Orlando Love: Remembering Our Angels at Lake Eola.

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Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, Orlando Commissioner Patty Sheehan and other community leaders and elected officials will hold a one-year remembrance ceremony at Lake Eola Park. The ceremony, Orlando Love: Remembering Our Angels, will include remarks by community leaders, musical performances by Olga Tañón and Sisaundra Lewis along with a memorial reading of the 49 names of those who were taken during the June 12 tragedy.

Actress Peg O’Keef recited the opening monologue from O-Town: Voices from Orlando. This was likely the largest audience to see this performance. The audience was silent as she described our quiet little town that would be so much different the day after the Pulse Massacre. Orlando stood up to the challenge, rising up, and refusing to let hate or divisiveness be a part of the recovery. People lined u to give blood, a homeless man would relight the thousands of candles at memorial sites. Crosses would be driven across the country to be left at Orlando Regional Medical Center, each to honor one of the 49 victims.

Pam Schwartz and I found a spot on the lake within sight of the rainbow colored Disney band shell. Walking past the standing room only seating area we saw the glitzy projected graphics above the stage. Buses parked in the street blocked any opportunity to view the stage from a distance. They might have been parked there to block potential hate groups. Two women cuddled in front of us as we listened to the city officials. Back stage 49 angels could be seen struggling to get on their PVC and white fabric wings,

Buddy Dyer spoke in his soothing southern accent and the crowd responded with applause. To our left were two men and one was disgruntled. When Mayor Teresa Jacobs spoke, he started flipping the bird and cursing her name. We were far enough away so that his anger didn’t reach the stage. His friend said,”Come on, lets get out of here, you don’t need to be listening to this.”  Eventually they did leave.

Patty Sheehan spoke in Spanish, so I am not sure what condolences she might have offered. My general impression of the evening was that it was too polished a production. Turn out was less than a year before but it had been raining all afternoon, so only lie-hards were here. It felt a bit like it was Disneyfied, with too much sugar and not enough substance. It was reassuring however to be in a crowd of so many beautiful people who all stood for the cause of love over hate.

Trash 2 Trends: a Recycled Runway Show.

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Trash 2 Trends was held at Ports of Call at Sea World. The program for the event had two pages of photos of Sea World staff rescuing sea turtles and dolphins. The pages proclaimed that 29,000 animals had been rescued. The entrance to the parks parking lot still sports fiberglass killer whales leaping in the misty light. Tilikum the killer whale this killed his trainer recently died of bacterial pneumonia. The killer whale lived in isolation having spent most of his life in captivity. In the open ocean killer whales swim thousands of miles in the endless expanse of the oceans. At Sea World they can only swim in circles in the tight constraints of the enclosures.

The hosts for the evening were Doug Ba’aser, Scott Maxwell and Miss Sammy. Miss Sammy wore a home made dress made from silver egg cartons and plenty of shot glasses. Doug took off his suit while he was on stage, Saying that he didn’t us n to get it dirty since he would have to return it the next day. He wasn’t kidding. Money raised at the fundraiser went to Keep Orlando Beautiful. Founded in 1987, KOB is a non profit organization that offers a variety of much needed community improvement services. They strive to create a healthier, safer, more livable and sustainable community environment.

Judges, seated at the end of the runway were, Commissioner Patty Sheehan, Barbara Hartley, Maxine Earhart, and Marcy Singhaus. In all 34 unique recycled dresses strutted down the runway. The judges pick for the best dress, was Far East Headlines – Read and Wear created by Sharon Huang. The intricate and opulent dress made the model look like a peacock. Love Conquers Hate by Meaghan Moreno won as the audience choice for the best use of materials. The audience choice votes were cast with dollar bills.  Love conquers hate had the stately mode wearing large white angel wings. The tips of the wings had thin hints of the colors of the rainbow. The 49 feathers each had the names of the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. Her golden crown was illuminated and the lower skirt also glowed.

50 Angels in the Dr. Phillips Plaza.

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Original SOLD, 1 of 5 Prints SOLD

After the “Beautiful Together” Pulse Memorial Concert, John DiDonna directed a moving tribute to the victims by having 50 angel’s wings made at the Orlando Shakespeare scenic shop out of white fabric and PVC. Similar wings had been used by a hateful out of town Baptist group that planned to protest at victim’s funerals claiming that the shooter was sent by god. Hundreds of locals went to funerals where the Baptists might protest to keep the hate mongers from disrupting a families peace of mind as they had to grieve the loss of a son or daughter. Unfortunately passing cars honked their support for the loving counter protesters, which in itself became a disruption.

I left the concert early to start the sketch. Two silent lines of 25 angels each walked to the plaza from behind the Performing Arts Center. They encircled the plaza which was now full of candles, banners flowers and grieving messages of support from around the country and around the world. A light drizzle began to fall. John quickly staged the angel so that they formed an even phalanx around the plaza. Each held a candle. The 50th angel was to honor “The Voice” singer Christina Grimme who was shot days before the Pulse Tragedy at the Plaza Live in Orlando. I sketched from under my umbrella. As if on cue, the rain stopped as the huge audience flowed out of the theater and into the plaza.

The silent vigil moved so many to tears. One reader thanked me for being a witness to all that has been happening these past weeks. Her sincere gratitude finally caused me to start crying. Betsy Brabandt was in tears as she stopped to say hello. I think it was impossible to experience this outpouring of love and grief without being overwhelmed. Wendy Wallenberg did her best, joking with me and even joking with  two women who were crying in front of a large rainbow colored flower display. She managed to make them chuckle even as they cried. “Life is like that,” she said. “It keeps coming at you from all angles.”

City Commission Patty Sheehan spoke with Wendy explaining that the loss of a partner and other losses had helped prepare her for the incredible losses felt this week. She has been an emotional rock and voice of reason through out the week. A woman in tears came up to Patty and hugged her, thanking he for all she has done. I looked away, trying to keep from once again breaking down. There were 49 wreaths in the City Hall lobby and the flowers are now dead. Patty was going there after the concert to pick the flowers to use in 49 shadow boxes being prepared for the grieving families. She did this task alone, another silent and lonely vigil for those who had died.

I joined Wendy and several of her friends at the Grand Bohemian for drinks afterwards. Due to a waitress mix up, I ended up with a second drink on the house. I needed it. I usually rush back to my studio to do a write up before midnight. I couldn’t do it. I needed to numb some of these feelings if only for a moment. We all have so much grief, some of it unrelated to the tragedy, but it all bubbles up to the surface to be faced during evenings like this.

The Pulse Shooting Candlelight Vigil.

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After finishing my first sketch at the Orlando Pulse Shooting Vigil, I wandered through the crowd. People were crying and hugging for support. I wanted to get a sketch closer to the stage. I made my way to the perimeter to get back stage.  Equality Florida set up a GoFundMe page to help victims of the Pulse shooting and it has reached over $3 million since it was opened on Sunday. There has been an incredible outpouring of support all across the country for families affected by this terrorist attack. This page for the victims of the Pulse shooting
is one of the biggest record breaking pages in the fundraising site’s
history.

I leaned up against a pylon and started sketching the stage. I wanted to catch some of the police presence. All the news trucks were lined up to my right down the street.
Pulse workers took the stage and vowed to come back, bigger than ever. “We will not be defeated! We are here to stay!”
The owners then led the audience in a chant of “Peace Love Pulse!”, “Peace Love Pulse!” We chanted louder until it became a unified shout. There was defiance and love as that chant filling downtown.

Most politicians who spoke seemed to be telling the crowd what they wanted to hear. It all sounded so shallow. The words were meant to instill civic pride and bring cheers. At Pulse two nights before, cell phones buzzed in shooting victim’s pockets from loved ones hoping they had survived. The coroner worked tirelessly to identify bodies. One politician who spoke from the heart was Patty Sheehan. She is the first openly gay woman to be elected as an Orlando City Commissioner. I’ve met her multiple times at various events, and she is always open and gregarious. She is also an artist who paints what she calls equality kittens. Often sales of these paintings go to help the LGBT community. Patty spoke about how she had been at ground zero for the past 48 hours. She had seen blood on the sidewalks and desperate mothers wanting to know if their sons were alive. Her voice broke as she described these scenes. She ran out of words, paused, and then said that she had also seen an incredible amount of love and an outpouring of support. “All of you are a shining example of that love.” Everyone shouted their approval and once again I got choked up and had to stop the sketch. She said, “Murderers will not destroy our spirit. I love you, Orlando.”

Candles were handed out to everyone in the crowd, one small flame became thousands. The Methodist Church across the street, tolled a bell for every life lost. The reverberating sound went on and on.  Every new strike became sadder. It rang 49 times. I cry just thinking about that sound. There was sadness and silence through the whole crowd. Vigils like this are happening all across the country. Orlando is not alone. But everyone has to live with their grief alone. Tears sting but don’t heal. Only time and positive change can do that. When Gov. Rick Scott was asked if gun control or restricting access to the assault rifle
used by shooter Omar Mateen would have helped, the Republican governor said that radical
Islam killed the victims of the nightclub, not guns. That attitude is why the Gunshine State is now internationally known as the world’s most violent tourist destination. As the vigil ended, former State Representative Joe Saunders reminded everyone that there are still people in hospitals and he asked us all to take care of one another. The streets of downtown Orlando were then flooded with mourners, many still carrying their candles as they made their way home to loved ones. I went home to write an article before midnight and then I lay on the floor listened to Tibetan healing bowls. I curled up, drained.

Other vigils in Orlando…

  • Baitul-Aafiyat Mosque: 9501 Satellite Blvd, Suite 103, 32837-8445. Sunday 8 p.m. prayer service.
  • Christ Church of Orlando: 2200 South Orange Ave. Open to first responders and workers for rest and prayer. Sunday, 6 p.m.
  • Ember, Orlando: 42 W. Central Blvd., Orlando, 32801. Restaurant/bar holding plans a candlelight vigil for 7 p.m. Sunday.
  • The Experience Christian Center: Prayer vigil at 6:30 p.m. to be
    held at Jones High School. Gov. Rick Scott and other Central Florida
    officials have been invited.
  • Parliament House, Sunday, 7 p.m.
  • St. Cloud City Hall, Sunday, 7:30 p.m. vigil planned near the
    flagpole. Deputy Mayor Jeff Rinehart will lead in a moment of silence
    and prayers.
  • Candlelight Vigil for Orlando, Lake Eola. Sunday, 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

The Blue Box Initiative – Michael Sloan.

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On February 1, I picked up Micihael Sloan from his home and brought him to the Blue Box on Lake Dot on Colonial Drive one block West of the I-4 overpass. It was tricky finding his place so we ended up running about a half hour late. As a quick recap in case you are a new reader, Orlando passed an ordinance back in the 1990s making it illegal to panhandle in Downtown Orlando. 27 blue boxes were painted on the sidewalks as free speech zones. From sunrise to sunset it is legal to panhandle in these blue boxes.

On our drive too to  the  blue  box site,  Micihael explained that he used to perform downtown about 15 years ago and he was told that he must move to a blue. In Orlando performers seem  too be considered panhandlers with talent. I’ve been told to move along by police while sketching downtown but I was never instructed to go to a box. Anyway, I decided to ask performers to come out to each of the 27 boxes so that I can sketch performers at each of the sites. The plan is to do one sketch a week, usually on Mondays. The Blue Box Initiative group page was set up to organize and schedule performances.

As we were setting up, a man in a red shirt who introduced himself as Juju joked around with Micihael. He sat down in the shade and shouted to us, “Hey, come over here in the shade, I want to hear the music.” Micihael shouted back, “We can’t, I have to stay in the blue box.”  It was brutally hot. I realized that I need to bring sunscreen to these blue box sketch outings. The several days of col weather are already a though of the past. Micihael kept his guitar case open, but no one ever dropped any bills inside. It was hard to hear the music over the constant rush of car traffic. I could pick out that he was making up lyrics on the fly about being put in blue boxes. He was singing the blue box blues. Besides singing, Micihael did some Tai Chi which made it look like he was channeling the automotive dissonance. He also had just enough room in the box to do several cart wheels. Cars honked their approval, a loud automotive standing ovation.

There was some foot traffic. Perhaps 20 people wandered by during the performance. A young woman in a black dress walked by with a luggage cart. She reminded me of drug sales reps I have seen in doctors offices. She was actually Jenna Smith, a UCF journalism student who wanted to report on the Blue Box Initiative. She unpacked a tripod and sizable TV news camera. She was the reporter and camera woman all rolled into one. The black dress was a mistake because the sun was unrelenting. She never filmed herself asking the questions, perhaps she did that later.

Juju became infatuated with what I was doing. He stood behind me the whole time doing a play by play announcement of every item I put on the page. I’m usually oblivious to on lookers, but he was hard to ignore. A bicyclist with dreads and a wicker basket stopped for the longest time to listen. He spoke with Jenna about the social divides created by capitalism. Around 1pm a car stopped in front of the box, and a woman asked if we wanted sandwiches. My hands were busy with the sketch so I didn’t accept. Juju however accepted for us all. He gave Micihael some fruit and he offer me a cookie. I tried to refuse but he insisted, so I accepted his offering and put it in my bag. It was from the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts and I ate it on the drive home. It was delicious.

Jenna stayed with us right until the sketch was complete. She then interviewed us with beautiful Lake Dot as the back drop. She plans to interview City Commissioners, so she is doing some in depth reporting on the issue. I bumped into City Commissioner Patty Sheehan that night and she was amazed by Winter Parks ordinance that bans artists. She asked me, “Orlando doesn’t do that do they?” It seemed odd that she was asking me. I mentioned the blue boxes which is an ordinance she helped spearhead.  I don’t think she realized the the blue boxes hurt the Orlando arts scene. “Well, if you need anything from me, let me know.” she said as she left.

Cole Nesmith organized a huge one night event called “The Creative City Project.” He got performing arts groups to come together downtown for a solid evening of performances outside on Orange Avenue downtown. I was told that in the beginning, Cole was instructed that the performances would have to be in the Blue Boxes which make for rather small stages. Cole worked closely with politicians to create an amazing event that took over Orange Avenue for five blocks.  But that was for one night only. If Orlando truly embraced creativity downtown then every evening the city streets could come alive. For now outdoor creativity is shoved aside into isolated blue boxes.

The Round Building’s brise-soleil was carefully preserved.

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On September 18th, I went down to the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts construction site to watch as the Round Buildings brise-soleil was removed. The round building was designed in 1963 by Orlando architects Bob Murphy and Frank Sheehy. The design was an exciting futuristic change from the usual cement and stucco monoliths that litter downtown. It sort of reminds me of Disney’s Carousel of Progress which first appeared at the 1964 New York World’s Fair.

The precast cement brise-soleil was designed to help shade the windows from the harsh Florida sun. The upper floors were added at a much later date. Commissioner Patty Sheehan was instrumental in the effort to have the unique brise-soleil preserved.  Each individual vertical section had to be reinforced by a steel structure to be sure it didn’t break apart when being transported. They could then be clipped free of the connecting bolts. I sketched for two hours and only one section was carefully removed in that time. Each section was then loaded onto a truck and transported to a city storage yard. Ironically the round building looked like it belonged next to the modern design of the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

As of January 5th while forty plus same-sex couples got married at City Hall across the street, the round building looked like it had been hit by multiple bunker busting bombs. The cement shell had been removed and the rest of the building was collapsing in on itself. Someone stopped to admire my sketch in progress. He was the son of Jack Jennings, the local contractor who first built the Round Building. He asked to take a photo of my sketch to remember his fathers legacy. Niles M. Schweitzer Fellows held a design competition to find creative ways to reuse the preserved brise-soleil. There were some incredibly creative designs, but there are no funds to make any of them a reality. It is harder to create than to destroy. Who knows how long these cement sentinels will remain hidden in the city’s storage facility. I remains to be seen what the Next Round for these panels will be.

We finally have marriage equality in Orlando.

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On January 6th, at midnight, the ban on same sex marriages ended in Florida. At an event called Vowed and Proud, Mayor Buddy Dyer performed a mass wedding for over 40 same sex couples on the steps of city hall. Commissioner Patty Sheehan stepped up to the mic and proudly announced that she was the first openly gay commissioner in the City Beautiful. The crowd cheered. She pointed out that it was a long hard battle to get to this day. This was a day to celebrate love. Some of the couple had been together longer than many heterosexual couples.

I found a view where I could see the mayor and the row of couples waiting to be married. One of Buddy’s security guards however considered me a menace with my sketchbook and he told me to move. Sigh, he’s just doing his job. I moved much further back to sketch the huge crowd gathered. Originally the ceremony was going to be held in the City Hall rotunda, but the event was too big to be contained inside.  The Mayor Told all the couples to face each other and they recited after him, “With this ring, I thee wed.” There was a huge cheer from the crowd when the ceremony was complete. The Orlando Gay Chorus then sang, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

There were two sad and sullen protesters, but their hateful shouts were downed out by the celebration of love. On a radio program on my drive downtown, the protesters were given a microphone to air their views. I turned the radio off. I don’t need to hear their hate. They shouted, “Jesus is coming!” “Good” I thought, “Jesus would appreciate this celebration of love.” The tides are changing. The brightness of joy outweighed the protests of a few. Florida Family Action filed a lawsuit against Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer
in an effort to stop the ceremony, as well as others across the state, reported WKMG in Orlando. The group fought for a gay marriage ban in Florida, which was approved by voters in 2008. That ban was found to be unconstitutional. They clearly did not succeed. Wedding planners, hotels and resorts feel that Orlando could become a wedding destination for same sex couples in the deep south. January 6th was a truly historic moment in Orlando and I’m happy I was there to sketch it.

Red Bull presented Hip Art Inspired Water Cooler Conversation

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On July 24th, Red Bull Curates presented the Orlando Canvas Cooler Project in the gorgeous Orchid Room at 122 West Church Street which was once Paris Hilton’s Nightclub. As I arrived, Red Bull girls with backpacks were getting ready to work the venue in their tight shorts and v-neck shirts. They were about to climb a metal fire escape staircase to enter the building. I asked if that was the entrance and she pointed me toward a door around the corner with a Mini Cooper that had a huge Red Bull can on the roof. There were two entrances, one for media and one for everyone else. I decided to walk in the Media door. The volunteer looked for my name on the list and I wasn’t there. I repeated my name several times until she said, “Alright, you must be media.” If you believe you are the media, then you are the media. I had a tablet in my bag because I want to start drawing with it more often. I decided to stick with paper however since the room was so spacious that I felt I needed to work across a large spread in my sketchbook. Digitally, I tend to spend too much time zooming in and out of the program which means I’m not sketching as fast.

20 Orlando artists were picked to decorate Red Bull coolers. Of these artists tow were picked for the possibility of being picked for the chance to have their creation show at this year’s Art Basel in Miami Beach. Judges for the Orlando event included, Sam Flax Owner of Sam Flax Art Supply, Patrick Kahn the founder of Snap! Cultural Events, Inc, Commissioner Patty Sheehan of Orlando District 4 , Coralie Claeysen-Gleyzon the curator of Jai Gallery,and Erin Sullivan the Senior editor at the Orlando Weekly.  

Featured artists were, Brandon McLean,
Andrew Spear, Skippy, Adaro Art, Winkstyles, Soco Freire, Peter Van Flores III, DRES13, Holly Tharp, Chris Rodriguez,
Christopher Reason, Swamburger, Peterson, Sean Hartman, Christie Miga, SPEN and Wolfrich. There were a wide variety of colorful styles. I was a bit disappointed that all the coolers were already finished. I had hoped to sketch the artists at work. They had eight hours to complete the work on the Sunday and Monday before the event. Canvas tarps were spread around the venue and tables so the artists wouldn’t make too much of a mess. Christie Miga claimed she was so nervous about the event that she was considering backing out. She did an amazing job however when the ax hit the grindstone.

Sketching the event was a challenge since the crowd was endless and ever shifting. People stopped to say hello every few minutes, and I was happy to say hello but then got right back to work. I didn’t have the luxury of being able to relax when the sketch was still unfinished. Billy Franchey, from Artsfund introduced himself and he was fascinated by what I do, but he didn’t have a business card and neither did I. He is responsible for these events all over the country. Terry explored the room and was able to interact socially with everyone we knew. The winners for the evening were Marcos Cruz and Gregorii.  Both artists are represented by Jai gallery. Their pieces might end up in the scope art Fair in Miami as part of Art Basel but they are up against 10 other who were winners in cities around the country.  There was also a peoples choice award that was given to G. Lemus. A social media contest in November could put him in contention as well to have his creation shown in Miami’s Art Basel. The next Red Bull Curates events will be in Houston on August 14th and in Philadelphia on September 25th.

As I walked Terry back to her car, she told me that Patty Sheehan had told her that the Red Bull marketing people might like me to document future events around the country. It is funny that I was working so hard that no one mentioned this idea to me. I suppose people don’t want to interrupt me when I’m in the middle of the process.

Equality Connection

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Terry and I went to the Hammered Lamb for the “Equality Connection“. Commissioner Patty Sheehan had just put her painting up at the bar in Ivanhoe Village that afternoon. She paints “Equality Kittys” and she can barely keep up with the demand. I heard that every painting sold from her last show. The evening was a fundraiser for Equality Florida which is the largest civil rights organization
dedicated to securing full equality for Florida’s lesbian, gay,
bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. This organization has grown exponentially in the last few years but there is plenty of hard work still left to go before people recognize that all people are created equal.

Many of the board member of the Orlando Fringe were there to show their support. Terry is on the Fringe board now and has loved the amazing people she has met. Fringe is now going strong down at Lock Haven park and I will be there sketching as often as possible. You never know what you will discover on the green lawn of fabulousness. Devon ordered some wings which surprised me since this venue used to be all vegan. She offered me a wing and I tried it but they were to hot of my taste. Of course food this hot means you need to drink more beers which could be a perk.

Violectric Holiday Concert

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On December 20th there was a free concert by Violectric at the Walt Disney Amphitheatre at Lake Eola Park Orlando, Fl. The concert was presented by the City of Orlando Department of Families, Parks and Recreation. I arrived early to block the stage in my sketch before the performance began. As I was sketching, a guy walked up to me to see what I was up to. He leaned in close and got his nose right up to the sketch page. He remarked that my sketch reminded him of Max Ernst, who was a German surrealist painter. The obscure artistic reference made me think he must be an academic. As he waited for the concert to start, he bounced a tennis ball impatiently. When he bounced the ball onto the stage off the drum set, I began to think something was a bit off about him.

Patty Sheehan introduced the group. She asked the audience if they liked the new art in the park and reminded everyone that the park wasn’t always this nice. Violectric played Christmas tunes that they intermingled with rock and roll covers.  Their white dresses sparkled as they walked out. Even their eye shadow had sequins. At one point they gave two children tambourines so they could back up a performance of Jingle bells. Violetric is strictly an instrumental group so they encouraged the audience to sing along. The guy with the tennis ball belted out the lyrics a bit off key and danced in the isle.

Behind me a guy began cursing loudly, saying he hated this town and everyone in it. He eventually sat right behind me. His hair was wild and unkempt as was his beard. He looked a bit like a psychotic Santa. His cigarette made me cough a few times but I kept sketching. I felt him looking over my shoulder and luckily he refrained from cursing at what I was doing. For one song, the performers advised the audience that was singing along, that there were children in the audience, so they should watch what they sang for the next piece which was that song “Forget you“, the original lyrics were “F*ck you!” The guy seated close to me shouted out, “You talkin’ to me?” “You’re so beautiful, I want to marry you.” One of the performers shot back, “Get in line!” Despite the heckling, the performers always kept smiling. They were pros.