Wednesday, November 20, 2013

We're Moving on Up!

Not to be confused with Mr. and Mrs. Peck, the moving on up I'm referring to is our city, Orlando. Great cities have great public art and that's all there is to it. We now join that list.

Remember last week when I posted the sculpture photos as a sneak peek? As well, I included the email invitation regarding the "official unveiling" scheduled for this past Monday night. Well, Mr. Bruce was in town, we went, and was it ever special. Oh my word!

Beginning the night meeting at the corner of Church Street and Orange Avenue, we were so pleased to see a great crowd awaiting dusk when the lights would go on. I shared an album on fb of the sculptures which I'll include here in the interest of not going crazy with photo overload. So, they are in the order of how we saw them. That said, there are always more to share. As we approached the plaza, I finally saw the Lynx bus advertising the market.
I can't remember who told me about it, but I wouldn't be surprised if that were one of the gazillion photos I've taken there each and every week for six years. Super good.

After the official lighting we made our way to the History Center, one of the sculptures I didn't show you before. All of them have been outfitted with LED lighting, making them really special. To put this one into scale, Bruce is inspecting the materials.
I must say, the city did a beautiful job with everything, providing water and live entertainment at each stop, ranging from a harpist, to none other than our Joseph from the market!
And who do you see joining in with Joseph and Jesse, his new bride? Why, it's none other than Mayor Dyer. Anyone who knows Joseph would not be surprised that he was stationed at the site sponsored by Anheuser Busch with free beer for all. While we were chatting with J & J, I mentioned the Mayor was coming up. Immediately they broke into Luckenbach, Texas, knowing MD would love that one as he's known for his love of country and blues.

Along with the music and refreshments, the artists were there to answer questions and of course, receive praise for their work. I suppose one of the things about being mayor is having your photo taken by everyone. Here he shows up again with artist Meg White,
whom we chatted with briefly. We wanted to know what the "Muse" is made of, and how long it takes to make something that large. The answers? Two years is the normal time, however, with help she made it in eight months. Indiana sandstone is the answer to question number one.

Moving along, we came to another of my favorites, purchased by none other than Darden Restaurants!
It must be the trend because changing lights seems to be the thing; the colors ran the gamut while we watched in awe. This piece is made of aluminum.

Visiting last week, this one was still in the finishing stages of installation.
To the left of the photo you'll notice, if you are looking, a man and woman, he wearing a suit and tie, while she is in a jacket. That would be Mr. and Mrs. Massey, the donors of this spectacular piece. Discovering that through an overheard conversation, we too took the opportunity to thank them for their generosity. Graciously he deflected the praise, spreading it to his wife and employees. We thought they were the owners of the Massey Cadillac dealership here in town, only to discover they own Massey Services, a pest control company. How about that? Bugs, as it turns out, are a big business.

We stopped next at the Park Services Open House, and what should I see upon entering? Lying on the reception desk was the calendar! That, of course, made me happy. Next up, the two sculptures adjacent to the market. Well, look who was there!
No, I'm not trying to overload you with pictures of Mayor Dyer, instead the woman to his right is the force behind the project, Jennifer Quigley, whom I know nothing about. She, obviously is so excited to see her vision of the last two years come to fruition. As well, she's dancing to the New Orleans Dixieland band!

You've seen the big tree just behind my market booth space, but what you do not know is the donor of that sculpture, "Cedars of Lebanon" was the gift of a man David worked for long ago. He owns several gun ranges in the area. Guns, as it turns out, are also big business. I don't know if he also provided the food at this area, but it was rocking with a big crowd and Lebanese music. Unfortunately we got there after all the food was consumed. This young woman told me she had to remain where she was for the next hour!
Apparently this whole dress as a tablecloth thing is not new, but it was to us! I suspect these performers were from Universal Studios. Wherever they came from, they looked amazing!
For the record, we did not ask anyone to photograph us in front. :)

It was all so darn exciting to see the enthusiasm for the arts. We left beaming, finishing the night up at one of our old favorites, Dexter's in Thorton Park.
Years ago we spent considerable time and money at this place! If it were up to Bruce we would have still made it part of our date nights, but yours truly complained about the food. Surprisingly, and in a good way, I can no longer make that case.

Well, that was some night, and if that weren't enough, Tuesday night I was privileged to attend a big deal event at the Cheyenne Saloon, taking photographs for Dana, the manager of the property. Let's do that story tomorrow as I want you to digest this exciting evening first. In our fast-paced world it is easy to be thrilled one moment, and then almost immediately be ready to move on to the next big thing isn't it?

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