit on the front porch or find their way back to the shade of the side garden. The bookstore already offers inspiring workshops tarot card and palm readings and events. The Mills 50 neighborhood around the bookstore is developing into a humming hub with fine dining and now Spiral Circle offers a fantastic place where people can sit, slow down and relax.

I arrived at the Jubilee several hours early. As I started the sketch, work was started to touch up the new golden yellow lettering. The painter also touched up the green trim around the windows. A woman introduced herself to me. She worked at the bookstore back in the day when when the bookstore was called The Sky Mother. She loved that name of the place and was sad when it was changed. She was adorable describing to me how much she loved the bookstore which gave her a job shortly after High School. The sign painter offered to take her picture. She was delighted and posed beside the now historic blue Sky Mother sign. The past flickered to life in her delighted smile and bright eyes as Spiral Circle expands into the future.

Later that day the actual celebration began with comments from politicians and community leaders. Light bites and teas were on hand and people gathered in the rocking chairs on the porch and in the side garden. Spiral Circle continues to be a true oasis and haven in the hustle and bustle of the Mills 50 District.

Healing Sanctuary.

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Tara Chiavetta offered free 15min healing sessions, and I went to sketch and then experience a session for myself. Barbara
Gagliardi and fellow local healers were offering their services
complimentary on a monthly basis so anyone could experience what healing work
is. It was also an opportunity to meet the various healers around the
area. In general it was a relaxing evening that opened horizons.

The sessions were designed to tune and balance your body allowing you to feel more relaxed, centered, and grounded. I sat in on the Rumi session before my own. One patron was under covers while the other was just reclined on the table clothed. The healers held their hands over each patron moving to different parts of their bodies without touching them. Crystal singing bowls were illuminated by a warm light making them glow. Celestial paintings adorned the walls.

My sessions begin with a five minute meditation. I had been invited to wear white or any other very light color as spirit works best with light colors. The other advantage visually is that white glows in the black light that illuminated the room. Tara asked me to imagine myself rooted to the earth. She described a glowing beam of energy radiating upwards into infinity. I later did a painting of what I visualized based on the meditation.

Then came my 15min table healing session. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine what the healer might be doing. I sensed her presence but never quite knew what I should be feeling. I suspect like most things I was probably overthinking the experience to fully appreciate it. I was told that I have a violet aura.  Auras are vibrations of energy that are emitted from the body. They take
on the form of a variety of colors, including orange, red, yellow,
green, violet, blue and indigo. My violet aura implies that I am a person who is compassionate and calm. The other person had a full rainbow of auras, I couldn’t over hear what that meant but it must be good.

The conceptual painting I did is on display at Dandelion Communitea Cafe (618 N Thornton Ave, Orlando, FL 32803) for two months. Stop out get some soothing tea and see Dreamscapes, art that is surrealistic, symbolic, or dream inspired. The show  is hung through April 1st. My piece is insanely cheap, because I have started pricing my prints at $1.62 per square inch. The show opening is tonight, February 7, 2018 starting at 7 PM to 10 PM.

Artists include:
Yeserly Garcia
Thomas Thorspecken
Anne Doyle
Timothy Morton
Veronika Rose
Adrienne H. Lee
Crystal Dombrosky
Cherie Dacko
Charis McCulley
Libby Smith
Lydia Bladen
Lisa Serendipity Simon
Susan Rayne Makky
Carol Makky
Mark Goffee
Andrea Marks
LUYA – Munira Grbic
Summer Meury
Chris Carr
Seema Valentin
Kevin Michael
Kyra Elizabeth
Jonah Cuenco
N.M. Dudack

Pop Art Show opening at Dandilion Communitea Cafe.

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I went to the opening for POP! at Dandelion Communitea Cafe,  (618 N Thornton Ave, Orlando, Florida 32803).
The November – December show theme is POP! This
includes pop art, pop culture, popping colors or anything the artists interpret
as POP!

As a special
project for this show the curators were trying out something new. The small art
board will be a hang able, movable board that can hold a number of small
pieces. Artists could submit two pieces for consideration to the board in
addition to the normal three submissions. All the small art pieces are just $40.

Bethany Taylor Myers had an abstract straight across the room from the corner table where I set up to sketch.   The large painting had a green “sky” and blue “ground”. Three psychedelic spheres floated above a bright pink mass and black and white stripes. We tried to guess what that pink mass was. I saw a toothbrush on a table, and a typewriter. Bethany was at the opening, and she explained that it was done from a blind contour drawing. She was in bed, closed her eyes and drew her bed from the image in her mind. The black and white stripes are sheets and she says that her feet and her husbands, can be seen in the abstraction of the pattern. The painting was inspired by a Van Gogh painting of hid bedroom in Provence France.


Linda Sarasino had two paintings in the show. One was of four dresses arranged in an Andy Warhol inspired grid, for $440 and a small painting of a heart, cut up in a similar grid for just $40. Within the first 24 hours of the show opening, two of the $40 paintings sold. If you are shopping for the holidays early, these $40 paintings make an affordable, unique, creative gift.

An interview at the Enzian Theater.

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I interviewed Julie Norris Wilder at the Enzian Theater to find out what I could about the law suit she was in with her founding partner at Dandelion Commonitea Cafe. She and the partner had different ideas about how to run the business. When her daughter, Maya, was born, she asked the partner to step in and help run the business more. She felt that corners were cut and the cafe didn’t live up to the who is it idea she had mind. She tried to buy out her partner but couldn’t raise I needed funds to make that happen. The differences had to be settled in court an ultimately she surrendered her shares to the business she helped build. There were personal aspects to y conflict, but those details can be left behind as both parties move forward and grow independently. She is happy to know that Dandelion is still doing business and thriving.

I have collaborated with Jul. when we put out an Analog Artist Digital World calendar several years ago. She is a graphic designer on top of being an entrepreneur, an environmentalist and devoted mom. She has plans to build a business that helps empower women. She dreams big and goes for those dreams. She has been the host of Front Porch Radio for years. She show airs every Wednesday at 4pm on WPRK 91.5FM. She interviews people who make a different in the community, and sparks thought provoking conversations.

Extreme Perspective Art Show at Dandelion Communitea Cafe.

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Extreme Perspective Art Show at Dandelion Communitea Cafe (618 N Thornton Ave, Orlando, FL) Art is a show is all about an EXTREME perspective, either something grand, vast, expansive, large, or something tiny, cellular, small, minute or something from a perspective of enormous, like a very large collection of items or something extremely close up and uncomfortable or something from a unique and unusual perspective.

I submitted a framed original of a sketch I did at Fantasy Surf. At Fantasy Surf you can ride an artificial wave that never ends. Water is shot up over a plastic shaped wave and you can do tricks otherwise impossible in the ocean since you can hop down on the Past is surface to set up for spins o flips. The original piece of art is discounted since I didn’t add in the cost of the frame which was an up front cost for another show.

Theresa Touhey curated the show and when I arrived at the opening, she was seated at a table with

Natassia Dudack. Theresa reminded me about how her boyfriend spotted m in a Documentary about performance Artist Marina Abramovic. I flew into NYC on the final day of her extended performance of, The Artist is Present. Brian Feldman who was an Orlando performance artist at the time convinced me to sketch him sitting opposite Maria as they stared at each other. I got some decent sketches that day, but I still haven’t seen the documentary. 

I got to talk to artist Natassia Dudack, a bit at the opening. She had several delicate and well observed paintings of flowers in the show. Paintings on her cell phone portfolio hint at Buddhist themes to her work. One had a golden symbol for the “oohm” phrase uttered when meditating. She is also branching out to curate shows on her own. At the table in front of me, a family was out to show their support for Natassia. The mom was also an artist who does exquisite calligraphy brush paintings. The dad told me about his recent trip back to New Jersey where he went to his childhood home. The front door still had a carving that his dad had created over 45 years ago. Some art does last through the generations.

I joined Bethany Taylor Myers and her friends at a corner table for a while to catch up and laugh to a bit. Bethany has been friends with many artists in the room ever since she was 17 years old. It is reassuring to know that some friendships can stand the test of time.

Extreme Perspective will remain at Dandelion Communitea Cafe until September 3rd. Stop out to experience some local art.

Julie Norris moves from the Homestead.

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In March of 2006 Julie and Chris Blanc established Dandelion Communitea cafe. It is a beloved organic cafe located in the heart of Orlando, Florida which serves healthy vegetarian fare and premium loose leaf tea. It is a landmark establishment attracting loyal locals as well as health conscious tourists. More than just a cafe, Dandelion is a gathering place for a diverse
cross-section of people in the community with regular cultural events
such as art openings, poetry night, eco-networking, moon circles, and other special events.

Julie Norris’ homestead was less than a quarter mile from Dandilion. She had turned the Homestead into a place that
brought people together as a community. Anytime I visited, I felt welcome. Julie made anyone and everyone feel
at home. On December 30th she had to load her belongings onto a U-Haul
truck.  The community that she had helped build now came to help her. Julie and Her daughter Maya stayed at friends homes until the lawsuit was settled. She now lives in Deland returning to Orlando once a week to host her radio show, Front Porch Radio. On that show she helps showcase and amplify voices that don’t have a regular outlet. Sadly the homestead has since been torn down, being replaced by a townhouse.

“It’s been a tough ten years” Julie said. She was just 26 when she established the Cafe with Chris Blanc. Then came the recession followed by an expensive drawn out lawsuit between the partners. Chris  filed to have the company
dissolved due to what court documents say were
management issues. Julie said that she wants to resolve the situation
rather than dissolve the company, which could potentially put
Dandelion out of business. This culminated in an expensive law suit that dragged on for well over a year.

Earlier this year the case was resolved and Julie gave up her stake in the company. She is now free to pursue other creative endeavors. Dandelion is still serving tea and hosting art events. From a post at Localist.guru, Julie explained, “It is with a light and liberated heart that I share the news that I am
no longer an owner of Dandelion Communitea Cafe, having recently signed a
settlement.”

Julie has taken some much needed time this summer to  travel with her daughter Maya. The friends she visited helped pay for the trips. One thing she came away with after all the stress of the lawsuit is that she is loved. She found out that the friends who stand by you in the hard times are your true friends. Julie is bubbling with ideas about what creative path she wants to follow next. She is a graphic designer and she is passing that skill on to her daughter. It is a mother and daughter apprenticeship. She also has ideas for three separate businesses she would like to establish. Each project moving forward is intended to empower the women who help her run and grow the business. Julie learned much from the experiences in court that will help her new projects to succeed.

Dandelion featured an Art Opening for the Berrios-Myers Project 52.

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I went to an art opening at Dandelion Communitea Cafe (618 N Thornton Ave, Orlando FL). At the start of 2014, friends and artists Deliz Berrios and Bethany Myers challenged each other to complete one small piece of art each week for an entire year. The result is Project 52, a show 12 months in the making, featuring the 104 works created by Deliz and Bethany as they met their weekly deadlines. Originally, it was an exercise in motivation. Along the way, it became an art show.

Bethany Myers’ style changed dramatically throughout the year, ranging from reality to abstract surrealism. A concussion in January influenced strange paintings. By spring her art returned to her familiar style of blind contour drawing and bold colored paintings.“It wasn’t easy to think of subject matter that was cohesive. I gave up on that early on and moved forward with a variety of ideas.“

Deliz Berrios’ work reflects her personal life and perspective on a variety of subjects ranging from current states of mind to figurative work. Patterns and color emerge in her art, a clear reference to her

graphic design background. “Working at this small scale I was able to experiment and be playful. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I was able to convey.” Besides having all 52 originals from both artists on the walls, there was also a box full of prints which made for a very affordable way to purchase art.

At the opening I got to meet both artists in person. It was my first time meeting Deliz and her skills as a figurative artist are inspiring. I have met Bethany a few times at artist critiques, and again, I identify with her work which feeds off of direct observation. Bethany’s husband Jim is the drummer for the “Milk Carton Superstars” which is a rock group I sketched several times before. They also performed at this opening. Bethany, Jim and guitarist Guy Larmay came to my art opening the other night. It is so encouraging that artists support each others exhibitions.

Lucy Sky performed first on guitar and he was then joined by his wife Heather Ashworth Pereira. Heather is another artist I have met at artist critiques. The last painting she showed featured a man holding a gun and the barrel of the gun felt uncomfortably close to the edge of the painting. Ironically I’m working on a movie poster right now which had the same issue. I had no idea Heather was also a talented singer.

Jack Fields Birthday

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This sketch was done at Jack Fields birthday party held at Dandelion Communitea Cafe (618 N Thornton Ave, Orlando, FL). Jack is an extremely talented puppeteer. Puppets he creates are sublime and surreal. He has branched off and begun creating his own puppet films, shooting them in his own makeshift home movie studio. When he and Hannah Miller team up, anything is possible. The art on the Dandelion walls always changes every month. On Jack’s birthday there were some fun and quirky painting of octopus characters on the walls.

I fist met Jack and Hannah when they worked at Pinocchios Marionette Theater in the Altimonte Mall. Sadly Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater closed permanently on July 31st of 2014. I had gone to Pinocchio’s on may occasions to sketch. There were puppet slams held there which showcased the best puppetry for local artists. I found sketching behind the scenes at Pinochio’s was always exciting. There is still an innocent thrill that children feel when they watch a show. They might shout out and intersect with the puppets in ways that never happen when passively watching some Computer generated puppet. I was watching a reviewer talking about the recent Muppet movie. They said that the one time that they were jolted out of the story was when Kermit was given a computer generated body. Suddenly the humanity or believability was lost.