The Chalkboard Exercises

Posted on February 11, 2011February 7, 2022 by Thor

It was six in the morning and I was standing in my driveway waiting for Brian Feldman to pick me up with a U-Haul he had rented. It was still pitch black outside and a deep wet fog made the orange glow of the streetlights quickly fade away as they marched away down the street toward the horizon. I heard the roar of the truck before I saw it. I pulled out my iPhone and flashed it at the oncoming headlights. I had my tablet to sketch with since it is the best option when sketching in low light. Brian had asked me to bring me video camera and tripod as well, so I piled them into the cab. In the back of the U-Haul was a large portable chalkboard. Brian had labored for days to find one since most classrooms have whileboards these days.

I directed Brian on how to get from my place to Universal Studios. There was going to be a Principal’s Appreciation Breakfast at Hard Rock Live. The event began at 7am and Brian wanted to be set up at the entrance writing “I WILL SUPPORT ARTS EDUCATION.” over and over again. When we arrived at the Universal Studios security gate the guards asked us both for our drivers licenses. Brian was asked to open the back of the truck. While he was doing that I was asked who our contact was since our names were not on the list. I told him to ask Brian. Britt Daley, who works for the Orange County Arts Education Center which was the host if the event, was our contact. Brian called her and she scrambled to find out why we were not on the list. It turns out Brian’s name was on a list, just not the one the guard looked at.

We parked behind Hard Rock Live and unloaded the chalkboard which was surprisingly heavy. We wheeled it around to the entrance and set up. CityWalk across the lagoon looked gorgeous in the misty morning fog. I set up the tripod and asked Brian if he had the tapes. He had forgotten to get them. The event guests slowly arrived. Brian started writing and I began sketching. I rather liked the clacking sound the chalk made as it struck the board. Some teachers laughed out loud. But mostly there was the clacking of the chalk and the tapping of my stylus on the tablet. The moist air was making my hand stick to the tablet making it hard to let long lines flow.

When everyone was inside, I went in and stood at the back of the room to listen. The keynote speaker, John Ceschini, spoke about the importance of arts in education. He began with a quote from Yeats, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the building of a fire.” On the table in front of me there were boxes of crayons and a single tile mosaic with gorgeous blue tiles and several clear spherical tiles. I thought back to a mosaic I had made for my mothers when I was 10 years old. On stage John quoted some more famous minds like Einstein who said,”Imagination is more important than knowledge.” A video was shown of a little girl talking about an abstract painting by Wassily Kandinsky. In it she saw birds, a bridge, a plane, rainbow and a black hole which was beginning to suck all light and color from the imaginary world. Here was a mind ignited by limitless possibilities of the imagination.

Rising Star

Posted on February 10, 2011February 7, 2022 by Thor

It was Jeremy Seghers birthday. A group of his friends gathered at Ethos Kitchen, a vegan restaurant, to celebrate. We all pushed some tables together and everyone ordered dinner from the front counter. There was plenty of playful conversation. Someone had ordered a huge birthday cake from Rhapsodic Bakery. It was tasty but a little too sweet. After dinner a group of us went to Theater Downtown where Chicago had just begun it’s run. The cast of the show was gathered in the lobby. The room was converted into a makeshift karaoke bar. Amenda Chadwick insisted I join her singing, “Somewhere Out There”. I don’t know why I can’t just say no. She is persuasive.

Amanda did a soft shoe routine waiting for the piano introduction to finish up. We sang a bit timid at first then shouting till our voices cracked. Terry, who claimed she had never seen me sing, shot video on her iPhone which I hope was properly destroyed. To round out the festivities we went to Rising Start at Universal’s City walk. Terry and I were driving separate cars so I followed her there. When we got to the parking garage Terry realized she didn’t have her cell phone. She used my phone to call her number. Someone at the Theater Downtown, picked up and described the phone to Terry. She had to go back. I pushed on to City Walk. “The guard at the entrance to the parking garage told me that if I wanted one minute, I wouldn’t have to pay. I think there was a $5 admission for the club. I got a wristband.

Our table was populated with talented actors, actresses and musicians. Mathew Mendel got up to sing and he really bought the roof down. A table full of women were sitting at the table behind us and they were swooning and screaming. Brian Feldman looked around comically for effect. After finishing his song, Mathew took the longest time, finding his way back to our table. He must have been shanghied. This place offered karaoke with a boost. There were sexy backup singers and talented band members. Jeremy and an actress I had never met before sang, “How do I get you Alone” and the crowd loved it. Terry finally stopped in as I was finishing my sketch. She was tired and I wanted to get away before someone insisted I get up to sing.

Turned Away from the Holy Land (Again)

Posted on October 6, 2010February 7, 2022 by Thor

This year I decided I would get into the Holy Land. I considered my plan carefully. Last year, parking involved long lines and was absolute chaos. I decided this year to park at the Millenia Mall and hike over I-4 to get to the park. When I got out of my truck the first thing I heard was helicopters. I knew I was once again entering a theme park war zone. When I approached the gate I entered last year, a security officer approached me and asked, “Got your ticket?” I replied, “No.” He said, “You are going to have to go down the sidewalk and enter down there, that is where they are giving away tickets.” He pointed.
I passed several news vans with their long coiled antennas raised. When I turned, there was a line of people stretching back in the parking lot as far as the eyes could see. The line switched back and I took my place at the end of the line. I stood behind a mother and father with their four daughters. One of the daughters shouted, “It’s my turn, It’s my turn!” The dad lifted her up quickly and kissed her face and neck several times,”mwah, mwah.” The younger daughter then shouted, “Do me! Do me!” The father did this for as long as he could then he said, “No more turns.” I turned and looked behind me, the line was growing longer. For a brief moment, a light breeze hit me, drying the sweat on my back. I resisted the urge to sketch since I had sketched the line last year and that was part of the reason I didn’t get in the park.
A countdown started from a family in line, “3…,2…,1…” was followed by a shout of “Hallelujah”. A little girl dressed in pink maneuvered her wheel chair with amazing dexterity. An old man relaxed in a lawn chair. There was no shade. Two Roman Soldiers all in red and gold marched through the line and into the park via a gap in the fence. A woman shouted out, “Hello everyone, Jesus Christ loves you all!” I didn’t understand why she was preaching when everyone in line was drinking the Kool-aid. I finally inched forward to a spot where the line turned. I was shocked to discover that the line turned the corner away from the entrance for a hundred yards or so. I waited another half hour and then an angry woman walked past the line saying, “You are all waiting for no reason,. They ran out of tickets!” I immediately got out of line and rushed up to the gates to sketch. The Central Florida News 13 van pulled up and set up their camera. Two women approached the news anchor and said, “We never got a ticket. We came all the way from New Jersey only to be turned away.” A policeman started shouting at the people still standing outside the gate, “Everyone to the left! We need room for vehicles to get through! People in the back of the line, back up, I need five feet clear in front of the gate.”
Once a year, Holy Land is required to open the park for free in order to keep their tax exempt status. The park has a capacity of 2000 guests and then they have to close the gate. Last year the people who didn’t get in, all got vouchers to return for free any time in the next month. A park spokes person said the vouchers resulted in a situation that was out of control. Hundreds of people showed up the next day resulting in more chaos. The voucher was the Christian thing to do, but if you think about it, also resulted in profits going down. Even if everyone used their free voucher, it would still be cheaper for Holy Land than paying their taxes.
As I packed up to leave, the line outside the park’s closed gates continued to grow. People were waiting for guests to leave the park in the hope that they would then get in. I don’t have the kind of faith needed to stand baking in the sun for many more hours.
On the walk back to my truck, I decided to treat myself to a Tutti Frutty Frozen Yogurt at the Millenia Mall. On the windshield of my truck I got this note from security officer Krigsner: “Mall at Millenia parking lot is for Mall at Millenia guests or employees only. Please relocate your vehicle if you are not shopping or working at the mall. Thank you.” God I hate malls and theme parks. What am I doing in Orlando? Security guard Krigsner, my Tutti Frutty receipt is in the mail to you.

Gatorland

Posted on June 7, 2010February 7, 2022 by Thor

Terry arranged a tour with the Audubon Society to see the nesting birds in the sanctuary behind Gatorland. The tour guide who was the grandson of the founder of the place kept up a constant banter. He also kept the group constantly on the move. I finally escaped the tour and settled in to sketch this white gator. It turns out a white gator would never survive in the wild and the two gators in this compound were found together and saved when they first hatched. Sea World kept them hidden away from the public for years until they felt they were large enough for their Giant White Gator marketing campaign.
Drawing a white gator is a little easier than drawing a regular gator since all the ridges and wrinkles are easily visible. I was of course in a rush since every line I put down meant I was falling that much further behind the tour. As I was working a thunderstorm rolled in. there were loud claps of thunder and illuminating blasts of light. In the lagoon outside the larger gators rose to the surface and started to let out an unearthly bellowing noise. Pairs of gators would bellow and roll in the water. Perhaps it is some sort of rain appreciations dance. Regardless it felt like I was back in the age of the dinosaurs.
Gator land is someplace I should really look into sketching at more often. It is a real Florida treasure right in my backyard.

Tilikunundrum

Posted on April 1, 2010February 7, 2022 by Thor

I decided to get up as early as possible on a Saturday morning to sketch Brian Feldman as he began his eighteen hours of confinement in a stranger’s bathtub, one hour for each year Tilikum the orca has been held captive in a space of comparative size at SeaWorld® Orlando. In a YouTube video, Jean-Michel Cousteau lamented the tragic death of a Sea World® trainer. Perhaps the time has come to stop keeping these beautiful mammals in captivity. Terry and I had the opportunity to see a pod of orcas as they hunted and played off the coast of Washington State. Terry, who grew up in San Diego, loved to watch Shamu perform at SeaWorld®. After seeing orcas in the open ocean, however, she no longer has any desire to see them jump through hoops for fish handouts.

I got to “Sea House®” at about seven in the morning. There were quite a few cars parked in the street outside the home, so I knew I was in the right place. The sun was just beginning to warm up the sky. I knocked once and then opened the front door. I followed the sound of splashing water and made my way to a tiny bathroom where I found Brian’s father sitting on a toilet trying to bring up some YouTube videos of the SeaWorld® Shamu show. Brian was just getting into the tub to begin his performance. On the laptop screen there were two video streams. There was a major problem however, the tub had no stopper! Brian tried to keep the water in the tub by pressing his foot over the drain, but I could hear the water flowing out into the drain. Brian’s father put out a request online for anyone to get a stopper. Brian had to lean forward every few minutes to refill the tub. Once he turned the wrong knob and the shower sprayed down on his head.

After I was halfway finished with my sketch, Lili McDonald arrived at the front door with a brand new tub stopper in hand. She was an instant hero. Brian’s father had to get to work so he said goodbye. Lili took his inglorious seat and took over laptop duty. For the duration of his performance Brian had the bombastic “inspirational” music from the SeaWorld® Shamu show playing in the background. Lilli, who is techno-savvy, set up the YouTube video to play in a loop so the music went uninterrupted. Having to listen to this music over and over again is enough to make any thinking breathing mammal go postal. I applaud Brian for the unconventional way he demonstrated against keeping orcas in captivity.

I later spoke with Mary Hill, who once worked at SeaWorld®. She pointed out how devastated she was by the conditions of the animals kept in captivity. They were treated humanely, but in the wild they have ranges of thousands of miles. Being restricted in an enclosure is hard for any animal. She used to conduct backstage tours for guests. Backstage there is an area where polar bears go when guests are no longer in the park. She told me there was super thick one-way glass which could keep the bears from seeing or smelling handlers. One bear was particularly neurotic. He would pace in a set pattern all day and rub his head up against a fiberglass “rock” until all the fur on his neck was rubbed raw. They would move the “rock” but then he would just reverse his pattern and then rub the fur off somewhere else in the process. She went into work early in the mornings just to sit with her back against the thick glass, and she would meditate and pray for the animal. On the second day of doing this, the bear sat with his back up against the glass where Mary sat. It is as if he knew she was there sending him good will.

The death of the SeaWorld® trainer is tragic and perhaps it will cause this multi-million dollar industry to rethink using orcas as a form of entertainment if only for a moment.

Carousel of Progress 35th Anniversary

Posted on February 1, 2010February 7, 2022 by Thor

To commemorate the Carousel of Progress’ 35th anniversary at the Magic Kingdom, Brian Feldman decided to experience the ride, his favorite, for as long as the park was open that day – 11 hours straight. In order for me to sketch Brian’s performance, I had to arrange some way to get into the park without paying a fortune. I put out a request via Facebook, and Lon Smart, a former Disney Feature Animation colleague, offered to get me in. As I was driving down World Drive toward the Magic Kingdom, Brian Feldman gave me a call and explained that he had arranged for a travel agency to supply him with a ticket. When he got to the Disney World will call ticket booth, he was asked for his ID or drivers license. It was only then that he realized he had forgotten his license, at home: it was sitting on the kitchen table. Brian’s performance had been on the news that morning, yet the Cast Member stood fast and refused to give him the ticket.

I called Lon who was converging on the Magic Kingdom on his motorcycle, trying to explain the situation, but our connection was cut off. When I met Brian at the Monorail, I told him Lon might be able to save the day and get both of us in. As we waited at the entrance to the Magic Kingdom, Brian and I both noticed a man holding a black box with a yellow cord hanging from it that looked suspiciously like a fuse. I was standing near a trash can and the man approached me and dropped something inside the can. Needless to say,I backed away from the trash can quickly. The man later handed the black box to someone else who walked away with it. We never did find out what was in the black box.

Lon arrived and was happy to get both Brian and myself into the park. As we walked down Main Street, U.S.A., Lon explained to us that the Carousel of Progress is slated to be disassembled and moved to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. He knows what will replace the attraction, but is sworn to secrecy.

There was no line to get on the Carousel of Progress. Brian and I entered the theater the first time with six or seven other people. A Cast Member announced, “Please no eating, drinking, video or photography.” They did not say anthing about sketching, so I immediately set up my portable stool so I could look down the front row of the theater with Brian in the foreground, and started to sketch. The Carousel tells the story of the evolution of technology in 20th century America. According to the show introduction, “The Carousel of Progress has had more performances than any other stage show in the history of American theater”. With robots.

After the first performance of the Carousel was over, Brian and I remained seated and waited for the next audience. A few people trickled in and the show began again. A Carousel Cast Member approached me and asked, “Is that Fred?” I responded, “No.” He then said, “I heard that someone named Fred was going to ride the attraction all day”. I then introduced him to Brian. Brian was not pleased that I had blown his cover. I had placed the entire mission in jeopardy. As I sketched, I noticed video cameras positioned in the corners of the attraction to watch the audience. After the next performance of the Carousel was over, two more gentlemen approached us and said they were there to help us. My sketch was not finished yet, and I was suspicious. “May I help you?” usually means quite the opposite. They said we could get on the ride all day, but we would have to exit each time and then re-enter. They told us we could stand at a roped off area so we didn’t have to get to the back of the line each time. But really, come on… “what line?” This was the Carousel of Progress, not Space Mountain!

With the next performance, the ride broke down, and the audience was treated to the same performance by the same animatronics a second time. Over the PA system, a woman who sounded like a flight attendant, asked everyone to quietly and calmly exit the theater. We found ourselves on the backlot and had to walk around to get back in the park.

We didn’t know how long the ride would be down, so I started a sketch of Brian as he checked his iPhone and talked to the friendly Cast Member informing gusts of the ride’s temporary closure. Before I finished the sketch the ride began again, so it took a little less than two hours for it to be fixed. All during that time, people had to be turned away. Buttons were being handed out in the park announcing the ride’s 35th anniversary, so some people were curious.

It took me a while to find Brian again since there are five different theaters, each letting the audience exit in different spots. I experienced the ride a few more times to finish the sketch. It broke down once again, this time in the living room of tomorrow. In this scene, the oven is programed to work via voice activation, and as the family of tomorrow jokes about a high score on a video game, the oven raises the temperature to match the game score, burning the dinner. Smoke billows out of the oven. We had to sit through the same scenario several times, each time having more smoke fill the theater. One woman rushed past me saying, “I’m getting out of here!” When I got out of the theater, I decided my sketch was finished. Brian continued to ride the attraction for the rest of the day. This might be the most daring and dangerous performance he has ever done.

“There’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, shining at the end of every day. There’s a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away!”

Sea World – Dolphins Vewing Area

Posted on January 13, 2010February 7, 2022 by Thor

When I left the dolphin feeding area, I couldn’t resist going underground for the underwater experience. There was a constant crowd pressing up against the glass, viewing the dolphins swimming from underwater. Photo flashes would pop and people were constantly pressing forward to get a better view. I chose to sit with my back against a fire extinguisher a bit removed from the throng and I tried to catch the ever changing scene. Some parents lost interest in the underwater view and turned to their phones for entertainment. One tourist walked up to me and asked me if he could take my picture. He said his sister-in-law was an artist and would get a kick out of the work I was doing. I am amazed that everywhere I go I meet someone who has a relative who is an artist.
After this sketch was done, I battled the crowds milling around the park for the first time. I became immediately exhausted with the start and stop nature of trying to move around the park. I approached a men’s room, but the line was so long that I decided to wait. Lunch was out of the question. I didn’t need food that bad. I wandered the park aimlessly searching for my next sketch.

Sea World – Dolphin Encounter

Posted on January 12, 2010February 7, 2022 by Thor

The Dolphin Encounter at Sea World is a very popular attraction. People pay $7 for some fish and are then guided in how to behave around the dolphins by trained parks people. The biggest concern is that people not let the paper tray the fish come in ever get close to the water. If the dolphins saw that tray, they would try and snatch it, potentially choking on the paper. Also Seagulls would flock overhead whenever the feeding started. They had a habit of dive bombing tourists in an attempt to get at the fish.
I stood across from the area where people could stand near the water for free. They would lean over with their hands in the water waiting diligently for the dolphins to come to them. The dolphins were not interested. They only went to the trainers who they knew had food.
I was standing next to a parks person whose job was to watch the tourists and make sure they didn’t have any personal items hanging over the water’s edge. If he saw a tourist with a sweatshirt hanging over or a water bottle he would contact someone on the opposite side via walkie-alkie and let them know what was up. “The tourist with the blue shirt on your right has a sweatshirt hanging over the ledge.” Another parks person would rush through the crown to find the tourist with the sweatshirt and ask him to step back. Some Harley-Davidson bikers also hung out, hoping to touch a dolphin. I’m betting the dolphin’s skin feels much like the worn leather jackets they were wearing.
After a few minutes of feeding the dolphins, the people who had paid would all be asked to leave to that another group of tourists could file in.

Sea World – Entrance

Posted on January 11, 2010February 7, 2022 by Thor

Just before the end of the year, I went to SeaWorld because I had a complimentary ticket that would expire come January first. I got the ticket at IZEAFest, a bloggers conference that was held at SeaWorld. Let’s face it, going to a theme park during the holiday rush isn’t really my idea of a good time, but I could not miss the sketching opportunity. When I got close to the park, traffic backed up for maybe a mile leading into the parking lot. I got sick of waiting and decided to turn off and go down a side street. I found an office complex and parked in its garage. I then hiked the mile or so to the park entrance.
The crowds just kept coming, and I decided to sketch the entrance just in case the park filled up like the Holy Land Experience did several months ago. I was surprised when a Amish Mennonite family walked by. The blue roller coaster in the sketch is new and called the Manta. The turnstile line I decided to stand in ended up breaking down, so I had to force my way into the next line over. My sketch bag was searched and I sighed relief when my ticket actually worked.
I always like seeing the flamingos when I enter the park, but they had been moved to make room for the Manta roller coaster. The flamingos no longer had a nice scenic lagoon to stand in, but were now in a tiny fenced in enclosure. The park was insanely crowded. I stood in a line for a bathroom break once I finished this sketch and then I went to see some dolphins.