Knickerbocker

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After my mother died when I was ten years old, my father quickly re-married and we moved to 363 Knickerbocker Road Tenafly, New Jersey. It was a Brady Bunch type of situation with two families quickly merging. Sons and daughters in both families were of the marrying age so not every sibling moved into the new house.

One of my older brothers stayed in the basement of our former home in Dumont, New Jersey. That home was rented out and the renters completely demolished the place from what I heard. One of my older step sisters was having a shouting match with her mom the first week we moved in. Shortly after she moved to California. All told, there were ten brother and sisters including myself. I don’t think all ten ever lived in the home together. If I remember right, an older step sister lived inn the attic while my step brother, who was just about my age, and I shared a bunk bed. My younger sister had her own bedroom.

There was another bedroom at the top of the stairs and an older sibling must have been there. I took that bedroom while I was going to the School of Visual Arts in NYC. After commuting to college each day by bus, and working at a mail sorting facility to pay for it, I had a bit of a meltdown and had to leave home. I bought a tent, panniers, a sleeping bag and a bike and started camping in the back yard to test out the tent.

In the middle of winter, I left to bike across the country. My older brother had gotten a job out in Seattle and that became my final destination. This was my way to leave the nest and take flight. It wasn’t an easy flight, but now every choice was my own. If I could make it across the country I could accomplish anything I set my mind to.

Glen’s Nantucket Home

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Glen Weimer and I were buddies back in the early days of our studies at the School of Visual Arts in NYC. It had been a long time since we saw each other and it was so amazing to  get away and spend a week exploring his home of Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. Glen rents this beautiful little bungalow along with a roommate. Glen keeps the place immaculately clean, watering the lawn each morning and squeegeeing the shower tiles. His bedroom is right above the porch and rather than using air conditioning, the windows have fans to circulate the ocean breezes.

Waving in the breeze on the porch was a rainbow colored wind sock.  I had visited shortly after the Pulse Nightclub massacre in Orlando and it was a chance to get away from sketching the sadness as Orlando came to grips with the gravity of what had happened. Every day I found some vigil, fundraiser or healing service devoted to Pulse. Nantucket gave me time to myself and sketching opportunities outside the confines of mass murder. The rainbow wind sock brought back flashes of the endless rainbows that had cropped up everywhere in Orlando. The entire world was in solidarity with our loss.

Glen’s place also doubles as his office where he offers holistic bodywork for clients. Sessions are a synthesis of polarity therapy and subtle osteopathic
(manual therapy) techniques, structural mobilization and positional
release techniques. They are customized to address unique needs and
specific body-mind challenges. On his coffee table were photo books of his trip to Tibet where he explored the birthplace and temples of Buddhism.

It was wonderful to see how Glen had rebuilt his life. Though on an island, he was part of a tight knot community. Appointments for his business were logged in digitally and he went through the schedule to be sure all the appointments lined up right.  In the morning he built a complex blended drink with powders, fruit and vegetables that must have been incredible healthy. That is in stark  contrast to the Peanut Butter Captain Crunch I have each morning. He told me something that has stayed with me and I think about often. He said we are all rich in our own way. We make choices about our lifestyles and who we surround ourselves with. While some may have lots of money, others choose freedom and creative or spiritual endeavors that offer different forms of riches. It was in a time of incredible personal chaos and change when I visited him, and that hasn’t changes two years later. Seeing Glen gave me some form of consistency and hope that I will find my place in the world.

Snap offered an Artist Panel Discussion.

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On March 28th I went to an Artist Panel Discussion at Snap! Orlando (1013 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, FL). The exhibit at the time was called Structure and Perspective.  Structure and Perspective examined the intersection of organic and
man made forms such as those found in the distinction of body forms and
building forms.The artists were Christoph Morlinghaus in the black shirt, Ryan Buyssens in the green stripes, Dan L. Hess in a military shirt and Juan Travieso in the white tee shirt.

Amazingly Dan went to the School of Visual Arts in NYC around the same time I did. He pointed out that the school stressed the importance and rich history of drawing. Children today aren’t taught to draw. If they want to make something, they assume there is an application that can do it for them. When Dan starts a drawing, he has no idea where it will go. He has no set final destination. For a long time he has been avoiding painting, so all his works are on paper. Dan and I have much in common.

The large format photos behind the artists were by Christoph. All of his photos are analog taken with a large format camera. He joked, “I wouldn’t be a good German if I didn’t look for order and structure.” The photos were of computer circuitry and the resembled cityscapes. He has been using x-ray film the last 2 years which results in bleak intimate images. He mentioned that social media is resulting in the death of photography. Art has become disposable. He feels that there is an existential crisis due to the overload of images. There is so much to assimilate at the large art fairs like Art Basel in Miami. Art Basel is all about consumption.

Ryan creates animated organic flapping birds wings, crafted from 3D printed, machined and laser-cut parts; “Resistance”
is time-based, interactive, mechatronic sculpture that emulates the
articulated flapping of bird’s wings. Several sets of these mechanical
birds are mounted to a wall and, through various intensities of
flapping, respond to the viewer’s movements within the space.

Juan related his childhood memory of fleeing Cuba. Seventy or more people were killed at sea. He watched a man cut in half when he got caught between boats. Because of these memories, Juan paints endangered species. He feels that art is a language and we as artists have a responsibility to carry on the conversation. Art is about how you relate to another human being. The person viewing the art has to want that relationship. Juan taught teachers how to teach art. Line work is the framework for everything. Many students lack an ability to be present in the moment. They don’t have the ability to trust the beauty in front of them. To compensate they might take a picture with their phone and work from that. Juan likes to create a body of work over the course of a year without showing anyone. Creating art is like raising dysfunctional children, you want to get them strong enough to kick them out of the house. A piece isn’t finished until it goes out into the world.

Smaller cities are where artists can flourish today. NYC isn’t the mecca it used to be except for the blue chip artists. You can produce art anywhere and find alternate venues to show it in like Art in Empty Spaces and Pop Up Shops. This artist panel discussion was one of the most enlightening experiences I’ve had. Snap continues to give the city beautiful a much needed pulse.

Wynwood Block

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During Art Basel week, (December 5-8), graffiti artists from around the globe converge on the Wynwood Arts District to cover buildings. Some buildings are completely covered. Wynwood is Miami’s gallery district and every time I have gone the place was hopping. I go to sketch the artists at work.

The artist on the right is named Bruno, or “BR” for short. His wall portrayed a vibrant inter planetary scene. Characters were covered in vibrant Mexican fabric patterns, and sinister green clouds floated overhead in a purple universe. The other artist was likely painting a portrait of a rap or hip hop artist. The face was cut up into a grid and each panel was a different color. Even the van parked in the street was covered in dripping ice cream graffiti lettering. I never did figure out what the lettering spelled.

Terry and a friend went to one of the many Art Fair tents and when my sketch was done, I walked towards them. My college, The School of Visual Arts, was exhibiting student work. Terry introduced me to the SVA Faculty who were supervising the show and I shared one of my sketchbooks with them. There was some really good art in this tent. One memorable wall was covered with paintings on small panels of Obama. Each panel was painted in a different way creating an amazing variety all of the same face.

The Pérez Art Museum just opened in Miami and a group of us went to an exclusive preview of the collection in the evening. It is an impressive modern museum. Hanging from the ceiling of the entries were columns covered in foliage. The ground floor had an exhibit of model boats suspended from the ceiling that I liked. Had there been time to draw, that is what I would have focused on. An entire room on the second floor had hundreds of bicycle wheel rims interconnected by a horizontal metal framework. Guards tried to stop people from spinning the rims, but there were too many rims and the compulsion was too strong. People watching was more fascinating than some of the art. High society was out in force and every fashion was strutting on display. I would like to return sometime when it isn’t so crowded.

As we were leaving, we bumped into Patrick and Holly Kahn. Patrick just opened the new Snap Gallery in the renovated Cameo Theater, 1013 E. Colonial Drive Orlando FL. The gallery opened on January 18th and the crowds where overwhelming. It is the first time I’ve been to an exhibit in Orlando where people had to wait to get in. It seems Patrick has managed to bring some of the Miami excitement and exclusivity back to Orlando.

The TrIP

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Patrick Greene who is the curator at The Gallery at Avalon Island, 39 S Magnolia Ave, Orlando, FL, asked me to be a part of the TrIP Project. The TrIP Project has artists and writers ride the Lynx bus system to report on the mass transit system in Orlando. The first plan was for me to sketch Benoit Glaser and several other musicians who were going to play their instruments on the bus. Unfortunately Patrick gave me the wrong date and I knocked on Benoit’s door a day early. A second option was to sketch Genevieve Bernard‘s Voci Dance who did an interpretive dance performance on a bus. However, a close friend and artistic spirit, Mary Hill, took her own life and I needed to go to her memorial service that day. The bus tickets sat in my pocket unused for the longest time.

Finally, I saw that there was going to be a reading at The Gallery at Avalon Island called, “There Will Be TrIP” on January 14th. I decided I would take the bus downtown for this reading. When I graduated high school, I decided to go to the School of Visual Arts in NYC. I stayed with my parents the first two years and took a bus to the city everyday. The bus ride and consequent subway rides took well over three hours out of the day. Since I also had to get back, that was six hours in transit. Sketchbooks at the time became filled with sketches of fellow passengers. I didn’t own or drive a car for the entire decade I commuted to and stayed in NYC. When I came to Orlando to work for Disney Feature Animation, I got off the plane, took one driving education course and then got my drivers license at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Within the first week I had purchased my very first car, a sweet Honda del Sole convertible. Not once did I ever take a bus in Orlando.

On the morning of January 14th, I got ready for my TrIP adventure. It was raining, so I put my sketchbooks in a zip top plastic bag and put on a full set of rain gear that included plastic pants. I looked like I was ready for an Arctic Expedition. Google Maps on my iPhone said the closest bus stop would be near Universal Studios. It was a four mile hike. The reading downtown was going to be at 7pm. I left at 2pm since I had no clue what I was doing. I hiked through isolated suburban side streets and marveled at all the McMansions surrounding a lake I walked around. The rain was persistent but light. I felt a little uncomfortable walking with my hoodie up since Trevor Martin had been gunned down for walking in a neighborhood much like this I imagined. Someone was just recently shot for texting during the previews at a movie theater. People with guns are crazy in Florida.

Besides raining it was also hot and humid which meant I was getting wet from the inside out rather than from the outside in. When the rain became the faintest mist, I took off the rain jacket to vent some body heat. One of the side streets leading to the bus stop turned out to be the entrance to a gated community. I would have to walk around the gated community adding more miles to my hike. I realized when I was maybe one mile from the bus stop that, had I driven, I would already be downtown and parking,

I walked past a bustling middle school with long lines of cars waiting to pick up children. I realized this was a prime sketch opportunity although I imagined some parent might question my motives. When I arrived at the bus stop it was 3:30pm. I had been hiking for an hour and a half. Five construction workers in bright green vests were at the stop. Conversation was about car envy. A female worker lamented a friend who had a job and makes money on the side. Her friend could afford a Honda Civic. The construction workers make about $150 a day helping build a huge new motel right next to Universal. A large SUV driven by a fellow construction worker pulled up and they all piled in. The 21 bus that I was waiting for didn’t arrive for another hour at least.

On board, the large female driver had to help me figure out how to insert the ticket into the column shaped payment device. Digital lights and numbers gave me too much information to look at. The ticket got sucked in and then spit back out. On the back of the ticked, I found out I could board any bus until 3am in the evening, after that the ticket was void. On the bus, people sat in tight constrained poses clutching bags with arms crossed.  A mom boarded with her excited little girl. They likely had just been at Universal. The child’s eyes were filled with delight.  This bus trip was a fresh adventure for her. They sat next to me and I saw the girl motioning to her mom to look at what I was up to. She sat on her moms lap and watched every line and wash as it splashed on the page. At the Valencia College bus stop a gorgeous woman got on and stood right beside the driver checking her phone periodically. I sketched her quickly, so happy she had brightened the scene. Sketching on the bus got me motion sick. The bus lurched and pitched every time it stopped and it stopped 65 times on the route downtown. The driver also had a lead foot. Perhaps she had learned to drive at the Daytona racetrack.

At 5pm I arrived at Central and Garland Avenue downtown near Church Street Station. The walk to Avalon was less than a mile, so I figure the TrIP probably took three and a half hours whereas a drive downtown usually takes me half an hour but I park in the suburbs to avoid meters and being towed, so the walk can be an extra half an hour or so. So my assessment is, Bus = 3 1/2 hours and Car = 1 hour. The good news is that if I ever got drunk downtown, I know what bus would get me to within 4 miles of my home. But why would I get drunk downtown? Since I was early, I decided to go to Jimmy John’s to get a sandwich. I checked into Avalon where artwork and poetry was being hung on the walls. A poem by Naomi Butterfield was hung by a painting by Parker Sketch. The show is titled “I Believe.”

Artist Critique Series Led by Josh Garrick

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 I was running late getting to the Art and History Museums of Maitland, (210 W. Packwood Avenue, Maitland), for the free monthly art critique series hosted by Josh Garrick. The critiques are held on the fourth Tuesday of every month. Guest Panelists Robin Maria-Pedrero and Terry Hummel joined Josh for at the Germaine Marvel Building. When I got there, the room was packed with people standing behind the back row of folding seats. These critiques seem to be quite popular and gaining momentum. I sat in my artist stool leaning against the wall. Artists of every medium and skill level are encouraged to participate. Josh graciously acknowledged my blog and welcomed me.

Lynn Polley was the artist who was showing her work when I arrived. I quickly blocked her into the sketch but by the time I sketched the work on display on the easels, I had to incorporate other artists pieces. Lynn showed landscapes done in oil. One piece had a very forced perspective. She described the day that she did the plein air painting. She was worried about the angle but then she relaxed and enjoyed the process. Another piece was of the historic Casa Feliz in Winter Park. Another artist, Laura Bates showed a very similar painting of an archway at “The Casa.” Her paintings were filled with warm light. The guy seated in front of me seemed to be the time keeper. He kept waving a sheet of paper that said, one minute to go. All of the critiques were constructive. The point hammered home most often was to keep at it. Some artists had long periods in their life in which they weren’t creating and Josh stressed that they had to work at art even if they weren’t feeling inspired. All the artist’s paintings were on a table against the far wall. I looked at them all to get artists names, but none of the art was signed.

Most of the art shown was representational. The last artist to show her work, Barbara Koepell, had a brown and white painting which she did as she studied the patterns in a tree’s bark. She began to see figures and shapes and she free associated as she worked. Terry Hummel loved the piece as did Maria and Josh. Josh related a story from his time in NYC when he was a teacher as the School of Visual Arts. He was looking at an abstract painting and he didn’t really appreciate it. Silas Rhodes, the founder of SVA, was standing behind him. Silas said, “Why don’t you like abstract art?” Josh was taken aback since he hadn’t voiced his opinion. Silas then told Josh, “Let the painting wash over you like the waves in the ocean.” It was a defining moment for Josh on his road to art appreciation. I attended SVA but never met Silas. Now I wish I had. It’s never too late to change your perspective..

Several times, the importance of using social media to promote art was mentioned. Josh however ran into a case in which he had a cyber stalker. He used to “friend” anyone but now he is more careful. After the Critique was over, Josh walked up to me as I was packing up. He reached out to shake my hand. Without thinking, I reached up to shake his hand. I forgot I had a pencil in my hand and I managed to stab his palm. I shouted out, “Oh my god, I’m sorry, I’m like Edward Scissorhands!”

Artists’ Critique & Conversation

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The Art & History Museums of Maitland presented an exciting new initiative to assist in the professional development of local artists. A new series, titled Artists’ Critique & Conversation, will be held on the 4th Tuesday of every month at 6:00 p.m.
The critiques will be held in the Germaine Marvel Building, (210 W. Packwood Avenue, Maitland). The Critique is FREE and the public is encouraged to attend. A bar was available with beer, wine, water and soft drinks.

The critiques will be led by artist, arts writer, and instructor Josh Garrick, along with two additional panelists each month. Parker Sketch offered his insights at the first event. After the panel review, all attendees displayed their work and engaged in discussions and peer reviews.

Artists of every medium and skill level are encouraged to participate. Each critique will review up to 9 artists, and all artists MUST sign up in advance. Each artist can only sign up for one of the nine slots every three months.

Garrick, who has spent his career in the arts, discusses the judging and critique of art, “From my years as a teacher at New York City’s School of Visual Arts, it has always been important to me – when ‘judging’ art – to create an environment in which my students and colleagues may expand their abilities, and not to insist on a style, or change an individual’s personal voice,” he says. “Rather, the most important consideration for me, as an aesthetic judge, is to seek out those persons whose work exhibits a unique and personal form of creativity. “Other important considerations include: composition, use of color, technical ability, control of the medium, and use of light and shading. While judgments of aesthetic value may be linked to emotions or cultural conditioning, I’ve found that I have the ability to put those aside and find – when judging – that my initial response to a work is my finest barometer.

“Having ‘judged’ well over 1000 student portfolios and Art Festivals throughout the Eastern US, I put aside my personal ‘interpretations,’ and allow the work to ‘sweep over me,’ as I was taught by Silas Rhodes, founder of the School of Visual Arts. Meanings and symbols mean little to me in the judging process. My senses, emotions, and training – or some combination of these – mean much more.

“When I participate as a juror, I ‘see’ from an artist’s point-of-view, and from a teacher’s point-of-view, and as a person willing to be public with an honest opinion. Jurors must be willing to voice their opinion … and stand by it, with everyone understanding that it is one man’s opinion – no more and no less. When my considered opinion of a student’s work was negative, I would tell that person, ‘It is one man’s opinion. It is an educated opinion, but it is one opinion.’ If there is a constructive lesson to be learned, that point is worth remembering.

“Finally,” Garrick concludes, “it is up to each Artist to maintain his or her own choices and opinions. This is YOUR work, and the most important judgment is how YOU judge your work.”

The next Artist’s Critique is Tuesday July 24th starting at 6PM in the Maitland Art Center’s Germaine Marvel Building, 210 W. Packwood Avenue, Maitland.