Curator of Exhibitions and Collections Pamela Schwartz.

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I first met Pamela Schwartz, The Orange County Regional History Center Chief Curator three months after the horrific Pulse Nightclub shooting that took 49 lives. I had contacted artist, and History Center Collections manager Whitney Broadaway, about sketching interviews with survivors, family of victims and first responders. It just so happened that Pamela was beginning interviews, so the collaboration made perfect sense. Pamela is an artist herself, so she understood what I do.

Pamela had been working as the History Center museum curator for just four months when the Pulse shooting happened. As politicians and first responders scrambled for a course of action, Pam was making plans on how the History Center could play a role in preserving the history that was unfolding. Multiple memorials were appearing with people leaving flowers candles and personal mementos. Rather than have all these items end up in a landfill, Pamela spearheaded an effort to collect, preserve and catalogue all of the thousands of items in the museum archives.

The collections work happened under grueling conditions in the height of the Florida summer heat. It was thankless work since not everyone understood or appreciated what the museum staff was doing. To date over five thousand items are still being preserved and catalogued. In this sketch Pamela is working late at night cataloguing the 49 crosses that were left at Lake Beauty next to the Orlando Regional Medical Center where people were treated after the shooting. After being collected, each cross was placed in a specially made archival box with a clear front. All of the memorial items left at each cross would fit in another box that slips behind the cross inside the box, keeping everything together. Preservation of the crosses was a challenge since they weren’t built to last. Pamela took photos of each cross when they were at the hospital, showing them the first day and then sequentially with memorial items added over time. A large online database was created where memorial items can be seen. The crosses were supposed to go on public display 6 months after the shooting but Hurricane Mathew shut down those plans and canceled the Pride Parade. With one year fast approaching this June, the crosses are once again being considered as a symbolic centerpiece to honor each of the victims.

On Pam’s desk are several EMS and fire department rainbow patches which were custom made to honor the senseless loss of life. It is just one example of the many small gestures that people continue to make in order to deal in some way with the tragedy. Such items are often sent straight to the museum since only the memorial at Pulse remains. Lake Eola and the memorial at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts have since been collected and are now being preserved.

On this night the subject for the interview didn’t show up, so I sketched Pam at work. She entertained me with stories about her family in the midwest. She has been working in museums since she was 14,  so she was immediately up to the challenge when the Pulse Tragedy occurred. Interviews are still being conducted and likely will continue for years to come. Not everyone is ready to talk about that night. Just locating people is a challenge. Some wounds may never heal. I feel fortunate to be using my art to help document this story.

Corporate 5K.

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While driving through the Milk District, traffic backed up due to a corporate 5k run. Rather than get inpatient or upset, I decided to park my car on a side street and walk over to watch the racers run up Bumby and turn onto Roseland. Police were at the intersection with a motorcycle to keep the peace. Several racers shouted out to thank them for their public service. As I sketched the sun sank in the west casting ever longer shadows. Runners slowly dwindled until there were only walkers and the final staggerers made their way towards Lake Eola. Such runs happen fairly often and signs warn locals about the road closures.

Hoods Up is an abandoned gas station and auto repair shop. With huge development happening in the Milk District, this corner lot is sure to become something new soon. My guess would be a luxury apartment building. A tiny birdhouse was perched on the stop light pole. It is likely the work of local artist Brendan O’Connor. I’m surprised the police weren’t shimmying up to take it down. It must be against code.

Blue Box 13.

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Angel Jones, an arts advocate and fashion designer, volunteered to be in the Blue Box Initiative. She occupied Blue Box 13 which is on Jefferson Street near North Orange Avenue.

For those that don’t know, Orlando has 27 Blue Boxes painted on the sidewalks. These are considered exempt zones, which means panhandling is allowed. Performers who bus downtown have been told by police that they must move to a blue box. Most of these boxes are in areas of downtown where there is virtually no foot traffic. I have decided to sketch every blue box with Orlando’s most talented artists and performers.

Angel didn’t want to ride her motorcycle downtown in her costume, although that would have been a sight. She designed and sewed her outfit. She owns a fashion company called Bazzar Bazzar. I drove her to the location. As we walked around Lake Eola she showed me what this whole Pokeman Go phenomenon is all about. I have seen crowds of people in the park staring at the phones, and not paying attention to what is go in on around them. The game depicts a simplified version of the park in which Pokeman characters appear. She showed me how to throw an object at the character. If you hit the character, you get points. You can also place a lure which will attract characters to your location. For the duration of her time in the blue box Angel looked at her bright pink smart phone. For all I know, she might have been surrounded by Pokemon characters dancing at her feet.

I have about 10 more Blue Boxes to sketch. If you know of a performer who would like to participate, please let me know.

Violectric at Lake Eola.

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The popular electric string quintet with keyboards and drums known as “Violectric” rang in the holiday season with their exciting annual “Violectric Holiday Show” presented by the City of Orlando Families, Park and Recreation at the Walt Disney Amphitheatre at Lake Eola Park, (99 N Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, Florida 32801). Free and open to the public, the concert featured traditional holiday songs like “Jingle Bells,” “O Christmas Tree” and “Hanukkah, O Hanukkah” mashed up with classic rock tunes like “Kashmir,” “Born to Run” and “Sweet Dreams”, plus modern hits, delivering a fun-filled, energetic, and highly-unique holiday show unlike anything seen and heard before.

Violectric teamed up with Old Forrester who hosted a VIP “Backstage Speakeasy” Pre-Party including a special behind-the-scenes with a band and a “End of Prohibition” After-Party open to all with a cash bar and 1920’s costume contest. Guests were also encouraged to bring a non-perishable food item to the concert, which would be donated to Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida.

Formed in 2008, the accomplished members of the “Classic Musicians Who Rock!” Violectric have been performing in various groups, orchestras and together for over 20 years across the globe.  Led by Grammy Recording Artist “Vinylinist” Michelle Jones, Violectric is a unique fusion of the passion and beauty of classical string instruments with the excitement of cutting-edge modern technology and effects.  Violectric’s custom arrangements of classic and modern rock tunes like “Billie Jean,” “Go Your Own Way,” “Moves Like Jagger” and “Chandelier” cannot be heard anywhere else.

Violectric has a signature look in that the violins are illuminated by neon. Of course Santa and Mrs. Claus made an appearance towards the end of the concert. That couple certainly gets around. They have been at just about every holiday event I have sketched.

Eugene Snowden at One Pulse Sounds of Our City.

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One Pulse Sounds of Our City, was an all day benefit concert for victim’s families of the Pulse shooting in Orlando. Held at Orlando Brewing (1301 Atlanta Ave, Orlando, Florida). Hosted by Shadow Pearson the event featured an incredible line up of local performers.

Eugene Snowden was accompanied by Ben Brown. Eugine kept his set low key to start, but by the end, he was taking the audience to church. He stood and started stomping the stage with his bare feet. It is impossible not to get swept up by the Sheer force of his energy. Even the sketch is influenced by his performance.

It seems like I have been sketching Pulse concerts and vigils for more than a month. The memorials have been removed from Lake Eola and the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.  Signs indicate that the Orlando History Center is archiving some items for posterity. I have to wonder how much is instead shipped of to land fills.

The 49 portraits created on July 3rd, are now at the Cardboard Art Festival. I hung them very high right below the ceiling. They are over a map of Orlando that has a huge heart to show where Pulse is. Visitors can take adhesive hearts and add them to the map to show the home or office. Driving to the festival I drove past Pulse for the first time since the shooting. A makeshift memorial is set up along the blacked out fence that surrounds the building Orange barricades protect the curious from the endless traffic on Orange Avenue.

Remnants of the Lake Eola vigil.

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After the 50,000 strong Lake Eola Pulse Terrorist Attack Vigil altars of remembrance where everywhere. This statue is the “Muse of Discovery” sculpted by Meg White, of Stephenport Kentucky.  Dead flowers and melted candles lines all the shores of Lake Eola. The wilted flowers didn’t last long in the Florida heat. It seems such a waste of precious life. We in America seem to be trained from birth to be mass consumers. When there is a tragedy, our response is to consume more and leave trash as a reminder. Why don’t people bring live flowering plants to a vigil and then take the plants home where they can be appreciated as they continue to grow? A live plant seems more a symbol of love than a dead bloom.

A school bus can be seen in the distance in the sketch. It was being used by military cadets who began a run in New York City on June 3rd and they will finish their run in Miami on June 24th. The run is called, “Reviresco” which means “Renewal” in Latin. They run about 15 miles a day and are using the run to help improve communication between servicemen and civilians. Hopefully Orlando can experience it’s own renewal. We haven’t healed and we will never forget but there has to be some hope for the future.

Signs left behind on the muse, included…

Love is strong.

One World, One Pulse.

For Love, for Hope, for Pulse.

Orlando won’t loose its Pulse.

We had the choice to keep you, or keep our assault rifles, I’m sorry you lost.

Powerful voices for joy in times of powerful darkness.

The summer solstice occurred yesterday and it brought with it the once in a generation, strawberry moon. These two astronomical occurrences haven’t occurred at the same time since 1967. The strawberry moon was used by Native Americans as a sign that is was time to pick the fruit. Like the rainbow that appeared over Lake Eola on the evening of the vigil, it hopefully signifies a future filled with hope and light.

While discussing the Pulse tragedy with a friend, she mentioned the Buddhist concept of  Meta, or loving kindness. This concept engages the the highest qualities of the mind. It begins with applying loving kindness to yourself. You wish for your own happiness, peacefulness, and ease of mind. Then you extent the concept to a loved one. Then you extent the concept to a benefactor. Then you extent the concept to everyone. A truly enlightened person can then extend the concept of loving kindness to include a difficult person or a person who has done harm to others. This is something I haven’t heard among all the vigils I have attended. Had the shooter been in a happier more peaceful place, he wouldn’t have imagined causing anyone else harm. His was an act of suicide and his hate made him want to take others with him. What in Orlando, the United States, or the World, would drive someone to be filled with that much hate? What can we do about it? I’ve noticed people compliment my sketches more than ever this week. The level of gratitude is overwhelming sometimes. I’m unprepared, and end up having to clear my eyes. At this make shift shrine people seemed kinder and gentler with each other. Why does it take a tragedy of this magnitude to bring out the loving kindness in us all? Can loving kindness be sustained? I go to bed exhausted every evening, because all I have are questions.

The Lake Eola Pulse Vigil.

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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.

Lake Eola sculptures light up the night.

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Any time I sketch at a venue in downtown Orlando, I park near Lake Eola. At night, the fountain is lit up as we r as the sculptures that were put in last year. They were put in place by an organization called See Art Orlando. This sculpture is called, “Take Flight” by Douwe Blumberg, sponsored by Darden.

Douwe was born in Los Angeles of two amateur artists, his artistic gifts were
evident early on.  During a childhood that was almost a continual art
education, he spent some formative years in Europe being exposed to
western artistic traditions.  Later he attended the University of
Southern California’s prestigious Idyllwild School of the Arts and
Music.  This was followed up with four years of sculpture/metal working
education during which he won many national awards.  His education was
capped by an apprenticeship at a CA art foundry where he mastered the
many facets of creating bronzes.  Hence his “art education” consisted of
a unique and healthy mix of traditional schooling with hands-on
apprenticeship.  He attributes his ability to work in varied techniques
and styles to this style of learning.

Upon graduation however, he did not immediately pursue an art
career.  Instead, he became a professional horse trainer, a career he
pursued for 18 years at his ranch outside of L.A.  Gradually, however,
he started sculpting again, albeit part time, and began accepting
commissions.  As demand for his work grew, he was forced to choose
between the two careers; his lifelong passion of sculpting won out. 
Closing his barn in 2000, he relocated to centrally located Kentucky
where he has a studio and home north of Lexington.  Douwe has completed
well over 200 private and public commissions and has numerous awards,
residencies and shows to his credit.

Lake Eola at night.

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I did This sketch before the Orlando Drink and Draw (ODD) at Falcon Bar and Gallery (819 E Washington St, Orlando, FL). I got to Falcon Bar early and it wasn’t open yet. So, with an hour to kill, I walked to Lake Eola to do a nocturnal sketch. The park had Christmas light decorations up and the loud speakers were blaring sappy holiday tunes. I wonder how these ducks, swans, geese and grebes can stand listen to the mall music all day. They must feel like disgruntled store employees who have to listen to the same music over and over again during the holidays.

A lone man with a backpack was feeding the ducks, so he became my reason to stop and sketch. There are signs all around the lake that stress that the ducks and swans are on a very strict diet. Feeding them bread is harmful their health. That doesn’t stop well meaning people who perhaps can’t red or don’t care.

In 2010 about nine swans were stolen from Lake Eola. Four swans were recovered from an exotic-animal
rescue in Lake Butler, a small town about 30 miles north of Gainesville. The birds had been purchased for $700. The owner of the animal rescue was in shock. He was not a suspect in the theft. The birds were easy to identify because they each have an embedded micro chip. One of the birds, a blind black Australian swan named Bruno, has lived at Lake Eola for years. That same year, two suspects stole two docile black swans by corralling them into their car. These two swans were recovered and returned to the lake.

In 2011 Goeffre Peter Smart, 24, stole a large white swan. A witness saw him walk in down Robinson street with the swan. A trail of fed the lead the police straight to the suspects home  in the Eola Heights neighborhood at 1023 Ridgewood Street about three blocks from Lake Eola. The swan was in Smart’s backyard unharmed. It is safe to say Smart wasn’t that smart. He faced charges of grand theft, grand theft of a commercially
farmed animal, being in a park after hours and animal cruelty. His bail was set at $3,050.

In 2012 Another man, John Wynne, waded into the lake and sieved a black swan named Ruffles by the neck and pulled it to shore. He held the bird hanging by its neck and said to passers by, “Hey look at this.” He was charged with animal cruelty and grand theft with a $1,000 bond.  He was about to face trial when a key witness backed out, and Wynne walked free. In 2013, Lawrence Labonte, 51, was accused of deliberately allowing his dog to attack one of the iconic swans at Lake Eola Park, named Joe, who later had to be euthanized. He unleashed his Dachshund and encouraged it to attack. A witness took photos of the attack and Lawrence’s face. So what is the penalty for cruelty to animals in Orlando? From my quick research, it is just a $5000 fine.  In none of the above cases, did I read about a conviction.

In researching the history of abuse and theft it becomes clear that the captive Lake Eola swans face danger every day from the citizens of Orlando. This is animal abuse or par with keeping Killer Whales in captivity at Sea World. About 40 swans have been kept at Lake Eola since the 1920s. Does this history of cruelty date that far back? I bet it does. If swans attack, they have every reason to defend themselves. The swans have had their wings clipped, an amputation that prevents them from flying and escaping from danger. If the swans had all their flight feathers, they certainly wouldn’t stay at Lake Eola.

Crawling on Earth Day

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Earth Day happened to fall on the same day as the World Wide Sketch Crawl. I organized the Orlando Sketch crawl to take place in Lake Eola Park so that we could sketch the Earth Day festivities. I had a tent space, so I made that the home base where all the artists could gather. The tent was right next to IBEX puppetry’s tent, so there was Q sketch opportunity right there.

About four artists showed up, and at lunch time, we all went to the food vendors who were set up around a huge Live Oak tree. A belly dancer performed, but I didn’t sketch since I was still eating. Gay Geiger did manage to get a sketch. After lunch I ran across this artist painting a light bulb shaped earth. There was also a woman helping with the painting, but she left before t could catch her. Jeannette McCree stopped to catch this sketch as well.

Researching Ideas, I found out that it is  a media and experience design company using the premise that
powerful stories create powerful experiences.Their vision is of an enriched,
diverse, and flourishing worldwide community connected through stories. IDEAS has announced that after 6 ½ years, it will be moving from its
current home in Downtown Orlando. No immediate timetable or future
location has been determined.

Over all, hosing the sketch crawl at the Earth Day Festival was an amazing experience. Everyone got some great sketches and it was fun meeting new artists.