Orlando Arts Collecive

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The Orlando Arts Collective is a diverse group of artists who enjoy supporting, sharing, communicating, and collaborating with other fellow artists. OAC members are painters, sculptors, photographers, and mixed-media artists.

Members conduct workshops, run critique seminars, curate art shows, participate in other community shows and events, and go on art related field trips together. The group encourages members to participate in art activities, shows and other groups throughout the community, and to share their experiences. Having adventures is one of the hallmarks of the OAC.

They are an IRS-501(c) 3 not-for-profit group, which allows them to conduct classes and work with charities. This also means they have a Board of Directors and annual dues. Even though they have a board they are not a board-centered group. All decisions are determined by a majority of their members. The annual membership is $30.00, which helps to pay for group shows, classes, and guest speakers. Extra fees may be required for participation in gallery shows. The members have shown and participated in various art venues in and around Orlando, such as City Arts Orlando, Mega Con, Third Thursdays, Dandelion Cafe, Pom Poms, and FAVO.

The Orlando Art Collective meets on the second Thursday of each month between 6:30-8:30 pm.

I stopped in to a meeting and sketched while members were learning new techniques in a printing workshop. Everything was provided and there were some unique results.  At the end of the table one artist apologized because he had evicted me from a painting workshop at the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens one year because I was sketching as I listened. I laughed and said there were no hard feelings.

Also on the table were ceramic tile hearts which were for a mural that is now up on the side of Lamp Shade Fair which is a 65-year-old business on 1336 N. Mills Avenue, Orlando, Fl. The ceramic hearts were created by artists from around the world and will be arranged into a rainbow coming from the open hand of a Banksy-inspired silhouette of a young girl blowing a kiss.

History in a Glass: The Grand Finale.

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The Orange County Regional History Center (65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801) hosted three previous History in a Glass competitions.  At the final installment of the 2017 History in a Glass series, the winners from the previous competitions competed for bragging rights by creating one-of-a-kind libations. The drink recipes were inspired by the theme of “The City Beautiful.” Guests learned how Orlando chose our nickname as they enjoy great food and music, plus three hand-crafted cocktails.

Pom Poms Teahouse and Sandwicheria (67 N Bumby Ave, Orlando, FL 32803) catered the event and the food disappeared in an instant. The caterer returned to their restaurant and made a second batch of sandwiches to the sold out crowd. A hand crafted trophy was created by the History Center art department. The trophy consisted of a model of the lake Eola Fountain with a swan perched on top. Above the swan, was a pig and a bottle of whisky. The entire tower was painted gold. Each item referred to the stories told in past History in a glass competitions. The swan was based on Billy the swan who murdered his mate. The pig was from “Hog Wild” which told the story of how Winter Park had to pass an ordinance banning wild hogs from it’s streets. A similar ordinance was passed last year banning artists from the streets of Winter Park. The whisky bottle referenced the story of the murder in the San Juan Hotel in which a man a man was given a bottle of whisky which was then offered to the woman he was trying to impress that evening. She died after one sip.

The History Center Chief Curator, Pam Schwartz entertained the crowd by explaining how Orlando became “The City Beautiful. Once referred to as Mosquito County, the Central Florida region was considered a nightmarish place my many of the early explorers who couldn’t stand the bugs and insane heat. They denouncing the region as a “hideous,” “loathsome,” “diabolical,” “God-abandoned” mosquito refuge.

In 1908, an Orlando beautification drive inspired city leaders to find a
more suitable name than “The Phenomenal City.” Residents planted trees
and shrubs, and a contest was announced to find a new nickname. A number
of candidates were submitted, including “the Queen City,” “the Magic
City,” “the Picturesque City,” and “the Health City.” But Jessie Johnson Branch, formerly from South Dakota, won the prize
with “the City Beautiful.” The new name sparked a wave of interest in
beautification that soon made the Orlando an even more fitting setting
for its name.

With an event like this I always hope to sketch the winner. I sketched Dan Lynch in his baseball cap and bib overalls, and he did indeed win the coveted trophy for his delicious “City Beautiful” cocktail. 

The Censor

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Hannah Miller invited a small group of her friends to a birthday dinner at Little Saigon. The dinner conversations were lively and animated. Then the conversation turned to an unexpected topic, namely art censorship in Orlando. Jessica Earley had a painting of hers on exhibit at Pom Poms Tea house as part of a group show called “The Happy Glitter Show.” It is believed that a costumer at the tea house took it upon themselves to censor Jessica’s painting by placing a round bright yellow sticker on the piece. The painting depicts a group of women and written across the chest of one was, “Do the dishes. Feed the cat. Don’t be a C*nt.” Ironically Jessica had already censored herself by placing an * in place of the vowel. The management of Pom Pom’s was very apologetic and they removed the sticker once it was discovered.

As an artist I find the willingness of people in our community to deface and censor artwork very disturbing. Jessica was soft spoken and sincere as she expressed her concerns, “Someone in the community put the sticker on my painting. And business owners are afraid of what the people in our community might think of provocative or questionable art, so they ask that you don’t hang it in their business. We as a community are censoring ourselves and keeping our minds closed.” Her work deals with and respects woman’s issues. “It really is interesting to me, because there are a lot of artists who will portray women in very objectified ways through their art (pin up style art, etc..), and people most often will find this to be OK, because it has sort of seeped into being the norm. But if I make a painting dealing with some real things that women go through, for example, menstruation, then my painting won’t get hung.”

The options for exhibiting artwork in this town are limited to say the least. Artists must face the risk of exhibiting in bustling, sometimes smoke filled restaurants and bars just to get their work seen. The chances of work being damaged escalates in these crowded insecure settings. Now it seems people feel the need to censor and deface art that they do not understand or appreciate. “This blows my mind because I find my work to be quite innocent and respectful to the female. It’s very frustrating, because the work I do is very personal to me, but I’m not trying to be purposefully shocking in any sort of way. I’ve had a few different instances where I’ve felt cheated or censored.” Jessica said.