The 15th Anniversary Sunburst Convention Of Celebrity Impersonators

Posted on by Thor

The Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators fell on the same day as one of my Orlando 10 x 10 Urban Sketch classes, so I arranged for our group of artists to go to the convention as sketch journalists. Ilene Lieber of Passion PR granted us all press passes. The event took place at the Florida Hotel and Conference Center located at The Florida Mall (1500 Sand Lake Road, Orlando, 32809). Artists met in the lobby of the hotel and then went in to sketch the celebrity showcase.

Imagine Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Neil Diamond, Elvis, Cher, Michael
Jackson, Mariah Carey, Justin Timberlake, Joan Rivers, Robin Williams,
Lady Gaga, Barbra Streisand, Tiger Woods, Tim McGraw, Kenny Rogers,
Frank Sinatra, and numerous other icons of the past and present all
gathered together to perform and be seen. No, it’s not another reality
show, it is The Sunburst Convention of Celebrity Impersonators returning
to Orlando for its 15th anniversary year.

This year, the public was invited to attend special talent showcases where impersonators performed, delighted, and entertained the
masses. Plus, guests could get their picture taken with
their favorite “celebrity” during intermission and following the
showcases.

The goal of the workshop was to encourage artists to populate their sketches with multiple celebrities. I wanted them to focus on the gestures and costuming while the face was just secondary icing. Once we were inside the showcase theater, I couldn’t offer any more advice, so I let the students just focus on sketching, while I did the same. I decided to sketch Lady Gaga since I couldn’t resist the bra that looked like two hands cupping her breasts. She had red lipstick smeared beyond her lips and blue eye shadow defined her eyes. There were some impressive presidential impersonators and the acts ranged from excellent singers to muddled lip sync attempts. The guy taking notes in both of my sketches is a talent scout.

During an intermission, all the artists gathered back in the hotel lobby and we shared notes. I encouraged them to change the scene as needed to suit the sketch. For instance if someone’s head is blocking a view of the performers feet, I suggested they get rid of the offending head. I honestly don’t know what celebrity was seated next to me in the gorgeous black had and bold white dress. Anyone care to venture a guess?

The One Orlando De-install

Posted on by Thor

On June 12th The Orange County Regional History Center mounted an exhibit that showcased items left behind one year ago at the various memorial sites that appeared in the aftermath of the horrific Pulse Nightclub shooting that took 49 lives and left Orlando with open scars that could take a lifetime to heal. Museum curator Pam Schwartz asked me to share some of the sketches I have done in the last year that document Orlando’s attempts to recover. I sketched at as many vigils and fundraisers as possible so that I could come to terms with reality utilizing the only tool I had which was sketching.

The exhibition was assembled from the items collected by the History Center in the weeks and months after the tragedy. For 37 days, museum staff sweated in the hot Florida sun collecting for the museum and scraping up melted wax so that people wouldn’t slip and fall at memorial site. Items left at memorial sites had to be conserved and documented for posterity’s sake. When you go to a memorial, you don’t read every condolence card, but that was their job. It is an emotionally taxing responsibility to record history in the face of tragedy.  One hundred years from now these relics will be a hint at how we as a community came together to heal.

Instead of one set of rosary beads, there was a whole case full. One case was layered full of rubber bracelets. Instead of exhibiting one t-shirt design, a whole wall was covered. Instead of exhibiting one sketch by an illustrative journalist, an entire wall was covered. 49 wooden crosses were crowded into the far corner of the exhibition space. A sign warned that some items might be emotionally challenging to view.

Shortly after the shooting, Pam, the chief curator, realized that an exhibit space needed to be booked for an exhibit one year after the tragedy. She reserved the room but it was only available for one week because a wedding was also slated to go in the same room on the following week. This was the largest exhibit ever created in house by the museum staff using items from the museum’s own collection. The staff rose to the challenge. The amount of work needed to create the exhibit was staggering but it got done. On the opening night victim’s families and survivors were given a private preview. On that night over 450 people showed up. More than 3,000 people viewed the collection in the one week it was open.

I stopped in on the final day as the staff took everything off the walls. In one day the walls were once again bare to be spackled and painted for the wedding reception. The 49 portraits created by local artists were mounted behind Plexiglas, so they came down in three large sections and would later be stored away in a portfolio in the archives. Display cases were left for the next week when the items would be stored away in acid free museum boxes in the archives. Within two days the room would once again be barren. This was without a doubt the most well attended exhibit in years, but it
was only available to be seen for one week. The history was swept aside
because catering was considered a priority. This gorgeous old courthouse can’t decide if it is an accredited history museum or an events hall.

Orlando One Year Later

Posted on by Thor

The Orange County Regional History Center has mounted an exhibit entitled “One Year Later” that showcases a fraction of the items collected from the various memorial sites around Orlando in the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub shooting tragedy that took 49 lives. The exhibition commemorates one year of pain, grief, loss, love, fear, resilience, coping and community. The exhibit recalls the heroes in our community who banded together in defiance of hate, who support all those who continue to live through the nightmare, remembering those murdered and holding the victims families in our hearts.

I sketched on the final day of the exhibition install. Museum staff were putting up the final vinyl lettering on the walls and making sure everything was in its place. Over 5000 items were collected from memorial sites. This exhibit encapsulated the shear volume of what was left. Rather than showing just one rosary, there are twenty, instead of one t-shirt there is an entire wall. One wall is covered with a sampling of the hundreds of paintings i have done at vigils and fundraisers since that fateful day last June 12th. Also on display are the original paintings and sketches done by local artists in one evening of the 49 victims of the attack. I hosted the evening and felt it was important to do the work in one evening since all 49 lives were taken in one night of terror.

Above the Angel Action Wings, built from PVC and white fabric, there was a quote… “I don’t have money to give, but I can spread love and I can spread hope. I was waiting for the opportunity to use the one thing I do have, which is the skill to sew, I can sew like the wind.” Jeannie Haskett, a theater seamstress and Angel Action Wings volunteer, to the Miami Herald.

I made my way through the exhibit reading every panel, circling the huge room counter clockwise. At the entrance there was a long platform with artificial grass covered in candles, rainbow pinwheels and flowers. The pinwheels spun in the breeze, recreating in a a memorial site in a ghostly way. The room is organized into sections, each honoring members of the Orlando community. There was a wall for first responders, a wall showed the worldwide response and outpouring of love after the tragedy. There were lines of prayer flags, and a floating wall of stars decorated with rainbows and messages of hope. An Ikea couch was covered in messages as well as the water cooler that was filled daily by church volunteers for people who were visiting the Pulse memorial site. In the corner of the room was a gorgeous dress made from a rainbow of hearts. In a secluded alcove, were the 49 crosses that were left at the Orlando Regional Medical Center. All the crosses grouped together in the tight space, left me feeling overwhelmed by the loss.

There was an opening for the families of victims and survivors. It was incredibly well attended. Probably over 500 people attended the opening night. This was an opportunity for families to get out and see items left in honor of their loved ones for the first time. There were 20 therapist at the opening wearing bright yellow shirts that said, Feeling sad? Lets talk. With so many therapists, it must have been difficult to grieve in peace, let alone move around the exhibit. One therapist handed out stress balls any time there were tears. There were also 11 therapy dogs on hand who performed their jobs with honor.

In my sketch, Whitney Broadaway is putting up vinyl lettering that encourages viewers to use #OrlandoOneCollection when posting information about the show online. Her baby bump proves that new life begins as tragedy ends, just as baby Cory Connell was named for his heroic uncle who died at Pulse. A large interactive area encourages people to write notes on a six foot square sheet of paper with permanent markers. Messages of hope and condolences are added every day. The exhibit runs from June 12th to June 17th when it has to come down for a wedding ceremony. This is an incredible, moving and inspiring exhibit, and I encourage anyone who feels they are a part of the Orlando community to get down there to experience it. The museum is open from 10AM to 7PM each day and admission is free.