History in a Glass Celery Edition

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The History in a Glass series, at the Orange County Regional History Center, (65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801) featured three local craft bartenders who competed for
bragging rights by creating libations linked to historical themes and
artifacts. The June edition was about the history of celery in Central Florida. Pam Schwartz, the chief curator made herself a crown of celery stalks for the evening. I set up to sketch backstage behind the bartenders looking out over the crowd enjoying the libations. Lite bites for the evening were supplied by Hawkers Asian Street Fare.

Now on to the history behind the drinks… 100 years ago Sanford, Florida was undergoing major economic shifts. Steamboats were being replaced by steam locomotives and the citrus industry experienced a a series of huge freezes, destroying all the crops. The population plummeted as crops were abandoned.  

I.H. Terwilliger stayed after the freezes and is reputed to have planted
the first celery crops grown in Sanford in 1896. More people came to plant
celery and by 1898 Sanford’s celery was known nationwide. Celery
was being grown across more than 6,000 acres in the Central Florida
area, producing 73% of the nation’s celery. Sanford became known as Celery City. There were roughly 553 celery farms in the area in the early 1900s. That
number dwindled down to just 22 by the end of World War II.

Three downtown bartenders mixed libations based on this history of celery. They were instructed to use celery in their concoctions. After tasting each of the drinks the attendees got to vote on their favorite history themed libation. Justin from, The Courtesy Bar, prepared a cocktail influenced by Central Florida’s resurgence after the death of the citrus industry called Phoenix Rising. The tasty drink included peach and orange blossom vodka, the Florida Key lime, and ITALICUS, an Italian liqueur made with rose petals, and it was this cocktail that earned him the title of  Celery King. 

History in a glass.

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The first History in a Glass took place on June 22 at the Orange County Regional History Center, 65 E Central Blvd, Orlando, FL 32801. History in a Glass pairs fun and fascinating historical collection
artifacts with delicious hand-crafted cocktails. Three bar districts –
Downtown, Mills/50 District, and Winter Park – battle for the championship to see
who can win people’s choice in designing the
best custom cocktail based on a story from the history of Central
Florida. Three ace mixologists from each district will go head to head
with their colleagues, the winner advancing to the series finale in
December.

In the first competition mixologists from three popular downtown Orlando establishments – Hanson’s Shoe Repair, The Woods, and The Courtesy Bar – received a brief biography of Billy Bluebeard, Orlando’s first swan to create their drink from. Billy was brought to Orlando in 1910 by Charles Lord and placed at Lake Lucerne with his mate Sally. They were a rather romantic pair and Billy took quite an interest in their domestic affairs. Sally would sit on their eggs, but each day Billy would come by to relieve her so that she might swim about the Lake and stretch her legs.  One day, Billy was running a bit behind and Sally decided to take off before his arrival.  Their eggs grew cold, Lord knowing they would be dead, removed them from the nest. Upon finding an empty nest, Billy was furious. He swam out to Sally in the middle of the lake, grabbed her by the throat, and held her head under until she died.

Billy was given a new mate, Mary, who was quite a bit younger than he. Billy grew ill and was taken to a veterinarian. Once he was better, he returned home to find Mary with another swan! Unfortunately Billy wasn’t quite the fighting swan he once was, and the new, younger Charlie wasn’t having any of Billy’s attitude. Lord made the decision to remove Billy to another lake where he eventually passed away.  Some say it was old age, others say Billy died of a homesick broken heart.

In 1933, the proprietor of W.H. Swan Company had Billy stuffed and placed in the foyer of his department store where he stood until becoming one of the very first donations to the History Center.

Mark your calendar! The next History in a Glass, “Hog Wild” Edition is Thursday, August 24 at 6 PM – 9 PM. Not far from the present-day History Center’s
door, razorbacks once rubbed their backs on the steps of Orange County’s
wooden courthouse in the 1870s,
when Florida was a wild frontier. Florida still has an estimated one
million feral pigs on the loose. Just recently in the news, wild hogs
are still running amok in Brevard County! Come cheer on your favorite bartender from the Mills 50 District in a competition to create the best history-inspired beverage. The winner will advance to the series finale in December.

Admission tickets include great music with a DJ, three hand-crafted cocktails, and tasty cuisine
from a local restaurant. Member tickets are $20, general admission $25. This event is for guests 21 and older. For details, call 407-836-7035. Doors open at 6 p.m., cocktail competition and drink service start at 6:30.

Snap! Downtown Opening.

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Snap! Orlando has opened a new gallery downtown at 420 E Church St, Orlando, FL. The opening exhibit featured g artists in z galleries.  As part of our ongoing mission to boldly increase the visibility and appreciation of art in our community and beyond, Snap has expanding to the Downtown / Thornton Park neighborhoods.

The largest gallery featured Mark Gmehling, ‘Nu Werks’ – Exhibit curated by Holly and Patrick Kahn. Mark is a German artist who has an elastic view on life. He makes fine art prints from 3D renderings of abstract characters and bizarre scenarios, all illustrated in a playfully fluid manner. The aesthetics of each of his figures are highly polished though and resemble beautiful, glossy ceramic pieces. Gmehling was introduced to the US by Snap! in 2014, and has garnered international press including the cover of Orlando Weekly, front page of Orlando Sentinel, Hi Fructose Magazine, and Der Spiegel in Germany.

Also in the front gallery, were sculpted rings by Rebecca Rose, ‘New Sculpturings,’ which are beautifully created pieces redefined beyond their traditional sense, each piece with unique form and storytelling, blending luxury with urban activism relevant to current social issues. Rebecca sketches, assembles, carves, invests, kiln fires, and casts her own work in her studio.

In the middle gallery was work by Chris Robb, ‘Continuum’. Coming from a background of graphics and printing, Robb’s work has evolved over the past 30 years into an expressionistic abstraction. Color is central to his dynamic compositions. His grasp of the formal properties of color––hue, value, intensity, and temperature, permits him to layer multiple colors without overpowering the structure of his compositions.

The back gallery featured the edgy urban work of Earl Funk, ‘Seasons Change’ This exhibit was curated by Gina Bernadini. Orlando illustrator and tattoo artist new works are inspired by the changing of the seasons, as well as the idea of being open to changing ourselves.

Artists were present on opening night. Catering, craft cocktails by The Courtesy Bar, music by DJ Nigel John and DJ Ken Sherry.

Snap! Space presents : ‘WILD IS THE WIND’.

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On Friday November 20, Snap! Orlando (1013 E Colonial Dr, Orlando, Florida) presented ‘Wild Is The Wind,’ an unconventional visual exploration of freedom and innocence by selected international photographers and contemporary artists. The exhibition captures an ethereal sense of the interaction between humankind, native environments, and the creatures that inhabit them, through the inspired work of celebrated international artists. Many artists were present on opening night. Craft cocktails by The Courtesy Bar and music by DJ Nigel John.

This multimedia exhibit, including photography, digital art, projection, oil painting, and water color, curated by Holly and Patrick Kahn, features works by:

• Julien Nonnon (France. Works from series ‘Urban Safari’)

• Tom Chambers (USA. Works from series ’To The Edge’)

• Heather Evans Smith (USA. Works from series ’Seen Not Heard’)

• Cameron Bloom (Australia. Works from series ‘Penguin the Magpie’)

• Elicia Edijanto (Indonesia. Works from series ‘Natural Connections’)

• David Olivera (USA. Works from series ‘Duality’)

• Martin Stranka (Czech Republic. Works from series ‘I Found The Silence’)

On the evenings following the opening night, Snap! invited guests to join artist Julien Nonnon, as they will traveled with him to produce new digital projections in specific architectural locations throughout Orlando. Locations were be announced through social media prior to the evening of the event. This was the premiere behind the scenes of the making of his new “Urban Wild‘ series, created for the first time in the US. Details to follow!

The exhibition will be on view through January 16th, 2016 during gallery hours Thursday – Saturday, 11 AM – 4 PM, and by appointment contact: info@snaporlando.com

Beatrice Carmen Miranda was wearing a hat that resembled high tech Mickey Mouse ears. She explained the she ran across this unique hat in Brooklyn NY and she simply had to have it. It seems to be made from the support wires found in bras, but its inner structure is covered with a black felt fabric. I couldn’t stop looking at her so the hat certainly attracts attention. Her friend Richard Wahl was surprised to find that he was also in the sketch. We exchanged business cards. He is the coo and principle at Findsome and Winmore, a digital marketing agency. Sketching digitally, kind of blows my cover.   When I work in a sketchbook, I’m usually ignored. But when I work on a tablet everyone wants to know who kind of tablet I’m using, and what software is creating the art. I want to reply “The medium isn’t the message, it is just a tool like a pencil.” People seem l be attracted to The ghost in the machine, like moths to a flame.

After the sketch was complete, I had a stiff drink and then sat down with Swami World Traveler and got to see a 3D rendering program that he is writing code for that creates 3D representations of mathematical equations. The sample he showed me featured pyramids built from just a few block and then progressing to thousands of blocks. Had there been programs like this when I was a kid I might have had more interest in math.

Snap! Space is a New Hip Cultural Hub in Orlando

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On May 2nd I went to the opening reception for Edge of a Dream at Snap! Space (1013 E. Colonial Drive, Orlando, Florida). The show explored the fine line between figurative narratives, reverie and the familiarity of reality while resembling a dream. Curated by Patrick and Holly Kahn, the exhibit featured the works of eight nationally renowned fine art photographers, along with sculpture, installation, fine art origami and jewelry.

Guest artists were in attendance. Cocktails were offered by ‘The Courtesy Bar‘, and music was by resident DJ Nigel John.  I was most intrigued by the photos of Richard Tushman. His “Hopper Meditations” series showed an isolated couple in a bedroom. The lighting and compositions made the photos look like Edward Hopper paintings. The photos had a surreal quality to them. It wasn’t until after the opening that Patrick explained that the rooms were miniatures created by the photographer. Looking at the photos again I could see that the curtains didn’t hang quite right.

At the opening I sat next to the reception desk to sketch the bar. Snap! girls volunteer at these events and field any questions people might have. Holly came to the desk with a prospective client and sold a small sculpture made from vintage watch gears and pieces by Mike Nuriel. Sketching the Courtesy Bar was a challenge, since the line kept moving as people picked up their drinks. My artists stool wobbled as my crossed legs grew tired. I have a nasty habit of leaning back in a chair until I’m balanced on the back two legs. Unfortunately the small artist stool couldn’t handle my maneuvering.  The back legs folded under me sending we toppling backwards in slow motion. A lamp cord was strung behind me like a clothes line to the outlet, so as I fell, the lamp flew off the table. The Snap girl acted with quick instincts and caught the lamp like a professional baseball outfielder. I landed squarely on my ass and flushed red as I got up and reset my stool with what little remained of my dignity. “Great” I thought, “Save the lamp and let the artist flop down like a rag doll.” Actually I was very grateful. Patrick and Holly had “borrowed” the lamp from their son’s bedroom. Had it been broken, I would have felt horrible. I finished the sketch without incident and then looked at all the art one more time before I slipped out.