Weekend Top 6 Picks for November 9 and 10, 2019

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Saturday November 9, 2019

10am to 5pm $10-$15 Orlando Maker Faire. Central Florida Fairgrounds 4603 W Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL 32808. If
you like combat robots, you’ll LOVE Robot Ruckus. The signature event
during Maker Faire Orlando 2019 will feature robots from 150 grams to
250 pounds in two arenas, and special appearances from your favorite
televised robot battle teams! Learn more: robotruckus.org 

For
2019 we are expanding the Combat Robot event at Maker Faire Orlando
2019 with a new name, twice the space, more seating, and more of your
favorite teams from TV!
The Maker Faire Orlando 2019 ticket includes Robot Ruckus!

8pm to 10pm $10 Emily Dendinger’s play The Grand Illusion Show (which will involve some magic). Orlando Shakes, 812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803.

In Emily Dendinger’s The Grand Illusion Show,
Adelaide Hermann must fight her nephew Leon with wit, will, and magic
to win the rights to her dead husband’s magic show. “This play is a
magic trick, and like all good magic tricks, what you think is happening
in the text isn’t necessarily what’s really happening in the story.”

10:30pm to Midnight Order a drink of food. Son Flamenco. Ceviche Tapas Orlando, 125 W Church St, Orlando, FL 32801. Hot blooded flamenco dancing set tom acoustic guitar.



Sunday November 10, 2019 

11am to noon. $5 Yoga. Lake Eola near red gazebo.

1:30pm to 4:30pm $5. Accidental Historian Urban Sketching Workshop: Sunday in the Park with Thor. For students 14 to 24 years old.

Bridging past and present, this workshop guides students to capture
the present day in a sketch beside the photographic past. Inspired by a
1920s photo by T.P. Robinson, we will sketch the Sperry Fountain at Lake
Eola. The fountain is made of wrought iron and has a duck base with
water flowing from the ducks’ beaks and an acanthus leaf.

Students in this workshop are tasked with creating a modern
interpretation of the fountain. The sketch will begin with the same
sepia watercolor tones that exist in the photo. In the distance,
however, is the amphitheater, which is brightly painted with the colors
of the rainbow. Trees will likely block your view of the fountain, but
you will learn how to walk around to catch a view and add it to your
sketch.

All skill levels are
welcome. Sketching materials will be provided by Sam Flax Orlando. The
sketching portion of the workshop will take place outdoors. Participants
should dress appropriately for the weather and bring water and a snack.
Participants can bring a folding chair or stool to sit.

Workshop schedule
• 2 p.m. Meet inside the Orange County Regional History Center

• 2:05 p.m. Introductions

• 2:25 p.m. Tour of The Accidental Historian exhibit

• 3:15 p.m.Sketching instruction outside at Sperry Fountain at Lake Eola Park

• 4:30 p.m. Sketchbook Throwdown

About the Instructor: Thomas Thorspecken

Thomas “Thor” Thorspecken is an illustrator and journalist working in
and around Central Florida. He attended the School of Visual Arts in
New York City. In his ten years as a freelance illustrator in New York,
one of his assignments for the Daily News included sketching
historic buildings throughout the city for a column called “Undiscovered
Manhattan.” Thor relocated to Orlando in 1993 to work for Disney
Feature Animation. After a decade, the studio closed, and so he
continued to pursue his passion for art through teaching and sketching.

His website and blog, www.analogartistdigitalworld.com,
began in January 2009 with a resolution to post a sketch every day. He
describes it as “his way to finally put down roots, to become part of a
community, one sketch at a time.” More than 4,000 sketches later, he’s
still capturing our community.

Follow Thor on Instagram: @analogartistdigitalworld, Twitter: @analogartist, Facebook: Analog Artist Digital World, and subscribe to his blog: www.analogartistdigitalworld.com

About the Series: The Accidental Historian Young Artists Urban Sketching Workshops

Catch the world around you one sketch at a time! Join Urban Sketchers
Orlando for any, or all three, sketching workshops in downtown Orlando
for artists aged 14 – 24. In conjunction with the History Center’s
newest exhibition, The Accidental Historian,
these classes for all skill levels will get you sketching on location
and capturing history as it happens. All art supplies are included,
courtesy of Sam Flax.

4pm to 6pm Free. Morgan Samuel Price Art Opening. The University Club, 150 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801.

Maker Faire at the Central Florida Fairgrounds.

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The Orlando Maker Faire was held at the Central Florida Fairgrounds on October 21st and 22nd.

Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating,
curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do.
From engineers to artists, to scientists and crafters, Maker Faire is a
venue for these “makers” to show hobbies, experiments, and projects. It is called the Greatest Show (and Tell) on Earth – a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness. It is a chance to glimpse the future and get inspired.

Pam, her sister, Jen, and I parked in the Fairgrounds field and walked towards the Faire. To our left was the weekly flea market. Right before entering the Maker Faire, there was a drone obstacle course. It looked like a fun racing opportunity, but not a very sketchable one.

  

Susan Haugen helped us make all the arrangements to get wrist bands and we were ushered into the main building. She was very generous getting us acquainted with the event. A robot war was in progress behind clear Plexiglas barricades. The crowd was pressed tight around the ring. The metal crunching against metal was loud and ominous. Between shoulders, I could see a low-lying robot whose only limb was a bulldozer shovel. That shovel kept pounding down on the helpless competition. I couldn’t watch. I desperately wanted to sketch robots but the crowd was chanting for blood and it was probably close to the end of the violent competition.

We wandered into the next room where all the steam punk, props, and cosplay were to be found. In the far corner was a row of R2D2s. Occasionally one would wander off and interact with the crowd. A steam punk R2D2 started dancing with a Senate Commander Trooper. Blonde flowing hair poked out from the trooper’s uniform. At the end of the dance routine, the droid tipped his top hat. Such a polite droid. Behind me was the menacing Dalek from Dr. Who. He shouted in his metallic voice, “You will be exterminated!” He would cross over into the Star Wars universe where he then declared, “I am not the droid you are looking for.”

The Maker Faire had a human powered snow cone machine.

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Outside the Orlando Science Center, during the Maker Faire, there was a constant line of children and adults waiting to use the human powered wheel. Ice Age is the company that created this technological wonder. It reminds me of a sketch Leonardo Da Vinci did in the renaissance of a human powered machine gun. Human-Powered Snow Cones are the brainchild of dreamer and inventor Joe Donoughe. To use the machine you would stand inside the barrel and walk or run. The motion would power a machine that would crush the ice which would then be dumped into a cup. The cup of ice would move down a small conveyor belt. Pulling a hammer would lower a flat metal hand which would pack the crushed ice down. Then the conveyor belt would move the cup to the flavor station where a pull on a leaver would add the bright colored flavor to the ice.

I would have to bet that standing in the sun and then exercising in the human hamster wheel would burn more calories than what could be gained from the cup of ice. As I was sketching the machine, the Maker Faire was drawing to a close. The line of kids waiting to get their human powered ice never diminished.  At some point the line must have been capped so that the inventors could pack up and go home.

I walked around outside to see what other vendors had to offer. There was a giant red inflatable robot with an M on his chest which clued passers by that the Faire was happening. Paint the Trail was busy painting wooden fencing with hip pop personalities and sayings. There were wind chimes and hand fashioned flutes. I spent two solid days at the Maker Faire and honestly don’t think that I saw everything that there was to see.

The Maker Faire at the Orlando Science Center showcased innovations and inventions.

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The Orlando Maker Faire was held on September 13th and 14th at the Orlando Science Center (777 East Princeton Street, Orlando, FL). I went both days to see and sketch some of the cool stuff being made and showcased. I immediately went to an upper balcony overlooking the show room floor. The first thing to catch my eye was this huge roller coaster. The coaster would slowly rise up the ramp and then scream downward at top speed. It went through two loop-de-loops before returning back to the station. There was always a crowd surrounding the coaster and kids would sit on the floor to watch with rapt attention.

On the upper right of the sketch I caught a few people who were spectators of the Nerdy Derby. A large table was set up so kids and children at heart could build their own derby car. A long ramp was set up so contestants could face off to see who had the fastest car. There were bleachers set up for the screaming fans.

As I sketched, I heard R2D2 clicking and beeping at guests. He was very popular and everyone had to have their picture taken with him. It turned out that there were close to a dozen R2D2’s at the Maker Faire. Some were only partly assembled, so it was possible to see the servos and circuitry that made him run.  Dog Powered Robot and Lollybot were on the show room floor and they were so mobbed with photo requests that I felt it was to crowded and hazardous to sketch. Fisher, the dog who powers the Dog Powered Robot was complacently panting and enjoying the attention. Evan and Christie Miga who created the Dog Powered Robot franchise were a bit overwhelmed but happy about all the attention their blue boxed robot generated.

Steampunk was featured at the Orlando Maker Faire.

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The Central Florida Steampunk Association was strongly represented at the Orlando Maker Faire held in the Orlando Science Center on September 13th and 14th. Their display was in the Dino Digs area of the museum. A large T-Rex stood menacingly in the background. Intricate costuming and devices were all hand crafted. Leather was being stamped and patterned with detail. There is an infinite amount of detail in every Steampunk costume. The details even have details. A jet pack in front of one of the display tables was constructed using two large soda bottles as the main canisters.

Gadgets and gizmo’s were all for sale. The fashion for women featured corsets and fur. I rather like the look. Gusts could stop at the leather working station and pound in some of their own patterns using a metal template and a hammer. In a room behind me, an announcer would let everyone know that the potato gun was about to be fired.  It blasted off about every half hour. In the stairway, Orit Reuben was doing a pastel portrait of Jenny Coyle as she read her book. I’m happy that art was represented at the Maker Faire. There was a back room for robotic battles, but unfortunately the two times I went it the robots were on a break. Robots don’t need cigarette breaks.