Easter Proposal

Posted on by Thor

Over the Easter weekend my friend and I drove south to visit her sister. I met my friend at UCF. She was presenting her masters finals so she had pulled an all nighter to create a large map of Florida that showed the Trail that she had hiked. Orange blazes along the trail marked the mile markers where she had created etchings. The beautiful etchings had thin intricate line work and each had one orange note of color which was a trail blaze. She used the grass paper we had created the weekend before to create the map.

After her presentation, I drove south and she leaned back and fell asleep. I thought I had set my Google maps to allow for toll roads but we ended up traveling down isolated farming roads with sweeping vistas. I was enjoying the views of horse country so I didn’t correct my mistake. Since my friend was asleep she wouldn’t know the difference. I pressed forward and felt at peace watching sunset light cut across open fields.

When we were getting close, my friend suggested we go to a Spanish Supermercado where we ordered some food and drink. I needed the bathroom. I have been studying Spanish on Duolingo and I should have been able to ask in Spanish but I blurted out “bathroom?” instead of “bańo?”. Ugh.

My friend’s sister has a degree in equine science and in business,owns horses and a mobile Equine Halotherapy business. She lives with Tim and their daughter in a lovely home. Tim planned a huge party to propose to my friend’s sister but she was told that it was a birthday party.When my friend and I first arrived we sat at the dining room table with Carolina who was discussing things that had gone wrong at a past party. My friend reassured her sister saying, “This may be a party you never forget.” She looked at me and we smiled.

On the morning of the party my friend’s sisteer took their daughter to ballet class and an egg hunt and then spent the rest of the afternoon resting in her bedroom under strict instructions not to come out, while the house was filled with balloons and flowers by Tim and two of his cousins. My friend and I worked outside to make the back yard an inviting place for guests to gather. We set up a large lawn canopy and several tables and lots of lawn chairs. We get things done. For some insane reason I decided to hand pull all the weeds away from a large fire pit. There were 3 dried out Christmas trees near the pit and I placed one in it. I figured it might be nice to set a bonfire after the sunset. I am a bit of a pyromaniac I suppose.

As we were working, we heard someone shout “Fire! FIRE!” Sure enough, black smoke and flames were pouring out of the screened back patio. we ran to the water hose which we had just been using to clean off lawn chairs and she turned the spigot while I ran with the end of the hose into the back patio. The grill was engulfed in flames and I sprayed it down until the flames sputtered out. There was no major property damage, just a large puddle of water around the grill and some soggy ribs. It happened in a flash. Carolina in her room must have heard the commotion, but decided to stay put at the swift end of it.

After the sweaty yard work, I took a shower and got into my Sunday best. I then started working on the sketch while we all waited for Tim to invite Carolina out of the bedroom. The wait was excruciating.  I left an area of my sketch open where I knew the proposal would happen. In front of the bedroom door were red and white rose petals arranged in a heart shape and flickering electric candles that spelled out, “Will You?” Then, arranged on a table were golden balloon letters that spelled out “Marry Me?” Tim arranged white carnations and sun flowers of the floor to create an aisle to where he presented the ring.

When my friend’s sister came out of the bedroom, her hands shot up to her face. I could see her expression of shock. Tim got down on one knee as she walked towards him. She got down on his level and there he presented the ring as their daughter looked on. My eyes welled up, I couldn’t help it. Across from me I could see a young woman trying to fight back the tears. As isolated as I became after divorce, I still hold joyous hope that couples can find love and build a life together. Life is short and it is so rewarding to share experiences with someone, while bearing witness to the many ups and downs of life.

After Tim presented the ring they hugged and kissed. my friend’s sister must have said yes to Tim, but very softly. Then she shouted out “YES” and everyone in the room clapped and shouted their approval. Corks popped and my friend invited everyone to toast the couple. Then came a magnificent feast of Colombian foods, ribs, chicken and cornbread, that I had never tried before and far too much pink cake. I soaked in the fast conversations in Spanish and got advice from my friend’s family on what accents to avoid if I wanted to sound like a scholarly Colombian. It was a glorious day. I was so happy to be there with a sketchbook in hand.

Masters Thesis Defense

Posted on by Thor


By Thomas Thorspecken

I went to the UCF Art Gallery (12400 Aquarius Agora Dr, Orlando, Fl.) to sketch Stella P. Arbelaéz Tascón, who presented her thesis defense at the UCF Art Gallery 

The sculpture in the foreground of this sketch is called The Broken Woman. To create this piece a  mannequin was busted open with a sledge hammer. The distressed surface is covered in gold and hot pink. A sacred heart is in the open chest cavity representing sacrifice. Golden beams radiate from the heart. The crotch is busted open and dollar bills rest chaotically, illuminated from inside, representing the commodification of woman. The broken cage where the head would be is also broken open while a cell phone played static until it shorted out and died.

Stella talked about the concept of a work’s aura, of bringing the presence of it into your life. Her work is about healing. When asked if the healing is for her or others, she pointed out that she hopes to connect to others, but as she is not one of them, she can not know what a person viewing her work might feel. She just wants to be honest about what she feels. She hopes the work will be healing to others.

The Cathedral, was set up on the lawn outside the gallery. It is comprised of over 20 foot high bamboo stalks arranged in a circle outside the gallery. In The Cathedral the visitor is greeted by the sounds of chirping birds when they enter into the circle, which would usually  be silent in the evening. The feeling is of being engulfed by nature. Several people I overheard at the opening, expressed a sense of peace. The person is meant to feel elevated as if transported elsewhere. One thought to make the piece more permanent, was to recreate the cathedral with live bamboo, but the artist is also considering the option of recreating it in bronze. The Cathedral reminded me of the bird cage which was broken open above The Broken Woman.

Some work in the exhibition was small in size like intimate etchings of Memories of a Dead Love. Whereas The Cathedral was monumental in size. Stella feels that her work is moving from the micro to the macro. The larger work can be seen and experienced by more people. Each piece dictated its size. She wanted to experience the labor of chopping down the bamboo with a machete, it is physical sweet labor. Much of the bamboo was already collapsed in her yard, after hurricane Milton. When discussing the materials she used, she said, “This is me, I am the cell phone, I am that bamboo. The choice of materials is important to each piece.” The perfect home for The Cathedral would be as a permanent installation in a garden or museum. She also feels a good location would be in a large city where it could have a large outreach.

In 2020, the artist walked the whole length of the Florida Scenic Trail which is over 1,100 miles, and it was a reset for her after the trauma of divorce. Her work reflects her journey of healing and growth. Soon after walking the trail, she created a persona called The Nature Goddess. She wore a black gown, had horns and a found animal skull on her staff.  She performed in a park lying on the ground and crying for the devastation of nature imposed by humanity.  She was asked why she does not do more performance art. She feels the action of physically moving the materials is in itself a performance. Painting is a private act of performance. These acts of performance are done as the work is created. She does imagine more performance art in her future.

Her work has begun to act as an advocate for the preservation of nature. The job of stopping humanities destruction of nature is too large for one person, so she has become a part of a movement. She wants to help make people aware so they can heal themselves and the earth they are a part of.

The artist is a semi finalist for the 2025-2026 Fulbright Grant and hopes to research the role that technology and media play in an indigenous community there. She wants to share her knowledge of 2D animation and sees herself as a tool. She is part indigenous herself and wants to contribute to the empowerment and dissemination of their voices, while they author their own stories.

The work shown is just the beginning of her artistic journey. The work will continue to evolve. Three years ago she had no idea she would be producing the monumental work that is on exhibit today. She is excited to see what is yet to come. The art is intending to spark peoples empathy. Even a one degree shift towards empathy can make a difference in a world intent on division. Her work lets the viewer know that there is a way out, and there is hope. Anyone can overcome feelings of entrapment. When she moves her studio back to her house, the work might scale down, but  she knows that as life happens, she will continue to grow and large scale work will take form and evolve as she does. For her, monumentality contributes to the presence of a piece.