HoliFest

Posted on by Thor

Holi is a religious springtime Festival celebrated by Hindus. It is also known as the Festival of Colors. Holi is celebrated at the end of the winter season on the last full moon day of the lunar month. The main thing I know about the festival is that it is a whole lot of fun watching people throwing brightly colored pigments at each other and using super soakers and water pistols to squirt bright tinted water as well. In Orlando, a large soccer field next to the Citrus Bowl becomes home for this colorful carnage each year.

I parked on a side street on the opposite side of the stadium and walked toward the festival. The field is surrounded by a chain link fence with green mesh which blocked my view as I approached. The news had predicted a 50% chance of rain. The overcast sky meant I would be able to sit out in the open as I sketched. Last year there had been loud Indian music but this year the field was eerily silent. There was a tractor trailer bed parked at one end of the field and I assumed it would be used as a stage. I spoke to the event organizer and he said there had been a number of last minute setbacks. The DJ was running late and the truck bed was a last minute substitution for the main stage.

Only a few merchandise tents were set up. I decided the tent closest to the stage was my best bet to start sketching. Children were already soaking each other with pigments. I was wearing an old white T-shirt and old white pants that were paint rags. A teenage girl approached and hit me full force with her super soaker. I was surprised by the force of the stream. When I sat down and started blocking in the sketch, her little eight year old brother started squirting me with his small water pistol. I was able to block his shots with my hand. Once people saw what I was working on, I became Switzerland and there was a cease fire.

From the tent, they sold sodas, coconuts, colored pigments and colored water for pistols. I was surprised when the whole Psycho City Derby Girls roller derby team greeted me. Jeff Ferreeand Bucky Garrabrant were there with a group of friends. Jeff pointed towards his friends in the middle of the field. “Yeay, we are the ones who look out of place.” he said. But brightly splashed with pigments, they blended right in. I felt bad that they couldn’t experience the full brunt of the festival. Only 20 to 30 people were throwing pigments at any given moment. That didn’t stop people from having fun soaking each other in small groups. Children of the tent merchants crowded around me to see what I was drawing. Their mom stopped over and asked me the name of the blog. Rather than try to remember it all, she assigned each child a word to remember. She pointed to the oldest girl, her word was “Analog”, the next girl recited “Artist”, and the next girl recited “Digital”. A young boy walked up and said, “What?” “Not what!” They shouted back, “World”. The mom pointed to each child in quick succession and they had it down pat.

The organizer told me that they had expanded the festival to run over both days on the weekend. With this sketch done, a family got on stage and began singing a Hindu chant with drums as accompaniment. It started to rain and I decided to come back the next day. The next day it rained however and the festival was canceled.

A Whole New Brawl Game

Posted on by Thor

I went to the Universal Skating Center, (866 South Goldenrod) to see the final Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls bouts of the season. I figured this was a prime sketching opportunity since the teams would be more likely to skate all out for their final brawl. When I entered the building I was given a wrist band with skulls on it and was told I had to wait for a minute before going out to the rink. Electrical lines and the course oval were still being duct taped down. I found myself waiting in the skaters’ locker room and they were waiting as well as they laced up their skates. I desperately wanted to sketch but then the buzzer sounded and all the skaters whipped around the rink to warm up.

I walked out to the opening in the rink wall where referees were lacing up their skates. The referees were just as beautiful and quirky as the skaters, with names like Scare, Vanilla Ice Pack and Anya Knees. The first bout matched up the Bellevue Bombshells against the Arkham Assailants. As soon as the magenta and day glow green shirted skaters got on the rink, four went down in a mini brawl before they even started skating. There are rules but quite honestly I don’t understand them. Basically one skater sets the pace and points are gained when another skater passes the skaters on the other team. There is plenty of body blocking and maneuvering. The announcer shouted out, “Malice in Wonderland is being followed by Cinder block!” Derby involves short spurts of fast paced action. I often watched the action and then sketched as the teams lined up for the next go around. The Arkham Assailants prevailed.

After the match, Ellen Rage lay on her back, a teammate held her head in her lap while another teammate held her hand. A referee waved a large score card to try and cool her down. She must have been suffering from heat exhaustion. She was given a bottle of water to sip. A good ten minutes passed before she could get up and with help, get off the rink. The crowd clapped when she got up. The girls were indeed skating all out.

The second bout was between the Serial Thrillers, all in black and the Sunnyland Slammers in baby blue. I moved to the sidelines behind the Serial Thrillers bench. Anita Priest with a black rose adorning her jet black banged hair coached the Serial Thrillers. Her number was 666. I began this sketch by sketching the sexy referee in the center of the rink who held a stop watch. The longest a single skating match could last was 50 seconds. Anya Knees stood with her toe pointed ballet style as she rested her weight on one skate. I really think Degas would have enjoyed sketching roller derby.

Coach Anita Priest shouted and made the hand signal for time out! Anya Knees didn’t notice so she ran up to the referee indignant and furious. There was plenty of bumpin’ and grindin’ as the skaters jockeyed for position. At top speed, if one girl was bumped and fell, then others would go down with her. The Serial Thrillers won. Pistol Whip, Nobody’s Hero, and all the women in black, formed a circle and shouted in victory. Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls are gaining momentum and are here to stay! Like artists, these girls skate for the sheer love of the sport and the roar of the crowd.

Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls

Posted on by Thor

I rushed from an art opening in Winter Park to the Universal Entertainment Skating Center (866 S. Goldenrod Road). I managed to arrive just moments before the match began. Admission was $13 which is pricey for me but I had never experienced a whole derby match before so I fumbled for a $20 out of my wallet. On the entry door to the rink was a poster for the movie “Whip it.” Three steps into the rink and my hiking boot got stuck to the floor thanks to a wad of bubble gum. I circled the perimeter of the rink counter clockwise searching for my vantage point. I ran into Carl Gauze, a writer for the Orlando Weekly, and he explained I could sketch from anywhere so long as I stayed outside the bright green rink line. I setup on a table at the far end of the rink. Skaters were warming up doing leisurely laps.

The Bellevue Bombshells were competing in a rematch against the Sunnyland Slammers . Players were announced one at a time and they did a lap around the rink soaking in the roar of the crowd. Skaters names are part of the reason roller derby is so fun. There was, Anita Priest, Phoenix on Fire, Ellen Rage, Hit Girl, Sister Mary Mayhem, Brooklyn Deck Her and On ya knees.

I honestly don’t understand all the rules and through the first half, I concentrated more on the sketch than on any jamming, blocking or scoring going on. At the half Sunnyland in the blue and gold had the lead of 62 to 26.

A fan who wanted to check out my drawing, explained some of the rules and the game started to make sense. Each team had a girl with a stripe on her helmet called the pivot. The pivot’s job was to set the pace of the pack, no one could pass the pivot. Each team had a skater with a star on her helmet called the jammer. The jammers job was to make her way through the pack to get points. Skaters were blocking and falling down constantly. Number 187, Ellen Rage took a very nasty spill and she lay on the rink floor. Team mates skated up to her getting on their knees. After an agonizing wait she managed to get up and the fans clapped and whooped.

The announcer let everyone know there was just 30 seconds remaining in the match and suddenly all the players skated full out. “Little mini Poo Poo made a hole for cup cake!” The announcer screamed. Then skaters were ramming into each other and there was a huge pileup. A skater barreled into a referee knocking her down. “Everyone is down, it is a free for all!” The buzzer sounded and even though the match was over, arms flailed and bodies smacked to the ground. The final score was Sunnyland 124 and Belview 76. Roller derby is in Orlando you really have to see it to believe it.

Orlando Psycho City Derby Girls

Posted on by Thor

I arrived at the Universal Skating Center (866 South Goldenrod Road) straight from the Holi Festival. My neck, forehead and ears were covered with bright pink and green powdered pigments. I immediately walked to the back of the rink to the sinks that were outside the bathrooms. There was only one mirror, so I would soak a paper towel in water and then go to the mirror to see how much pigment I could wipe off. I actually think I just rubbed the pigments deeper into my skin and spread them around. Several Derby Girls rolled out of the women’s room and did a double take when they saw me. I was hogging two sinks so I moved my art supplies out of the way for one of the Derby Girls.
In the concessions area new recruits were filling out paperwork. This event was a way to introduce the league to these new recruits. All of the members of the league rolled out onto the rink. The two women who had let me know about the league, were Berlin Wall and Felix Bash it. They both saw me sketching and came over to introduce themselves. They accepted my colorful garb since I was an artist. Every woman in the league has a nickname, some of my favorites were Anita Priest, Snatch face-riot, Kung–Fu Kitty and Sister Mary Mayhem.
New recruits were encouraged to join the league veterans out on the rink. Everyone formed a large circle. After the basic introductions, a fast-paced game of tag was initiated. A recruit would get up and start skating around the rink. Then on the opposite side, another girl would get up and start skating behind her. If the recruit was tagged, she lost. Several times girls without skates would get up and run around the rink and of course they were easily tagged.
Laura Kohler (Berlin Wall) invited me to come back any time. I saw dozens of sketch opportunities, and I can’t wait for the main event!