Monday Night Jazz at Taste

I have been working a late shift at Full Sail from 5PM to 9PM. That means I’ve had to search for events that go late into the evening. Jazz at Taste (717West Smith Street in College Park) fits the bill. Danny Grudal, Chris Muda and Michael Wells started a set when I arrived. I ordered some crispy tater tots, a beer and got to work. Different musicians joined in for different jams. A saxophone player I had met at Terrace 390’s Jazz event said hello.

This is a great way to relax after a hectic day. Soloists would take the music and improvise their own riff on top of it. When a performer got lost in the moment, the audience at the bar and tables would root him on with laughter, clapping and shouts. It is quite addictive. I nodded my head to the beat and tapped my foot as I sketched. I tried to let the lines flow unhindered.

These Jazz sets happen every Monday Night from about 9PM to 11PM. There is no cover.

Tenth Annual Grandma Party Bazaar

On December 16th, I went to Stardust Video and Coffee (1842 E. Winter Park Road, Orlando) to sketch the tenth annual Grandma Party Bazaar. The Grandma Party is a fusion of arts, crafts, rummage sale and performance. Tents were set up everywhere in the Stardust parking lot. The Death by Pop-Up Shop was open, so I stopped in to look at the art. Several artist were at work inside the store. Christie Miga was talking to Skip who was pealing up a mask from his painting.

Doug Rhodehamel had built a bright green and blue “Free Hug” booth out of a large corrugated box.  I got my hug and then we talked art for a while before I scouted out a spot to sketch. Dough has had an amazing number of gallery showings in the last few years. He wants to try something bigger with his art. He is one of the contributing artists in the upcoming “Cardboard Festival” happening January 25-27 at Say It Loud (1121 North Mills Avenue). Work by Jessica Earley, Brendan O’Connor, Christie Miga, Adriaan Mol, and Nathan Selikoff will also be featured.

I never caught the name of the band I was sketching. As I worked, I heard the strange surreal sound of a Sci-Fi zither. A couple was lying in the grass and they were both covered with a wedding veil. The were both holding dolls and a woman waved a wand above them. A cardboard sign announced that this was a non-surgical vasectomy station. I wondered if I was seated too close. I might catch some stray radiation from the home brew procedure. Everyone was smiling, laughing and taking pictures, so the vasectomy seemed painless enough. If the procedure didn’t work, it might be hard to find these snake charmers nine months down the road.

DRIP Sold Out Performances

There was a performance of Drip on founder Jessica Mariko‘s birthday. Appropriately this was the first sold out performance. There was a waiting list of people who hoped to get in. The Drip venue is located in a dark warehouse and you enter via the loading dock (8747 International Dr. Suite 102, Orlando, Fl 32819, behind Denny’s and Senor Frogs). The place used to be an indoor miniature golf course but now it is one of the hippest spots in Orlando. January 5, 12, 18, and 19th’s shows were all sold out. A second show is being added on January 26th to accommodate the crowds.

This performance was so crowded, that I had to stand on my artist stool to see well enough to keep on sketching. This isn’t a passive show to sit and watch. The audience stands on either side of the huge warehouse interior and at times is involved by lobbing water balloons at dancers and at each other. The hip energetic dance has a story line that anyone can relate to. A hot romance ignites with a male dancer, Marcus Alexander Cartier, throwing blue sand and the female dancer, Jessie Sander, throwing yellow sand. Together their colors unite becoming green. The romance sours when the male dancer cheats on his partner. Jessie wakes up in her loft bed alone. She finds evidence that Marcus is cheating when blue jeans shower down red sand. With strobe lights freezing her frenzied anger, she rips apart her closet sending clothes down into the audience. At the same time Marcus and another sexy dancer perform a flaming, evocative and passionate dance. In a daze Jessie wanders through the crowd with a video camera and spot light following her. She stopped below me and suddenly a milky water balloon exploded next to my head soaking the sketch.

DRIP is an in-your-face explosion of color and movement backed by a live
rock band, all in an industrial dive bar. You may get wet … you may get
messy … you WILL have an awesome time. Grab a colored beer (orange,
yellow, red or blue!) or glass of wine from our bar and let us assault
your senses. There are special Valentines performances February 13-16. If you are looking for a way to impress your date on Valentine’s day, get to Drip for an interactive evening that includes a four-course dinner-by-color, where
each course is served in a special hue (orange, blue, yellow and red),
make-your-own Valentine station, full DRIP performance with live band and dancers who perform in paint, water, and colored sand, a white DRIP T-shirt for you to wear and take home as a splattered souvenir and a dessert party
with live acoustic music by Lance Herring and other musicians. Tickets
are $65-$90 per person and are limited to 100 people per night.

FAVO

Faith Arts Village Orlando (FAVO) is an outreach ministry of Park Lake Presbyterian Church. Will Benton is in charge of helping renovate the motel which hosts artists who exhibit their work once a month. The mission of FAVO is to encourage art as an expression of faith. On January 4th, I visited to see which artists were exhibiting their work. The motel is located across the street from Park Lake Presbyterian church and is right off Colonial Drive. I discovered a parking lot quite by mistake.

Unfortunately it was raining continuously that evening. The January 4th Event focused on a New Year featuring local Orlando Art,
The FAVO Market and the soft opening of the new FAVO Gallery. This
Gallery will present all original works from local artists. All sales
from this Gallery will benefit the renovations of the property to meet City Requirements. Adequate sprinkler systems need to be installed and ramps built so the complex is accessible to anyone in a wheel chair. 19 Studios were open with Local Juried Artists showing their work.

There were several Food Trucks parked behind the motel with their generators buzzing loudly. The event was lightly attended, but the motel rooms glowed bright as the sky grew dark. Photographer Gail Peck introduced me to the work of a British Urban Sketcher whose work she felt I should see. He wrote a book called, London You’re Beautiful. Renee Wilson was showing pieces that were rendered with words. There was an image of a raven that was composed using the words from an Edgar Allen Poe poem. She does commissions where she interviews a person and then does a drawing using words from that person’s story to create the image. Bonnie Sprung was set up in the motel room closest to the food trucks.

A minister stood in an artists studio looking at the work. The artist asked him if he could bless her work since she believed in that sort of thing. I didn’t stay for the blessing. I searched for a spot out of the rain and I did a quick sketch. Mist from the rain kept moistening the page. Seth Kubersky and Donna Dowless said hello as I struggled with the sketch. The FAVO Gallery will be having it’s Grand Opening on February 1st at 5PM.

Cardboard Art Festival

Mark Baratelli of TheDailyCity.com came up with the idea of having a Cardboard Art Festival. The opening night was Friday January 25th at the Orange Studio (1121 N Mills Ave, Orlando). I had to work till 9PM that evening, so I wasn’t even planning to go. Terry sent me a text photo of the new Dog Powered Robot techno beach buggy. She let me know that the event was open past midnight so there would be time to get there and do a sketch.  There was a line of people out the door to get in. I could see strips of Doug Rhodehamel corrugated cardboard bacon hanging from the ceiling. All of the Dog Powered Robots stood, deactivated in a corner.

The opening reception featured music and dancing with DJ Nigel and tons of cardboard sculptures filling up the space created by artists: Jessica Earley, Brendan O’Connor, Evan and Christie Miga, Adriaan Mol, Doug Rhodehamel, Nathan Selikoff. Cardboard dinosaur helmets lined the back wall created by Banjo Bob. They were just the right height where you could stand up and have your photo taken with the helmet on yet still mounted on the wall. Blue Moon beer was being served under the bacon strips and the carpeted dance floor was always full of dancers. After making the rounds with Terry, I settled in to sketch. Blue submarines and ferocious deep sea fish hovered over the dance floor. A rocket garden thrust vertically upward above a collection of mini robots. A tubular instrument resembling a pipe organ could be played by swatting the tube openings with cardboard fly swatters. A ten foot tall tube marionette stood with a tetrahedron head. People could pull chords to make him dance. I got plenty of abuse and by the end of the evening he was lying on the floor, a spent mess.

The opening night was an undeniable blow out success. The place was surreal, the music loud and the dancing furious and care free. It’s not too late to experience the madness in person.


Sunday January 27

  • 10am-11:30am for kids 7 and under
  • 12pm-1:00pm for kids 8 and above
  • Kids Matinee Sponsored and hosted by Kids Fringe and Mennello Museum of American Art $1
    admission. Kids only! Attendees will get to (1) use cardboard to build
    and decorate their very own mask, hat, or wings, (2) meet the famed Dog
    Powered Robot and (3) get a chance to tour the entire exhibit.
  • 7:30pm – 12am
  • Dog Powered Robot + Andy Matchett and the Minks, $5 admission (pay at the door, cash only), wine and beer by donation. Dog Powered Robot is a fantastic group of cardboard robots defending the world against evil via a robot powered by a Pomeranian. Andy Matchett and the Minks is a very popular and fun musical group.

Chang and Tchaikovsky

I went to a rehearsal of the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre. All the doors of the Art Centre were locked except the stage door which was the last one I tried. Guest conductor, Alasdair Neale, already had the orchestra hard at work. All the instrument cases were lying out on folding tables in the wings. I sat at the end of a table next to a huge cello case. Fearing I might knock the case over while sketching, I moved my chair away a bit. Sarah Chang, the solo violinist, never performed while I worked on the sketch. The security guard stopped and looked over my shoulder when I was first blocking in the sketch. I stiffened thinking he would insist I move out into the public seating. He lost interest and moved away.

The brooding emotional drama of the Fifth Symphony is classic Tchaikovsky. Rossini’s genius for melody and comedy permeates his popular Semiramide Overture. For pure American lyricism, no work outshines Barber’s Violin Concerto, performed by the incomparable Sarah Chang. I was impressed by several really gorgeous horn section solos. Periodically the conductor stopped the orchestra to go over subtle diction and tone he wanted emphasized.

The orchestra took a break just as I started adding color to the sketch. I was amazed at how many times I was asked to add more hair to player’s manes. By the time everyone was back in place, I had all the large washes defining the stage in place. I added washes to the players as they started to perform again.

There is a performance tonight, Saturday January 26 at 8 pm and another performance Sunday January 27th at 3 pm at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre.

Collide-Scope

Individuals from various backgrounds collide to confront a community challenge in this signature bi-monthly event at Urban Rethink (625 E Central BlvdOrlando, FL). Anna McCambridge Thomas started these creative, think outside the box community awareness sessions. I attended the December 10th session. The ten or so individuals sat in a circle to share ideas. In the past, small teams were set up to consider creative solutions to our community’s problems. Unfortunately, there were some clashes of will among participants in one team, so adjustments to the format had to be made moving forward. This session was an open discussion for all that showed up.

 Each challenge will address an issue that is mainly social in nature,
and will focus on our community, but can be adjusted to a broader (even
global) scope in its presentation. The challenge will be announced at
the beginning of each corresponding event. These events are not meant to
solve issues within one week’s time, but to open an interesting,
informed, creative and honest dialogue. It is also meant to promote a
more healthy, vibrant and livable community, and to bring together
people who might not have otherwise met or collaborated. (This includes
both the selected participants and the individuals who join in as
audience members.) Perhaps a spark will ignite in the mind of a visitor
who will help to continue the project, or create something new based on
an idea within it.

One group was assigned the task of considering the homeless problem. They noted that many homeless in Orlando still have cell phones. They came up with the notion of assigning a homeless person a QR code. The homeless person could ask a passer by to scan the QR code and an information page would inform the person on how to donate to a food pantry. Terry Olson talked about an Urban Artist who did a mural under a highway overpass. I didn’t see the art, but it apparently livened up an otherwise dreary area. The city deemed the art to be graffiti and they did a sloppy white wash over it. Now the overpass is more dismal than ever. Terry is looking into ways to make it easier for artists to get permits for public art. Utility boxes are being painted by artists. The artists are only given $100 for supplies and that is their sole commission for the job. It is no wonder that many of those decorated boxes look like they were painted by amateurs. One box on Mills Avenue near the Orange Studio does make me laugh, it reads… “The end was here!”

Wedding of Jonathan David and Anna Marie West

Jonathan David West invited me to sketch his wedding to Anna Marie. I met the couple for the first time at the Day of the Dead festivities at City Arts factory. The wedding took place at The Springs Gated Community (400 Woodbridge Road Longwood, FL).  I arrived early as groomsmen were getting dressed in their tuxedos. Jonathan, still in a T shirt, saw me and explained that the wedding would take place at the gazebo down by the spring.

I walked down to the water’s edge. The gazebo was dark. I picked my sketching spot because I liked the way a weather vane stork silhouetted against the sky. A Renaissance trio of musicians set up in the gazebo and Christmas lights flickered on.

The wedding was short, sweet and to the point. When the couple was pronounced man and wife, someone pulled out the plug by mistake and the gazebo wend dark. They must have scrambled fast because soon the lights came back on. The couple then ignited a flame that filled a paper bag hot air balloon. The glowing orb floated up, just missed some tree branches and then floated up to the clouds. Everyone was given sparklers. I decided my sketch was done, so I joined everyone forming a double sided line. All the guests raised their sparklers and the newly wed couple ran under the sparkling canopy.

The reception was held at the top of the hill in a club house. There were perhaps fifty guests but I didn’t do a head count. Every puppeteer in Orlando seemed to be there. Jonathan and Anna are both puppeteers. After guests had their meals, Jonathan and Anna put on a puppet show. They had made puppets in their own likeness and they told the story of how they met. They were childhood friends, that used to talk for hours on the phone and play together. For Anna’s 16th birthday, Jonathan took her out. She hoped he would kiss her that night, but the moment slipped by.  Once Jonathan walked an incredible distance, crossing townships, to see Anna. When she asked him why he had come, he unfortunately replied that he just wanted to go for a walk.

College sent the kids to different states.  They each got married starting separate lives and families. Anna had seven children. Those marriages eventually both lead to divorces. Many years later, Jonathan and Anna both moved to Orlando for different reasons. After so many years apart, there was still a spark that remained from their adolescent romance that burned bright. Once again Jonathan and Anna were inseparable. Their respective puppets took a bow and everyone in the room stood and applauded.

League of Women Voters Hot Topics Luncheon

 The date was 12/12/12 and at 12:12PM the Sorisis Club, 501 E. Livingston, a few blocks east of Orange Avenue in downtown Orlando, was filling up. The room seats about 130 guests. Sara Segal had invited me to sketch the League of Women Voters Hot Topics luncheon. The quaint one story building resembles a church meeting hall. When I arrived, Sarah introduced me to Andrea Kobrin, the Hot Topics Chair. I decided to sit behind Terry, the sound man.

The topic of the day was the state of the Arts in Central Florida. As people ate lunch there were random acts of culture. A singer performed with a piano accompanist. Two women read lines from a play. A large canvas was hung as a backdrop on the stage. It was painted by Nancy Jay in 1996 was titled “Tree, Leaf,  Cell” and it showed a macro and micro view of life. Rene Schneider had artwork on display by middle school and High School students. The students were from abusive families and the program helps build self esteem.

Flora Maria Garcia, Terry Olson and Kathy Ramsberger spoke about challenges, innovation and opportunities for the arts and their organizations. Matt Palm from the Orlando Sentinel moderated. Each speaker had opening remarks. Then there was a panel discussion, followed by questions and answers.  Kathy Ramsberger was asked repeated questions about how the Dr. Phillips Center of the Performing Arts will benefit local performing arts groups. She responded that the Center would charge fair rental fees for it’s use. There is now an uproar because the Center has decided not to use Florida Theatrical Association to book the Broadway shows. That organization has been bringing Broadway shows to the Bob Carr Performing Arts Center for 24 years. The Dr. Phillips Center wants to book the shows themselves saying they will save an estimated $700,000 annually. $75 million dollars still needs to be raised to complete the third phase of construction. The Florida Theatrical Association vowed that they would continue to bring Broadway shows to Orlando. Do people go to shows to experience new architecture or do they go to experience great art?

Red Rum at the Falcon

The Falcon Bar (819 E. Washington Street, Orlando, Florida), has a back room that is themed after The Shining. The entire room is painted red and thus is the Red Rum. A plastic big wheel tricycle is perched atop a wall harkening back to the movie. The wall paper pattern on the wall is the same pattern used on the carpets in the movie. RR is engraved on a large mirror and a stuffed dear head overlooks everything. The room’s blood red walls made the room feel  bit disturbing.

Every month, Melissa and John Felcman, hosts a Lady’s Fashion Hour, which is a monthly Happy Hour featuring local Orlando fashion.  When I went to sketch December 5th, Dear Prudence was featuring their local fashion wares. Dear Prudence is vintage inspired style, clothing, accessories and a full service bead store located in Audubon Park Garden District. I arrived just as they started setting up. I relaxed on the red couch sketching as each item was carefully displayed. Merchandise was moved constantly. This Feng Shui dance made it hard for me to decide when to nail down an item in my sketch.

Soon enough the room was full of women inspecting jewelry and trying on items from the rack. I had a quick chat with the proprietress from Bee’s Knees. I’ve seen her at many events and just knew her as “the cupcake lady”. She is married to one of the owners of Redlight Redlight and that is one place where you might find her delicious cupcakes on most Thursday and Friday evenings. Weekly, you can find the Bees, Erica and Emily, at the Audubon
Community Market
on Monday nights and the College Park Farmer’s Market
on Thursday nights.