Cherry Blossoms

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The National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C., is one of the world’s great celebrations of spring. The 2020 Festival, March 20, 2020 – April 12, 2020 was to include four weeks of events featuring diverse and creative programming promoting traditional and contemporary arts and culture, natural beauty, and community spirit. After the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, festival organizers announced that based on an abundance of caution they will cancel the 2020 National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade. In addition the following events were postponed: The Japan America Society’s Sakura Matsuri – Japanese Street Festival, and the Anacostia River Festival, produced by the 11th Street Bridge Park and National Park Service. In the past, the event drew more than 1.5 million visitors to D.C. each year.

To help maintain social distancing the organizers encouraged people not to go in public to walk under the gorgeous blooms. Authorities strongly discouraged people from visiting the Tidal Basin. Instead they set up rooftop bloom web cams so that people could see the blooms from home. 

Despite
this virtual solution people showed up in large crowds to see the
blooms and many were not in any way practicing social distancing. The weather was unseasonably warm, with temperatures reaching into the 80s, which could’ve been a factor in drawing people outdoors.

The iconic cherry blossoms reached peak
bloom on Friday, March 20, 2020, and should stay that way for about 10 days. Saturday, March 22, 2020, brought a surge in visitors that convinced authorities to take extraordinary steps. Washington’s Metro system closed down a pair of stations nearest to the Tidal Basin in the hopes of lessening crowds. D.C.-based celebrity chef and philanthropist Jose Andres took to Twitter
Sunday morning to plead for community compliance in avoiding the Tidal
Basin. Under the hashtag #StayHomeCherryBlossomsChallenge, Andres pledged to “cook a huge Paella for thousands of Washingtonians” next year if they kept the number down. 

Ultimately, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser, called in the National Guard to help restrict access to DC cherry blossoms. One of her team members who worked in the office of legal counsel, has died from the virus. She set up new restrictions included prohibiting pedestrian and bicycle traffic around the National Mall. Additionally, road traffic remains closed around the Tidal Basin which
includes the Jefferson Memorial until further notice after the local
government requested the National Park Service to close the area. The very idea that the National Guard is needed to curb peoples callous indifference and stupidity is evidence that there are rough times ahead.

This points out the difficulty of enforcing social distancing in this public health emergency. People are going stir crazy and don’t see the threat of the virus to themselves or their friends and relatives until it is too late. People are quick to carve out exceptions for their own behavior. Some, encouraged by the lies of the POTUS still think the whole pandemic is a hoax.  

Stay home, stay safe. Consider your own health and the health of those you love through these crazy times.

After the Tone set the tone at TONE.

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Art in Odd Places: TONE / Orlando  has taken over Downtown Orlando on
Magnolia Avenue between Anderson and Washington Streets from September 17-20th. It is a public and visual performance art Festival that presents art in unexpected places. I went downtown on September 17th to see Brian Feldman, a performance artist from Washington D.C. who used to hail from Orlando. I saw him running to and from his car getting the elements for his simple set, a small table with red legs supporting a tiny potted plant, a phone message book, and an old rotary phone. The title of his performance piece was “… after the tone.”

The premise of his performance is that people seldom leave voice messages anymore. Instead, they might leave a text or a message on any number of social media options. I am a case in point. I seldom notice if my phone rings and there are 44 unanswered voice messages that I need to get to. I tend to respond immediately to texts or Facebook messages, however. With so many ways to communicate, I sometimes lose track of which method was used if I need to go back and reread a message. Voice messages may indeed become extinct. 

Joe Rosier was the first patron to approach Brian’s table. Brian asked him to name someone who would be least likely to pick up their phone. Brian then wrote down Joe’s message on a phone message book. Then Brian asked what tone of voice he should use to deliver the voice message. If the person picked up the phone, Brian would immediately hang up. Sure enough, on the first call, the person picked up and Brian hung up. Joe kind of cheated by calling back and asking the person to not pick up. On the second try, Brian delivered a voice message of endearment in a sultry voice.

A young woman approached Brian who knew nothing about his performance or even who he was. She agreed to leave a message with an ex-boyfriend. Her message was fascinating. She wanted him to know that, “You’ll get your $50 and you were never a good boyfriend, what makes you think you’d be a good friend?” Brian’s angered mafia voice tone sent the message with perfection. Another young woman asked Brian to deliver a voice message to congratulate a friend who just landed a new job in Chicago. Brian did his best to deliver the message in a hardy Chicago accent. He practiced, saying “Duh Bears” several times. The message ended with, “Oh, and you’re hot”.

Another artist, Klimchak, guy rode by on a bicycle wearing a flame patterned cape playing a theremin with strong speakers to belt out the sci-fi vibes. It rained for a few minutes and I ran for cover across the street to hide under the arched doorways of the History Cente, leaping over 6 Spanish Moss nests which had bars of Tone soap in them. Three nests were empty. Barbara Hartley later explained that the artist, Dina Mack, had purchased many bars of soap and the missing nests would be refilled each night. Michael Heidmann offered me his umbrella so that I could finish my sketch. Thankfully, the rain stopped long enough for me to finish. I’m so glad Orlando is small enough for this kind of neighborly gesture.

The Greek Orthodox Church around the corner had a food share earlier in the evening. That meant that some people walking past Brian’s performance piece were more concerned with finding a place to sleep rather than art. Across the street and up the block a bit, a man lay down on his back among the landscaping outside the History Center. Later on a fire engine and an ambulance showed up with their sirens and blinking lights. The man was placed on a stretcher and whisked away on the ambulance. Brian felt terrible that he hadn’t called the ambulance. With 50 or so art projects going on, I thought the man might have been a performance artist or maybe he was a homeless man taking a nap before police told him to move along. Being from NYC I’m kind of used to seeing people asleep on sidewalks. Never faint or collapse in a city setting. No one will notice.

After sketching Brian, I went to see an artist who was sealed inside a Plexiglas box. He was sketching his view from inside the box using day glow markers. Four large black lights illuminated him. Yellow plumbing elbows were all around the AT&T building and one of them had a matching elbow with a fist sticking out of it. On the corner of Washington and Magnolia, a 6 foot high board had an American flag and a gun range human silhouette with a target made with flowers. A black hand made from plywood reached up towards the cloudy sky. In the History Center Park, Halee Sommer showed me a storage pod that was set up as a darkroom where anyone could enter to learn how to develop black and white prints from negatives. My older brothers used to develop film in the basement and the smell of the chemicals brought memories flooding back. Amazingly, I only saw a fraction of the art on display. The Tone themed art continued all the way down to the new Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. As I walked back to my car, I passed a man asleep in an entryway to the AT&T building and kept on walking. Be sure to get downtown and experience TONE for yourself.

The annual Renningers antiquing outing.

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Every year, Terry’s friends Elaine Pasekoff and Bob Newlen come to Central Florida for a Renningers Antiques shopping extravaganza. Elaine drove up from Miami and Bob flew in from Washington DC. Bob has a very responsible job at the Library of Congress, but when he gets to Florida he is all fun. When I got home from work, I found Bob asleep on the couch. He must have had an exhausting flight.

Terry was busy preparing dinner for our guests and Elaine kept her company as they caught up. There is always plenty of laughter when this crew gets together. After dinner, Bob went down to Sand Lake Road to stay in a brand new hotel that opened just last year. We dropped him off and peeked at his suite. He was living like a sultan rather than slumming it on our couch or guest bedroom.

Terry, Elaine and Bob drove up to Renningers in Mount Dora the next day. The intended to shop until they dropped all weekend. I had a class to teach, so I had a pass the first day. I drove up that night and we all sat on the porch of the Mount Dora Inn for a show and tell session. Everyone had a pile of loot and I got to play judge deciding what was the most unique, quirky and beautiful in the lot.I would make up a new category if an item called for it. I particularly liked a travel booklet for Cuba from the 1950s. That Elaine had picked up. There was an ad inside for Cuba’s only Jewish Deli.

Chess in Dupont Circle:

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It was a crisp clear fall day in D.C. and everywhere we went it seemed, couples were getting married. Our intrepid group of sketch crawlers continued down Massachusetts Avenue and stopped at the Islamic Center. I once again had to use a bathroom so I made my way downstairs. The room had a large area dedicated to bathing and then two rest rooms. I was surprised to find the toilet was srmply a hole in the floor with two foot shaped indentations on either side. I was tempted to sketch but without someone using it, I didn’t see the point. Instead I went outside and started drawing the Islamic Center from across the street. As I worked a tall black man in a flowing blue robe walked by. A limousine pulled up and people piled out dressed in gorgeous robes. They were from Sierra Leone and there was going to be a wedding. I cursed myself for being so far away but soon the fluttering crowd of robes and head dresses disappeared inside.

After I finished my sketch, I walked up to the ornate entrance to take a peak inside. As I did, Meredith Nelson, one of the urban sketchers, walked out with her scarf wrapped over her head. I was impressed with how she respected and honored the traditions. Before I could start a second sketch, our group gathered and we all started down Massachusetts Avenue once again. Passing a handsome brownstone, a crowd of people gathered on the steps caught my eye. A more traditionally dressed couple, she in a flowing white dress and he in a tuxedo, exited the building with cheers and a shower of rice. I realized I had lost my group of sketchers so I jogged to catch up.

The last stop on the Crawl was DuPont Circle. Most of the remaining sketchers gathered around the center fountain but I was immediately drawn to the group of men gathered to play chess. Spectators contemplated the game with as much seriousness as the players. As I sketched a brass band started playing on a street behind me. A group of college students were lounging in the grass beside me playing with an awkward large pawed puppy. The puppy kept testing the confines of his leash, bounding forward happily until the leash snapped taught choking him back. The chess game grew serious and a player cursed the stupidity of a move he had made. Check mate. I returned to the fountain and the remaining artists shared their work. So much artistic variety is always refreshing.

Kahill Gibran Monument

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On the 27th International Sketch Crawl I joined a dozen or so artists in Washington D.C. for the day. After regrouping at the National Cathedral, we moved as a group down Massachusetts Avenue towards DuPont Circle. We passed Embassy after Embassy. The Iraq Embassy was deserted. We finally stopped as a group at this small park where there was a monument to Kahlil Gibran. I had read “The Prophet” as a budding adolescent in high school. The book is even more resonant as the years pass and my heart grows mature from its years of work. Seasons and friendships come and go. Orlando is such a transient city, usually a stepping stone to a greater challenge in a much bigger city.

This bronze statue feels light and airy, the doves are off balance as if about to take flight. As I sketched, my heart relaxed. Accuracy was less important than flow. Being in the company of artists all striving to capture and retain a moment always feels important and time stands still. After this day, the Washington D.C. artists formed a group flickr site where they could share their work. I am considering forming a similar Orlando group, but then I need to seek out others who share my vision.

National Cathedral

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Terry and I flew to Washington D.C. to get some time away and to see the fall colors. The Saturday after we arrived, was International Sketch Crawl Day.
I hooked up with the Washington D.C. artists online and arranged to meet them at the National Cathedral.Terry and I got a rental car for the week.
We were given directions to the Cathedral by Terry’s cousins who had put us up for the night. We of course got lost in the maze of D.C. streets but we got to the Cathedral.I jumped out of the car and Terry drove off searching for a parking spot.It was such a gorgeous morning, crisp and cool.

As I walked towards this imposing structure, I noticed someone sitting on a portable stool.I introduced myself. He was Christian Tribastone the Washington D.C. correspondent for Urban Sketchers.Christian was half finished with his sketch of the Cathedral.I was the first artist to arrive. I breathed a sigh of relief. After we talked for a bit, I wandered off searching for my sketching vantage point. I decided Christian had the right idea so I walked further back on the green lawn and started to block in my sketch with Christian in the foreground.

Artists stared to arrive one at a time. A young woman named Meredith sat down not far from where I was working. Terry came back and told me Meredith had a very accurate way of drawing.I wanted to walk over and introduce myself but I resisted, keeping my focus on my sketch. By the time I finished my sketch she had moved on.
I texted Terry and we met near the steps of the Cathedral.
She had coffee that morning so we searched for the public bathrooms which we found in the catacombs under the building. I peeked inside the building, but I knew there wasn’t time for another sketch. Instead, we explored the garden which was beautiful.We found several artists sketching and took a peek as we walked by.

One artist showed me his fountain pen which was called a pen and ink sketch pen from Berkley. Christian texted letting me know all the artists were gathering to move to the next location. I arranged a group photo and then we all hiked down Massachusetts street past all the embassies toward Donovin Circle.We stopped at several embassies but never long enough to sketch. The Iraqi embassy was deserted…

Mirian Anderson Tribute Concert

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Mirian Anderson, a talented African American singer, was denied permission to sing at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in 1939. Instead she sang for 75,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial. This was a defining moment in the history of protest against inequality in America. To commemorate that historic event , Denyce Graves performed the same program at the Lincoln Memorial and even wore one of Anderson’s dresses. The defining moment in the concert for me was when the Chicago Children’s Choir and the entire audience sang “We who believe in freedom can not rest”. The whole audience was swaying and clapping its hands in unison. One feels that sense of unity and human potential so seldom. It was exhilarating. After the performance General Colin Powell helped several hundred people from 56 different countries gain their US Citizenship. The new citizens got a standing ovation from the audience. The heartwarming ceremony made me realize the civic responsibility we all have to give something back to the community . Colin’s voice broke as he read from Lincoln’s second inaugural speech: “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in.”

Port City Java

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I was supposed to meet a group of DC artists in the morning for the 21st World Wide Sketch Crawl. It was raining however and when I got to the meeting spot, a stone Japanese lantern, I found no artists, so I gave up on the crawl and spent the day visiting family. We met Terry’s niece, Allison, and stopped in this coffee shop to catch up. While we talked a group of Morris Dancers assembled outside and started jumping and spinning. The dancers were wearing lederhosen and other Tyrolean gear. A dancer would come in once in a while to use the bathroom. The bells on their legs would jangle loudly. Happy Easter.

Sleepless over Washington DC

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Analog Artist Digital World is heading out to Washington DC and Virginia for a week long spring break. The flight to DC was a short hop of about two hours. Terry slept the whole time leaning on her snack tray. She woke up just in time to panic about the landing. “Why is he flying so low?” “Does he have to turn so sharply?” “Isn’t he to close to the buildings?” Though I rather enjoy flying, some of her panic manages to rub off.
I am entering type with handwriting on the tablet PC and it is slow going, so expect short captions.