The Cardboard Art Festival

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In 2016 the TheDailyCity.com’s 4th Annual Cardboard Art Festival was held in two empty storefronts at the Sodo Shopping Center (80 W Grant St, Orlando, FL 32806). On Community Construction Night 100% of the admission ($5 adults) went to
the OneOrlando Fund. A large piece was being created to be installed at a
select tribute location and we need the community’s help with creating
their own cardboard heart. Also we are celebrating the life of a
local-lover Colleen Burns from YELP who passed away at the Grand Canyon just
last week. Guests could each take a star and decorated it.

I focused my attention on this cardboard rhino which was pieced together like a 3D puzzle. Next to him was a sculpture that looked like a section of a reef created by Jean-Claude Rasch. As I was preparing to leave, I noticed a long empty stretch of was above a map of Orlando that guests could sign. I  contacted the event organizers, Mark Baratelli and Denna Beena and suggested that I could hang the 49 portraits of victims of the Pulse massacre that had been created by local artists at the Falcon Bar.

I hung the portraits on fishing line using electrical clips. The result was they seemed to float high up near the ceiling. This was more work than expected since I had to climb up and down the ladder every time I needed a new portrait, or more electrical clips. Betsy Brabrandt showed up and cut the work in half by handing up portraits.

Pink Hair.

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Denna Beena and Travis Fillmen sometimes have friends over at their College Park home. They host outdoor screenings on their lawn of quirky classics like “Goonies.”  Denna has appeared in quite a few of my sketches. She is easy to pick out, because of her bright pink hair. As a matter of fact. I keep a second palette m my art bag specifically because it has just the right hot pink.

I sketched Denna and Travis’ wedding. A mannequin stood on stage with the wedding couple, and I was glad to to see that he had a permanent place in their home.

On this evening, Denna was helping a friend put pink streaks in her hair. Her black cat had a full run of the place from it’s high cabinet perch. A cross country sky exercise machine dominated the room. Travis has a gorgeous fresh water planted fish and gorgeous. It kind of makes me want to get back into the hobby.

Outside there was a Barbecue of hot dogs and hamburgers with plenty of time to mix and mingle before the movie screening. I had never seen Goonies before and I enjoyed the adolescent humor and simple quest for treasure. Simple pleasures like this make it fun to live in Orlando.

Marilyn Monroe zombie leaves a sweet musty smell in City Arts Factory.

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I had to drop off some cards for Barbara Hartley at City Arts Factory (29 S Orange Ave, Orlando, FL). The place according to the website is usually closed on Monday but on this Indigenous People’s Day it was open because artists were dropping off their work for the Day of the Dead show happening in October.

While I was chatting with Tr3 Mark Harris at the front desk, Paul Joachim walked in. Paul sculpts life sized chocolate sculptures.  Paul had dropped off a life sized Marilyn Monroe zombie sculpture and he wanted to touch up he paint job. The sign next to her read, “Do not touch. Do not eat.” Which is very ironic since there were plenty of open bite wounds causing her to bleed red syrup. An exposed bone was visible on her left shin. Denna Beena told Paul that every guy who viewed the sculpture thought she might be having her period. Paul had considered making a small card to put under her dress that said,Hard Rock “You should be ashamed of yourself.” He thought better of it.

Paul had done a clean sculpt of Marilyn and then he added the gouges, blood and pasty purple skin tone. When he was working on her face he had to walk a fine line, making her look like Marilyn but dead. A huge bite out of her right cheek exposed her jaw bone and she was missing some teeth. There was an amazing synergy between Marilyn’s mouth and Andrew Spear‘s mural behind her. Both pieces of art treated the female sumptuous lips and teeth with loving detail.

Paul told me that the drive to City Arts Factory with the sculpture in the back of the truck was harrowing. Orlando’s cobble stone streets sent her dancing and shimmying in the back of the truck, Thankfully she didn’t topple over. After this show , Paul hopes that Hard Rock Cafe might inherit Marilyn for next year’s Halloween season. Halloween Horror Nights might be another home for her. I was surprised to find out that chocolate keeps rather well. It gets harder with age.

Mark Your Calendar! CityArts Dia de los Muertos and Monster Factory Exhibit is opening tonight, October 16th 6-11pm.  Phantasmagoria will be there to entertain and amaze and there will be a Day of the Dead Parade with larger than life sized skeletons. The show will remain up through November 14th.

Fight Like a Girl

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About six years ago, Carla Young got the phone call that nobody wants to get…

“The tests came back, and you have cancer.”

As Carla explained, “I was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer that had already metastasized to my bones. I was devastated to say the least. After calling my parents to break the news, the next thing I knew I had to do was go to theatre downtown. We were in the middle of rehearsals after all, and I couldn’t just not show up. Plus they were my second family. I needed their support. To me, theatre is not only a place to watch people perform but also a place to let you forget about your troubles if only for a few hours. During the next few years, I came to realize it was also a place of healing. No matter how bad I was feeling, it would magically disappear the second I walked into the theatre.”

Denna Beena of Pink Hair Productions suggested I go to Theatre Downtown, (2113 N Orange Ave, Orlando, Florida ), to sketch the fundraiser for Carla’s medical bills. The fundraiser was a musical cabaret featuring songs from shows Carla had stage managed such as “Annie”, “The Wiz”, “Chicago”, “Altar Boyz” and “Avenue Q” along with some of her favorite shows such as “Wicked”, “Seussical The Musical”, and “Rent”.

I got to Theatre Downtown about an hour late since I was working a late shift at Full Sail. Everyone was in the spacious lobby area relaxing on couches and mingling. I found Denna and she let me know that the second half of the show would be in the theatre itself. I went in and found a seat close to the piano and I started sketching the empty stage. I heard a raffle going on in the lobby and then the young actors started getting themselves seated. It turned out I was seated where the singers sat before they went up to the mic. I felt self conscious, but I couldn’t stop the sketch now. An actress leaned over and told me she appreciated my work and I relaxed. Staci Stout, who was seated right next to me, got up and sang “Don’t Rain On My Parade.” Many of the performers were teens yet they belted out the songs like pros. The entire Company rose and began singing “Seasons of Love” from Rent. They asked Carla to stand and there wasn’t a dry eye in the house. The room radiated love.

Carla Young Continues to fight for her life with the support of family, friends and a loving theater community. You can follow Carla’s progress on the Fight Like a Girl page. Should you want to help, go to Carla’s fundraising site where to date, $5,606 has been raised towards the $20,000 goal. Even as her medical bills escalate, Carla dreams of paying it forward. If the goal amount is reached, she
will donate $2000 of that to Compassionate Hands and Hearts which is a local
organization designed specifically to help breast cancer patients and their
families.  They helped her a while
back, and she would love to be able to help somebody else in need.

P.S. On April  13th, I heard that Carla Young passed away.

“The
world is a slightly lesser place tonight. R.I.P. Carla Young. You were
truly one of the most beautiful people I have ever met, inside and out.
The mark you made on so many lives will never be forgotten.” – Paul Castaneda

Dia de los Muertos

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I went to the City Arts Factory for the opening of Dia de los Muertos, the day of the dead themed art show and block party. Pine Street was blocked off around the City Arts Factory with a large stage set up, art vendors, and a food truck. Large skeletal figures surrounded the entry way. Inside it was already packed and all the art in the hall and left gallery had highly ornate day of the dead skulls. I saw a flash of pink. It was Denna Beena ducking behind some black curtains. I followed and we entered a hectic backstage dressing room and makeup area. I recognized many of the Yow dancers and Denna graciously introduced me. Carolina Suarez Garcia came in and did her own makeup. She is the public relations manager for Tacatantán Records, one of the events producers along with The Orlando Downtown Arts District and Pink Hair Productions.I tried to find order in the chaos and clutter.

There was a mad rush to get the makeup done for all the performers before the 8PM Yow Dance, Thriller Flash Mob.  I thought I was sketching Yow dancers, but it turned out that these performers helped with Dali Live’s painting performance on stage. Dali was dressed like the joker with a shock of green hair. He quickly painted a large portrait of the joker while dancing to loud techno music. Poison Ivy and the other characters danced as he painted. They were all characters from Batman movies and eventually Batman did a cameo walk on stage. The crowd loved it. There was a costume contest and day of the dead parade.

Yow dance lead the assembled crowd in the Thriller line dance. A few people joined in, but it was hot and most Central Floridians are rather reserved.  Children joined in. Terry arrived and I searched for her in the crowd. I texted each location I went to thinking it might help. I was up against the stage watching Dali Live when Terry bumped me in the shoulder. We walked away from the stage to the back of the crowd and sat on some steps behind two girls with large snakes. A guy was coaching them saying they shouldn’t let people touch the snakes heads or grab at them. Terry wanted to take a picture, but the girls wanted money.  Terry was tired, having just come from another corporate party, so I walked her back to her car and called it a night. The Dia de los Muertos exhibit at City Arts Factory is up through the end of October.

Denna and Travis Update their Relationship Status

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Denna Beena and Travis Fillmen were married Saturday August 4th in the Winter Garden Theatre. It was pouring rain as I drove straight from work. Terry let me know that she saved me a seat. The Winter Garden Theater has been the home to some amazing theatrical productions such as “The Diviners“, and “Driving Miss Daisy“. This wedding had a flair of the theatrical and plenty of Pink. Denna’s hair has always had a shock of pink, orange and purple. Her brides maids each had a pink dress of their choosing and long streaks of pink in their hair. Groomsmen and the ring bearer, manikin Hans Hausboi, all had pink bow ties and flowers. Groomsman, Mark Baratelli had a crazy, day filled with drama leading up to the ceremony. But that is a story for another day. Bridesmaid, Amanda Chadwick, with a bright pink coil of hair on her forehead, had flown from Seattle to be in the ceremony.

Before the actual ceremony, the theater curtains opened and friendly trivia was projected on the movie screen. Denna and Travis’s first date lasted ten hours. They met thanks to OKCupid.com. Denna kept getting Travis’s bio and she ignored it five times. She finally decided that the guys she usually dated were all wrong for her, so she took a chance. They might be bipolar opposites politically but deep down the found happiness and creative unconditional love. There was a small canvas center stage and as part of the ceremony, the couple painted a heart together. Young Chloe and Naomi Borchers recited the lyrics to “Personal Penguin.” Mike Carr explained, “Why Love is Like Owning a Dog.”

It was a ceremony in which laughter was a fine compliment love. The officiant, Mike Carr, earned his ability to unite this couple from the internet. When the knot was tied, Denna and Travis took out their cell phones on stage and updated their Facebook status to “Married“. The audience cheered. As everyone filed upstairs for the reception, I rushed to throw color on the sketch. A black and White film flickered onto the movie screen as the projectionist got ready for that evenings showing. As the colors dried on the page, I went upstairs for plenty of awkward yet enthusiastic dancing.

Pink Hair

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Denna Beena and Travis Fillmen had Denna’s sister and her husband over to meet folks before the wedding for an evening barbecue, and screening at their place. When Travis started up the grill, the flames leaped up and then the thick billowing smoke followed guests.

After eating, my wife Terry, decided she wanted a pink streak in her hair. Denna always has a supply of pink die, so they went up to the kitchen for the procedure. It only took five minutes so I didn’t catch Terry. Another girl decided she wanted streaks in her long blond hair and I managed to catch her. Terry’s hair is a dark brown now and the pink was barely detectable.  That was actually good since she works in a fairly conservative business.

 Denna and Travis have two cats and they set up an aerial boardwalk for the cats up in the rafters. The boardwalk was designed like one of the zip line aerial obstacles at ZOOm Air Adventures at the Sanford Zoo. Their black cat watched the hair dye operation from on top of the cabinets.

A large TV was rolled out of the garage onto the side lawn for the outdoor matinee screening of The Muppet Movie. Once it was dark a second darker film was put in, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil. Terry had no interest in that movie so she drove home and I stayed to watch. It was a very strange, sick film about two hicks on vacation who find themselves in situations where college kids die in violent bloody ways by accident. Tucker and Dale though innocent, always end up looking like psycho killers. It was shocking and funny. Everyone sat in their lawn chairs screaming and laughing.

MayHem!

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Denne Beena tipped me off that zombies were going to be marching, well limping, down International Drive as part of Spooky Empire’s MayHem Show held At Wyndham Orlando Resort on May 25th through 27th. Zombies were going to gather at Pizzeria Uno at three in the afternoon. When I drove into the Uno parking lot, there wasn’t a zombie in sight. I almost left thinking I got the day wrong but then decided I might as well get a slice since I was there. I went inside and found myself surrounded by zombies.

Make up artists were hard at work turning civilians into zombies. Air brushes were used to make the skin look sick and pasty.  Eye sockets were darkened and open wounds sculpted to a festering perfection. I can’t quite figure out why so many women wanted to look battered and beaten with makeup accentuating their cleavage. I bravely didn’t avert my eyes. I had to get the facts, just the facts ma’am.

It was boiling hot outside. There wasn’t a shady spot in sight from which I could sketch the gathering army of the undead. I stood in the shade of the Pizzeria and sketched the zombie hunting superhero next to me. There were zombie clowns, some sheriffs and intestines and body parts hanging at uncomfortable angles. I couldn’t sketch it all. Someone shouted out, “Five minutes till we march!” I’m always rushing against time. A guttural murmur rushed through the crowd. It was far too hot for a zombie march if you ask me. Dead flesh baked in the Florida sun and bloody make up oozed with sweat. Pale flesh began to bake red.

Next to me a bicycle was covered with colorful parrots. The owner would get the birds to perch on a zombie for a photo and a fee. A cockatoo preened a love bird. They didn’t resemble the undead in any way. Finally the hot crowd of zombies began their march down International Drive towards the Wyndham hotel. With two sketches done, I decided to head home. Traffic came to a stand still  on International Drive as tourists gawked at the crowd of zombies moaning and shuffling down the sidewalk. Another typical day in Orlando.

Well…Since You Asked!

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My first Fringe show was suggested to me by Denna Beena. Well…Since You Asked featured a solo performance by Kate O’Neal where she offered her opinions and personal life experiences. She would go to a small round table at the back of the stage to pick up slips of paper with questions, presumably from audience members and her mom. David Horgan, one of DEM Guys, was seated in the front row. An on running joke between us is that David always tries to pose in any scene I happen to be sketching. This time he succeeded being front and center. The center bleacher seating was full with run over audience members sitting on the sides,

Although much of Kate’s monologue was funny and irreverent, she succeeded best when she spoke from the heart.  When she related one of the most tragic moments of her life, the theater went dark and she was bathed in a red spotlight. Everyone in the room seemed to lean forward, fully present. She sang several songs which resonated deeply with me. Desperado by the Eagles and Bridge over Troubled Waters. Her singing alone was worth the price of admission.

She  has met some fascinating people in her life and has been through a number of jobs and husbands. When she discovered her husband was having an affair with the neighbors
wife, her retaliation had audience members gasping and laughing. This is why theater and the Fringe are magic. People will always want to gather in a darkened room to learn from someone elses life experiences. Kate shared them all, even her mistakes, bringing us along for the emotional ride. A show like this takes bravery and this was her first time doing a personal monologue. The Fringe makes taking such chances a reality for performing artists. I’m glad she took that chance. As she said, “It’s never too late to be who you might have been.”

Show schedule:

Monday May 21st at 6:45PM

Tuesday May 22nd at 7:15PM

Friday May 25th at 7:45PM

Saturday May 26th at 12:45PM

Performances are in the brown venue and tickets are $8.

Fringe Beer Tent

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The Orlando International Fringe Festival is now in full swing. I strolled the green lawn of fabulousness and found Tod Caviness taping a string of Christmas lights to his poetry vending machine. He was glad it was sunny out, but he warned me that a storm was coming. My first order of business was the beer tent. I searched for the beer ticket booth and asked for one $5 ticket. Beer taps come right out of the side of the beer truck. I decided to order a German beer because I liked the bright yellow tap handle. It was a sweet smooth blend and I suspect it will be my beer of choice this year. I took a few sips and then started drawing the truck. Puffy white cumulus clouds looked thick and friendly. Twice I had to extract dead bugs from my drink.

Later that evening, I planned to see “Well Since You Asked” starring Kate O’Neal. Denna Beena had suggested I make this my first Fringe show.  Logan Donahoo suggested I see “Cannibal! The Musical” which was written by one of the South Park writers. Actress Marty Stonerock saw me sketching and gave me a warm welcome. “I know the Fringe has officially begun when I see you sketching away” she said. She was a fireball of excitement and energy. She had volunteered last year and had a blast. She couldn’t wait to get started again this year. She took a photo of me at work and shouted, “Act natural!”

David Horgan, one of DEM Guys, stopped to say hello just as I was finishing my sketch. He stood in front of me posing with his cooler. Darn, I could have worked him into the picture had he arrived just a little earlier. He had posed for my Mennello Museum mural last year. DEM Guys are, David, Ed, and Myron. Every year they compete to see who can see the most shows. They also sponsor one of the venues. David hopes to see more than 60 shows this year. He gave me a DEM Guys pin which I was proud to put on my bag. With the sketch finished, I ran off to my first show. I felt at home. Happy Fringe!