1st Fridays Art Stroll of Ivanhoe Village

Every first Friday of the month there is an art stroll in Ivanhoe Village. The exact location differs from month to month usually taking up one city block near Lake Ivanhoe. When I arrived I saw Angela Abrusci as she was setting up spot lights and folding tables. She had sent me a Facebook invite to come out to this months stroll. She was looking quite bohemian with a dark Beret perched rakishly on her head. She was very busy so I didn’t interrupt her. As Executive Director, she seems to be doing an amazing job keeping Ivanhoe Village a vibrant neighborhood. I strolled down the block as artists hustled to get their work set up for display and sale. I bumped into Brad Briggs who told me there was an empty slot if I wanted to display work. I don’t have much patience for sitting behind a table and waiting for people to view my art. Throwing it online is less nerve wracking for me. I was there to sketch. I walked across the street and sat up on a retaining wall for some railroad tracks. It was a chilly night so I sketched fast. The wind kept flapping the pages of my sketchbook.

When I finished the sketch I had to leave immediately. Jeremy Seghers was celebrating his birthday at Ethos down the street. I strolled Ivanhoe Village one more time and looked at all the new artwork that had been set up. This time I greeted Angela and she informed me that Capoera, a Brazilian art form that combines martial arts, sports and music was going to be performing soon right outside Vibe. I have wanted to sketch Capoera before, but they keep eluding me. I had to go. I thanked Angela and walked down the street to Ethos.

2011 Fringe Lottery

The tension was palpable in the circular Patrons Room in the Orlando Shakespeare Theater this Monday night. A single folding table was set up at the front of the room and seats were set up in rows for the anxious crowd of performers, producers, directors and avid Fringe fanatics. For those new to the Fringe experience, it is a 13 day festival founded on the concept of offering 100% unjuried (hence the lottery), 100% uncensored and 100% accessible theater, music, dance, art and madness to all types and ages, where 100% of the box office ticket sales go directly back to the artists. The longest running U.S. Fringe Festival, the misson of Orlando Fringe is to provide an accessible, affordable outlet that draws diverse elements of the community together and inspires creative excellence through the arts. The 20th Annual Orlando International Fringe Theater Festival takes place May 18-30, 2011 in Orlando Loch Haven Park. Nine ticketed venues are located within Orlando Shakes and Orlando Repertory Theatre, along with three Bring Your Own Venues for unique site-specific performances.

Chasmin Hallyburton sat with her laptop open, ready to record the winners of the lottery. Shannon Lacek was in charge of pulling the winning acts from the bucket which was held by Beth Marshall. Beth held up her cell phone and shouted, “Everyone say hello to Brian Feldman who will be tweeting the results from Palo Alto, California!” Everyone shouted, “Hello, Brian.” Once an act was picked from the bucket, Shannon would read the title and then George Wallace would tape the card up on one of the colored poster boards. Each poster board represented a different venue. Some acts drawn from the hat caused massive shouts of delight since performers were in the room. I shouted myself when I heard Dog Powered Robot was going to have its own show! After the lottery was finished, Evan and Christy Miga stopped by to say hello. I expressed how excited I was for them, and then Christy showed me her handbag, and there was Fisher’s tiny furry face. Fisher is the dog behind Dog Powered Robot, and he is a rising star!

I went up to the poster boards and wrote down the shows that had been picked. I couldn’t read my own writing, so check out Orlando Sentinel Theater Critic Matt Palm’s list to start picking the shows you might like to see. So many friends will be performing. Brian Feldman will have an as of yet undisclosed performance in an alternative venue. Jeremy Seghers and Dewey Chaffee, and Voci Dance have shows that remain a mystery. John DiDonna will be directing a dance performance called “Unspoken.” Logan Donahoo shouted for joy when “Trash Cinema 101” was picked. I am so happy for everyone who will be scrambling to push the creative envelope in May 2011. I am busy trying to decide which acts I most want to sketch.

Blend

Blend was a live painting event held at Taste (717 West Smith Street in College Park). Frankie Messina and Tracy Burke helped organize this unique collaborative event. Blend bought together artists from a wide variety of disciplines and had them all work on a series of canvases together. When I arrived with Terry, we made our way back to the red room where the lights were blazing and we could hear the conversations of all the artists at work. Jeremy Seghers and Amanda Chadwick were in the restaurant and I suggested Terry join them as I finished up a sketch. Plastic was draped over the walls and floor to avoid paint getting everywhere. Even with these precautions, someone stepped on a palette and stomped red paint everywhere. The mess was quickly cleaned up. The art styles were varied and in some ways disjointed when placed side by side on a single canvas. It took some time and effort to see some of the canvases find a unified vision. A man wearing a Viking helmet had horns which had diodes inside that would light up and move up and down to the beat of the music. After the event, I learned that the artist in the foreground of the sketch is Maisy May Marrs. She did a fun quirky painting of a serious redheaded girl in the cornet of the canvas she was working on. She stares up at a stick figure girl on top of her head. the image is strangely unsettling.
Since I hadn’t been invited to join the effort, I just concentrated on my sketch. I later found out that both Terry and Amanda had contributed to a piece so I suppose I should have made a contribution. Louise Bova whose work is expressionistic and representational, decided to just add swirling brush strokes which added to the pattern of a painting. Once I finished my sketch I joined Jeremy Amanda and Terry out in the restaurant. I ordered some tater tots and a drink. The dinner conversation was lively and well greased with some drinks. Jeremy and Amanda had to get to an 11 o’clock SAK comedy club show so they took off. Terry and I stayed behind and waited for the band to start playing in the red room as many of the artists packed up and left.

Brian Feldman Marries Anybody!

Brian Feldman put up an event page on Facebook announcing that he would marry any woman who showed up to the Orange County Courthouse at 3PM on February 8th to get a marriage license with him. They would then have to wait three days before officially tying the knot in a small room in the marriage license office. Brian said this arbitrary marriage would point out the insanity of a state system that will allow total strangers to get married as long as they are of the opposite sex, while denying marriage to same-sex partners who have been together in a loving relationship for 20 years.
When I arrived at the courthouse, Amanda Chadwick was there waiting for Jeremy Seghers. Jeremy arrived and then a Central Florida News 13 cameraman. We spoke with the cameraman for a while and he told us his first marriage had been a mistake. He said the last nine years of that marriage had felt like he was living with a roommate. Jeremy called Brian to see where he was and he said, “only a few blocks away.” Brian did not have the cash for the marriage license so he was thinking of calling the project off. Jeremy immediately said he would pay the $93.50 for the marriage license, and that he had better show up! When Brian arrived, the news cameraman interviewed him for a while, before we all made our way through security and up to the third floor.
The hallway and inside of the marriage license office was packed full of people. I wedged myself into a corner and started sketching the marriage license counters, figuring I would catch Brian and his future bride when they finished their paperwork. Three woman stood in front of me with every intention of marrying Brian. Julie Norris, a talk show host for Front Porch Radio, with her 5 month old baby strapped to her chest; Hannah Miller, a puppeteer at Pinocchio’s Marionette Theater; and a third woman, Mary Ann Marks, who had heard about the wedding in the newspaper, holding a heart-shaped box of chocolates for Brian. I picked out a delicious round chocolate with caramel inside, after Brian offered them to the crowd. Elizabeth Maupin, the theater critic for the Orlando Sentinel, was also on hand to watch the license signing. She has known Brian since he was a child performer and has always had an interest in his career.
Brian purchased a bottle of Aquafina from the vending machine in the office and then proposed throwing the bottle over his shoulder, having the women catch it like a bouquet. Julie protested, however, thinking her child might get hit in the head. Someone in the crowd suggested he spin the bottle instead, and after a moment’s hesitation, he agreed. The bottle spun about four times on the carpet before settling on Hannah Miller.
After completing the paperwork, the couple sat in a waiting area, while the county workers filed and stamped all the necessary documents. Hannah called her father to tell him the good news. There were three video cameras on her the whole time as she spoke to him on the speaker phone. He took the news well saying he just wanted her to be happy. When he addressed Brian he called him “son.” Brian fielded several interviews. The couple really didn’t talk much.

In a Facebook note, here is what Hannah Miller said about the event…
Why I’m Getting Married To Someone I Don’t Love
We’re doing it for love… just not ours.
I believe in marriage.
I believe that marriage is a public way to declare the very personal commitment that two people make to one another; to proclaim that their hearts are so incomplete without the other that they must legally bind their property and lives to ensure the union’s safety.
I believe that denying same-sex couples the same 1,000+ rights given to couples of opposing genders that choose to marry is tantamount to declaring that GLBT relationships are not valid–or, at the very least, not AS valid as heterosexual relationships. I believe that marriage equality ensures the health and happiness not only of same-sex partners, but also their families. I believe that the denial of marriage rights to GLBT individuals is a denial of the elemental protections the State and Federal government should provide to all individuals, regardless of race, gender, religion, or any other arbitrary defining factor, like sexual orientation.
I am marrying Brian Feldman, a man I don’t love, because I BELIEVE.
I hope you believe too.
Please come to our wedding, 3pm at the Orange County Courthouse in downtown Orlando. And please show how MUCH you believe with careful voting choices, letters declaring your beliefs to your State and Federal representatives, and generous donations to a pro-marriage-equality organization such as Brian’s favorites, below:
Equality Florida
Human Rights Campaign
P.S. When Hannah Miller got back to her car, she found a $28 parking ticket since the meter had just run out. The costs of getting married just keep climbing!

Guitar Hero

As part of Amanda Chadwick’s Seven Days of Celebration, she invited friends over to Rockin Joe’s Coffeehouse + Bistro to play Guitar Hero. January twelfth was the actual day of her birth so this day of celebration would count as the official birthday celebration. Rockin Joe’s is located in SODO (South of Down Town Orlando). I had never been to this part of town before and I was shocked by the huge Target store that greeted me as I tuned the corner. I could almost hear the heavenly hosts. This mega store stands out like a monolith beckoning shoppers to it’s doors. The coffee shop is located on the shopping district built around the Target. It is small and quaint. At the front of the shop is the eclectic sofa, arm chair and coffee tables shown. Jeremy Seghers is seated in the arm chair plotting to take over the world. Once again many of Amanda’s friends were SAK comedians so there was plenty of playful banter.
Having never played Guitar Hero, I could not tell you who was winning or who was loosing. Amanda seemed to hold her own but I think she might have had her ass whooped by the more experienced players. While I was sketching I decided to order a peanut butter cheese cake. It was sooooo good! I might go back again just for that cheesecake. Amanda was given a cupcake and we all sang Happy Birthday. As her friends started to leave, Amanda stood on a chair to show a very tall friend of hers what it was like to hug him. When I finished my sketch, people were already starting to drift away. Amanda said I should try Guitar Hero, but I didn’t want to make a fool of myself. She was encouraging and supportive, but I think Guitar Hero will have to wait for another day. I don’t think being a Rock-star is in my blood.