Weekend Top 6 Picks for December 21 and 22, 2019

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Saturday December 21, 2019

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. John H Jackson Community Center, 3107, 1002 W Carter St, Orlando, FL 32805. Purchase
quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own neighborhood by local
farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando, and other community
growers.

10am to 4pm Free. Commander’s Call. Museum of Military History 5210 West Irlo Bronson Hwy Kissimmee FL 34746. This ongoing program is held on the 3rd Sat of each month is designed to
appeal to families, military memorabilia collectors, history buffs,
re-enactors & others interested in military history. In addition,
persons interested in displaying, trading or selling their military
items such as honor coins, swords, photographs, military buttons, scale
model boats & planes, military art, uniforms or other equipment
register in advance by calling the museum to reserve a spot. Re-enactors
& veterans are welcome to come in uniform to add to the history
& authenticity of the military experience. Non-military booths such
as health care providers, home improvement, local attractions or other
businesses are invited to be vendors for minimal donation.
INFO & Register: 407-507-3894 or to register your table space.

4pm to 8pm Free. Cruisin’ Downtown DeLand Car Show! East Indiana Ave Downtown DeLand, Deland FL. Classic cars & rods. Live DJ, giveaways, shopping & dining. Fun for the family! Every 3rd Saturday night! INFO: & for showing your car 386-738-0649

Sunday December 22, 2019

9am to 11pm  Admission: $10 for Guests, $5 for Mennello Museum Members. Yoga in the Mennello Museum Sculpture Garden. Mennello Museum of American Art 900 E Princeton St, Orlando, Florida 32803.  

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

Noon to 2pm. Free but order a bite to eat. Florida Gospel Jam.  Fish on Fire 7937 Daetwyler Drive Belle Isle FL. Every 2nd and 4th Sunday.

Stetson Mansion for the Holidays

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I arranged to sketch the Stetson Mansion (1031 Camphor Lane, DeLand, FL 32720) because they decorate the place for the Christmas Holiday Season. The Stetson Mansion built in 1886 is part of Florida’s First Luxury Estate and the
grandest home ever built in Florida before the 20th century. Built for famed hat maker and philanthropist
John B. Stetson, this winter retreat is Florida’s only richly detailed
mansion actually built in the “Gilded Age” which ended in 1899.

The
eclectic and unusual “High Victorian” architectural design not only had
the most advanced technology of its day, it also includes a variety of
complicated interior carvings, 16 patterns of the nation’s most rare and
intricate parquet wood floors and 10,000 panes of original leaded glass
windows. The understated decorations on the exterior are meant to just allow the architecture to shine. Inside is an entirely different story.

The 8th Annual Christmas Spectacular has the interior is ornately decorated for the holidays and has to be seen to be believed.  Holiday Home Tours continue through January 15th and need to be reserved online. I only had time for one sketch, so I didn’t sketch inside. Being part of tour would mean I wouldn’t have time to sketch in any one room anyway.

I started sketching as the last tour of the day went inside. I was told I had 90 minutes before the tour let out. I worked hard to catch the fading light. After the sun set I discovered that my iPad attracted mosquitoes. They swarmed around my hands as I sketched and tapped against the illuminate glass screen. When they started buzzing in my ears, I lost patience and had to run for the car to escape. A few got inside the car with me and I punched at the windshield to crush them. I am sure I got the last one out as I opened the car window as I was driving and he got sucked outside. That didn’t stop me from itching on the entire drive back.

Beartoe at Love by Design in the Milk District.

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Love by Design held in the Milk District, (2424 E Robinson St, Orlando, FL) was an all-day celebration of The City Beautiful’s talent, diversity and resilience. Local artists and designers will donate original work for sale and auction. Food and entertainment will be provided by local musicians and food trucks. Proceeds will benefit OneOrlando, the fund formed by the mayor’s office to respond to the needs of our community in the wake of the Pulse Tragedy.

Beartoe was the second band to get on stage a fly I arrived. It was a scorcher with the limited audience sitting under a tent in a parking lot. I was devouring a “Thor” from the Swedish Food Truck. A Thor, is basically a hotdog in a wrap surrounded by mashed potatoes and those crunchiest I usually only experience on Thanksgiving on top of green beans. It was a very filling meal washed down by a pear cider. It felt good knowing that proceeds would go to OneOrlando.

 Beartoe has been writing, performing and touring from The Historical
DeLand florida for over 10 years. With a 4 piece outfit they bring soul,
blues, country and folk together in a powerful way. They are very
quickly becoming recognized as a Florida staple. Look for them on the festival circuits and around
Florida. This is an act you don’t want to miss.

The John Wesley Dutton House is undergoing some major restoration.

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The plan was to drive up to Deland Florida to sketch an antique car show. After parking my car, I started walking downtown and stopped in front of this skeletal structure. Capitals and bases of the front porch columns were stripped away. The plaster columns themselves were hollowed out exposing the four by four posts that actually support the porch. The upper floor railings were replaced with two by fours and the inner wood structure was exposed on the second floor balconies. I couldn’t resist the temptation to sketch this once grand estate which was now in a desolate part of town.

In 1993 the DeLand City Commission voted to demolish the John Wesley
Dutton House, an architecturally significant site that local historic
buffs had been fighting to save for more than two years. The
demolition ball was poised to strike until Peter Warrick, a publishing executive from Fort Lauderdale became the new owner. He formed a nonprofit organization that would help to restore the large
house, which needs repairs. Complete restoration, which Warrick
estimated would take at least five years, will return the house to its
original charm and allow opening it to the public as a historic
showcase. Twenty two years later, the restorations are still not complete.

Built in 1910 for $25,000 by turpentine magnate John Wesley Dutton,
the stately two-story house at 332 W. New York Ave., was once ”the talk
of the town,” said Sidney Johnston, president of Historic DeLand, Inc., a group of local citizens who tried to purchase the house in 1992. Dutton
lived in the house with his wife and seven children until 1911. It
changed hands several times, including stints as a meeting hall, a
funeral parlor and a rooming house called the Colonial Arms Apartments.
It then went vacant for years. Warrick estimated that repair on the house will cost him from $150,000 to $225,000 or more. H would seem that the funds dried up before the restoration could be completed. The historic restoration fund now depends on grants from private donations. ECHO Funds of $234,800 in 2006 secured the outer envelope of the structure to reduce further interior damage. Once re-opened the historic structure will be used as a cultural center.

Paranormal investigators have wandered the buildings dark rooms to see if ghosts reside inside. Investigators found cold spots in certain rooms, heard banging noises and saw floating orbs. Is this conclusive evidence? That depends on what you believe. Dark storm clouds rolled in as I sketched and lightning flashed on the horizon. I rushed to complete the sketch before becoming a statistic. A group of African American girls walked by and one looked over me shoulder. “Did you do that here?” she asked. Sigh. “Yes.” She is an artist, so I encourage her to keep sketching. They made their way downtown full of energy. Perhaps someday I will return to sketch the building in all it’s former glory. The economy of the surrounding neighborhood however implies that the restoration might take a couple of more decades.

Renningers is always packed with visual surprises.

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I spent one day on the weekend exploring Renningers with the antiquing crew. In February vendors come from all around the country to set up booths on the grassy hillsides around Mount Dora. As everyone was exploring the indoor booths, I set off on my own to sketch a giant swordfish I had seen earlier in the day. The fish was the focal point for Florida Victorian Architectural Salvage and Antiques from Deland Florida. As I was sketching I noticed a woman with long flowing hair having her picture taken with the giant alligator. I tried to get her in the sketch but she moved on to quickly. Later as she was taking cell phone pictures of the World of Oddities Side show banners, I managed to catch her.

As she and her friend exited the booth they approached me curious about why I would sit in the middle of a huge Flea Market. Donna Lee Gauntlet introduced herself. It turned out that she is an artist herself and she was in Mount Dora on a “Girls Art Weekend”. Donna told me about how sketching every day in her art journal helped her get through a difficult time. In essence art saved her life. Both her parents were artists and she felt like she didn’t live up to their standards as a child first learning art. Later in her life however the habit of sketching every day took hold. Her art studio is called The Dizzy Dandelion Studio. She offers a program called “Just Drawing It Out” which teaches people to connect to their creativity using art journals. She offers prompts that ask the students to draw specific objects together in a scene. Donna is working on a book right now that uses her sketches and copy to share her joy at having discovered an artists lifestyle. Her sketches are vibrant, playful and often full of joy. Donna runs art therapy workshops with retirement home residents. She uses art and laughter as healing tools. That lead me to tell her about my sketching collaboration where I sketched elderly residents as an an author interviewed them.

Later that evening as the sun set, Elaine took us all to Heron Cay bed and breakfast. We weren’t staying here, but Elaine wanted to show us all the highwaymen paintings that were hanging in the old Victorian home. There were indeed paintings everywhere in the gorgeously ornate interior. Paintings lined the stairway, so I followed our crew upstairs. A bedroom door was open at the top of the stairs and I heard Terry inside saying “My husband is an artist too.” I had to poke my head in, and there was Donna lounging on a four poster bed with several of her girl friends sketching in their art journals. They asked to see my sketch from earlier in the day, and for once I wasn’t carrying my art bag. I ran down to the car to get it and then found the front door locked when I tried to get back in. Another guest on the porch eventually let me in. Back upstairs as they flipped through my sketchbook I thought about what a great sketch I could do in this ornate room. The wallpaper had blood red floral patterns and all the furniture was dark ornately carved wood. I wanted to linger (sketch) but downstairs Elaine told Terry that they would leave without me if I didn’t hurry up. Upstairs, we took a couple of photos and then I rushed off to get dinner in Downtown Mount Dora. The moon was so bright that night as it shimmered above Lake Dora.

Shannon Holt Hosted a Body Painting and Fine ART Fundraiser

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On July 18th, Shannon Holt held a Body Painting and Fine Art Fundraiser at Cafe DaVinci (112 W Georgia Ave, DeLand, FL.)  Shannon has been invited to participate in a Body Painting gathering in NYC. She is one of twenty five artists that were invited to participate. The event at Cafe Da Vinci was a fundraiser to get her up to NYC. Her fine art paintings were on display on the walls. When I arrived, the three models were just beginning to take their pose. The models on the sides looked like they would get exhausted since they were leaning over the whole time. I suggested to Shannon that they might want to lean against a piano stool to ease the pain.

Shannon put out a call for volunteer models on Facebook for “bendy” models. She was hoping for as many as ten models, with two assistants for this live paint job. Shannon’s mom was busy putting price tags on Shannon’s paintings as Shannon started to sketch on her three models.  Da Vinci’s got more and more crowded as Shannon’s Body Art progressed. A Florida Panther began to take shape on the models semi-nude bodies.

Mark Your Calendar! Starting August 6th (TONIGHT!) at 9pm Shannon will star on “Skin Wars” which is Game Show Network‘s Ultimate Body Painting Competition. This is a reality show similar to “Face Off” where talented artists showcase their talents and each week one contestant is voted out of the competition. II is exciting to see one of Central Florida’s talented artists in competition for $100,000. Although the TV show has already been taped, Shannon couldn’t give away who won. There is a Skin Wars Shannon Party tonight at CafeDa Vinci. Stop out and chear for Shannon in the Olympics of Body Painting! 

As she started to paint her assistant Emma Kenemer showed up to help. Amazingly all the body painting work was done in three hours and that included breaks for the models. Sometimes only one model would pose at a time. Models LeNelle Stephens, Troy, and Alaina Pixley demonstrated patience, beauty and endurance. Before I left, I dropped some money in the tip jar. It was amazing to see such a collaboration. Working live, Shannon had to deal with constant distractions as she raced against the clock to finish her panther.  Body paintings are a fleeting art, and she had photographer Ryder Gledhill take shots of the finished piece. Shannon continues to raise funds for NYC. she is thinking of doing a kick starter. This would also be a great time to hire her to do a private painting and photography
session, buy some art or throw an unforgettable body paint party! NYC OR BUST!

Weekend Top 6 Picks

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Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday August 17, 2013

10am to 5pm 19th Annual Grape Stomp. $2. Lake Winery and Vineyards 19239 US Highway 27 North Clermont FL. Live music wine tastings and gape stomping!

3pm to 7pm Free, Cruisin’ Downtown DeLand Car Show! Free. East Indiana Ave Downtown DeLand, Deland FL. Classic cars & rods.  Live DJ, giveaways, shopping & dining. Fun for the family! Every 3rd Saturday night! INFO: & for showing your car 386-738-0649. http://mainstreetdeland.org

6pm to 8pm An evening with Sean Sexton and Florida short films. Free. The Gallery at Avalon Island 39 S. Magnolia Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801. Heather Godwin will show her documentary about cowboy, poet Sean Sexton. Sean is a fifth generation Florida cowboy. Woodruff Laputka will be showing a piece from his micro-documentary series, Picture Book. Robert Bartlett will be showing his documentary photos of Florida cattlemen making sugar cane syrup.

Sunday August 18, 2013

2pm to 4pm  Music at the Library. Free. Downtown Orlando Public Library. Surabhi Adesh on sitar, and her sons Sanhalp Goberdhan on Tabla, Pratyush Goberdhan on the Violin.

5pm to 9pm Orlando Food Truck Bazaar. The cost of what you order. Fashion Square Mall 3201 East Colonial Drive, Orlando FL. http://www.thedailycity.com/2011/05/thedailycitycom-food-truck-bazaar.html

7:30pm to 9:30pm  Ramy Adley Concert.  Free, but good form to bring a bottle of wine or a side dish to share. Timucua White House 2000 South Summerlin Ave Orlando FL.

Beyond Fear and Desire

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The Deland Sculpture Walk is a really nice partnership between Stetson University, the Museum of Florida Art and the City of DeLand. Linda Brant responded to the call for artists and was selected with her bronze and steel piece called “Beyond Fear and Desire.” Her sculpture, created in 2011, was installed last October in Pioneer Park on the corner of North Woodland Boulevard and East Rich Avenue and was supposed to be there two years. Rich and Lilis George sponsored the sculpture. An inverted rusty automotive leaf spring sat at the top of a thick steel base support, looking a bit like an oxes yoke. Above that a circular disk with a large central hole and many smaller holes framed the bronze which looked a bit like a female crucifix with two snakes.

Last week, the bronze centerpiece of her sculpture was stolen. Officer Wise of the Deland police was notified and a report was filed. He was supplied with close up pictures of what the centerpiece looked like. Ray Johnson of the Museum of Florida Art said that the museum carries insurance for such instances. The beautiful bronze centerpiece was obviously not “beyond desire.” I went to the location the day I heard about the theft. It looked to me like the 1/4 inch thick rod that held the bronze had been cut with a hack saw. Linda thinks they might have used a torch to cut the metal, either way this was a brazen theft done right in a public park.

Linda said, “I’m not sure what I plan to do about the damage – replace or rework it somehow, I guess. It was a one of a kind bronze, so no mold to fall back on!” This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of art being vandalized and stolen in Central Florida. This sort of stuff seems to happen all too often in the Sunshine State. I wonder why so many artists are leaving to go to larger cities?

Boston Coffeehouse

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On the day of the 30th International SketchCrawl, Terry and I wandered the streets of Deland as the sun set. The temperature plummeted and I was happy to even shop just so I could go inside and get warm. We ran across a quirky little comics shop and went inside. The store had two narrow isles packed floor to ceiling with science fiction pulp novels, comics, figurines and even quality literary books by authors like Hermann Hess and Harper Lee. At the front of the store I was tempted to buy a book about sketching on location. As I was flipping through the pages Terry was talking to the store owner.

Terry asked if he had any Zorro Books and he showed her an entire drawer filled with Zorro comics. She squealed with delight. She wanted to know if I had money in my pocket so she could buy them all. Now, she isn’t a comic book collector, this went back to some childhood impulse that I don’t quite understand. On an upper shelf there was a sculptural figurine bust of Zorro still in it’s original packaging. The bust was $60. She said she couldn’t afford it but she just had to see it. The store owner delicately unwrapped the paper from around the bust and removed it from it’s snug Styrofoam inner casing. She turned to me and said she had to have it. I didn’t have that much money. She asked the store owner if there was an ATM nearby. He said there was one behind the bank across the street. I stayed behind searching through the books while she rushed across the street to get money for her fix. She couldn’t find the cash machine but he accepted a personal check.

After dropping off her stash in my truck, we went to this cozy coffee shop to relax. We were planning to go to a heroes and Villains party in Longwood but that was not starting for two more hours. Terry read her book and I started to sketch. She got some caramel infused foamy coffee and I got a Mountain Dew. I also ordered an apple fritter which was delicious. In the back of the coffee shop a storytellers meeting was taking place. There was a constant stream of customers ordering coffee and then leaving. As I was finishing up the sketch my stomach started to rumble. It had been a long day of sketching and worrying about sketch opportunities lost. My body was starting to revolt. I gave Terry my keys and asked her to drive me home. She got behind the wheel already dressed up as Zorro for the party we would have to miss.

De La Vega Restaurante Y Galeria

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Terry and I took a day trip up to De Leon Springs. On the drive home we stopped in downtown Deland which is one of the few places in Central Florida which still has an old town feel. Christmas lights decorated all the store front windows. The old City Hall had a wonderfully designed dome and the bells were ringing announcing the hour as we waked down the main street. I was surprised to see several portraits by Tracy Burke a talented Orlando artist in a quaint ice cream shop in the corner. We stopped in front of the Del La Vega restaurant (128.North Woodland Boulevard, Deland) and read the menu. We expected a Spanish menu but instead found a Mexican menu. It was ladies night with women offered buy one get one free margaritas and sangrias. Buy the time we placed our order the place had filled up to capacity.

Some guy was shooting video with a tiny hand held video camera. Terry waved. We were half finished with dinner when the musical performer for the night got up on stage. His name was Michael Petrovich and he played acoustic guitar with some sort of synthesizer as accompaniment. The music consisted of covers of popular music like Time After Time and Stairway too Heaven. The young woman in the brown leather jacket recorded his whole performance on her iPhone. I sketched in the musician at the very last moment having left a space open where I assumed he would eventually perform. There was a football game playing silently on the big screen TV above his head but I didn’t sketch in the players since the game didn’t interest me.

Terry and I ordered appetizers but they never arrived. The waitress apologized later and offered the appetizers for free. Terry said, “I don’t mind if they make a mistake as long as they make an effort to fix it.” The food was fabulous. With delicious artfully arranged portions on the plate. This was classic Mexican food not the sloppy Tex Mex we are used to being served in fast food joints. The appetizers were small light disks of fried dough with black beans and tomato salsa. This place was a real find and I wouldn’t mind making the drive back north to eat there again.