The Corridor Project – Walk on By

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The Corridor Project’s  first show, titled “Walk on By” was spearheaded by Patrick Greene, the events coordinator at Urban ReThink. Over night almost 100 art installations popped up all over Orlando. The largest concentration of artwork appeared along Mills Avenue in the Mills 50 District. I knew that artists were out between 4AM and 7AM installing their work but I wasn’t sure where the pieces were being installed. I set my alarm for 5AM but swatted it off and fell back to sleep. The next day I decided to sketch this sculpture installation by Bethany Mikell outside Wills Pub (1042 N Mills Ave, Orlando). Painted silver, this modern looking couple is covered in metallic nuts and bolts. The piece exudes fashion with a chic industrial flair. Even the chains holding the couple to the site have an industrial fell.

Walk on By functions as a temporary, clandestine art museum with no fixed location. The works are site specific using empty storefronts and public spaces. In the past, Orlando has promoted public art in the form of decorated fiberglass Gibson Guitars and lizards.  These juvenile displays limit artist expression, forcing the work to be decorative. Even the decorated Mills 50 power boxes seem to lack any bold artistic vision. When public art is needed, as in the case of banners to hide the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts construction site, children’s art is used. If you have ever gotten a ticket in Orlando then you have been blessed to see the children’s art decorating tiles outside the parking ticket payment office. Walk on By has finally allowed local and international artists the ability to openly express themselves in an urban public setting. Finally the art is meant for a mature, enlightened, adult audience. It isn’t watered down for a Disney, white bread, homogenous, world view. This seems like a bold first step towards a city that can take spontaneous chances.

The art isn’t just for high society gallery gawkers. It is for anyone walking or driving by. Keep your eyes open and be prepared to be surprised. Some art performances happened only at 8:30AM on September 5th while other art pieces will remain on site until they decay. So turn off the cell phone and TV and get out to Walk on By. This gallery has no walls.

15 Views of Orlando

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I was asked to exhibit several of my sketchbooks at Urban ReThink. The opening was on the Third Thursday in January and the work will be up through February 16th. Artists include Barry Kirsch, best known for his Murder City Photography, Ashley Inguanta, whose local photography had a surreal edge to it, Lesley Godeck Silvia, who had a bright neon ice cream swirl photo that looked great next to my sketchbooks. All the work depicted scenes from the City Beautiful. The two sketches of mine on exhibit are, Musical Mondays, and There Will be Words. Dina Mack, the curator, explained that she wanted work with a local flavor to accompany a Burrow Press’ 15 Views of Orlando Book Release Party. The book features 15 short stories written by local authors. All of the scenes in the book happen in different neighborhoods of Orlando.

Dina invited me to bring along a box of calendars to the art show opening. Urban ReThink is a bit removed from the downtown galleries that act as the hub of the monthly Third Thursday Downtown gallery hop. Dina and I sat outside Urban ReThink and she had a natural knack for inviting passers by inside to look around. Ashley was there to meet anyone interested in her work. Her pieces were hung clothes line style and they were very affordable. One young man expressed his interest in buying a piece. He insisted that she would have to frame the work however. Quite honestly the frame would cost more than she was charging for the art. I rolled my eyes. He was probably haggling because he was more interested in the artist than the art. In my sketch, Patrick Greene, Dina Mack and Ashley Inguanta were relaxing in the “living room” setting at Urban ReThink. I sketched fast with few interruptions since few arts patrons wandered in.

The gallery was a ghost town. A few people glanced at calendars but they couldn’t afford the $12 to buy one. The highlight of the evening for me was meeting Heidi Behr and Mark Egeland. Mark owns a bicycle manufacturing facility in Winter Garden. He showed me a few photos of the process and it would be an exceptional sketch opportunity. There are seven stations from metal entering the factory until the final product rolls out the doors. These are seven sketches I now want to capture. Who knew that bicycles are being made right here in Central Florida? Heidi is involved in Scooters for Hooters, a breast cancer fundraising event. We talked about how I might get more involved in this cause this year.

Grandma Party

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This was the ninth Grandma Party held in the parking lot of Stardust Video & Coffee. As I drove past in search of side street parking I could see at a glance that the lot was filled will more tents than ever. As I approached on foot I saw that there were even tents set up in a retention ditch next to the lot. Down in the ditch I saw Patrick Greene wearing a T-shirt with a marijuana leaf boldly crossed out and circled in red. He was selling marijuana free brownies. He joked with me later that some folks were honestly upset by his marijuana free campaign. He responded to them “Chill out dude.” “You’d think they would be more laid back.” he told me.

I did a full tour of all the tents knowing I wanted to pick up a Christmas gift. Dewey Chaffee and Douglas McGeoch were selling handmade bird houses. Dewey and Douglas had left town to bring their unique edgy comedy to larger cities on the East coast so I was surprised and pleased to see them. I found a spot under a tree on a parking lot island and started to sketch. The billboards announced, “Committed” and “My Comfort & Joy” which seemed appropriate for this event which truly celebrated local artisans and talent. It is an event that honestly brings together a tight Knit community of people. Yet there was variety and diversity to the crowds who shopped.

Anna McCambridge-Thomas was shopping for necklaces made from bent spoons. Many were shaped into bells and she tested them to find the perfect ring. Maya Norris was equally enchanted by the sounds and she gazed up and batted a few to listen. Emily Rankin was watching Maya and she braced the display to be sure Maya didn’t play to hard. There was delight in Maya’s young eyes. Across from me was Leah Fairchild’s booth filled with glass Terrariums filled with moss and small woodland sprites. Next to her was Misty Forest which had some jewelry for sale. Doug Rhodehamel stopped in his tracks in front of me. He always jokes about where I should place him in my sketch. We both agreed that this was a perfect warm day for a Grandma party.

I learned about an art party that happens in Winter Park every month so that is on my sketch wish list for next year. While I sketched I got to meet so many people as they shopped. When the sketch was done, I walked up to Leah’s booth knowing I had to have a terrarium. I picked one that was in a flask shaped coffee pot. A bright blue creature was inside but I couldn’t make it out because of the condensation. With the lid on the terrarium is a closed environment. Leah explained that it rains just like the Earth environment. Life and a complete ecosystem on a small scale, the perfect gift. Of course Ourlando Calendars are a good gift too for the new year.

The Drop Cloth

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A refreshing breeze blew through the barn. A drop cloth was nailed to the rafters. The steam rising from the boiling cauldron full of sugar cane juice, had to be protected. They didn’t want it to cool too quickly. There were Krispy Cream donuts on the table. It’s a shame I wasn’t hungry. The man seated next to me was a virtuoso with a fly swatter. He killed every fly that landed anywhere near him. I feared that if a fly landed on my sketch, he would react, and with a flick of the wrist, leave a bloody mess on the sketch. I occasionally waved a fly away from my face. Glass cups and boxes were repositioned on the table to widen the killing field.

I was offered some boiled peanuts which I never tried before. They were wet, salty and delicious. The next time I see a boiled peanut stand on the side of the road, I am stopping. Orange County Sheriff Justin Barley drove up in his patrol car. He introduced himself to everyone in the room and then there was a lively conversation about petty crimes in the area. More sheriffs arrived. I think they came for the food.

Patrick Greene’s mom started putting out a lunchtime spread. There was a mound of crispy fried fish, the tails still intact. There were cornbread nuggets also fried, and a beef stew that was thick with Lima beans, thick cuts of meat, and an oily sheen. I waited till all the helpers had served themselves and then I tried a little of everything. I kept sketching as I ate. A hound dog curled up on a rusty bed spring behind me. Chickens were clucking in a coup. Distracted, I mistook their clucks for the sounds of children in a playground.

Several of the men started checking out the sketch. The fellow with the grizzly black beard asked, “How long you been in Florida?” I knew where this line of questioning was leading. I said, “Over twenty years”, perhaps stretching the truth a bit. “Well,” he said, “Not a bad sketch considering you’re a Yankee.” The man across from me commiserated. “I’ve been here 49 years and they still consider me a Yankee!” We laughed.

When I had to leave to get to class, I shook the hand of Patrick’s step dad. I hadn’t been introduced yet, but I suspected that this stoic man was in charge. His face glistened as he stood beside the cauldron, the steam wafting in front of his face. Patrick explained that the steam from the cane syrup actually leaves a sweet crust over everything it touches. A rural Midas Touch.

Boiling the Cane

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Patrick Greene told me about his family’s tradition of harvesting and boiling cane in late November. I got up at the crack of dawn and drove east through downtown. There was a violent panic to the traffic as people rushed to their jobs in the city. I drove till the East West Expressway ended and then continued east. I missed the farm’s driveway on my first pass. I turned around in the parking lot to a natural preserve. I wasn’t sure how far to drive down the dirt road, so I followed it back to a barn. When I got out of my truck a hound dog let out a hollow howl. He was harmless, he came up and sniffed my hand.

A dozen men, many with cowboy hats, sat around several tables swatting flies. I asked for Patrick and they directed me back to the house at the road. I drove back. Patrick greeted me at the front door. His mother was in the living room and she apologized for the mess although everything looked in it’s place to me. She is an artist herself and she pointed to several rendered pencil drawings that she had done. They were framed and looked good against the dark wood paneling.

Patrick walked back to the barn with me and introduced me around as “the artist.” The cane had already been harvested. Then joked that we should have gotten up much earlier to help with that. The cane was crushed by a mechanical crusher and the sweet liquid was gathered. My sister Pat Boehme had some cane growing in her yard in Port Charlotte. I asked to cut a stalk so I could see how it tasted raw. I cut out the soft inner pulp and chewed on it. Raw cane is delicious but once the initial burst of flavor passed, I had to spit out the chewed pulp. A neighbor said that as a child, he was given raw cane as a treat instead of candy.

Back in the barn a large cauldron full of cane juice was boiling. Thirteen rows of cane were not harvested since they had plenty of cane juice for the boil. The heat was intense and the steam rose. Several men were always on hand to skim the surface removing the debris and thin film that rose to the surface. All morning the furnace blazed. An inner metal cylinder was placed inside the cauldron and mesh was wadded up and inserted around the edge to soak up more of the film. A breeze began wafting the steam away. Several men tacked up a green drop cloth to block the breeze. It seemed the steam needed to linger and rise straight up for the boil to be most effective. By the end of the day all that would be left was a thick syrup which the women would bottle. This is a true old Florida tradition, a look at an art form that is fading away in our fast paced times.

Sweetheart Deals – Beth Raymer

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Terry and I went to a farewell reading by Beth Raymer at the Kerouac House. Beth had been working for the past month on a novel entitled Sweetheart Deals as a writer in residence. Her first book, Lay the Favorite: A Memoir of Gambling was a huge success and it is being made into a film directed by Stephen Frears (High Fidelity, The Grifters), starring Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rebecca Hall who I assume is playing Beth. It is slated to open next year. The success of her first book meant Beth was inundated with interviews and appearances. She confided she wasn’t much of a public figure and she found all the attention distracted from her continued desire to write. The Kerouac House writer in residence program came just when she needed a chance to get away and focus on her new novel.

She was charmingly nervous as she introduced her new book, speaking a mile a minute. She curled her hair with her index finger and delicately pointed her cowboy boot inward, twisting the curve of her leg. Having written a memoir, she was used to reporting facts and her new novel recreated her family dynamic when she was six years old. The story is largely about a man based on her father, a boisterous salesman who, as it turned out had a mistress. She described the mistress in loving detail, describing the diminutive qualities that attracted her father’s attention. At one point he needed money so he set fire to his business. Beth consulted with local insurance agents to see if the facts of her story worked. The story is set in Florida, so Beth was glad to return to feel the humidity and see lizards dashing under foot. Vivid childhood memories surfaced. She liked to work at the kitchen table in the Kerouac House, often editing in the afternoons. Like Jack Kerouac she has lived a vibrant unconventional life. She is new to Facebook and on a dark evening she got a friend request from a mysterious Jack from beyond the grave.

Beth seemed to enjoy the sketch, although as usual the nose is a bit off. There were so many talented people in the house that evening. Kelly Medford who lives in Rome is a plein air painter who does a painting a day. Authors stood in the open kitchen doorway laughing about local characters. Patrick Greene told me about a harvest of sugar cane that would make a great, “Old Florida” sketch opportunity. Leaning against a stove, a young man in a baseball cap pulled a bright fire engine red flask from a hip pocket and the final drops were emptied into a drink.

Beth offered me some delicious fruit salad she had prepared. In the kitchen, she talked about how odd it was that so many British actors were in the movie version of her first book. The screenplay writer, DeVincentis, brought his background to the story and the director had his personal vision. It must have been hard to give up control especially when it is the story of her life. I told her how I felt I gave up my artistic identity when I worked for Disney Feature Animation, and how I’m just now rediscovering that inner voice. She raised her cup of wine and we toasted.