Fashion Funds the Cure

Terry asked if I would like to sketch a fashion show at Saks Fifth Avenue in the Florida Mall. I approached Saks from inside the mall and found the gate had been pulled down and a sign put up announcing a private party. I had to backtrack a bit then walk outside to enter Saks from the parking lot. The women at the reception table searched for my name on the list and they couldn't find it. I had been invited so I stubbornly told them to check again. They finally just let me in. There was food and drink but I wanted to get right to work. Most of the seats in the front rows had reserved signs on them. I fount a seat right next to where the models entered the runway. From my seat I could see the models backstage as they prepared.

The event was a fundraiser for the Pediatric Cancer Foundation. This organization launched a new clinical trial to treat 18 children with relapsed Acute Limphoblastic Leukemia or ALL as it is commonly called. Each child's treatment would cost $13,000. My father had died from Leukemia shortly before I moved to Orlando so I know first hand how this disease can ravage and deplete a family member.

Eight year old Gina Marie Incandela started things off by singing "Baby you're a Firework" by Katy Perry. She had sung the National Anthem at a Magic playoff game I recently attended. Her song began tentatively then when she marched down the runway with her hands raised the audience was hooked. I wasn't ready for what followed. Angelys, an adorable young eight year old girl, made her way down the runway with her mom escorting her. Angelys along with all the other young models is battling Leukemia. The girls were smiling as they sported beautiful oufits down the runway. Several girls had lost strength in their legs and they still made it down the runway with adults escorts supporting them by the elbows. They exhibited strength and beauty.

The host, Brandi Williams would announce some enlightening snippet for each girl. One girls simple bio read, "I am so much more than my cancer." I saw women across the runway dabbing their eyes and I struggled to keep my eyes clear so I could sketch. Terry had to leave since the scene made her sad. For one shining moment every one of these survivors were superstars. A young girl got to the end of the runway in front of the video cameras and she did an extra sassy hip move that bought a loud cheer from the audience.

Then came an auction. A woman won an amazing week long trip to Colorado for just $2,000. A trip to Paris France had me tempted to bid. When the auction was over, the area quickly cleared out. Melissa Kasper was nice enough to bring me a plate of food as I finished the sketch. The pork and mashed potatoes were amazing. I got up to get a second plate. I found Terry talking to Rachel Kapitan who was helping Ella Kapul at Chocolate Provocateur.When Terry went to hug Jessica Mariko of Drip Dance, a martini glass crashed to the floor. Never a dull moment. We laughed so we wouldn't cry.

Holi Fest at the Citrus Bowl

I went to the Citrus Bowl to sketch Holi Fest knowing full well that this Indian springtime celebration would touch and color my life. Last year I went to the event in a black suit and that was a mistake. Live and learn. I walked past the Police Mounted Unit Barn and the horses greeted me by walking up to the fence. Across the street the Indian music was playing loudly and I saw that some people were already multi pigmented. I seated myself with my back against a light pole and immediately got to work. A husband, wife and daughter settled in next to me. The little girl was maybe 5 years old and the supersoaker water pistol she carried was as big as she was. She aimed it at me once and I raised my sketchbook up to my face in a joking gesture of self defense. The dad told her, "No!" I was a little disappointed. A few minutes later I was shot in the right shoulder from behind with a bright purple stream. I wiped the stained pages of my sketchbook and kept working. A woman approached from behind and wiped my cheek with a bright blue pigment.

The field wasn't very crowded when I started the sketch but by the time I finished there had to be at least a thousand people all joyfully throwing pigments and chasing each other with pigmented water pistols. Melissa Kasper from DRlP Dance company came out to do research for Jessica Mariko, DRIP's founder who was unfortunately out of town. I hugged Melissa who was like a giddy school girl ready to play. I gave her a plastic bag to protect her camera and then she bounded away to put a few things back in her car. The next time I saw her she was covered in pigments and she had met some friends who were swing dancing to the Indian music. When my sketch was finished I introduced myself to her friends who were all brightly colored. They had a bag of pigment and they helped fully initiate me.

For my second sketch I decided to introduce myself to an Indian family that was sitting against a fence. There was constant activity. People tended to keep turning around always on the lookout for a brightly colored shower from behind. In the opening remarks from the stage it was announced that people came from as far away as North Carolina, New York and Nebraska. The word Holi came from Hola which means sacrifice. The festival celebrates the beginning of spring. It asks that we renew ourselves and move forward with love, understanding and compassion. There was no drinking at the event. The family I was sketching offered me several round fried dumplings dipped in a sweet yellow sauce. They were quite good. After finishing my second sketch I bumped into Hannah Miller and Jack Fields. They and their friends were vibrant and bright. When I left the event, I had to go to Loews on an errand. I turned a few heads as I wandered the aisles. The clerk checking me out said, "You must really get into your painting!" "Yes I do." I replied.

DRIP's Wet Run

It was late afternoon when paint can lids began to be hot glued to the central column. Jennifer Wagner stood on a tall ladder with the hot glue gun hard at work. For some reason one of the lids just refused to stick so that task was set aside.
After a cast lunch of delicious wraps and giant cookies, everyone was anxious to see if everything worked. Thomas was in charge of dumping a bucket of water on the stage floor to see how the drainage worked and to check for leaks. Sure enough leaks were found and silicone was applied along all the joints. Jennifer sealed all the seams of the vinyl curtains that surrounded the dancers stage. A big difference between the initial design and the final stage is that the paint and the tubing supplying the chandelier fountains all remained hidden under the stage and inside the central column. This streamlined the design.

With the sun setting in the west, the dancers came downstairs to rehearse. There was just enough time for one wet run. I did one last sketch of the performers inside the space. One of the stage techs told a dancer that the water was very warm, like 94 degrees. When the water showered down on her, she shrieked because it was freezing cold. As always the dancing was sensual, fun, and compelling. Within six short minutes the performance was over. Jessica Mariko wanted to get one run done with paint instead of water, but the dancers had to leave. Melissa Kasper, a long time "drippy" and the DRIP Assistant Workshop Manager, was asked if she would stand in for a dancer and she shouted, "Yes!" For her this was a dream come true and the remaining cast considered it "Epic!" I was asked to step inside as well but I didn't have a change of clothes. Melissa changed into a pair of jeans which were ironically cleaner than the paint splattered jeans she had worn all day. She had lost weight and these jeans were getting too loose. She stood under the yellow chandelier and was covered head to toe with bright yellow paint. The paint splattered everywhere coating the vinyl screen. The hardest part of her job became cleaning the vinyl using a towel and then getting on her hands and knees to scoop the thin paint into the drains with her cupped hands. The dancers will have to clean up four times on performance night since the show is repeated for separate audiences.

Drip Paint Can Chandeleires

I was invited to sketch a stage construction and rehearsal by the DRIP Dance Company. They were setting up in the Isleworth Country Club as part of a Travistock Cup Golf Tournament gala evening. About a month ago I did a sketch of what the set could look like based on suggestions from Jessica Mariko as we sat in Starbucks. The sketch helped sell the performance to the venue.

When I arrived at Isleworth, I had to surrender my drivers license to the security guard at the entrance to the gated community. My license is pretty old. In the photo I still had a full head of hair. The license is updated periodically with a sticker on the back. In a typical case of security guard blindness he didn't see the expiration date on the back. I had to point the 2013 expiration date to him.


I was asked to park in the cast parking lot which is way past the clubhouse. A golf cart shuttled me to the cast entrance of the clubhouse where I wandered through the bustling kitchen past the security office and down endless basement hallways until I found an elevator upstairs to the main floor. Everyone was rushing to get the place ready for the gala.

The dance staging area was set up in a central court area surrounded by arches. White curtains had been set up surrounding the stage to hide the work in progress. Melissa Kasper, Jennifer Wagner and Thomas Starr were busy painting paint can lids. These lids would later be used to decorate the central column of the stage. The theme for the performance was Pop Art. On a second floor balcony, huge Pop Art paintings were covered with black fabric waiting to be unveiled. I could just make out an Andy Warhol soup can image as it peaked out from within it's curtain. Set construction went on all day long.

Riff

DRIP is currently developing an exciting new rock show called Riff, "a wet, raw, sexy Rock and Roll experience." The event is happening in the DRIP warehouse (4502 Old Winter Garden Road); which is now easy to find because out by the sidewalk there are huge Styrofoam letters spelling out DRIP. After parking, arrows lead me to the entry at the back of the warehouse. A makeshift bar was set up and people were mingling before the show started. Tony Corbitt, speed painter, had his easel set up right in front of the entrance. He slipped his shirt up over his head and started attacking the black board with bold strokes of white paint. Each painting took less than five minutes to finish, so I had to work extra fast to catch him in action. I had talked to Tony the night before and learned that he dreams of one day studying drawing and painting in Florence, Italy. Before the conversation was over I found myself with the same longing. Another artist stood beside me and sketched the painting in progress. Before my sketch was really complete, the stage door was opened and people filed into the warehouse. There was an area right by the door where people could check their shoes since all areas of the warehouse were considered a splash zone. The room was packed and I had some trouble finding a spot from which to sketch. I finally settled on a spot close to the band right next to the speakers.
The room went black and then the band started to belt out a hard edged rhythmic beat. I immediately realized I was a bit too close to the speakers. My right ear was starting to hurt. I decided to take one of the erasers off the end of a pencil and I used that as an ear plug. It worked like a charm. Soon the dancers in the center of the staging area began to move. They used two ropes hanging from the metal girders of the warehouse high above to start swinging. Paint buckets full of water were thrown at the dancers as they gracefully gyrated.
The next routine involved a large platform which was used to hold a transparent "canvas." As I sketched I realized that my sketch was getting covered with the constant rain of day-glow red and blue paint. Anyone in the audience with a white shirt suddenly glowed a mysterious blue. If my sketch were to be placed under a black light you would see clearly the red and blue day-glow paint splatters. The sketch shows Danny Millan and Nate Skaggs filling the dark space with loud music.
After the performance was over, people lingered outside and talked. Jessica Mariko was explaining that she hopes to find a hotel or similar venue that would be willing to offer DRIP permanent home.
You can still experience Riff in Orlando June 17th to 19th from 8 to 10 PM at 4502 Old Winter Garden Road. The show is also going to be in Miami July 22nd and 23rd from 8 to 10 PM at Easy Street Gallery (3501 NW 2nd Avenue Miami).