Club Harem

Located on Lee Road, Club Harem’s double breasted architectural style is unmistakable. I decided to sketch this establishment after a day of work at Full Sail. When I started the sketch there wasn’t a cloud in the sky but as I worked storm clouds quickly formed and rolled over me.
There is a long history between Winter Park and Club Harem. The Winter Park police department has targeted the club in the past with the obvious goal of putting it out of business. The club has been raided multiple times but has always reopened for business. Club Harem is nestled on the edge of a quiet suburban neighborhood. A woman jogged by several times as I sketched and a man rode through the empty parking lot on a red bicycle.
Many years ago the bar was known as “The Booby Trap”. From my casual observance on a hot Wednesday afternoon, Club Harem looks to be a well maintained thriving business. It continues to be Winter Parks only adult entertainment establishment, and in my mind an Orlando landmark.

The Research Studio in the 21st Century

Friday evening I went to the Maitland Art Center to see the opening of RS21. I knew one of the exhibiting artists namely Kelledy Francis having met her at the Kerouac House. Kelledy exhibited some of her couture dresses from her Four Seasons series. She had planned to hire models and have them standing in a small man made pond out in the Maitland Arts Center court yard. However heavy rains were predicted so she decided on a more fine arts approach to exhibit her dresses. The three dresses seen in this sketch are hung from the ceiling by thin wire. The seasons represented are Spring, Fall and Summer. A woman in a gold dress expressed an excited interest in the dresses and I hope she and Kelledy had a chance to talk.
The three people sitting at the table were there for quite some time. It turns out that the woman typing was transcribing everything the young couple was saying. They were actually part of the exhibit put together by Kim Walz. Kim explained that the transcriptions were being fed wirelessly to a large screen in the exhibition room as were live texts messages. She apparently also had speech recognition software which would then print gallery goers conversations in real time.
The cutting edge exhibit and installations were created in the spirit of the work started at “The Research Studio,” founded by André Smith in the 1930’s. The show runs through July 13th 2009.

Grande Hysterie

This sketch is from an event called Blunder Bungle which was organized by Jessica Earley. The event or party took place in MoMNB, the Museum of My Neighbor’s Backyard. Twenty or so artists had work hanging off of fences and on the side of the house.
Erika Wilhite sat in a secluded corner of the yard with small stage lights illuminating her from below. She was dressed in a white night gown which made it seem like she had wandered into this event by mistake. She would play raucous songs on the accordion and then periodically select an audience member for a special demonstration.
After I finished this sketch she picked me for one of these demonstrations. I was asked to stand close, but not to close mind you. She then showed me a white glove and as she delicately pulled the glove onto her hand she explained that she was about to show me something truly beautiful. She daintily pulled the glove tightly down over each finger. Then she worked her fingers to test the fit. She reached behind her for one of the balloons and showed it to me as she cooed softly about the beauty of what I was about to behold. With the balloon inches from my face, she popped it with an quick motion and began to laugh maniacally as I jumped back in surprise. She continued to laugh uncontrollably until her handler, A man with a top hat and a waxed mustache, calmed her down and had her sit down. Erika’s demonstrations of grand hysteria had me mesmerized, and I drifted back several times as she worked her magic on other unsuspecting audience members.

Shakespeare Theater

Memorial Day marked the end of the Orlando Fringe Theater Festival. On this final day all the Visual Fringe artists were asked to pick up their work. As Terry and I drove to the Shakespeare Theater it once again began to rain. Driving through downtown on the 408 the rain became a torrential downpour. When we walked into the Visual Fringe room all the art was on the floor leaning up against the walls. I had to sign a form stating that I had picked up my work and then Anna helped me find my sketch. Everyone must have been up late partying because they looked exhausted. Anna gave me one last hug and then the rain let up as Terry and I exited the theater on our way out to the parking lot. Terry and I climbed into the truck and headed home. As we exited the parking lot, the sun burst through the clouds and an immense rainbow stretched from horizon to horizon. The Fringe was officially over.

Gunther Barnaby’s Traveling Show

I convinced my wife Terry to head out to the Fringe to see a show on my birthday which was May 22nd. She took me to a lovely restaurant in College Park where I had a delicious diner of duck with a cherry sauce which was to die for. When we got to the green lawn we had about an hour till show time, so we relaxed under a tent since it was raining. One of the event people had the fantastic idea of backing up one tent against another so that the audience watching the outdoor stage was not constantly getting drenched. As we waited, Gunther Barnaby’s Traveling show hit the stage. Barnaby offered an elixir which promised to cure all that ales you from Cataliptic Neuroplexy to Stoutness and Camel Toe. Two alluring young women wandered the audience handing out airplane vodka bottle sized samples of this magic potion. In the foreground of this sketch is my wife who continued to suffer from her cold. After trying the elixir she was able to get up and brave the long lines as we went on to the nights show. Perhaps it wasn’t a miraculous and complete recovery since she is still coughing four days later.

The Green Lawn of Fabulousness

There were several breaks in the rain when patrons flocked to the green lawn. Event organizers dubbed this years Fringe festival as “Hurricane Fringe”. Although no actual hurricane hit, storm clouds lingered and opened up daily on the Festival.

When evening rolled in an awards ceremony was held at the outdoor stage. Pink Lawn Flamingos were handed out as Fabby Awards. Patrons pics were announced and these shows will play on Memorial Day.

Another set of awards were handed out called the Patrons Choice awards. I submitted a print of one of my Fringe sketches which was awarded to the Best Original Play. Jessica Earley presented the award which went to “The Schaefer Killing” by the Playwrights Round Table written by Larry Stalling.

New Urban Sketchers Banner

Today the Gabi posted a new Urban Sketchers banner featuring a photo of myself at work by Kristen Manieri and the sketch I was working on. That day I was sketching a Green Festival at Baldwin Park. Kristen wrote an article about my blog which will appear in the July issue of Orlando Home and Leisure Magazine.
Head on over to Urban Sketchers to see sketches from around the world.

The Worm

I spent most of Saturday at the Fringe. It was hot, muggy and sunny when I arrived. I immediately went into the Shakespeare Theater to soak in the air conditioning. I found a comfortable leather chair and relaxed.

This sculpture by Doug Rhodehamel is made entirely from cassette audio tape. In an effort to keep patrons from stepping on or touching the sculpture, Doug placed a sign on the floor that stated that performance artist Brian Feldman may or may not be inside. The worm looks like it has taken and interest in the program that a Fringe patron is reading.

Kristina Goetz, the Director of Development, arrived and sat down in the leather chair next to me. We talked for a while. She said that in preparation for the Fringe she has to make sure all her bills are paid, that her laundry is done and that anything perishable is out of the fridge. She does all that because she basically lives at the Fringe for its duration. She explained that the rain has hurt revenues but now that the sun is out, people who must have cabin fever after a solid week of rain, are coming out in force.

Since I missed Flamenco con Fusion last night I decided to catch the 11:20PM show tonight. I got a ticket and ran over to the theater just before to get in. It turns out I arrived and hour early. For whatever reason I have been constantly confused trying to get into con Fusion. In the lobby outside the show the guitarist and one of the dancers were taking pictures. I got to shake his hand and I explained that I had heard quite a bit of buzz about his guitar playing and the show which was wonderful. From the moment the guitarist sat in the glow of a single spot light on a bare stage, I was entranced. The dancing consisted of a duel between a traditional Flamenco dancer and a Break dancer. After the high energy performance the audience stood, screamed and yelled.

The Fringe Rain Bar

Since the rain continued, keeping people from going outside to the beer tent, organizers decided to move the bar inside the lobby of the Shakespeare Theater. Besides the bar there was oriental food and pizza. Lines for the shows were at times very long so people are seeing shows despite the rain. For my birthday I treated myself to tickets to a show. Terry and I stood in line with Brad Kuhn,his sister and friends. Brad’s fiance Darlyn had sent out an e-mail saying Flamenco Con Fusion was a must see. I assumed I had taken her advice.

When Terry and I were about to go into the Theater, the ticket taker informed us that we had the wrong tickets. Several days ago I had bought tickets to The Cody Rivers Show and I had forgotten about them. Terry and I had to run over to another theater since Cody Rivers was about to start as well. It was pure luck that we managed to get in. Had Cody Rivers opened an hour earlier, we would have been up the creek without a paddle. The luck of the Fringe was looking out for me. I still would like to see Flamenco. I think I will have to see that tonight. By the way “The Cody Rivers Show” was awesome and is a must see!

Back to the sketch, as I was finishing up, the Korean girls from the food station came over to see how I was doing. They had seen me sketching outside so they knew what I was up to. I answered questions while I continued to work. One girl watched for the longest time, I usually feel self conscious when being watched for a long time, but she had such a quiet demeanor, that I felt quite comfortable. She later bought over a full plate of rice, egg rolls and salad. Since it was late, I had scored a free diner. The starving artist myth payed off. I bought a Coke from the wine Bar and I was one happy camper.

Fringe Beer Tent

When it finally stopped raining for a few hours, people flocked to the green lawn of fabulouosness and stormed the beer tent. The tent had a truck next to it with kegs that allowed servers to tap and pour the beers right out of the side of the truck. The crowd would grow thick and then on mass people would wander off to a show.

Dewey Chaffee was shooting footage of the revelers. He shot some footage of me sketching as well, and I look forward to seeing the final edit. One group of folks started singing Christmas carols behind me for no apparent reason. By the second verse I was singing along.

Tonight I also got to meet Bonnie Sprung and her mother. They have been to the Fringe for 17 years in a row since day one. Bonnie’s mom has vintage Fringe buttons pinned all over her volunteer tee-shirt. A documentary is being shot about the history of the Fringe and the two of them are going to get interviewed. I stopped sketching when I felt a large raindrop hit my hand. I closed my sketch pad and held my hand up to the sky to test for rain. Sure enough a second drop and then a third. I decided my sketch was done and I opened my umbrella and headed to my car. As I drove home it poured.