Linda Stewart – Analog Artist Digital World

Business owners from the Ivanhoe Village Business District mixed, mingled, and networked among the enriching art of the Mennello Museum of American Art, (900 East Princeton Street). There were libations and hors d’oeuvres. I arrived right after work and started sketching before the room got really crowded.

Dave PerMar from the Social Media Consulting Group and Colleen Burns from Yelp gave talks about how social media can help businesses. I sketched them as they set up their power points. According to Dave, Google + has been gaining influence online slowly inching towards Facebook’s influence. The benefits for any business are obvious and it is important these days to keep the conversation going with costumers. People trust advice from friends online rather than large corporate ad campaigns.

The wife of Rick Singh took an interest in my sketch. Rick is running for Orange County Appraiser and he was there with a broad smile shaking hands. I was encouraged by his wife’s obvious knowledge and love of art. She told me about Gallery G4 which just opened up downtown and she suggested I get down there and meet the owner. Linda Stewart was there as well and she suggested I go to a fundraiser for her campaign for Florida House District 47.

A second Flash Mob was planned to promote Orlando, The City Beautiful. Secret rehearsals were held at the Orlando Convention Center. I was happy there was Free parking available behind the West building. I don’t sketch many Convention events because of the price of parking. There was a long walk from the back entrance first up and then down frozen escalators. I followed a man who looked to be in his 80s and when I passed him, I followed two high school girls that looked like they knew where they were going. When I entered the convention room I was stunned by the vast empty space. The rehearsal took up less than a quarter of the space. When I entered, Randy Ross was speaking with all the volunteer dancers letting them know that they had to mingle and act natural prior to this flash mob performance. The last Flash Mob at the Millenia Mall, people stood around in a circle leaving the staging area wide open. It was painfully obvious that a staged performance was about to begin. This time they planned to do it right. Linda Elchak of NAO Dance then took over the rehearsal getting two large groups formed. This was the second rehearsal so most people quickly took their places. New arrivals were instructed where to line up.

I love the music they choose for these flash mobs, it is fun to sketch to. My favorite moment in rehearsal came when a group of about 20 retirees took center stage and shook their booties to Whoop There It Is! All the younger performers cheered and whooped. The youngest performer was the nephew of Linda Stewart and he held his own keeping up with the best dancers. Enthusiasm and a lust for life has no age limit. I decided not to publish the sketch prior to the Flash to keep the performance top secret. At one point Linda said, “Don’t go past the grid, you will fall into the water.” At that point I assumed they would perform at Lake Eola. I had to work during the time the Flash Mob happened. In hind sight it would have been an impossible sketching situation. If you went to Spring Fiesta at Lake Eola at the right time then you got to experience a high energy treat!