Digestible Feats

The Night of the Tarantula offers Fusebox audiences wine, food and unexpectedcommunity

At first it all seemed a bit thrown together. The Fusebox Hub is a large warehouse on East Fifth with an artfully designed landscape and a row of porta-potties out back. Most attendees wore comfortable shoes but a few unlucky women tottered through the wood chips that covered the yard in heels or platform sandals.

“Come in! Find a your seat — there’s already delicious flatbread waiting. Then meet me at the service table for an Apertivo Americano. Very refreshing.” The eager crowd flooded into the building for their promised bread and drinks.

For Digestible Feats: The Night of the Tarantula, Fusebox converted a corner of its Hub into an Italian restaurant, complete with red checkered tablecloths and smiling servers. Strangers shuffled together to sit at round tables, eat Puglia inspired Italian food, and listen to composer Graham Reynolds — as part of a five piece band — play music inspired by south Italian folk traditions and chef Lucky Sibilla’s puccias.

Sibilla uses puccia, an Italian bread, for his wood fired sandwiches that he sells out of his food trailer on 5th and Lamar. Bread of all kinds featured heavily in the five course meal, eliciting excitement that turned to groans of, “Oh my god more bread? I’m so full!” by the time the dessert course of sweet puccia with peanut butter, fresh fruit and jelly landed on the tables.

The diners had good reason to feel stuffed. The portions were generous and the food, while simple and vegetable based, was rich. Both Reynolds and Sibilla proudly noted that, with only minor adjustments, all five courses were vegan.

The un-airconditioned Fusebox Hub wasn’t the ideal venue for this event, especially with the Texas spring warming up to the mid 90s. Once the sun went down, however, the evening cooled enough for the industrial fan in the corner to generate a pleasant breeze. After the warehouse was dark enough to feel cozy and a couple of bottles of wine had gone around, the initial awkwardness of the dinner-with-strangers eased and conversation flowed freely.

In between courses, Reynolds and the band played a variety of songs inspired mainly by the theme of the evening, the southern Italian folk dance called the Tarentella. The dance has several different origin myths, all involving the bite of a tarantula. Reynolds played variations of its 6/8 beat on tambourines, drums, the piano and finally with the full band. A few in the audience seemed swept up in the frenzied music but no one was brave enough to throw back their chair and dance.

It’s a shame. By the end of the night, everyone had had enough good wine to justify a little tarantism. Even so, the thrown together crowd from the beginning of the evening was a smiling, satisfied community by the time the band launched into its final piece. Digestible Feats offer a rare opportunity for audiences to connect not only with performers, but with each other.

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Outside the Lines

Buda artist releases intuitive drawing book with fun prompts

Photo courtesy of Ronald Gross

Artist Ronald Gross creates an intuitive drawing with crayon, which he considers a "joyful" medium.

Buda-based artist and writer Ronald Gross released a book in November called Unlock Your Creativity: A Guide to Intuitive Drawing, which will walk aspiring expressers through drawing without worry. On December 6, he'll be on hand to help in an intuitive drawing demo at Buda Public Library's Holiday Open House.

The book is a hands-on guide that teaches readers how to lean into their own desires and intuitions when drawing, whether they feel like an artist or not. In this way, intuitive drawing should feel relaxing, meditative, and ultimately, beneficial for mental health. If you find coloring books relaxing and meditative, intuitive drawing may have the same effect on you.

"Intuitive drawing is the practice of creating art without a specific plan or outcome in mind," says Gross. "It’s about letting your hand move freely, guided by emotion, curiosity, or subconscious impulses; not about making something perfect."

An intuitive drawing by author and artist Ronald Gross. Intuitive drawing is simple, joyful, and according to Gross can calm the mind much like meditation. Photo courtesy of Ronald Gross

This book presents exercises to access a mindful state: freeform doodling, blind contouring drawing, drawing from the imagination, and drawing from emotions. For artists feeling stuck, Gross also includes plenty of exercises for overcoming creative blocks and even discusses ways intuitive drawing can be applied to other creative projects and areas of life.

In the December workshop, Gross will give a quick demonstration on how to create an intuitive drawing using nothing but lines, shapes, and simple marks. Then participants can try it out with a variety of crayons, because crayons are "tactile" and can quickly transport people into a "playful, unselfconscious space," according to Gross.

"The workshop is all about creating a supportive, judgment-free space to explore intuitive drawing," he says. "Attendees will leave with tools to keep practicing on their own and, hopefully, a renewed sense of creativity and playfulness."

An intuitive drawing from author and artist Ronald Gross. In college Gross was taught how to take a doodle and elevate it into fine art.Photo courtesy of Ronald Gross

Gross's own journey into intuitive drawing started at a young age, when he would doodle and sketch throughout the school day. Years later at the Academy of Art University, a professor encouraged him to lean into this more intuitive and abstract style of art. Since then, Gross has been exploring intuitive drawing's ability to access a meditative state, as well as tap into the subconscious mind.

"When you draw intuitively, you’re fully present in the moment," Gross says. "Your mind quiets, and you become attuned to the flow of your thoughts, feelings, and physical movements. It’s akin to meditation, only instead of sitting still, you’re actively channeling your inner experience onto the page."

An intuitive drawing by author and artist Ronald Gross. Gross's intuitive drawings each evoke a different feeling through his simple use of color and linework. Photo courtesy of Ronald Gross

Gross adds that over time, doing some of the exercises included in the book may even help boost confidence, since intuitive drawing can help people learn to trust their instincts.

"Intuitive drawing can unlock creativity, reduce stress, and help people reconnect with their inner selves," he adds. "It offers a space to process emotions, spark ideas, and break free from perfectionism or overthinking."

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