The Hub

Posted on by Thor

On September 18th, I went to the Full Sail building 2 lobby (3300 University Boulevard, Winter Park, Fl) for the return of The HUB (a.k.a. the Digital Arts and Design Gallery). Every other month this space will present a new selection of work by students and faculty. Each showcase will follow a theme. The first exhibition featured art and design inspired by music. All media/styles are welcome. Kim Lomas organized the event and I submitted a sketch of the Brad Catron Quartet. Rather than get the sketch framed, Kim gave me the option of displaying the sketch digitally on a computer screen. I liked the idea of displaying my analog art digitally.

The goal is to showcase projects from every department at Full Sail to demonstrate the rich variety of media, styles, and formats used. A committee of instructors choose the award for the best faculty work, and a committee of students choose the award for the best student work. Thankfully, I missed any award ceremony or speeches.

Faculty had quite a bit of work on display. Hugo Giraud had a painting of “The First Lady of Soul (Ella)” and a painting of “Dizzy G”. Leslie Silvia had one of her black paper cut outs (Scherenschnitte) titled “Sparrows and Nightingales.” Leslie joked with me as I sketched, saying, “We don’t allow sketching in here.” It is an ongoing joke among friends that I am so often kicked out of events for sketching. Tony Philippou had paintings of “Bigge”, “Andre 300”, and “Cee-loo”. A student whose work caught my eye was Tyler Christmas who had a painting done on acetate, of a human ribcage with a blue crab on top called “The Protector”. I noticed Tom Buzbee and his daughter, Avaryl in the reception crowd, but he wasn’t exhibiting any of his large abstract works. I had gotten to the reception late and so, I was still working on the sketch long after everyone had left for home.

First Thursdays

Posted on by Thor

Teachers and students from Full Sail had an exhibit at the Orlando Museum of Art for First Thursdays. I wasn’t aware of the call for entries since I haven’t looked at my Full Sail e-mail account for over five years. I’m pretty sure there are over 5,000 unread e-mails that I would have to catch up on. Snap an annual photography festival also had a photography exhibit in one of the back galleries. Admission to the museum for First Thursdays is $10. I had a Snap press pass so I figured I could use that to get in. I also put my Full Sail teachers lanyard in my pocket figuring I could claim I was an exhibiting artist if the Snap press pass failed. Every month I approach the museum to be turned away at the front door. I’m like a raptor always testing the gates. I recognized many of the faces of the volunteers.

This time I showed my press pass and said I was there to report on the snap exhibit. The volunteer looked for my name on the list. My name wasn’t there. She told me she would have to consult with someone. I stepped aside as others filed inside.  I assume the woman that greeted me was a public relations person for Snap. She put a wrist band on me and I went in. I sighed with relief, now I could get to work. I wandered through the Full Sail show fairly quickly. The most impressive work was a large Trope-L’oeil by Shawn Rinehart, of bottles, tools, a pulley and assorted hardware. The three foot high image was created in the computer. It was beyond photo real. A sexy female pirate Marquette also caught my eye. Tom Buzbee had a large painting of abstract spirals that was intriguing. They seemed to be a visual commentary on order and chaos. Hugo Giraud had a nice drawing with ink wash that I liked.

There was no one else in the back gallery looking at the Snap photography exhibit. They must have been crowding around the food and drink stations.  The photos were all rather large in format. A black and white shot of the streets of India stood out. There was also a series of photos of people in trailer parks. Wendy Wallenberg let me know she had a piece on display. On display in the main gallery was an exhibit called, “Reflections paintings of Florida, 1865-1965“.  There were plenty of juicy oil paintings that left me wanting to push paint around on a canvas. A painting called, Moonlight on the Ocklawaha by Charles Christian Eisele was dark and mysterious.

The band I decided to sketch was called, The Cornucopia Jazz Project. Matt Festa was on sax, Jeremy Birdsall was on the keys and Orlando Sanchez was playing the bongos. The music was lively and I had fun sketching to the beat. Chere Force and Rory stopped by to ask why I didn’t have a piece in the show. I really don’t have a good excuse.

Day of the Dead

Posted on by Thor

The day of the dead is a 3000 year old celebration that takes place in Mexico on November first and second. Grace Kurth offered a creative workshop in the design and art theory room at Full Sail. Participants were invited to bring…
1. A box: cigar, wine, wooden crate or any wooden or cardboard box.
2. A photograph of a loved one you wish to honor. It could be a family member, friend, special person, or a pet.
3. Mementos: tokens representative of their favorite, hobbies, music, teams, foods, movies, special trinkets, labels of their favorite drinks,
4. Glitter, beads, fabrics, buttons, any type of embellishment you might want to add.
5. Paints, markers, color pencils to paint the skulls. Glues and any hardware you might need.
6. Optional items: candles, marigolds, sunflowers, empty bottle, shawl, cloth, or other items.
I brought my usual bag of art supplies and my curiosity.

The day of the dead is not a dark macabre celebration. In Mexican culture death is considered a transitional phase not horrific or scary. It intends to celebrate the people who came before us. La Katrina born in 1913 drew cartoons which showed skeletons adorned in the trappings of wealth. The image showed that no matter how wealthy you are you will go through the phase of death. Dandy skeletons both male and female are popular images.

Grace took a trip to Janitzio, a small island where the day of the dead is celebrated. As evening fell a long line of people with candles walked up to the highest point on the island. There they built alters called ofrenda which celebrated the life of a loved one. Marigolds which represent regeneration were garlanded and used everywhere as decorations. Skulls of sugar called Calacas were ornately decorated to remind us that life is a delicious sweet indulgence. “Just when the caterpillar thought it was over, it became a butterfly.” Grace quoted.

Tom Buzbee brought in many photos and documents to commemorate his Papa. His father was a diplomat with a long square beard. Bananas were perched on the center rise of the ofrenda. Tom explained that when his father was sick in his final days he took to hoarding fruit in his room. Whenever he left the room there would be a scavenger hunt to find the hidden fruit. A small raisin was found years later that was once an apple. The smell of ripe bananas brought back vivid memories. Two of his daughters helped him make the altar. Libby was hot gluing long white whiskers onto the jaw of a skeleton, a stunning tribute to her grandfather’s whiskers. Avaryl had exotic skeletal tattoos on her chest and arms, a living celebration in the day of the dead tradition. She was busy decorating tiny skulls in bright colors. The room buzzed with creativity and stories of lives worth honoring.