Choral Concert

Posted on by Thor

On October 30th I went to a choral concert at Rollins College, Tiedtke Concert Hall. The evening featured the Women’s Choir, the Small Vocal Ensemble and the Rolling Singers. The concert hall was half full and it was easy for me to get a front row seat. Sarah Joseph was the student accompanist and George Atwell turned the sheet music when needed. The second group had additional musicians including a bass player that I included in the sketch.

The house must have been full of adoring parents and supportive College friends because when performers walked on stage the audience went wild. You’d think you were at a rock concert rather than a classical recital.

My favorite choral piece was Hallelujah Arranged by Jens Johansen and Jamey Ray William Mitchell. The last piece was a rather humerus rendition of The Barber of Seville. Choral members mimicked instruments in an orchestra using their voices. The recital was a free fast paced sketching opportunity. I had just enough time to finish the sketch when the performers took their final bow.

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Move It or Loose It

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On Saturday September 14th there was a rally for The Capen House in Winter Park’s Central Park, adjacent to the rose garden. The citizens responsibly for trying to save the Capen house have a short window to make this happen, and they need the community behind this effort.This is a BIG , monumental,task  to move a home built in 1885 across Lake Osceola to the grounds of the Albin Polasek Museum and Gardens where it can be enjoyed by Winter Park residents and visitors for years to come! 

As of the date of the rally, $200,000 had been raised towards the project. An additional $450,000 would need to be raised by the end of November to save the house from demolition and reserve the contractors for the move. The house will have to be cut in half and then the parts will be floated across the lake on barges. The committee is hoping that the actual transport would happen on December 14th to coincide with the Winter Park Boat Parade.

In the tent, past Winter Park mayors voiced their support for the project. If funds aren’t raised, then the home will face demolition as it is replaced with a much larger McMansion. If it finds it’s way to the Polasec, it will be used for celebrations like wedding receptions and community fundraisers. It would become a place of celebration for many future generations. Relocating the Capen House to the Museum property is a mutually
beneficial solution for the current owners, Winter Park residents, and
the greater Central Florida community,” says Debbie Komanski, Executive
Director of The Polasek. The Polasek Museum property, with a sweeping
lawn to the water, can easily accommodate the 6,000 sq. ft. house which
will be used for public events and education offices for the Museum.
Moving the home by barge, not an unusual event in Florida simplifies the
relocation effort and significantly reduces project costs.

A small model of the home floated in a small plastic pool. Kids were encouraged to save the home by scooping up small balls with a net. Kids won prizes for scooping up the most balls. The Winter Park Owl wandered around like a Disney theme park character. He leaned over a small girl in a stroller and she began to cry. Orange infused water parched hot lips. The speeches continued and the homes future still remains uncertain.

Molding a Classical Sculpture

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On Saturday August 3rd, I went to the Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens (633 Osceola Avenue, Winter Park, FL) to watch sculptor Peter Forester create a mold from the classical portrait bust he had sculpted in clay using a live model in just six hours several weeks prior.

The clay sculpt was transitioned into a “waste mold,”  Plastic shims were shoved into the clay sculpture dividing the bust in half. Peter then mixed plaster in a bowl and he flung it by hand onto half of the sculpture. Plaster spattered everywhere in the process, even onto my boots and sketch pad as I worked, Once a plaster layer had hardened, he then build  re-bar supports around the sculpture to make sure that the plaster mold he was building would not break apart. Then he kept building up the plaster mold gradually with many messy layers of plaster.

Peter said: “The clay model is only a means to an end; it represents the concept that the artist is striving towards. For this purpose I think it is essential to employ an intermediary step that is no longer used, to put the clay into plaster. The plaster will embolden mistakes not seen in clay, which the artist may correct before attempting to complete the master; hence the final product is the ‘master piece’.”

Once half the sculpture covered in a thick solid mass of plaster, the process was repeated on the opposite side. When dry, the two halves were split apart. Then the gorgeous clay sculpture was destroyed as it was scooped out from the molds. That has to be nerve wracking to destroy a sculpture that had taken six hours to create. The insides and seams of the mold were then coated with a non-stick surface. The halves were then bound together and  a thin layer of plaster was poured inside. Peter kept the mold in motion being sure plaster filled all the negative voids. This hollow plaster piece was the masterpiece which a foundry would use to create a final bronze pour.

What followed was insanely difficult work. The mold couldn’t just be pulled apart. Peter had to destroy the mold, chipping down and trying to uncover the plaster master he had just created. Only a thin layer of blue plaster warned him when he was close. This was back breaking work and chips flew everywhere. The model for the sculpture, Byron Walker, is also a sculptor and he happened to have an air powered chisel in his truck. Peter let Byron chisel his way down to his own face. The air chisel was insanely loud like a jack hammer. A small gouge was taken out of the nose but such minor dings could be repaired. It took several hours to chisel away all of the plaster mold.

“The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.”

―
Pablo Picasso

Stuck in Love

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A marketing firm asked me to give away tickets to a movie screening. I could give away as many tickets as I wanted, but seating at the theater would be on a first come first served basis. I decided to go to the screening of “Stuck in Love” to see how full the theater was. Terry was going to meet me after work, so I quickly sketched the theater, Regal Winter Park Cinemas 20,(510 N Orlando Ave Winter Park, FL) before she arrived. I saw a line form outside the theater but they filed in before the schedules screening time. Small groups of people were let into the theater at a time. The guy at the front of the line told me it was to avoid chaos and a mad rush to seating.

The writer and director of the film, Josh Boone was there along with actor Logan Lerman to quickly introduce the film and take questions afterwards. The film is about the Borgens family. William Borgens is an acclaimed author who hasn’t
written a word since his ex-wife Erica left him 3 years ago for another
man. In between spying on Erica and casual romps with his married
neighbour Tricia, Bill is dealing with the complexities of raising his
teenage children Samantha and Rusty. Samantha is publishing her first
novel and is determined to avoid love at all costs – after all she’s
seen what it has done to her parents. In between hook ups, she meets
“nice guy” Lou who will stop at nothing to win her over. Rusty, is an
aspiring fantasy writer and Stephen King aficionado, who is on a quest
to gain ‘life experiences’. He falls for the beautiful, but troubled
Kate and gets his first taste of love and a broken heart. A tale of
family, love (lost and found), and how endings can make new beginnings.
There are no rewrites in life, only second chances.

Josh Boone related after the screening that some of the material in the movie was autobiographical. Rusty’s first love is based on his own experiences in high school, of love found and lost. Being fiction he was able to rewrite his family history, having his father wait three years for his wife to return.  Terry felt that no man would wait that long in hopes that love would return. Logan loved working on the film because the entire cast stayed in a hotel during the shooting and they truly became a tight knit family. This is a rare film with plenty of sincere emotion. Josh had written the screenplay many years ago and the true challenge was to find the money to make it. Once he had the backing, things fell into place quickly. He has a bright future ahead of him and he is already onto the next projects, “Pretenders“, and “The Fault in Our Stars“. “Stuck in Love” is in select theaters now. Don’t miss it.

The Vault

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On Tuesday June 11th, my wife Terry and a co-worker Psi from Merrill Lynch offered an informational seminar for prospective clients at The Wine Room (270 S Park Ave Winter Park, FL). The building had once been a bank, and the meeting, in the basement, was literally in a bank vault. The thick steel door with its multiple pistons and gears was an impressive sight. The vault now has private lockers where clients can lock away their expensive and dusty bottles of vintage wines.

I can’t discuss the power point demonstration. After it was over, the plush leather chairs were turned to face the TV so  sports fans could watch the NBA finals.  I began to sketch after the presentation was over. Staff came in to clean up the table full of cheeses and crackers. By the final quarter of the game, Terry and I were the only ones left in the vault. We had to move upstairs so the vault could be cleaned up.

AADW Weekend Top 6 Picks

Saturday July 13th 2013.

40th World Wide SketchCrawl  incorporates 4 events in an Orlando Sketch Marathon all day Saturday…

1. 10am to 1pm $5 A Special Demonstration: Sculpting a Classical Portrait. Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Gardens (633 Osceola Ave. Winter Park FL). Exhibiting sculptor Peter Forester presents a six-hour art demo. Demo goes to 4pm if you want to stay. Sketch the sculptor at work or take notes.

2. 2pm to 7pm $5 ReThink Games. Urban ReThink (625 E. Central Blvd. Orlando FL). Play 15 hosts a variety of games, from video games to board games. Sketch folks playing games or play yourself.

3. 8pm to 10pm $10 ME Dance, Deja vu. Garden Theater Winter Garden (160 Plant Street Winter Garden FL). Sketch this dance company’s final performance of the season.

4. 11pm to 1am Free Black and White at Redlight. Redlight Red Light (2810 Corrine Drive, Orlando, FL). An Art Show. A full scale, monochromatic, celebration of value, void of color, except red of course.Artwork will display a use of black and/or white, maybe some greys, and possibly red, literally or figuratively.

Sunday July 14th 2013.

5. 4:30pm to 7:30pm Free Orlando Brew jam. Orlando Brewing (1301 Atlanta Ave., Orlando, Florida 32806). Traditional instrument jam playing old time, bluegrass, celtic, swing, or anything else that comes to mind.

6. 7:30pm to 9:30pm Free Concert! Leo Linares and Urbe Prima. The White House (2000 South Summerlin Orlando FL). This young musician plays music that is close to people. Folk tinged with classical and punk, expect a surprise.

Artist: Reina Castellanos

The Capen House

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On June 6th, there was a Winter Park City Commission Meeting in which the fate of the Capen House was litigated. The 128 year old Winter Park home was built by James Caspen who came from Illinois. He worked towards making Winter Park a solid community. He was the secretary for the Winter Park Land Company which was and still is the largest land owning company in town. He also served as commissioner on the town council.

The home was granted a historic designation in 2011 but Sun Trust Bank, the mortgage holder on the property had that historic designation revoked.  Clardy Malugen, the owner at the time had registered the historic home during the foreclosure process. The new owners, John and Betsy Pokorny want to demolish the lake front home to erect a bigger mansion. At the June 6th meeting the Pokorny’s attorney granted a postponement of the demolition for 30 days so that options could be considered for preserving the house.

The Friends of Casa Feliz are working on finding a way to preserve the historic home. Casa Feliz had itself once been threatened with demolition. The entire brick building had been moved to it’s new site on Park Avenue next to the golf course. The Friends encourage public dialogue that
is thoughtful, considerate, and inclusive. It is the Friends’ goal to
find a solution to the precarious situation surrounding the Capen House,
not to assign blame.Groups of concerned citizens have congregated on Facebook and other web platforms to advocate for ‘saving’ the Capen House.

Large hedges obstruct most views of the house at 501 Interlacken Drive in Winter Park. Several “Private Property” signs along with a chain blocking the driveway discouraged me from sketching a full view of the home. I sat on the driveway to sketch the best view available. There was a demolition notice on the garage door. A huge live oak spread it’s ancient roots deep. Storm clouds rolled in as I sketched. I worked as fast as I could till rain drops started hitting the page. I packed the sketchbook away in my art supply bag and sprinted the mile or so back to my car. I had forgotten to bring an umbrella. As I write this, on July 6th the 30 day postponement is over. I’ll have to go back and see if I sketch the home or bulldozers.

P.S. As of July 12th, 2013, the historic home might be moved across the lake to the Albin Polasek museum as it’s new home.

Mystery Sketch Theater

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Mystery Sketch Theater happens on the first Wednesday of every month. They now have a new home at a warehouse in Winter Park (784 Cherry St, Winter Park, FL).  I had a devil of a time finding the warehouse the first time and happened to use it’s parking lot s a place to turn around to head the other way down Cherry street. I finally saw the number above the front entry. The back loading bay door was open and that was where artists were gathered. There was no air conditioning but it had just rained and the open warehouse bay door gave us a decent cross breeze.

Moriah Beagel, the model was dressed in a pink fairy outfit. I sketched her before she took he first 30 second pose and then I sketched the artists. In all there were 10 to 15 artists. Artists in the back row probable didn’t get a clear view of Moriah’s feet. I sat on my artists stool in the loading dock doorway. The warehouse had a strange display of a rain barrel with mannequin legs inside and a torso above.

 Moriah was born And educated in Kansas, she hails from Colorado where she perfected the art of coffee. She have been posing for artists for ten years. She is currently writing short stories, posing and working as a barrista. She enjoys costume concepts that show dichotomy. Opposites drawn together. In this costume set went  for the elements of life and death. Fairies with opposite intentions. Towards the end of the modeling session Moriah changed into a much darker costume and held the skull capped walking stick. Pink and green changed to purple and black.

There was the usual themed drawing competition but I seldom compete since I am always still working on my sketch. They usually have some cool art book up for grabs. I use the breaks to keep pushing color on the page. I like the new warehouse setting, it is much grittier and industrial than working at A Comic Shop. The cost for the model was $5 and Kristen Pauline and Adrienne Frankenfield always have some treat to eat and drink. The next Mystery Sketch Theater should be July 3, 2013 from 8pm to 10:30pm, mark you calendar.

Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival

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I went to Winter Park on March 15th to be interviewed by “I Luv Winter Park” in the Hidden Garden Courtyard across from Panera’s on Park Avenue. Parking was atrocious, I ended up parking a mile away and then hiking. When I got to Park Avenue, I realized why traffic was so bad, the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival had just opened. I thought the interview went well although I’m never sure if I’m offering enough information.

I decided to explore the maze of tents. I never have high expectations when I look at art in tents but some work always jumps out and inspires me. Matthew Cornell, a local artist from McRae Art Studios  won the overall award for Best in Show. His oil paintings are hyper photo-realistic. A large painting of ocean waves had me do a double take. I had to walk up close to see the incredible detail.

The Festival was crowded, so it was hard to find a spot to sketch where I wouldn’t get trampled. The fountain offered a quiet refuge in the shade. People came and went in a constant stream. Most people who sat down had fast food from the food vendors. When they were done the wandered off to see more art. The sound of the trickling fountain and birds in the trees helped level my blood pressure, but still I had to rush to get the sketch done.

Volunteers Build a Children’s Playground in 1 Day!

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On a cold and blistery Saturday,  March 2 between 8AM and 3PM, volunteers helped build a Children’s Park at Fleet Peeples Park in 1Day! The Friends of Fleet Peeples Park partnered with City of Winter Park Parks and Recreation Department to build the Children’s Playground. Having won a grant by being ranked as 1 of the top Fun Cities in America by Dr. Pepper and Snapple, the materials were provided by the Kaboom Organization. The construction of the park was finished using an all volunteer force of 150 local volunteers under the supervision of trained Kaboom Park experts. Breakfast and lunch were be provided to all volunteers.

When I got there round 1:30PM, construction was close to being complete. Some lengths of fencing were being finished and a couple of workers were on the Jungle Jim tightening bolts. The biggest thing happening was that a line of volunteers were moving a mountain of sand using wheel barrels. Erin Volz was there with her 8 month old son. She had been working in the morning, but with her son on her hip it was hard to maneuver a wheel barrel. This is the type of project that really makes me believe that anything is possible in any community if people work together. A huge palm frond crashed down next to me because of the wind. It was time to get in the car to warm up. Sketching doesn’t burn as many calories as moving sand.

Moulin Rouge Gala- A Show Extravaganza

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I went to the Winter Park Community Center, (721 West New England Ave. Winter Park), on December 2nd to the Moulin Rouge Gala. I felt it was important that an artist be at the Gala. Toulouse Lautrec wouldn’t have passed on the opportunity. Every two years Le Salon Zizou works with a local charity and other participates to put together a combination of hair, fashion and entertainment to raise money for charity. This year they worked with the Disability Wellness Center in Sanford to help raise money for the EKSO suit for paraplegics. There are ONLY 20 world wide and this will be HUGE for Central Florida to have the first EKSO suit used for physical therapy when the other 20 are used for studies.

When I arrived, the dancers from Emotions Dance got on stage to loosen up and get used to the size of the stage. Larissa Humiston stood in front of the stage to let them know what worked and what didn’t. After them, a woman performed solo with Hula hoops and large geometric forms that she spun above her head. The ceiling was rather low which resulted in her crashing the huge cube shape into the ceiling beam. A singer discussed her song with the DJ. People in wheel chairs took to the stage. Blinking lights were on the chairs making for quite a display. Then negotiated the stage in a pre-planned choreography.

The twenty or so models arrived with outlandish hair stylings. I noticed model Jenny Coyle, from Sketchy Broads, with her hair bundled up in three huge Princess Lea buns. Le Salon Zizou, in association with the West Orlando Rotary Club, presented their 3rd annual Charity Hair Spectacular.  The real highlight of the evening came when Sarah Anderson got on stage with her wheel chair. With an assistant to spot her, she strapped herself into the EKSO Suit. As she did so, she talked about the day in 2003 when she lost her ability to walk. She was skiing that day and for whatever reason, she had an ominous feeling that she shouldn’t be on the mountain that day. Regardless, a horrible fall on the slope resulted in her becoming a paraplegic. Doctors told her that she would never walk again. She leaned forward and raised herself from the wheel chair.  She walked across the stage as the servos, gyros and computerized pistons responded to her weight shifts allowing each step in succession. Sarah stood onstage during the auction and the bidding got heated. “Never say never!”