The Gleaning

Posted on by Thor

The Society of Saint Andrew organized a gleaning at Long and Scott Farms North of Lake Apopka, Florida. I had actually driven past the farm multiple times this past month.  Mark DeMaio let me know about the event.

Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops in the field after harvest. During harvest, there is food that is left or missed because it does not meet store standards for uniformity. The gleaned fruit is shared with nearby families who might otherwise go without fresh food.

Rebecca Brockman coordinated the event. This seemed like a home school field trip allowing the kids to pick unharvested cucumbers. Rebecca pointed out that all over the state of Florida, over 8.7 million pounds of food was collected for the hungry. The organization has served over 5 million  fresh food meals and they have been gleaning in Florida since 1995. We all had to wash our hands with germicidal soup to be sure we didn’t bring pathogens out into the fields. After Barbara’s introduction we headed out to the field. Barbara drove most of the kids in the pick up and I walked over with several others.

Everyone was given large yellow IKEA bags and then the harvesting began. I stated sketching immediately as they leaned over to pick cucumbers and slowly walked down the field away from me. Once the sketch was done, I walked to the truck and picked up an IKEA bag for myself. A mom and daughter were having plenty of luck finding cucumbers in the last two trenches in the filed. Since they were now harvesting experts I took their advice and stayed at the edge of the field.

Cucumbers are hard to see. There is a thick mat of foliage from the vines which is hard to see through. I started harvesting like a blind man feeling around for anything solid. I found a few hand grenade sized cucumbers and then I finally found a full sized foot long. I held it over my head and shouted in delight. I don’t think anyone noticed. It was a personal victory.

The mom had the idea that there might be plenty of unharvested cucumbers back where everyone began. I though that was a great idea so I back tracked to where I had been seated to sketch, and dedicated myself to harvesting down one or two rows. I found plenty of small cucumbers and the occasional thick and long prize. Part of me felt like I wasn’t harvesting like a pro. My IKEA bag was filling up with small fruit.

Regardless I turned in my IKEA bag. And everyone was thankful. In the pick up truck people were packaging the cucumbers in red mesh bags for distribution. I was told I could bring a bag home, but I felt I had only harvested enough to warrant taking one cucumber home. Back at the studio, I cut it up and put it in a salad. It was absolutely delicious. Whenever I am settled enough to start a garden, I plan to grow cucumbers.

Out on a Limb

Posted on by Thor

I was arranging a sketching opportunity with Mark DeMaio who is doing amazing work harvesting food for the hungry.

Anyway the day before he had been working at the Mennello Museum of American Art and cut down this tree limb which was threatening to scratch employee cars that parked in the lot.

The added benefit is that a long obscured section of the mural was brought back into the light. Vines have been snaking their way across the top of the mural, one having crawled right across journalist Seth Kubersky‘s face. The vines were pulled off but the tiny vine suction cup marks remained behind. The crowd at the back of the mural line are more saturated with more contrast to the colors. The shade of the tree limb had protected the paint from the harsh Florida Sun. Though others in the sun were bleached, they still hold together as a whole.

It is interesting to watch the mural age. Michael Mennello who is seated, is no longer with us, he died of COVID-19, nor is Harriet Lake who is seated in her wheelchair reading Catcher in the Rye. I am seated at the end of the line sketching. I hope that has no bearing on my limited mortality. It makes sense that I would be hiding in the shade of a big tree limb.

Ibex Puppetry brings Earth Day to life.

Posted on by Thor

Earth Day at Lake Eola fell on the same day as the World Wide Sketch Crawl. The Earth Day organizers were kind enough to let me have a tent set up where local artists could meet for the Sketch Crawl. The Analog Artist Digital World tent was right next to the Ibex Puppetry tent. Artists really had plenty to draw right from the tent. After lunch, I did this sketch of the Music Garden set up by Ibex Puppetry. Martin Wolf Murphy and Mark DeMaio supervised any children who wanted to beat the drums.

Another tent was set up in the Ibex camp where kids could do crafts. They could create the own miniature world or create a kite. The animal puppets that can be seen in the background of this sketch came to life for a parade every few hours. The sea turtle would glide gracefully and the Florida Panther would pounce forward with ferocity. The drummers would join in setting the beat of the procession.

The urban sketchers did explore the rest o the Earth Dan festivities, so the tent was just used when a sketcher wanted a break from the sun. About 5 artists showed this day and sketched together. Sometimes an artist will miss the group, and just sketch on their own. There is so much to see and sketch. It is nice I no longer be an outsider looking in, but to be an active participant in the festivities.

Jammin’ Drum School offers a weekly class in worldbeat hand drumming.

Posted on by Thor

There is nothing more primal than the beat of hand drums. Greywolf offers weekly classes every Friday at The Orlando Aikido Dojo (3764 Howell Branch Road, Winter Park, FL). At 7:00 pm the beginner Jammin! drumming class starts with with Greywolf and Mark DeMaio. They offer insights into proper dembe hand technique; drills and fundamental orchestrated multi-part rhythms. In the class I sketched, there was one beginner, Susan, and soon she was holding her own. Judy, in a pony tail, seemed like a regular beside her was Mark, who I’ve seen perform at Earth Day for Heather Henson‘s Ibex puppetry. Greywolf I have seen many times at drum circles and at world beat gigs around town. Sven who was right beside me had a fascinating intricate tattoo on his bicep.

At 8:00 pm Intermediate class Jammin! class appropriate for all levels begins. All levels are welcome. Greywolf offers insights into Samba drumming with  Djun-djun and other stick techniques along with more complex rhythms. Dun-Dun parts and solo phrases for basic rhythms are covered. I found it funny that Djun-djun and Dun-Dun sound just like the beats created on the drums.  This class is all Sambas, all the time thanks to the insistence of students.

At 9:00 pm the Advanced Jammin! course with Greywolf offers Additional instrumentation and yet more complex rhythms; odd time signatures; performance breaks and leads along with Ensemble pieces. As an example of complex rhythms Greywolf showed us a You Tube video he helped produce based on a ticking beat. Sketching to these complex rhythms is a real pleasure. The beats set the pace as lines danced on the page. People often tell me, “I can’t draw a straight line.” I bet some people feel that they couldn’t keep a beat. But after one session with Greywolf, they would be proved wrong. If you are looking for a fun date night. This would be it.

Any class is $12.
Any two or more classes on the same night is $10 each.

Jammin Tuesdays

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Every Tuesday there are classes at Thee Jammin Drum School Studio (1216 N. Bumby Avenue, Orlando). Martin Greywolf Murphy greeted me at the door of the small suburban home.  His grey T-shirt was covered with the  calm expression of a lone wolf. The classes take place in a small room on the side of the home which might have once been a garage. Now the room is filled with dozens of exotic drums and other percussion instruments. I started blocking in the room on my sketch before students arrived.

Mark DeMaio taught the first class which focused on West African Dununba technique and rhythms. Three students and Mark sat in a tight circle playing the large handmade drums between their knees. Wooden dowels were used to set the beat. There is something primal and inspiring in the ancient rhythms. It was an opportunity for everyone to really focus on the syncopated patterns and to
become more deeply immersed in the cooperative practice that generates
the deeply melodic basis of these rhythms that the Djembe parts are
accompaniment to.

Greywolf taught the next class in poly-rhythmic Afro-Brazilian rhythm Samba! The class began with old school Samba de Roda, “Samba in a circle”, and worked towards Rio style Carnival Samba with a broad range of percussion instruments and incorporating unique Jammin! The two students were rather well versed in rhythm and poly-rhythmic structure. In the end they were playing dual cone shaped cow bells. Well, I doubt they were cow bells, but that is how they sounded. The endless rhythm and beats were a joy to sketch to. Greywolf showed a short U-Tube video he had worked on and explained how it mimicked  the beats and structure a drum circle. Classes are $12 a piece or 6 classes for $60.