smell the roses


Bloggilicious times. Working with the content leaders from Hartford, and the king of Drupal,Jim Reidy to do a bit of prototyping that could evolve into our little site: 2squint.com. I would love it if we can push drupal to be prettier (both R and Erich were candid in saying that all the drupal sites they have seen seem nailed together...basic carpentry)...prettier because maybe, just maybe a designer can actually make a teensy bit of difference. I like the flexibility part, the live streams against static ones etc. Could be a cool experiment. Just comes down to request the alumni and students when talking about Hartford tag it so we can grab it. This is a very amenable group so I think this is a possiblity.

There was a request from the local bed and breakfasts to have artists' studios open and available to their guests when they come to town. When poor Jay called me and kindly asked me to join in, my response was "forgetaboutit" as I am prickly about anyone telling me what to do despite its concept. However, my pitch to Jay was that we should do a local website showing local artists (hopefully not weekend watercolorists and scrapbookers)work and a link to their respective websites etc. We are using the qcassetti.com grid for the site. We sent a note to about 35 people with 10 (+/-) folks interested in addition to the initial 5. I hope this can grow as there are a ton of creative people here in Tburg, actually there is a real art community making art and money from that art that probably pulls as much as a small insurance agency or local gift shop that are recognized as businesses by the Chamber of Commerce. I like to think that by awareness, it may help others in the community to see the energy expended and national presence of these skilled people are a force to factor into the vision of the community. Erich and I are doing this gratis...and collecting small money for the URL and hosting services. Our hope is to go live around the first of May to present a new face of Tburg to the locals and to the tourists who come here for the waterfall and lake. As soon as I can send you there, I will post the address etc.

Off to Boston tomorrow for a few days with my brother and hometeam. Our hope is to eat seafood, see the Appleton Chapel and Appleton statue (a relative) in Cambridge, and maybe see the new Martin Scorese movie about the Stones at an IMax theatre. Shady dog will be with Mandy, Baby and Coia. Shady is to get her spring clip. I know she is excited about it. Back to the office on Thursday.

K has finally had a night's sleep. I hope she is having fun and recovering from the time change. That is rough business.

More later.

IF: Fail [to see that some use of mind]


There are women in middle life, whose days are crowded with practical duties, physical strain, and moral responsibility ... they fail to see that some use of the mind, in solid reading or in study, would refresh them by its contrast with carking cares, and would prepare interest and pleasure for their later years. Such women often sink into depression, as their cares fall away from them, and many even become insane. They are mentally starved to death.
Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards (1842–1911)
U.S. chemist and educator.

Consider getting some training, doing some reading or pushing yourself beyond the full dishwasher, lunches to pack, dinners to cook. If you like dinners and lunches, read a cookbook and try to make puff pastry. And if someone told you that you couldn't do something...there's the incentive to prove to yourself that they were wrong--and that 25 years of holding a grudge can be let go. Consider yourself in control of your life and living. And with that, move forward into a life, reborn as your real self. Being mentally starved to death is not an option.

MM1


This willow head/ willow skull is the Memento Mori image that got into American Illustration 27 along with the Chicken Chokers @ Grassroots poster. I like this image is it came from left field, that blurry place to the left of my left ear--the last place in my brain to react to Platinum Blonde from Gimme Coffee first thing in the morning. This image just happened. I like it that the willow tree interpretation fused with one of the tattoo inspired skulls and like chocolate and peanut butter, this thing fused. I should take it further.

Up up and away


Well, she is off! We woke K up this morning with the packing still randomized...with polka dot piles all over her floor. I must admit, this is not my style and it makes me nuts--but it works for K. She blissfully tended to this and that, surrounded by dust and yesterday's laundry, neatly packing her bags. After two bowls of scotch oatmeal (the fine stuff), we hurried over to Palmer Pharmacy to greet her fellow travellers and teacher (and husband) who were attired in black with berets. OOOOOLa La! Then, en masse, we caravaned up to Syracuse to get them all checked in and through security with tears from our girl--and great hand waving from all of us. I am looking at the clock and thinking about her as we talk. I know she will have a great time...its the settling down and getting there that can be the trauma. We all have been there...we become deadened to the green saplings our younger selves were...and the mix of fear, excitement and the unknown which can be a frightening cocktail. Once she gets to Chicago and has settled in a bit, maybe the fun will begin. If not then, then when she gets an eyeful of the cute french guys in the aeroport! Mais Oui!

More news. One of the Memento Mori illustrations and the chokers poster got into American Illustration 27. So, that is good news. I did not, however, get into the Schweinfurth Show in Auburn New York. Declined, Declined. But CA and SOI isn't a bad second to that! I am sickly gloating over all of that. Next, I am planning other rejections--like the Made in NY Show at the Everson in Syracuse so I can feel like a loser again. (Don't tell anyone, I AM a loser).

Tomorrow is basically unscheduled! Maybe I will treat myself to a trip to Agway for grass seed along with the nascent publications I have on deck. I hope I can do a bit of illustration work tonight. Maybe a yellow rose?

Back to the Hartford Blog. Back to squint as a name. Squint and squinty are taken for URLS---however, 2squint.com is available. Maybe we will have a little call for illustration to see if people can send me pix for squint for the masthead (which could refresh on a regular basis. I think it would be fun to have little amongst ourselves virtual shows on the holidays, on politics, on ideas. I wonder if that would make sense? or if the students and alumni would be game. Need to reach out to the head of illustration alumni to see what her wish list might be...maybe even query the crowd to see if they have ideas, wants, needs? I dont need permission to ask? do I (at SU I would).

Gotta go.

Whaaaaaaaaaat!!!!!

ohmygoodness! OHMYGOODNESS! What is happening? Why all of these wonderful things? Why me? I am shocked and surprised in a lovely way. I got a call from Carol Tinkleman seconds before a scheduled phone call about branding with the big Green company. She was very guarded in her chat--asking if I had gotten the emails...had I gotten them? I looked and was shocked to see that Carol and Murray had nominated me for a Graduate Presidential Fellowship from The University of Hartford. And....they had accepted me. There were eleven nominations and eight awards. This is huge! There is some money to offset some of the tuition which is tremendous, but even better is that I was competing with other graduate students (more than the world of illustration and illustrators) for this honor. And even we weak minded art types could be recognized in this manner. I am thrilled. Thrilled. This is almost as good as winning two gold medals for the Mellon Bank Christmas illustration competition I won in fourth grade. (that was 50 silver dollars and a box, a flat black box of Prang crayons). Am a bit confused as it was cited that my experience, an MA and the schools I attended were important despite a weak UG GPA (which I need to understand as I graduated from CMU with University Honors and the SU gpa thing was good too>). Unless its linked to my bad housekeeping skills, inability to organize etc. I will need to understand that. But hey.Good news all around!

Back to the blog. Need to get with Jim Reidy to take the design further. Also, have veered away from Squint...but am back to it. I like the edgy, unbalanced, bloggy quality of the name...so I am going to chase it. Now, its a question of the URL. HASSquint.com, SquintHAS, thesquint, squinty....need to go to register.com to seek out a direction.

More later.

Patience


I work with a different schedule than my daughter. I have been on her to pack, and plan, to make lists and to work her lists. She lies on the floor and hugs the cat. She reads her book. She laughs and tries on clothes. She says funny things. She does almost everything other than the stuff I want her to do. Her reply to my pushing is that she can exist with whatever is in her suitcase. My retort is that ten days without underwear is a stretch. She had to concede that I was right on that front. And so, it continues. She is off to France tomorrow for ten days. It will be great for her (hopefully with a few undergarments and fewer costumes than I know she has stuffed into her little orange bag).

It is warm out. The plants cannot dawdle. The willows are turning that wonderful brownish, green--promising leaves. The little sedum nubbins are bigger each day. The hosta shoots are poking their heads up. Our guest gave me three, glorious asian lilies that can grow upwards to five feet (' you know, you will have to stake them!")--so I am pondering where to plant them so those vermin, the deer, do not think it's candy time.

Big doings at School tonight. Review with the middle school on eighth grade--the shadowing day, the trip to Washington DC, and the scheduling for HIGH SCHOOL on the horizon. Then the bag check (camera? passport? euros?) for Kitty and Tax review with R.

Work continues apace on the two bathrooms/laundry room/closet project. Lots of detailing and making everything fit. The wonderful electrician is here along with the carpentry team. It is closing in...and we should be operational shortly. Its all this back and forth and then you buy all the fixtures and floor>>and badabing>> it's done.

I am busy with my ink pens doing goofy drawings of rattlesnakes. I don't know where they are going, but it's fun and maybe one of my pictures for Texas can be a resolved version of one of these. I did around 5 of them yesterday--and have one in the works on top of my pile of real work. So, we will see.

More later

New week


Ron and Virginia here until mid morning. It was great seeing them--talking about the state of programming, of public television, of the thinking around media and communications. They gave us a wonderfully perfect present of a very fragrant, asian lily (4 bulbs) that grow to 5 feet tall (as tall as me!). Now all I have to do is worry about where to plant them that the damn big rodents, deer, not discovering their yummy, snackiness. What a perfect present for early spring---when the promise of 600 daffodils lurks, and the honesty of our delicate clusters of snowdrops boldly proclaim the snow and ice is done. It was shocking to pick up A from his first golf game of the season, to see the destroyed willows in the fields split in half as if a giant snapped these elegant, tall trees in half. The highlight of my trip was a large, loping, teardrop shaped, wobbling, gobbling turkey--leisurely strutting across the highway and then upon getting across the street, he opened up his stride and started scooting into the pale field across the way.

A three part illustration job came in from Steuben. I had a lovely time talking with my client about the "ismus of was", cool retail ideas, the fantasies of what could happen should the stars align. I love this sort of fantasy talk because sometimes, just sometimes an aspect of this thinking can happen. They need ideas in two weeks---which is cool-- but the concept they have is pretty abstract---and I will need to make it pretty, decorative and yet representative of the idea that it all falls off of.

Our wonderful electrician was here running wires--an art experience--neat and tidy-- using old chases, dropping lines from existing lines etc. We are two steps closer to the cluster of 2 bathrooms, a laundry room and closet to reality. Mandy painted. David C. coming later to manage the high dust level.

K is busy worrying about clothes for France. We worked through all the combinations-- adding and changing one piece for another. We have talked about the various phases of the "little matchgirl" personna and whether it plays in Paris. So, we got into the details, and K was very patient and attentive. I think we are close. She wants to be noticed, but my fear is that she doesn't want to be noticed as the silly little clown-- but more the elegant and stylish girl. She understands the delineation. K. also got into the NYSSSA (Summer Arts program through the NYState Dept of Education). This year the visual arts program is at SUNY Fredonia versus Brockport (last year). I think as K is doing photography/psychology next year at school versus visual art--it might be great for her to keep her hand in by participating this year.

R is late at CMoG with a crisis. He is deftly handling it with his intrepid staff and the ever responsive, Steve. What a bore. But, the moment they open the doors tomorrow, it will not even be an issue. So, we will eat, take the poochita out and shut down early. I have an interesting CPSE/ CPE meeting first thing tomorrow at school. Big, scary project on the table. I hope we can find the student and her family some help and attention.

More later>>

moo.


They came. They ate. They threw pinecones for Shady. There were stories and notes, issues and nonissues, a general catching up and going someplace. We are lucky to have the cousins from truly afar stay with us for two nights so we get a dose. It is great to see them, to hear about their issues, their aging, their lives and living, and what concerns surround them. It is confirming and affirming.

Another perfect cloudless day with temperatures in the mid to high fifties. A. is playing golf at the Hillendale Golf course with his friend Ben (on the eighth grade golf team...so maybe A can pick up some pointers). K will be back from a sleepover with our needing to find current translators and getting her packed for her 10 days in France with the French Club.

I am researching yellow roses...roses in general to design around the portrait of a buffalo for one of my Texas pictures. I have decided to work with the Chicken Choker reduction technique (one or two color only for heads) to see where to go. I will, however, give myself permission to do the roses in yellow and black and white as the key is the yellow. Plus, with as stylized as roses can go, maybe I will use my drawn approach and try to merge it with the more formalized thesis style. There will be a few images in this group.

Gotta go.

gotta go


Rushing about to the store and back to get ready for a gathering of the clan chez Camp today. There will be food (cornell chicken not withstanding), there will be a limitation of dust, and there will be the great pushing of dirty clothes into closets and under beds. There will great chewing and talking. There will be the smaller members of the clan that the buckets of legos, and boxes of long haired ponies will be presesnted to. There will be more eating, and talking (and maybe wine drinking) and there hopefully, will be some fun!. But, we need to gird our loins.

Had a great chat with Jim Reidy, musician extrodinaire, about Drupal and what it can do. My engines are revving and there will be a Drupal blog for Hartford Art School that I think may be called "Squint"--which is Murray Tinkleman saying that if you just squint (I know he will correct me on exactly how he says it..and I will give you a ps) you can essentially earn a MFA (and forget about the three summers). We will have RSS streams of anyone who talks about Hartford's Illos program, a list of students and alumni (offering a small portfolio page for the students), an open forum page for students to share sketches, A blog, a place where the Carol Tinkleman epistles are posted, Alumni news and so on. As Drupal is very flexible, if we find we do not like some thing or we want some other type of content, we essentially change the frame or the"theme" and away we go. So, next week the sketch to Jim and we move forward.

Gotta go.

IF: Save


"I have no connections here; only gusty collisions,
rootless seedlings forced into bloom, that collapse.
...
I am the Visiting Poet: a real unicorn,
a wind-up plush dodo, a wax museum of the Movement.
People want to push the buttons and see me glow."

Marge Piercy
(b. 1936),
U.S. poet, novelist, and political activist.
“Three Weeks in a State of Loneliness,”

a little horn tooting!


Another mystery note from info@commarts.com. The message read:

This message is intended for Q Cassetti at Luckystone Partners.

Congratulations! One (or more) of your entries has been selected by the 2008 jury to appear in Illustration Annual 49, the July 2008 issue of Communication Arts.

YAYYYYYYY! And, to think its of our little girl, Shady Grove!

kickin'


I love how decorative boots are (with spurs too) and so I am fiddling around with the Memento Mori tools and approach which I have gotten positive feedback to continue to develop. Who knows what will come out of this little foray into western related stuff, but I am sure something.

Just back from a butterfly draw after being poked a few times in search for a vein. At least there wasn't editorial on veins etc. Good news, I do not have TB...so the Hartfordians can breathe a sigh of relief.

Must go now as I need to be in Ithaca soon. Team Water, the plumbing kings, told me just a half an hour ago that we will be without water. So there are gigantic pots, and pans, and bottles and kettles all filled up around the kitchen. And, a big red bucket in the bathroom. How fun is that?

April showers


Nice and warm here. Saw tops of the daffodil greens poking up through the dirt. I am thinking of lots of grassseed and fun this weekend. The snowdrops are up and I have seen a crocus or two. Lots of dead wood needing to be corralled...and a basic clean up prior t I am feeling a bit more myself--cough dying down, energy level higher which will mean back to the House of Health next week for beginning the treadmill fun.

Am slugging away on a format for a quarterly calendar publication. Designing, redoing, fitting images and logos, redoing the type, fitting the photos, redoing the type, and so on. Images are a bit bland/and not contrasty enough, so need to push E. to give em all more juice as everything reading 50% grey in the highlights doesnt go anywhere. Also, this document review process is heavy lifting--lots of work at one shot, and then dying out. Another truckload with ticklish issues that each deserve a phone call, and then a wasteland. I guess I will get used to it...but it is pretty much drop everything, do it and then back to the old work right now. I spent the better part of yesterday trying to get stuff other than reviewing.

Meeting tomorrow with an architect and the Baker client about the illustration for their waiting room. I hope that will be smooth and something I can engage in. There is not a lot of money in this...and I really do not want the pain level to take it to another place emotionally. More later>>

585 out of 11,440


So, what does that random group of numbers mean? I got a note saying that this blog was reviewed by blogged.com and was ranked as an "8"in the Entertainment category. The ranking is based on"Editor reviews are provided by professional editors who evaluate a blog based on the following criteria: Frequency of Updates, Relevance of Content, Site Design, and Writing Style."
What does that get us? me?
Probably Niente, nada, nothing. But we'll take any kudos coming over the wall.


Its nice that we can extend this look for the Chicken Chokers for another year. I think we will be messing with the backgrounds for this year--with Amazing Things being being the kick off. I got an email from the folks at the Ispot about an article they are doing online and requested a jpg of the Chokers Poster in the Society of Illustrators Show (#50) to post online with the piece. That was really nice.

Spoke to Carol Elizabeth Jones. We may take her artwork back for another looksee. No pressure as yet. She, poor, poor, thing--has to re-record all of her vocals as the original recording was unsatisfactory--She is putting a brave face on it. But, as we all know, the second time around, you have a better handle on where things are going--but you lose the inspired/ free thing that happens with the first try.

keeping afloat


Back from my physical. Have a subdermal tracer for TB (for Hartford) and they will be taking blood to see if there are antibodies for Mumps,Measles or Rubella. If not, then I will have to get a shot for Hartford too. Really, we might as well be going to India or some other place than Connecticut considering the medical hoops they are insistent we have. But, worth it....just seems a bit over the top. Hello blood tests and all sorts of other screening. But hey, good to get it done.

There are doors being cut through 150 year old lathe and plaster upstairs...lots of banging and dust. This should open up the various bathrooms to other rooms and give us the laundry upstairs versus in the kitchen. By freeing up the laundry, we can then move to the back (old kitchen area) for the new kitchen and morph the old kitchen/ and historically, the servants dining room, to a back entry hall versus what we have now that is an explosion with laundry, kids backpacks, thousands of shoes and the kitchen stuff...not to put too fine a point on it. So, by beginning to move the parts, we free up new areas to get to the endpoint.

Spent the better part of Sunday working on a waterfall image for a teeshirt for the Cayuga Triathlon. I was working from reference I took earlier this year--and the water had a lacy/frothy quality that manifested itself in an almost hairy looking waterfall...more like the back of a teenaged girl and not the iconic waterfall. R. remembered an old, antique (1865) photo we had of the same image at the lake. So we rescued that, and as it was an image taken with the lens totally open, the water did not have the lacy thing, but really felt vertical etc. So, R. saved the day as the refernence took it to another place. I have finished the image and am waiting to hear from the Raceteam as I think we have in in hand.

New poster for the Chicken Chokers (they are playing at Amazing Things--the Amazing Firehouse in June).

Possibly a new winelabel in the near offing. More as it becomes known. Also, working on a document approval process for Quest which is hard but interesting as it is totally not creative. As I was talking to my client, she encouraged me to see their new "guerrilla" campaign for colon cancer>> which is interesting as they link to a guy (in the mummenschantz mode) being a healthy colon (youtube footage) and the point up the reasons to get the screening as colon cancer is treatable if caught early. But why swish with a brush when you can get the full monty like I am going to get.

K is off to France in 10 days. Very exciting and just around the corner. Track training is good...A is very impressed with how K is no powderpuff with her training (would she be anything else?). Lots of hard sleepers.

Most go as the morning is gettting away from me.