Last Tuesday of Eleven Month

Tangerine Heart for Sketchbook 3, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpiesIt was wildness yesterday. It was Monday, the day after Thanksgiving. So, plenty to catch up with, and plenty coming at us fast. We are wrapping up the pancake/muffin mixes today along with stuff for the Museum, for Cornell and for the Big Client. Got a fast one from the Big Client this morning— a redo of a presskit that 2 agencies have touched aready and is missing the “wow”. I pried and pushed to find out what the “wow” means…and so confounded, I am working on a cracked acrobat file with layers upon layers of vector patterns merged with the text/copy. A mess just to pry the content out of the file. Ouch. Lots of flat planes of bright color…I hope that gets us to wow. I have very little wow in my mojo…I work very hard not to have wow.

Had a great and inspiring conversation with a like minded art director with an agency in NYC that is pursuing my doing some illustration for a Dairy Cooperative in NYS. He gets my work and worked with some of the Fraktur images, the vector stuff and some of my black and white work…parsing it to “Realistic”, “Folk” and “Symbolic” drivers to the work. Plus, he married the work with some cool fonts that I have been inspired by (and bought the one, and two more yesterday—see BadTyp to the left). I totally had forgotten about FontShop. Neville Brody (wonderful Neville Brody) is one of the principals there…and thus the work is fun and inspired (along with fonts from Matthew Carter). We talked prices. We talked deadlines (all doable)…and hopefully something will happen. Could be a good project and a good relationship as I really love this creative. Great brain…and we have common sensibilities.

Am working on a bunch of black and white Matryoshka doll illustrations (Wikipedia). They are just like chips…cannot get enough of them as they are decorative and fun. Not much meaning there…but I think they could be festive.

Gotta go and move the needle.

Last Monday of Eleven Month

Swan Heart from Sketchbook 3, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpiesPiles of work…yikes. I am pleased I got the little done yesterday (thank you Rob) with the NYFA application and the scans as they were just hanging there wanting to  be done. I also had a really nice time with a little drawing in the evening complete with peppermint tea. It was just nice.

In hindsight, it was interesting to complete the NYFA application because it was all about funding artists to continue to build their voice and vision—so everything is pointed to showing that. I am pleased that I made a list and created a flow to the imagery to show how the styles and imagery flow (which, interestingly they do) prior to uploading them all. The images will be shown really large—in two groups of 4…so a progression from the SOI Willowhead (from Memento Mori) to Forever Love (from the Valentines) to The Fraktur Angel heart, to Valentine “Sweetheart” (bees),  to Bee Mine Valentine, to Bee Goddess, To Bee Twins, to in Search of the Sweet (Lubki illos). It looked good and consistent. The drawing group is assessed with Book Arts and Printmaking. My work fits right in there. Additionally, they have a folk art subset they judge mid year, next year which I plan on applying for. This foundation work is appealing because it has a fiscal piece to drive the work versus trying to sell it.

What is this with Wikileaks? What is going on with this world?

Another just as important, I called The Regional to see if they had another delicious turkey for Thanksgiving. The home team is wild for it.

More later.

Quiet last day

Thistle Heart from Notebook 2, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpies, prismacolorThe cooking is done. We took Kitty to the bus station early this morning and were sad to see her go. It is doubly sad as the poor thing had a fever, didn’t sleep well and in general, seemed off her game. That is the trouble of having the pressure taken off…you relax and then, of course, you get sick. It was so good to see her reveling in her work, her studies and her new friends. Her attitude is so positive and can do, it is remarkable what a new group of friends, their influences and inspiration can do for her. She was never really central to a “group” and now she has one, embraces them and is motivated by these smart kids. We packed up a ton of food for their thanksgiving on campus…and she had it all neatly packed in her wheelie suitcase. She will be back in a few weeks (to our delight) to sleep, eat and giggle with us. We all cannot wait (and the pets mean it too).

Rob and I took a little trip over to GreenStar for a quick provisioning. They have inexpensive B grade maple syrup (yay) along with nice green olive oil (also in bulk). So we loaded up on basics and came back to Camp Street to have lunch with our old college friend, John and his son, Nate, going back to college. It was great to see them and spend a little time talking about thises and thats. It was fresh air. John was interesting about all the books he is reading, his interest in shooting and the out of doors, along with the general life and living patter. Nate filled in the cracks. What a team! Alex was gone with friends.

Then, I gave myself permission and completed the NYFA grant application. Put everything up on the web, posted the images and notes, wrote the 700 word bio, proofread it all and hit the submit button. I wonder if I will even hear if I am rejected? The site was really clear except for any info on when they will announce. All I can do is hope. It would be cool.

Now, I am finalizing the scanning from the sketchbook work that is in the hopper since 11/18. I have a ton. I have been vascillating on whether to stay in the small sketchbook format or grow it. Then, I thought I could do both sizes at once…and now, I am on the fence. I am beginning to get charged up for Advent Calendar 2010. Little Russian Nesting Figures are on the list. Maybe a few Krampus (in plural, are they Krampi?)—and some little critters (lions and lambs and the like). Maybe some folk PA German inspired stuff too. I love how cuddly and dreamy this little collection makes me. Its a mental cup of camomile tea.

Another interesting illustration note. You all know how much I love and admire the blog of Leif Peng, “Today’s Inspiration’? Well, if that wasnt wonderful enough, I was googling Lorraine Fox to find that Peng has created another blog, “Female Illustrators of the Mid 20th Century”>>. Wow. And the work out there of Lorraine Fox is so wonderful and inspiring….>>>

Now I really  must go.

Dark Already.

Demons rising from the Maw, Q. Cassetti, sharpies and prismas inspired by Lubok illustratioinIts that season…that happy season that girls can dream of Krampus and Ziet Piet. They can dream of Erzegebirge folk art and Russian dolls. They can think of all the lovely saints and santas. And so, the beginning of advent is almost upon us…and the drawing season for Advent Pictures almost is here.

I have been cooking pretty much full time since Thursday. We had 11 for dinner on Thanksgiving and 13 last night. In betweeen, I processed the amazing bird into lunch with sandwiches, three casseroles and a monster pot of stock for yes, Christmas’ bird which I will make all in advance like this time. I made a pair of quiche (using the leftover stuff to go into the stuffing that I couldn’t use up), a pan of toffee bars and three little ladylike loaves of nutbread. It is so critical to deconstruct and rebuild new feasts while the bird is front of mind…and the leftovers abound. Makes a lot of dishes, but I now have five whole dinners for the freezer which should help over the course of the next few weeks. Kitty has food to take back to school for her friends’ own Thanksgiving (nutbread, cheese, toffee bars, crackers, cranberries).

We went to the Corning Museum of Glass to their blowout holiday sale. They had all sorts of deals…the best to my thinking was 40% all Bodum and 80% off all Waterford (including some really beautiful Marc Jacobs designed pieces). Bruce came too, and we filled up the car with things to keep, to give away and to admire. Spangly bracelets and tea cups. All sorts of things.

I am serious about this NYFA grant. New York Foundation for the Arts presents over 100 grants to artists ($7,000) to work on projects in certain disciplines. I am going to propose a body of work  in the Drawing area around the concept of People, Personalities, Events, Occasions and Symbols in the New York State Burned Out Zone from 1700-1880. That would cover the Mormons and Joseph Smith, The Fox Sisters, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, The Oneida Community, The Universal Friend and more. The Masons, the Shakers and all sorts of religious and political fervor reigned supreme….with all sorts of interesting things being stirred up here in Central and Upstate NY. I would pursue it in a folk style (inspired by the people of the time along with the American Puritian Gravestones, Fraktur, and Lubok styles…all within the hand). So, I have an idea. I have reference and I can map out what the images would be. So, though it is no strings other than a presentation (I would like to do it at Sagamore or here Chez Camp open to the public or the Library)…it would give me a year to work on an interesting body of work.

That is the thinking for now, at least…its something.

Thanksgiving post mortem

Slept late. Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Prepping in advance was the way to sanity-- allowing me time to polish some silver, set the table and count the knives and forks. Our dishwasher has been funky-- so I even had the chance to descale some of the cloudy glasses(soak in hot water with a good deal of vinegar in the mix, rinse, regard and redo as necessary before rewashing).

The ubernice turkey was just that. Looked like a photo from a Ladies Magazine. Cut like a dream. And, best of all, a toast from the thoughtful and spare speaker, Alexander, who RAVED about it. No faint praise from someone who decisively hates turkey.

To give thanks

Cross walk, Q. Cassetti, 2009, vectoThanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this holiday. Its all about the food, the fireplace, the cozy hearth, the happy voices. I am gloating over how smart I was to freeze and prep over the course of the month so that today I can ice cakes, cook the bird, and set the table without going insane. It is all ready to go. Thawed out last night (but not the gravy which needed a bit of help from the microwave). So, I am writing a little entry while there is a minute.

We drove to Amherst and back yesterday. Wasnt too bad. Thank goodness for cups of savory black tea….That kept the brain turned on and the eyes from shutting. We had a quiet time on the way over, and then after Albany, Rob took to the backseat and Kitty and I caught up from Albany to Bainbridge when Rob woke up. We had a nice evening at home catching up, hearing about gender identity and seeing videos of animations made by women (I promise I will share). Then it was off to dreamland to wake up to be Thankful.

I have so much. I have a wonderful husband and children. I have a happy life with friends and family. I We all have our health and vigor.  I have a beautiful place to work with projects and ideas and clients who are a blessing. I have a new set of skills that gives me joy with illustration and visual story telling. I have a venue to focus research and reading on…and all of these are great gifts of happiness and joy that I daily am grateful for. I have a rich life with people I love…in a community that I embrace fully…I have no end of blessings. For this and so much more, I am Thankful. We all need to look across the table at those that surround us and count the many things we take for granted, and nod…and account for those gifts.

Tuesday is Friday

Winged Cat from Sketchbook Two, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpiesWhadda day. Got the illos to Picture Salon as the Society of Illustration, Illustration 53 paperwork came today. Gotta get the Nutcrackers finished and ready to hang by December 20—so there isn’t a ton of time. So, sending out for the both of these illustrations to be output and stretched on stretcher bars gets me getting that off the plate. Should upload the files this p.m. and get the paperwork done sooner versus later.

I am also thinking of applying for a NYFA Artist Fellowship (due 11/30) for kicks. They have a nice drawing/book arts section that maybe an exploration of imagery as it relates to imagery derived from 1700’s folk art ( Russian, PA Germans, etc). The grants aren’t huge, and the deal is to write a paper and deliver a presentation (which I could do at the library(?) or maybe even at the Museum Conference at Sagamore (as an afterdinner mint?).  The grant seems very straightforward to write…along with 8 pieces of work to be submitted as well. There are 100 fellowships offered. And you know my thinking on this sort of thing…you cannot win if you do not enter. Thus, the thought. I do have extra work (all of it hitting the email box this afternoon with cheery notes saying “Happy Thanksgiving” here is the 200 pound pile of paper you need to bake into our little publication.

Another positive thing was this cool art director from NYC who was interested in the digital portrait style for some packaging. Turns out, he likes all my work and generated a presentation using my work as scrap with three different approaches. So, yogurt and milk packaging might be in my future! The presentation was being given this p.m. so we will see what happens. Neat, eh?

Tomorrow we are off to get Kitty from Amherst. The office is open. Alex has school, poor devil (along with a physics test, urg). So we leave early (at 6…zip over…get the princess…and zip back with cuddly dogs, cups of tea and happy chatter). I forecast a sleeping girl…

Wednesday night all of Thanksgiving gets thawed out. The gravy, pie, cakes, stuffing stuff, bread and stuff…all ready to roll. I got the massive turkey from the Regional today…all nice and polite in a clean brown box. The Regional also had pecans, wild rice and dried cranberries at a great price at their little broken case store by the door. The Turkey is in a crate with a few bags of ice…no need to defrost…and I really need to figure out how long it will take to cook…The container says 7 hours! Yikes! Next step, holiday decorating for the 17th. 

It is all moving too fast!

Before the Sunrises

Purple nooodle, Sketchbook2 project, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpies.Got some wrapping done. Not all finished but groupings are boxed and all they need are tags. Those that need to be fleshed out, are still on shelves. However, I am not feeling lost or disheartened about all of this…so I am feeling like goals could be met.

Now, for Holiday Decorating. I am going to need swags. Big question with that is to be a big girl and buy the real deal, or go for fauxpine, and have it around for later and not to worry about shedding etc? Other question, should I buy a few little lit trees for the front porch and that would be that? They would be sweet. I am also thinking luminaria for the Chorus event might be sweet too. Hmm. The shelf of nutcrackers need to come out. Big visual strokes. Not the usual “how bitty is bitty” thinking. And silver ornaments? How many zillion do I have. More zillions might be good. First, though, the Thanksgiving events need to happen. That is this week….

Finished Sketchbook 2 yesterday. Need to scan in and see what evolves. Had a nice hour last night making lines and loving my pen and paper. The last few images were valentines (only halfsies) so I cannot wait to see what happens when I flip them. I could cheat with a mirror, but the real fun is doing it in photoshop and seeing if what I hope/think will happen, does. Or, even better, a happy surprise! I am grooving on Sirin wings…and am putting them on all sorts of stuff. You will see as soon as they are scanned.

Rob is off to Albany early this a.m. for an interesting meeting. I have yearbook before 9…and then a quick drive to deliver cards to my pals at Cornell. There are the following things on the boards: work for the big client, Brochure and logotype for the Museum, Calendar to come for the Museum, a brochure for IC., and the two annuals for divisions of the Vet School. I need to nip at my printers as things are  not moving fast enough for me on the cards that are printing etc. I am using a small press that bumped my work for a job that their client screwed up and they needed to go of press for the second time. I am not thrilled about that. I have personal cards being printed and plan on sending out a business card and rack card for the Bakery as that need is there and the prices are good.

Alex has three days of school. Bruce is off on his holiday today. So, activity abounds and its not quite 6:30 in the morning.

Rob found my work here:  Crazy Chinese channels/ sites. I wish I could see what they like about the stuff. I find it fascinating. This Anina group literally lifted the entire bulk of work form  Chinese Padmag. Hmm. I also need to look into the address (web) that someone just plunked on one of my pieces. What does this mean?

Hand/eye

Eye/Hand, Q. Cassetti, Second Sketchbook Project, sharpies, 2010Cooking off a bunch of stuff that is seconds from turning in the fridge. Now its cooked and frozen to use later this week. We had a quiet evening of it, and a quiet morning with a good call with Miss Kitty, a visit with Miss Vann and Mr. Delfs, and music from the synth from Mr. Quarrier. Now, the house is a bit empty, so I am writing you while my holiday labels print on the printer.

In the past few years, I was shocked by how horrible labels for holiday packages were, so I bought avery labels and printed out my own labels/own design on the Epson. Its always fun…but a bit of torture to get the labels (mac is never supported in the template world) to match up…so the designs were floaty and random. However, this is not true anymore. Avery has really cleaned up their act by having no end to great templates (including for ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR!) that you can download and immediately use. I found this out this week when I was making up a little package of business cards and rackcards (handmade jobbies) for the new bakery…and discovered the new and improved Avery. It is a wonder!

So, I am going to spend the rest of the afternoon filling out labels, filling boxes and figuring out who is done and who is not. Thanksgiving is around the corner and I need to get this done. Time is fleeing…

I also hope I can crack open the sketchbook to get a bit more done. I am two pages away from finishing book #2 and am anxious to start the new one. I have been nosing around my Lubok book for new inspirations, more Sirin, more odd countrified people and dwarves. It will be interesting to see where these pix go. I have around 9 images that need to be scanned in…so there is plenty of stuff and nonsense.

Spoke to Kitty. She is in great shape…personally, spiritually, academically. It is amazing to watch and listen to her growing as we talk. She is maturing daily—and devoted to her work and animation. She is watching her friends and learning. She is leaning on her new friends to grow, to talk, to listen and I am so proud. She is looking forward to coming home to cuddle with her cats and dog and snuggle in her room. Alex was so nice on the phone. Fond words, fond tone. I love my kids. They are nice people.

Did I mention marvelous Mandy stopped by? We will see her in January for a few weeks. That should be fun.

To Make, To Create

To Make/ To Create, Q. Cassetti, from the second sketchbook project , 2010, sharpies.Little birds worked into the corners and odd shapes inspired by my friends the Fraktur painters, the meditators and visual poets from the 1700s in Pennsylvania. Seems almost from the same headspace as the Book of Kells birds… Fun. I just think if I keep moving the pen, a new body of work will evolve and happen. And, this stuff, this personal, unconscious  work stems from another place for me…and it is not unworthy. You just never know. That is part of the magic of this illustration gig. You never know if the stuff is legit or not…It is just plain important to keep it coming.

I am creeping up on the end of the second sketchbook (more cats, wings, winged cats and a few valentines). I am going to continue with these speedy sharpie pix..and roll into the holidays with a small green book in hand. Looking forward to more Krampus and Christmas pix. As they are small books, the pix will be smaller and quicker. Who knows…maybe a few santies? frosties?

I am happily listening to some great gospel music. Love it. Just makes you want to jump up and say “Hallelujah!”. If only the dour Presbyterians could shake their booty to celebrate the life and living we all have, the church might be a place we all would want to attend —if anything, just for the music. “Calling on the Name of the Lord!”. I stopped listening to gospel for a while, and its nice to be back…Don’t know why I stopped…but now I am stomping and singing along like a crazy lady with earphones on.

Speaking of singing! We are hosting the annual holiday presentation and sing along of the  Trumansburg Community Chorus at the Camp House on December 17th at 7:00. My pal Alice asked, and we agreed. So, the piano is getting tuned, the cookies placed on platters and we will need to roll into the decoration on Thanksgiving weekend (nutcrackers galore) so we can have a music filled house on that Friday night. It is free, and open to all. So join us to hear and participate in some wonderful music. Need to think about electric candles and the like. Silver Ornaments and swagging for the banister on the stairs… Could be very pretty and happy. Kitty will be here. So will Gloria. Along with all sorts of tremendous people from Trumansburg who want to raise their voices together in harmony!  So how festive is that?

We are having some of the dead trees in the swampy area of the house cut down and stacked as firewood (at least the little ones). The bigger dead walnut trees will be cut by a sawyer and turned into boards for  projects or for flooring. These dead trees have been killed as the water has moved from an area south of us that was farmland and now is new houses in a development (or as development as anything in Tburg is)…and the water (according to Ford’s Third Law “Water is smarter than you are”), being smart, moved to our backyard. Killed some of the walnuts, but has shown us where we will dig a pond…a deep pond…for fish! The slow removal of all this wood is painting the future, which will be wonderful.

Just made two carrot layers for cake (Thanksgiving) to freeze. Also, just finished all the saute and chopping work for the stuffing (also to freeze). I have bread, a pie, and the gravy all done. I am feeling very savvy and smart… I just hope its not ill founded (my fear is that nothing defrosts and we have to eat oatmeal)…Nightmare.

 

 

Heavenly Joy

Double Sirin from Lubok, Q. Cassetti, pen and ink, digitalFrom Wikipedia on Sirin:   Sirin is a mythological creature of Russian legends, with the head and chest of a beautiful woman and the body of a bird (usually an owl). According to myth, the Sirins lived “in Indian lands” near Eden or around theEuphrates River[1][2].

These half-women half-birds are directly based on the Greek myths and later folklore about sirens[3][2][4].They were usually portrayed wearing a crown or with a nimbus[5]. Sirins sang beautiful songs to the saints, foretelling future joys. For mortals, however, the birds were dangerous. Men who heard them would forget everything on earth, follow them, and ultimately die. People would attempt to save themselves from Sirins by shooting cannons, ringing bells and making other loud noises to scare the bird off[3]. Later (17-18th century), the image of Sirins changed and they started to symbolize world harmony (as they live near paradise). People in those times believed only really happy people could hear a Sirin, while only very few could see one because she is as fast and difficult to catch as human happiness. She symbolizes eternal joy and heavenly happiness [6].

The legend of Sirin might have been introduced to Kievan Rus by Persian merchants in the 8th-9th century. In the cities of Chersonesos and Kiev they are often found on pottery, golden pendants, even on the borders ofGospel books of tenth-twelfth centuries[5]. Pomors often depicted Sirins on the illustrations in the Book of Genesis as birds sitting in paradise trees[1].

Sometimes Sirins are seen as a metaphor for God’s word going into the soul of a man. Sometimes they are seen as a metaphor of heretics tempting the weak. Sometimes Sirins were considered equivalent to the Polish Wila. In Russian folklore, Sirin was mixed with the revered religious writer Saint Ephrem the Syrian. Thus, peasant lyrists such as Nikolay Klyuev often used Sirins as a synonym for poet[1].

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Eternal jou and heavenly happiness. Imagine. Love this idea. The wikipedia page shows fine examples of Russian Sirin(s) with fethers and crowns, perched on the ground or on heavenly bushes/trees.

I am so pleased that the work got into the Society of Illustrators Illustration 53. It’s funny, but I had a hunch with the nutcrackers as American Illustration (another tough show to get into) took a Krampus…to my delight and pleasure. It is so good to have this personal stuff which seems obsessive and strange—but happily infectious for me, pleased enough of the judges to get in.  Anelle mentioned that there was a field of over 4,000. entries…so to get in is no mean feat particularly given the talent that is out there.

I think the nutcrackers may be a saleable card for next holidays along with the lab card. I think this stuff can/could sell. Etsy keeps selling something every day or so. It will be interesting to see what pops up over the course of the season. I sent a valentine to Pioneer with a nice quote which we are going to foil stamp and put in a Kraft paper square envelope. I am going to run extras to sell online as well. They are pretty and yet pretty odd (not the typical heart and flowers)…more tattoo-ey.

Am up against it with a few reports for Cornell along with a calendar coming our way from the Museum of Glass. Speaking of the Museum, my graphics for East Meets West (a show opening today) look wonderful. The whole idea of creating a stripe makes a pretty bulletproof way to look at show graphics. Your thoughts? It was an interesting design problem as the show works around the idea of eastern style vessels/ decoration imitated by western glassmakers for a western audience was the hook. So, I did something with the east/west type orientation, using my favorite (ligatures) and when possible, an eastern and western man painting from the same vessel…. I will post after this for your review.

Alex has a synth these days and is wildly plugged in making music. He is adoring this European stuff very “fashion show”(what R and I call it) with a dance beat and good percussion. Its nice he is on fire about this. It should be interesting to see what comes out of this thing.

More later.

Just in: Society of Illustrators NY (Illustration 53)

Nutcrackers, from Advent Calendar, Q. Cassetti, Dec. 2009, pen and inkMonkey, Q. Cassetti, Anelle Miller, Director of the Society of Illustrators, NY just called to tell me that these pieces were accepted into Illustration 53. I am delighted as there is the classic Q. illustration (vector) along with another image from my advent calendar series from last December….(a handdrawn special!). I am so honored, delighted and blessed.

Windy Wednesday

Twin Cats, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpies, prismacolor pencils, digital.So, what can I do with the digital files of these sharpie pix? are there new lives, new colorations? new approaches I can pull out of them? I twiddled with the cat I posted yesterday to make them more delft-y and add some tome to just juice up the images. Maybe in the spirit of decorative illustration, I can layer more happy patterns in amongst these pictures…to make them more nutty. Still looks hand-drawn…and though tone is added, the hand is still there. I think I am going to go back into this picture to add a bit more depth, and highlights.  Maybe this illo can go to the Feline Health Center (they always have need of new art for their thank you/ acknowledgement cards). Would be cool to print the yellow and light blue, but to foil stamp the dark blue. Could be sweet and dimensional.

I discovered a cache of Moleskine Volant (paper bound) notebooks I bought through BargainCell.com earlier this year (large size/set of two for $5.99). So, I can keep with this sharpie approach just to keep the images rolling. I am also going to be running two books at one time (a big one and a little one) going into the holidays. Remember the fun I had last winter with the advent calendar? I think there is another body of holiday pictures in the works in the sharpie mode just to see what I can do. Fun.

Yesterday, swept a bunch of small stuff off the desk in prep for the next month. My big client has a big meeting on Thursday so either the phone will be ringing off the hook today or quiet for the next two days or so. We are selling on Etsy (believe it or not) with the dog stuff moving. I am excited by that opportunity. The Bakery is rolling on a logotype (I think). So work will evolve with this.

Kitty will be with us in a week. I think we are appropriately thrilled to have her.