DRIP is Closing their Internationsl Drive Location.

Posted on by Thor

I was there sketching as DRIP opened  its International Drive Location with its grunge underground bar vibe, the shows featured modern dance, water effects and colorful paint. The walls were painted black and would get covered each performance with bright splashes of color. After 5 successful years of bringing innovative, edgy dance shows and
art events to the I-Drive area, DRIP will be closing the location to
focus on new projects.

“Closing this location is bittersweet but exciting for our team.  We put
a huge amount of passion into everything created in that space and have
amazing memories from the team interacting with the guests. We had
terrific experiences over the last 5 years and are eager to re-focus and
inject our creativity into the next project.”  explains DRIP founder
and creative director Jessica Mariko. “We appreciate our fans and are
looking forwards to playing with them again soon.”

Since DRIP
opened their International Drive location, they have produced over 700
shows, artistic events, concerts, festivals, fashion shows, private
parties and corporate events. Experiences in the DRIP venue have
included a super-hero show during the Megacon Convention, The Blind Date
experience for couples during Valentine’s Day, the Underground Vampire
Bar experience in October, Gay Days events, Local Art Night, BASE Body
Painting Art Events, and many more. DRIP has also been commissioned to
develop creative experiences for companies such as Timex, Siemens,
L’Oreal, Wrestlemania, and Kawasaki.

The sketch above is from a DRIP Art Night which always featured the talents of local artists. Paint the Trail was using cut out stencils to create quick colorful portraits of celebrities. As soon as he was done spraying another artist would blow dry the paint to get it to dry fast. The same portrait might involve 5 different layers which were built up, one on top of another. A pile of the portraits build up to the table on the artists right. People rifled through the art as the artist worked.

I produced a small book about the history of DRIP. I am amazed that it now documents a past history. The venue did so much to help promote the arts in Orlando. It is a bright beacon that will be missed. I hope that the cutting edge dance company will resurface in a new and unexpected form. The loss of Drip reminds me that I need to continue documenting unique Orlando culture. Even the brightest lights will fade or transform.

A Live Urban Sketch Class at DRIP.

Posted on by Thor

I offered a Live Urban Sketch Class at DRIP (8747 International Dr #102, Orlando, FL). You enter DRIP from a loading dock giving the venue a mysterious speakeasy vibe. My eyes had to adjust to the dark black light interior. I was running about 15 minutes late thanks to rush hour traffic. There were close to a dozen artists in the bar area.

A volunteer agreed to model. She was tall and chiseled with beautiful dreadlocks. We discussed basic human proportions which I break down into four units. Half way between the head and feet is the waist. Half way between the waist and the feet are the knees, and half way between the head and the waist is the heart. I discussed how your eye line should relate to the figure and I had everyone draw this line on the page.

We did five minute poses and each time I asked student to make each drawing smaller than the last, while keeping one aspect of the models body lined up with the eye line. The result was receding figures that looked like they could be standing on the same floor plane. We then moved to longer poses where the model sat on the couch and looked at her iPhone. I encouraged everyone to include background elements.

Our model had to leave, so Jessie Sander, a DRIP dancer, took over. She offered the class plenty of action lines and gestures to work with. I came up with a new exercise in which everyone broke up the page into four panels to create thumbnail or storyboard sized panels. I had everyone just draw the background, or staging elements. They were encouraged to find interesting new angles for each sketch. Then Jessie returned to the set, and students added her to the scenes. Some really fun work came out of the exercise. I  plan to recreate the exercise for my younger Urban Sketch students today.

Finally, we went on a field trip to the parking lot next door, to sketch The Boston Lobster Feast car. It is a tiny red beetle that has a huge mean looking lobster on top of it. Anytime people entered the restaurant, the sweet buttery smell wafted outside. Every tourist walking down International Drive has to stop to take a photo of the huge lobster. The artists scattered around the monster and began to sketch. Some tourists were curious about what we were up to, so it was a good initiation for beginning artists to realize that no one ever judges your work when sketching on location. I was pleased that one artist was asked, “Are you an artist?” I’m always tempted to come up with a snarky remark, but end up responding, “Yes.”

Overall, I had fun giving the workshop and it would be fun to repeat. Jessica Mariko, DRIP’s founder suggested having the model under a sand shower or paint can chandelier while artists sketch. The possibilities for fun, wet, spontaneous sketch opportunities is endless.

July 4th Drip Pool Party.

Posted on by Thor

On July 4th, Terry and I went to a Drip Dance pool party. A barbecue kept burgers and hot dogs steaming. All of the dancers an support staff of Drip were there to relax a have fun. A slip and slide was unfurled across the lawn, and terminated at the pool. Guys and girls got a running start, and dove into the pool with a big splash. 

My sketches were done rather fast, so that I could get in some pool time myself. Tie dye pockets were full or red and blue dyes. Dancers took T-Shirts and pinched the fabric using rubber bands. Everyone had their own techniques and every shirt when dry and unfurled was unique. It was a messy fun process. 

Terry, had several small dreads put in her hair on our trip to Australia. Jessica Mariko offered to put a color for tri-colored ribbon in Terry’s hair. As usually happens at y party lit this, I met someone who does something fun and creative as a career. A woman next to me did large sculptures for the theme parks. She told me about her projects and it sounds like an unexpected inspiring way t make a living. I’m having to rethink my priorities. I get out and experience a creative rush every day, but not many sketches get sold. Changes need to be made so that I’m less of a voyeur and more of a participant in the Orlando Arts scene. I am starting to reach out to find a job that will keep me in Orlando and challenge me creatively to think out side the box.

Drip Local Art Night featured Public Record.

Posted on by Thor

Drip Local Art Night features Visual Artists, Performance Artists, Burlesque troupes, Body Painters, Dancers, Belly Dancers, and Art Installations. 

This is an all ages event. Set-up for artists started at 6:30 and doors for the public opened at 8pm. Drip is located at 8747 International Dr #102, Orlando, F, behind Denny’s and Senior Frogs. Access is via a loading dock. 

Artist rent tables at this bimonthly event for $10. Artists get 100% of all sales. It is a pretty sweet deal for the artists and the crowds that show for this event, keep getting larger. Jessica Mariko‘s husband David Travers is in the band Public Record.  This band accepts ideas from social media about their fans favorite albums. They perform the entire album in order, live.

Mark your calendars! The next Drip Art Night is April 28, starting at 8pm. Check out the hottest scene in Orlando. 

The Creative Mind Project was the Birthplace of Dog Powered Robot

Posted on by Thor

At Fringe two years ago, I was invited by Jessica Mariko to be part of the Creative Mind Project. A select group of artists were given the same music and told to create a theatrical presentation based on what they heard. I decided to edit together a series of sketches to create a video montage paced to the music.

On the opening night, I had to be backstage as the Creative Mind project was presented. My only responsibility was to walk out a projector when my piece was to be presented. I also had borrowed a film screen that I had help setting up. From backstage I peeked out from behind the curtains to see the other presentations.

This sketch is of Tisse Mallon and a cross dressing male performer right before they went on stage. I never actually saw their performance. The cardboard buildings they are standing in front of are set pieces for Dog Powered Robot. When it was Dog Powered Robot’s turn, the audience went wild with laughter.

 Evan and Christie Miga had build a simple blue cardboard robot with a square head that rotated with wild abandon. A center chest compartment opened to showcase their adorable Pomeranian dog named Fisher. As the music played, Evan as the narrator waxed poetic about his childhood dreams of living in the city. Then a loud nuclear warning clamored, and Dog Powered Robot walked out into the cardboard cityscape. Like Godzilla in a cheap B grade sci-fi movie he began to destroy the city. The odd sight of this cute dog powering the robot’s rampage was hilarious and people in the audience shouted “Dog Powered Robot!” with delight as they laughed. I only saw glimpses of that first performance from backstage, but the riotous audience was easy to hear.

Dog Powered Robot is still going strong today. They staged their own Fringe show twice and just this week, they made an appearance at the Maker Fair in the Orlando Science Center. I’m convinced that someday the stars will align and Dog Powered Robot will become an international cult sensation. Kids love these cardboard robots but adults can’t get enough. Jessica Mariko is still bringing together creative minds by hosting Local Arts Nights at Drip (8747 International Dr #102, Orlando, FL) every 4th Thursday of the month.

Whirly Dome

Posted on by Thor

Jessica Mariko, the founder of Drip, invited the entire cast and crew to an evening at the Whirly Dome, 6464 International Dr, Orlando, Fl. Terry and I tagged along. Jessica had game tokens for everyone, so once we entered, the game was on. There was a formula one racing simulator with three screens creating an immersive panoramic view. If the car went up an embankment, the chassis would tilt. Melissa Kasper and Brigette Frias tossed basketballs into a hoop which moved back and forth. They had excellent eye hand coordination, landing shot after shot. I tried playing along with Terry and I didn’t do half as good.

There was a mini bowling alley, but it was broken. It took Terry’s token and didn’t spit out the bowling ball. Then everyone went up to the second floor to play laser tag. We were suited up like storm troopers and given a laser gun. If you were hit, a light would blink on the vest and the gun wouldn’t fire anymore. We were split into two teams based on the vest colors. The first team entered the maze to find cover and then the second team entered. The adrenalin immediately kicked in as we blasted our way towards the far end of the maze. I worked up a sweat trying to avoid laser blasts. Frustratingly I allowed myself to be caught in cross fire, often being killed from behind. A computer kept track of each persons kills. I was never in the top ranks.

Finally everyone made it to the main attraction, a heated game of Whirly Ball. There were five bumper cars per team. Besides driving recklessly, contestants held a lacrosse scoop which was used to toss a wiffle ball towards a hole in a basketball backboard. For the first match, I sketched, watching the dancers laugh and compete. Of course, Yellow, Jessie Sander, piled into a yellow bumber car. For a second match, I got into a bumper car myself. You would think there would be little physical exertion, but I worked up a sweat. I’d love to see octogenarians from a retirement home play this game. Your killer instinct immediately kicks in as you ram the other bumper cars at top speed. Also, tossing and catching that ball with the scoop was a real challenge. Once two cars smashed the ball flat in a head on collision. After the game, Jessica gave everyone a beer wrapped in a nice gift bag. Everyone had worked up a thirst from screaming, laughing and ramming each other. Oh, and if you haven’t seen Drip on International Drive yet,  you are missing the hotter ticket in town.

Drip 1 Year Anniversary

Posted on by Thor

On November 16th, Drip celebrated its one year anniversary of being on International Drive. Long time supporters of Drip were invited for a complimentary show. The T-shirt cutting and paint station was complimentary as was the champagne. After the 50 minute Drip show there was a desert party with the cast. Jessica Mariko the dance company’s founder was beaming as she thanked everyone. “We would not be where we are today without the help of generous people, advice from friends, cash, love and support.”

During the show, Terry and I stood near a raised platform. In one dueling dance sequence, red and Blue seduced one another in a purple strobe light glow as Yellow, Jessie Sander, tore apart her apartment in anguish and despair. Terry and I were inches away as the lovers gyrated and disrobed. Yellow as always did an incredible job of clearly showing her emotions even when not dancing.

David Travers, who composed all the music for the show made a rare cameo appearance playing guitar along with the band. The band performed in the bar for the after party. Guest singers were invited up to the mic.  I was surprised to see Melissa Kasper get up and sing her heart out. She has been the longest standing cast member of Drip working tirelessly hard in the background to keep each show on schedule. Now she stood front and center and the cast whooped and screamed for her performance.

The sketch was a struggle as heads bounced and bobbed blocking the scene. A paint drenched wench rubbed her boobs up along my left arm as she looked at what I was doing. She must not have seen the ring on my finger. Get a group of women wet and covered in paint and their inhibitions turn of as they get wild. Everyone danced and screamed to the pounding rock beat. When the music died down, Terry and I headed home.

224

Drip Fairy Body Paint Jam

Posted on by Thor

0n August 1st, I went to Drip (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Orlando, Fl, right behind Senor Frogs and Denny’s) to sketch the Body Painting Party after the Drip show.  Painters and models began around 7pm. They gathered in the back stage dressing room and storage area. With eight body painters and just as many models, it was going to get tight. The body painters were, Mandi Ilene,
Lori Babson Jessup,
Tanisha Morgan,
Tracy Purple, and
Cody Saults. All the body painters hat gathered to celebrate Mandi’s birthday.

Jessica Mariko, the founder of Drip welcomed me when I arrived and she went into the dressing room to be sure that models and the artists were all OK with my sketching them.  The painters had a three hour window to get a jump on their body paint creations before guests would get to see their work immediately after the Drip dance show. I focused my attention on the model directly in front of me who was already painted white from head to toe and covered in glitter. She became a stark silhouette in front of the light on the wall. An intricate pattern spiraled around her gluts.

Other models got undressed and periodically, everyone would shout “Nipples!”, followed by laughter. Pasties and thongs would be seamlessly painted to hide any anatomy that was required by social code. An urban graffiti painting shouted “Unity!” I was seated in the only chair in the, closet-room. Often my view was obstructed by models bare backs. It seems ironic that I spent much of my time trying to look past the nudity to see the figures I had started to draw.

The sketch was pretty much done when I saw Terry enter the dressing area. I stood to go meet her. She should have lead me out by the ear, but she seemed delighted to be backstage among the chaos. We got a drink at the bar and soon the Drip dancers were pouring free beer into the open mouths of guests. The live rock band began to play and the hip urban dance began. The dancers spilled drinks on each other and their relationships became clear as they moved among the crowd and teased one another.

The show follows a story line of love and betrayal. The main characters are blue and yellow as hinted at by their Drip rags covering their hair, and the paint they get covered in. When the couple embraced, their colors mixed to become green. I was wearing my Drip T-shirt which was already stained from past shows. In previous shows, paint filled water balloons had been handed to guests. Now the cast took charge, exploding the balloons by hand all over the audience. There might have been incidents in past shows where balloons had hit people in the face. The new approach guarantees everyone gets wet and messy without the dodge ball angst. Even so, a burst of paint in my face managed to loosen a lens in my glasses and it popped out as I sipped a drink later. DRIP is an in-your-face explosion of color and movement backed by a live
rock band, all in an industrial dive bar. You may get wet … you may get
messy … you WILL have an awesome time.

Mark Your Calendar! Shows are every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 9pm. What are you waiting for? This is the most fun you can have with a date, loved one, or friends in Orlando.
Tickets for the show available at www.ilovedrip.com.

Girls at Gay Days Kick-Off Party “One Hot Mess”

Posted on by Thor

Drip, ( 8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs, Orlando, Florida), has been hosting parties and performances for Gay Days all this week.  I was slated to do a painting live of two Drip dancers in an erotic embrace, so I went to the women’s kickoff party, “One Hot Mess.” I arrived at around 10pm and the 8:30pm performance had just wrapped up. After a performance there is a monstrous amount of clean up work that needs to be done. Wet sand has to be shoveled aside and all the water has to be removed.

I settled in a chair near the Drip T-shirt paint station where red, blue and yellow paint is available. As I started this sketch of a body painter at work, I got pelted with blue and then red paint. Women were slinging the paint at each others shirts, and I was in the line of fire. The blue and red splotches can still be clearly seen on my sketch. One woman apologized and I said it was fine. You know going in to a party called “One Hot Mess” that things could get messy.

The woman whose body was being painted didn’t have a top on, yet the Drip logo across her chest hid any signs of nipples. She checked her cell phone often as swirls and wings were being painted on her back. Jessica Mariko‘s voice announced that the dance floor was now open.  Two drip dancers worked their magic in the center of the room while the DJ cranked up the eardrum splitting beats. Jessie Sander did a solo rain dance performance standing in a kiddie pool under a Drip paint can chandelier. The crowd of 50 to 75 women were loving it.

Later three Drip dancers performed a new number I had never seen before. They each had a sack filled with white powder that covered their bodies and filled the air in rich thick clouds. After that, Jessica wanted me to do my live painting In the main dance area. Lights pulsed green blue and yellow. Painting under those conditions would be a challenge. Regardless I set up my portable easel and the dancers, Meagan Nagy and Paige Metelka, posed in front of a back lit screen. The canvas was more textured than expected and the paintbrush would run dry too fast. Regardless, I just tried to cover the canvas as fast as I could. Surprisingly this was the one time when I felt that acrylic paint was taking to long to dry. Whenever possible I shouted to the intertwined dancers to take a break. I was sweating up a storm and they had to work hard to keep the pose. When I stepped back, the canvas was a hot mess but I learned a lot doing it. A woman asked if it was for sale and I sold it on the spot. In my rush to clean up, I forgot to sign the painting. Painting on a crowded dance floor pushed me out of my comfort zone but sometimes, that is a good thing.

Two shows for the Ladies remain…

8:30PM-10:30PM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

11:30PM-1:30AM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

Drip Gay Days

Posted on by Thor

Through June 1st, Gay Days is being celebrated at Drip on International Drive (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs, Orlando, Florida). Tonight, May 31st, there is an all male cast performing at 8:30PM and 11:30PM. On Saturday June 1st at 8:30 and 11:30 there will be performances by an all female cast. I had seen the all female performance before, so I wanted to see how the tragic love story played out for the men.

The band got on stage and soon the room was ripped open with the ear splitting riffs of David Traver who also is the music director for Blue Man Group. Quickly the room was filled with men. The male dancers performed inside a makeshift inner structure where paint and sand flew. Jeans were suspended from the ceiling and when tugged they became erotic showers of sand. People were screaming and shouting.

Overall the show’s story remained the same, Blue and Yellow spark a romantic dance and as they smear their colors together they turn green. There is infidelity and a very sexy scene performed under pulsing strobe lights. With the men there was a bit more masculine shoving and athletics. Yellow was left to wash away the past to find some sense of self.

I found out that Jessie Sander who usually dances the part of yellow in the production was seeing the show for the first time as an audience member. I saw her watching the male Yellow’s every move and she shouted encouragement at the top of her lungs. The male cast had three weeks to rehearse and fine tune the show. Jessica Mariko, Drip’s founder stood on the side lines watching the show unfold. At one point she whispered to a male dancer in the dark offering advice.

There is no passive seating for the show. The audience stands on either side of the huge performance space. Everywhere inside Drip is a splash zone, everyone gets wet. I knew when to close my sketchbook this time to preserve the sketch. When water balloons were handed out to audience members, a big bear of a guy hid behind me to try and avoid getting pelted by his boy friend. I ducked left and right and he followed my every move. Ultimately he was pelted.

Weekend Top 6 Picks. 

Saturday June 1, 2013 

6PM-9PM  Superman Art Show, Acme Superstore 905 E. State Road 434 Longwood.

8:30PM-10:30PM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

11:30PM-1:30AM $35 DRIP Shows- for the ladies (all female cast). Drip 8747 International Dr. Suite 102 (Behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs), Orlando, Florida

Sunday June 2, 2013

 8:00AM-10AM Free Total Body Transformation Workout. Gaston Edwards Park – Lake Ivanhoe Boat dock / next to Gargis 1414 North Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL

7PM-Midnight Free Jesse and Amy get hitched and reception/open jam all nite! On the Rocks, Lake Eola Park 195 N Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801.  Everybody is welcome! Only request is that everyone wear some sort of white shirt (for photographic reasons). We’re def not expecting wedding gifts (gravy boats, microwaves,etc…) but if you’re so inclined, we are trying to get a house, so any cash donation would be welcome (again, not in anyway necessary). We just wanna have the coolest wedding/jam fest EVER!! Bands are welcome to do 2-3 song sets, but must use stage equipment (except for guitars, if u want your own) and notify Jeremy Hagen so he can organize the chaos. We’re hoping the jams just materialize outta the insane assemblage of all the musicians in the house.

10PM-Midnight Free Sick Of It Presents: Rancid Karaoke Cover Set. Will’s Pub 1042 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32803. You come up out of the crowd and sing your favorite Rancid songs with a live band…YOU’RE the singer!