From Darkness Into Light

I went to City Hall where people were gathering for a candle light vigil in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King. As I approached, I saw a banner with Abe Lincoln, and Mahatma Gandhi. It turned out this was a small group from the Occupy Orlando crowd. The King vigil was gathering inside the rotunda of City Hall where it was warm. Teens were dressed in uniforms as a color guard and drum marching band. The rotunda was packed. Glow sticks were issued to everyone in the crowd. Considered trying to sketch but I knew the political speeches wouldn’t take long. Buddy Dyer mentioned that the Circus was in town and we might be walking past elephants that were being kept in the Amway Center garage. I positioned myself near the exit.

The marching band walked out to the street. There were several police cars and motorcycles to block off traffic as we walked towards Parramore. The crowed stretched back for a block and a half. Faces were illuminated with the mysterious fire fly green glow. It was an impressive sight though impossible to catch with a sketch since we were all in constant motion. Terry was at One Eyed Jacks watching a football playoff game with Packer backers. I texted her to let her know where I was going. Our final destination was Shiloh Baptist Church (604 West Jackson Street).

The church filled quickly for an Interfaith celebration of Dr. King’s life. I sat near some steel drums, figuring it was a definite sketch opportunity. The steel drummer’s did play with their bright red shirts blazing. Someone sat right in front of me shooting video and rather than get annoyed, I realized he made a nice foreground element. Speakers were from a variety of religions, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist and Christian. Reverend Jim Coffin gave a surprising keynote speech where he recounted a time in his childhood when his family 0ffered their land to colored people for hunting. Once word spread, people from all over the state came to that land to hunt. Although they considered themselves more liberal than most, they still told jokes that were racially motivated. Change happens slowly and we still have a long way to go.

The closing hymn was, “We Shall Overcome.” My sketch was done and I knew that I needed to stand and sing along. The woman in a pew across the isle reached out her hand to me and soon everyone was singing with their hands clasped and raised in joy. “We shall overcome some day. Oh deep in my heart I do believe we shall overcome some day.”

Dr. Martin Luther King Candle Light Vigil

On Martin Luther King day I went to Knowles Memorial Chapel on the Rollins Collage Campus in the evening for a candle light vigil. I found a spot on an upper level baloney with it’s wrought iron railing. I sketched the space feverishly as people filed in. “Bridge over Troubled Water” was echoing through the church organ pipes. The Keynote speaker was Fairolyn Livingston who is active in collection and preservation of the community’s history and is a founding member of the Hannibal Square Heritage Center Picture Collection Team. She was born in Hannible Square a segregated community for blacks. She is active in collection and preservation of the community’s history and is a founding member of the Hannibal Square Heritage Center Picture Collection Team. Thanks to the groundbreaking efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King, she was able to attend Rollins College to earn her B.A. degree.

A moment of silence was asked for in Dr. Kings memory. The church bell tolled fifteen times. There was something eerie in the sound as it filled the night then faded. The Chapel was packed. Everyone stood to sing “The Black National Anthem.” Students got up and spoke about how Dr. Kings words changed their lives.”Hate can not conquer hate, only love can conquer hate.” Four female singers rose and sang “I Give Myself Away.” Finally everyone in the church lit their electronic candles. Perhaps the image wasn’t as moving as a raw flame, but the room was alive with light as everyone sang out, “Let there be LIGHT!” Everyone filed out of the church, cradling their candles, as I rushed to finish my light filled sketch.

Gospel for Teens Choir


The last stop on the SketchCrawl was the Alfond Sports Complex where there was a free concert of the Gospel for Teens Choir. After a lunch of Pita and hummus, Terry joined me as I hunted for the sports complex. It wasn’t where I thought it would be so we got lost. We asked students for directions but the campus paths kept twisting and winding. We realized we must be getting close when we saw tennis courts and then I spotted the Choir’s van. We still had to ask directions from a tennis player to get to the building. It turns out we had been just a short walk from the destination, but we took a long twisting loop around the campus to find it. Terry decided to go shopping while I sketched.

Two small platforms were set up on a basketball court. The bleachers were crowded with people. I found a spot on the second level when I could stand and sketch. Young women were doing a dance and I thought I might be at the wrong place still. I walked around the building some more searching for a concert hall. There was just an exercise room and empty classes. I returned. Vi Higgenson, the executive director of Gospel for Teens took to the stage. She explained that she formed the Choir to pass Gospel music from one generation to the next. Teens in the choir experience an uplifting sense of porous and pride. They come from a wide range of neighborhoods, like Harlem, Brooklyn, and even Hackensack New Jersey which is close to where I grew up.

These kids blew the roof off! To say they sang with enthusiasm and spirit would be an understatement. The audience rose to their feet, Clapping to the beat and dancing in the isles. The aluminum bleaches swayed, the whole room in motion. The choral master danced the whole time with gymnastic enthusiasm. I had to dance as well as I sketched. There is such joy in unrestrained self expression and power in faith shouted to the rafters. Let your light shine!

Knowles Memorial Chapel

The second stop on the 34th Worldwide Sketch Crawl was Knowles Memorial Chapel on Rollins College in Winter Park. I did not see any artists at the 5.2k run but I knew it might be hard to spot artists in that crowd. I had resigned myself to a solo crawl. When I got to the chapel, I walked all around the building searching for the best sketch angle and keeping my eyes open for anyone holding a sketchbook. I decided to sit on a nice iron bench and I got to work. I don’t sketch buildings very often, mostly because it is so hot in Orlando. It was a beautiful clear cool crisp day and I relaxed into the sketch.

Young students jogged by and a truck full of Lacrosse players rumbled down the hill towards the lake and playing fields. A player shouted out, “Do a drawing for me!” His buddy’s laughed. A woman approached from the street talking on her cell phone. I heard her say something about sketching the chapel. She put the phone away and I asked, “Are you here for the Crawl?” She didn’t understand, so I gave her a flier and explained what a Worldwide Sketch Crawl was. It turned out Claire Wiley was indeed meeting people to sketch, but they were a separate group of sketchers unrelated to the Crawl. Isaac Warshow walked up and Claire shouted out, “Come meet my new friend!” Isaac absolutely loved my work so, I shared a sketchbook with him and we chatted, then sketched together. Claire wandered across the street, set up her portable artist’s stool and began sketching the front facade. Brad and Wendy Ringhausen, a married couple introduced themselves then set up outside a chapel courtyard. Brad told me he planned to finish a sketch he had started a year and a half ago. Brad showed Claire his sketch and they talked for a while before he walked off to finish it.

A large van parked right in front of me blocking the lower half of my view of the chapel. The van was for the Gospel for Teens Choir. They piled out and went inside the chapel to rehearse. An hour later, the van drove off and I focused on the areas that had been blocked. Isaac had to leave to get his hair done. He had done a bold study of the Chapel tower in ink using Rapidograph pens. He used watercolor pencils to add some color. He asked for my advice, so I suggested he darken the shadow side of the building.

Terry was coming to meet me for lunch. When I started packing up my supplies, I noticed Claire across the street had finished as well. I walked over to compare sketches and chat. Her sketchbook was full of small intimate studies of architecture, trees and delicate watercolor studies of clouds. The clouds floated and filled the pages with no horizon to ground them. Because of that, they were painted more boldly and had a degree of abstraction. They made me want to look up. Wispy clouds had blown in and enveloped the sky.

She works as an interior designer at Disney and her husband does the same for Universal. She is a sketch addict. When Terry walked up and I introduced her, Claire asked, “Is it a problem for you that Thor is always out sketching?” That was a loaded question that caused me to laugh out loud. Terry responded, “It is important for couples to make time to be together.” It turns out Claire sketches even when she and her husband are out to dinner. She has to negotiate for the time to finish. For some reason it makes me happy that there are other couples who share the same negotiations.

Brad and Wendy sat in the courtyard together. He used a brown brush pen to delineate all the roof tiles and the rest of the sketch was done in muted neutral tones. Wendy was working on an interior study of a room using a photo for reference. She liked the multiple textures and experimented with ways to reproduce them in her sketch. I invited everyone to join me for the rest of the crawl, but one sketch was enough for them. Terry and I said goodbye and we walked up Park Avenue to find lunch.

Seasons 5.2k

To begin the 34th Worldwide SketchCrawl, I invited local artists to the starting line of the Seasons 5.2K in Winter Park’s Central Park. I rushed out of bed with the sky just starting to turn a dark pink to get to the park by 7am. Traffic started to back up on Fairbanks, so I turned down side streets and eventually parked in the City Hall parking lot. Walking towards the park, I heard an announces say that the race would be starting in fifteen minutes. “Shoot, how am I going to catch this crowd in 15 minutes?” I thought. I decided to draw the table where the runners picked up their numbers.

Before I could add color, the starting horn blared and the runners moved on mass up Park Avenue. The theme from Rocky filled the speakers in the park. The tables I had been drawing were quickly broken down and the boxes carried away. Before I could finish the sketch, the first runners were returning, picking up bananas and drinks. Tommy Woodman was announced as having the overall fastest time. There were awards for every age bracket and every 52nd runner got a coupon for dinner at Seasons 52. Track Shack trained runners certainly won many of the awards.

A woman stood behind me and asked if she could peek. She was Jackie Nelson. Jackie is 72 years old and a survivor of Breast Cancer. She had just finished the run and was glowing. She said that when she found out the cancer had been forced into remission, she wanted to run out of the doctor’s office. When she ran her first 5k, she was annoyed that people were rushing past her. That year she ran 20 5ks and the next year 26. This was her second 5k this year. I must say, she inspired me. Nothing is going to slow her down. She knew how to seize the day. One runner got on the stage to announce that this was his 700th 5K. I felt a little lazy since only my wrist was getting any exercise.

Fringe First Fridays with Fialy

On the First Friday of every month, the Fringe features a $10 fundraiser show at the shakes. I decided to go not knowing what to expect. I sat in the back row of the Margisson Theater so my book light would not disturb any theater goers. I was delighted when Fiely Matias and Dennis Giacino walked on stage. I was surprised when Fiely picked me out of the crowd and told everyone to read this blog. Dennis sat behind a portable piano and Dennis began performing a hilarious song about being in love… with himself. He carried a small hand mirror around admiring his every move. I laughed out loud when he put the mirror on the floor and straddled it.

Dennis then started telling a little bit about the history of “Bitches of the Kingdom“. He started writing the music as a sole show for Fialy. They were living in Portland Oregon at the time. One of the first songs he wrote was for Mulan. Lulu Picart was a dear friend and she offered to sing the song. Her performance set Dennis on a new path writing the music for women. This show has been in production for years. Dennis would write more music when a princess muse would speak to him. They have been having workshops for years refining the performances but they always saw it as a show that had to find it’s home at Orlando Fringe.

Lulu came out and sang. It is a beautiful song about Chinese tradition and she wonders why she is the only princess who doesn’t get the prince. The answer is obvious. She might be a lesbian. Michelle Knight came out and sang with bold bravado holding a note so long the audience started cheering and going wild. Andrea Canny is now performing as Ariel from Little Mermaid. The ironic twist to her character is that she is a kleptomaniac, stealing everything she can find from above the sea. All the princesses share a common form. In one number, Michelle Knight was scrambling trying to climb on another performers back. The show is hilarious and irreverent. It was a smash hit at Fringe.

Dennis reveled that a booking agent was coming to the evenings performance. Discussions are in the works to bring this show to Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New York City, Los Angeles and who knows where else. Dennis and Fiely were essentially told whatever you need, you got it. Dennis’s mother was in the audience. When he told the good news, she shouted back, “Does this mean your going to pay back the money I lent you!” Some dreams really do come true.

Meeting at the Peacock Room

This year I have decided to make a commitment to ask actors and dancers to pose in costume long enough for me to get a bold gestural sketch that I can post to promote the show before opening night. Up until now I have always worked clandestinely by getting into rehearsals and sketching the process. Of course no one stands still, and I am used to that, but a whole new energy slips into a sketch that is a collaboration between the artist and model. It was a revelation to me that people in this fast paced digital age are willing to take time to be sketched.

I asked Sarah Lockhard if she would pose in costume for one of the upcoming shows she will be dancing. That collaboration sparked an idea in her mind. She was going to perform a Vaudeville burlesque styled act where she would read a poem titled “Live Circus“. She wanted me to sketch live on stage with her while a musician performed eerie circus themed music. As soon as I listened to the Tom Waits reading the poem, I was hooked. I’m willing to try anything once. The challenge is that the reading is only 5 minutes long. Rich imagery is packed into every stanza with weather worn characters bursting with life. I became infatuated with the relationship between Funeral Wells, a knife thrower and his woman Poodle Murphy on target. I found a knife throwing scene online that was sexy and disturbing and that scene will be the inspiration for what I sketch.

I got to the Peacock Room early and got a sketch before Sarah and the crew arrived. The director, Kevin G. Becker was there discussing how the elements of the show might fall together. The show has a video game theme. Portal which can instantly transport players, ends up transporting players between different video games. Bio Shock a creepy underwater nightmare will have a huge influence on many scenes. I’ve seen stills, but never played the game so the conversation at times became edgy and strange. Susan Woodberry plays the part of a little sister. She has the odd roll of inducing Adam by sucking blood from fallen victims with a huge syringe, drinking it and spitting it out. The final product Adam, gives players super human abilities but takes its toll causing genetic decomposition and fast aging.

Sarah plays the part of a seductress who distracts a game player or Spice. Susan who is working on costuming described Sarah’s outfit. Her costume will be a sultry torn green dress with layers of crinoline and a hoochie skirt and turquoise blue ruffled panties. Feathers will be the only camouflage for her breasts. She will perform a hedonistic dance that entices the spice, played by Corey Volence. He rips off parts of her costume. Straps are broken and torn and crinoline is ripped off. She will lung at him like a wild animal, pushing his chair backwards and then straddling him. Panting loudly, she then will stab him in the heart with a giant syringe. Things could get messy.

Yum-mi Sandwiches

I had several hours to kill before meeting actors at the Peacock Room. I had seen the work being done to modernize this Yum-mi Vietnamese Sandwich Shop on Mills Avenue. I figured it would serve holistic healthy food so I went inside for a taste and sketch. The warm glow looked inviting as I approached. I read the menu for a while, not sure what to order. I finally decided a, “Miss Piggy” sandwich sounded good. It would have pork in a sweet sauce along with plenty of greens on French bread. I like coconut, so I ordered a coconut freeze to drink. Rosa Phan asked if I would like tapioca in the drink. “Sure”, I’ll try anything.

I sat in a corner booth and started sketching while I waited for my sandwich. I paused after my first bite wanting to spit it out. “Miss Piggy” seemed to be full of thick slabs of raw bacon. I gagged. The fat was rubbery and difficult to chew. The next bite surprised me with a flaming hot jalapeno. I politely pushed my sandwich aside and took a quick sip of my coconut freeze to cool my mouth. The straw had a really wide diameter and I immediately found out why. A quarter inch wide black ball of tapioca was the first thing to pop into my mouth. It was like sipping in a dead jelly fish. I chewed the rubbery mass hoping its slimy exterior housed a tasty treat inside. No luck. I gagged again. Since all the tapioca was on the bottom of the cup, I lifted the straw and sipped just the drink which was passable. I nursed the drink and ignored the sandwich for the duration of the sketch. I tend to be like a famished dog ready to devour anything. I was shocked to find food that I just can’t swallow. People were asked how their meals were and there were polite responses of, “wonderfull” or “fine”. Could they have tasted the same food? I’m not likely to return. I rushed down the street to the Peacock Room to get a beer to cleanse my pallet. I hoped the enzymes in the beer would keep me from being sick.

Alice in Azalia Dickson Park

On performance day I went to Dickson Azalea Park (100 Rosegarden Dr) to see “Alice Takes Wonderland.” This production featured mostly middle school aged girls dancing and performing parts from Alice in Wonderland. Nao dance staged the production with Linda Eve Elchak the company’s founder and choreographer and Kim Matovina as the assistant director. When I left the rehearsal several days before, I was attracted to this view from a hill overlooking the action under the bridge.

Behind me to my right, the caterpillar was doing her contorted languid dance. I could just make her out through the trees. A crowd of mothers and children were being lead from one staging area to the next. They came to the Cheshire cat who was in a web entangled bridge. The white rabbit carrying her luggage crossed the creek quickly. She then waited near this larger bridge that I was drawing. Tweedledee and Tweedledum were up on wooden planks covered with pegs. They lounged inverted until Alice approached. Alice said good bye to the Cheshire Cat and all the children followed. There was quite a crowd, perhaps 20 to 30 people.

When they got to the large cement bridge, Alice asked all the children to stop at a line just short of the bridge because it would be dangerous to go any further. Alice coached the children to shout out, “Come on everybody!” to encourage stragglers to catch up. Tweedledee and Tweedledum got down off their pegboards and merrily sprayed the children with silly string. Alice shouted out, “Oh, I’m so sorry!” It was fun to see the children’s unrestrained reactions. Soon, Alice, the White Rabbit and Tweedledee an dum were doing an energetic chorus line dance under the bridge. Then everyone followed Alice and the White Rabbit further down the trail.

Later Linda walked back towards the start of the show. She shouted up to me, “One show down!” There were four more to go every hour. Tweedledee and Tweedledum collected all the silly string and made a bright line in the trail so the children knew where to stop for the next show. I finished the sketch as the second group made their way under the bridge. McClaine Timmerman and Daniel Joyce had just seen the show. McClaine is a choreographer and I had just sketched one of her Limit (ed/less) rehearsals. They walked up the hill and said hello. The dance community is a tight knit crowd, they all support each others productions.

First Thursdays OMA

I went to First Thursdays at the Orlando Museum of Art partly on business and partly pleasure. My first stop was the gift shop where I wanted to place the 2012 Calendars. I met with the shop manager, MaryAnn Keane, who loved the calenders and wanted a dozen for the shop. The woman behind the register said she would have to buy one herself. That was easy. I want to get to other shops but just haven’t had the time.

The theme of this First Thursday was sculpture. I had read that an artist was going to be carving a large cake. I searched for him but didn’t see any cake. I considered sketching in the room full of sculptures but the room was packed. I would have been confronted with many backs. Instead, I wandered back towards the music. France Neil was singing a sultry rendition of “Don’t Know Why” by Norah Jones. I love Nora’s sad, sweet longing music. I melted away to the sad lyrics. France has been singing at Disney since 2001 in “The Lion King.” I was tempted to mention my involvement working as an intern on the film but thought better of it. I still get goosebumps anytime I watch the opening sequence, feeling part pride and part joy to have played a small part. Several band members gave me their cards. Mike Bloomer was on the cello and David Capp was on the saxophone. David seemed to be in charge of the band, letting me know that they could add or subtract players depending on the gig.

A young woman and her mom introduced themselves to me. She follows the blog and told me to keep up the good work. I never did see a cake sculptor, but I had to go and find my way to a dance rehearsal across town.