In the East Village of NYC.

Posted on by Thor

I was asked to teach an Urban Sketching Workshop in NYC. The hotel was located in the East Village which has changed quite a bit since I lived in NYC close to 25 years ago. Hip new bars and eateries proliferate the neighborhood. When I got to this street corner of Clinton and Houston the age old feeling of the city returned. I took the time to sit on a bench in the middle of the intersection and sketch the neighborhood. I  imagined myself living in that cylinder shaped corner tower on the corner on the top floor. From there I could see the bustling city life as I painted in the studio.

I went to college in the city and wish I had the patience and perseverance to sketch the scene as I can today. A homeless man on the far corner to my left was begging the entire time I sketches. His mantra for a dime became the soundtrack for the scene as I worked. It was a rather crisp day which I am not used to, so I had to put on my gloves to keep sketching. Direct sunlight helped when it struck  my hands.

The sketch workshop went well. We did quick studies while e were gathered in a dance studio which had mirrors on the walls. Mirrored walls are perfect for showing where a vanishing point is in a scene. For the second part of the workshop, we went to Grand Central Station. I wanted my crew of artists to see the main floor from the second level. We walked up the steps and overlooked the expanse. The amazing this is that the second floor of Grand Central Station is now exclusively an Apple Store. Phones and iPads were everywhere. The store staff didn’t seem to mind us leaning against the marble railings and sketching. After sketching at Grand Central, we all went to a German pub for drinks and to share sketches. The New York City Urban Sketching community is vibrant and exciting. I kind of miss being in the city that never sleeps.

Joanna Solomon shares how her love life and career came Hurtling Towards Earth.

Posted on by Thor

In her solo show, Hurtling Towards Earth, Joanna Solomon from Brooklyn NY, recounted her years as an aerialist in the Argentine production of De La Guardia along with her equally harrowing love stories at this year’s Orlando International Fringe Festival. Auditioning for the role was extremely stressful. She felt like every other dancer and acrobat did the required moves with ease. When she confided that she might be out of her league, another actress told her, “Just fake it like the rest of us. She was amazed and delighted when she got the call back and ultimately the roll.

A small diary sat on a stool on stage. Periodically Joanna would refer to it to find letters that she had written her mom. Her close bond to her mom seems to have kept her sane during the long time she was away.  Joanna also had a boyfriend back home yet none of the letters she read were to him. Once she read a letter, she would clamp it on to a clothes line hanging in the corner of the stage.

She confided that she isn’t the type of person to have an affair but an Argentinian man worked closely with her in the show. While she was suspended from a rope, he would swing her into a canvas wall, softly at first and then harder while making guttural noises. They resisted the urge for the longest time but then had an intense passionate affair. The Argentinians girlfriend of her Argentinian lover came to a wrap party. Joanne had a little too much to drink and when she went into the women’s room, her lover followed her and pleaded his love for her. His girlfriend found them together and she began beating on Joanne who felt she deserved every blow.

Her boyfriend back home hacked into her Facebook account and he found plenty of evidence of her affair. She later found out that he had also had an affair while she was gone but it didn’t help in healing the lost trust. She never said if she tried to get back together with either boyfriend, but I suspect they all probably went their separate ways. At the end of the show Joanne showed a movie clip of one of her aerialist performances. With so many unanswered questions I didn’t fell like the show was over.