Blue Box 12

Posted on by Thor

I established the Blue Box Initiative, so I could sketch talented performers in each of the 27 blue boxes which are painted on the sidewalks downtown Orlando. These boxes are for panhandlers and buskers. Busking was possible only during day light hours, but a recent amendment allows the boxes to be used at night. Although set up for panhandlers, police often insist street performers must use the blue boxes. Performing outside the boxes can result in 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.

Sasha Kendrick volunteered to perform in Blue Box 12 which is right across from the Lake Eola Band Shell. To me, performing on the Band Shell stage would make the most sense, but that is not allowed. Las Vegas has black circles painted on the pavement of Freemont Street which is also used to keep performers contained. The difference about Las Vegas is that every black circle has performers because there are so many tourists walking the streets that it is worth it for the performers to work just about every night. In Orlando the tourists keep to the theme parks never walking the streets of downtown and there is little effort to attract tourists downtown.

Blue Box 12 was in the blazing sun with no chance of shade. The light sidewalk cement acted like a mirrored reflector. Luckily I had thought to bring some sun screen. Sasha played her violin heroically for the hour or so that I sketched. I had established some of the background scene before she arrived. She pointed out that the extreme heat could cause the wood of her violin to warp. The bridge, which hold the strings away from the body of the violin in particular could warp and then literally spring free of the instrument.

I kept my sketch brief, and then we walked across the street where she continued to  play on a Lake Eola bench in the shade. She played in Lake Eola often and the police are happy to allow her to play. Someone bought us both a soda while she played and I did a second sketch. This was the first and only time that I have been given a tip for sketching on location. Were I to put out a tip jar anytime I  sketched, I would be considered a pan handler who was breaking the law and could face 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. The week of the Winter Park Paint out, a similar ordinance is in place, but the Paint out organizers got a permit which allowed for the creation of art on Park Avenue for the five days of the event.

The Lake Eola Pulse Vigil.

Posted on by Thor

Sunday night around 7:30pma vigil was held for the 49 victims and the survivor still recovering from terrorist shooting at the Pulse Nightclub south of downtown Orlando. I drove into Eola Heights and parking was hard to find. The side streets around Lake Eola were closed to traffic. Police, EMS, and Military were on hand to handle the exceptionally large crowd. Over 50,000 people were expected to show up.

At the North East corner of the park, a flower vendor was doing a brisk business. Walking around the park, I had to turn down religious pamphlets from every denomination. John Lennon was singing “Imagine if there is no heaven, it’s easy if you try.” For once, the canned Lake Eola music was right on the money. Shrines were being set up a the base of trees. I was offered flowers, but I wanted to keep my hands free to sketch.

I figured the Lake Eola band shell would be ground zero for all the politicians, and other speakers. The crowds grew thicker a I got closer. I finally decided to swing wide out to the street an that gave me a clear approach. There was a mulched path that no one used, so that gave me some space to work. As I started, three ducks appeared and they ambled past me, quacking as they foraged for food in the garden. A huge rainbow flag was lying on the grass and that made a perfect highlight to the foreground. It began to rain, so I put the computer away and waited for it to stop. A rainbow appeared over Lake Eola as if the evening was granted a divine approval.

When it got dark enough, everyone lit their candles. The crowd was dispersed all the way around the lake. Candler flames illuminated the entire shore. The crowd became a sea of flickering flames. The Pulse club owner began a chant that spread through the crowd, “Peace, Love, Pulse!” The Orlando community was out in force. I was so emotionally drained that I didn’t have any more tears. The garden gave me a voyeurs cushion from the raw emotions. Instead, I focused my attention on the light emanating from the crowd. The names of the victims were read aloud to the now quiet crowd. Couples of all genders embraced. Love is love, and it should have no boundaries as defined by hate.

After the crowd dispersed, I walked around the lake to see all the candle shrines that were now everywhere. A five foot heard was covered in flowers and surrounded by candles. The stone sculpture of a woman lying in the garden covered by ground cover had hundreds of candles in her outstretched hand along with signs. Plastic red cups with candles inside were arranged in the shape of a heart. All the symbology was there, but the best way to heal would be to bring about positive change. Hopefully someday that change will come. But for now it is easy to pick up an assault rifle any day of the week here in Orlando.

July 4th Fireworks at Lake Eola Park

Posted on by Thor

July 4th was my first day back from a vacation in the Canadian Rockies. It turns out that they celebrate Canada Day on July 1st, the same week as our Independence Day. Terry and I went to watch fireworks in the small mountain town of Jasper Alberta. The whole town must have shown up to see the fireworks display on the soccer field of the local high school. Everyone found a spot on a steep grassy hill. Some people wore the Canada flag as a cape and there were plenty of Canada flag temporary tattoos. At the base of the hill next to the baseball diamond was a fenced in beer garden. People got anxious as it got closer to the start time which was very late. The sun sets much later way up north in the cool mountains.

It was still dusk when the first burst went off and echoed off the mountains. Streaming rockets that looked like comets reached up to the night sky.  There were fireworks I had never seen before like twirling disks and showering curtains of light. I watched the crowd whose faces became illuminated by the bright explosions. Huge bursts went off only a few feet above the ground. A mortar rotated, firing like a machine gun in quick succession. Smoldering embers burned out in the grass. The crowd was constantly muttering oooh and aaah in appreciation. There was a magnificent finale with bursts layered on top of each other in a thunderous roar. People applauded and were surprised by a second even bigger finale. Then there was the crush of the crowd as everyone tried to leave. I took Terry’s hand so we wouldn’t be separated. One family had watched the fireworks from a boat that sat on a trailer next to the park. “Only in Jasper” one local high school student remarked.

Terry wasn’t up to going to Lake Eola to see Orlando’s fireworks. She needed some down time after all our traveling. I ventured out on my own to sketch. People had staked out their viewing spots hours before the fireworks were to start. The family seated in front of me must have been tourists from Eastern Europe. They came prepared with a full picnic and plenty of reading material. All around the lake, the crowds grew thick. The Orlando Concert Band played John Phillips Sousa tunes in the Band Shell. When my sketch was covered with red white and blue, I decided to leave. You can watch fireworks every day of the week in Orlando if you drive towards the theme parks at dusk. A woman was grateful to take my prime viewing real estate. As I walked away from the lake, crowds flowed toward the lake. Robinson was shut down. A mom explained to her daughter, “Look, its a walking and biking street!” I continued upstream like a salmon.

On the drive home, I heard a noise that sounded like something was hitting the inside of my wheel well. I turned off my radio to listen. I finally realized it was the sound of fireworks. In every direction, huge plumes of sparkling spheres exploded. Everywhere I looked the sky was on fire. In my subdivision neighbors competed with each other for the biggest blast. It was a beautiful sight. Back at home I watched Dead White and Blue with my very content Cockatoo cuddling in my lap. I got to experience Independence Day in two different countries this year. I have much to be grateful for.

Marriage Equality Rally

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On June 27th, members of the LGBT community and supporters came together for the Marriage Equality Rally in Orlando Florida. The “Paint It Red Orlando” event pulled in thousands of supporters, for speeches from community and political figures. There was for food, drinks, music which made for a fun filled night at the band shell at Lake Eola, in Downtown Orlando.

Volunteers helped create the red paper bag luminaries and distribute them around the lake. Each bag had an electric candle and a tag that listed a gay couple that had been married. The wind kept knocking over bags so small sticks were added inside the bags to add weight. It was an impressive sight to see the bags surrounding the whole lake. They symbolically “Painted the Town Red”. It was a visually stunning
moment to celebrate Marriage Equality, the work that has taken place to
get to the Supreme Court, and to reflect on all of the struggles thus
far, as well as the work yet to be done.

 Speakers included representatives from Federal, State, and Local Government, local clergy,
activists, entertainers, a celebrity or two, and community members! Blue Starr was the Master of Ceremonies. This was a pep rally and celebration of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave federal benefits to legally married gays.While praising the decision, celebrants also expressed hope that same-sex marriage will one day be legal in Florida.

There were food trucks, a beer garden and a full bar. Signs on barricades listed “Rules of Conduct.” I didn’t quite understand the need for barricades but I suppose officials felt the need to limit beer consumption to the designated area around the band shell, much like the Fringe green lawn of fabulousness. Several buildings downtown and around the lake had red spotlights. The town was literally illuminated red. I had on my bright red shirt just by luck. I’m seldom one for preplanning when it comes to fashion. The huge crowd was fun and festive, partying late into the night. I walked around the lake reading all the names on the bags that celebrated love and life.