Monday rush

Indian illustration.Nice dinner last night. Worked out well. Plenty to eat that we had leftovers for five today. Rob and Alex have today off…with Rob and Mandy squaring off with the rest of the second room of the studio to make straight and orderly the path. And they have had success today! Remarkable.

Got images off to Computer Arts Magazine (UK Publication). They will print images along with put a dozen on a disk/CD for artists/art directors to review. They asked particularly about Folk art inspiration particularly Lubki(!). I am very curious to see what they surface in their article. Maybe there is more perking along in Europe around a folk tradition than what we are seeing here.

Did a few 2300˚ postcard graphics and a poster this p.m. along with a bit of work for the Baker. I am hoping to clock down some more work (finishing entirely) this week. Would be so good.

Gotta go. Late start today…so I need to get down to the kitchen to see what to make for dinner.

Sorry for the rush.

Weekend moment

Cow study, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpiesWe saw Alex at Barton Hall for an indoor Track and Field event. He and his team were great…with Alex doing the last lap of a four man relay…and making some personal records (PR). We had lunch at the vietnamese restaurant in Collegetown after his accomplishments and then to Camp Street for down time.

I spent a bunch of time learning new things on my iPad while Rob was busy making magic with the first floor office/gallery (to be) space. Rob is truly making amazing changes. And wastrel me found out new things about design, computers, social media (did you know that a right click on a web page can allow you to tweet it?). Another interesting find was when I found someone had retweeted a tweet I had done from an article on Slate about punctuation. The individual who quoted my link had a really  neat virtual “go to” at about.me.com. About me is a place that you can link all the social media locations you are on…in one place versus the direct to a single location on the web. It has some nice and simple design tools. I need to spend a moment and really pretty it up…but hey. I like the idea that there is a place that is essentially the octopus, the many legged critter that can tie all of one’s disparate locations all together in one spot. Cool.

Tonight is dinner for ten…for Mary’s birthday. I am making a pork roast from the famous cookbook, “Walter’s Swiss Kitchen”, roasted potatoes, a salad and asparagus (I know, its wrong…but it was there and I was weak) along with a chocolate cake I made in two loaf pans and cut the loaves in half (horozontally). So, the cake is a skyscraper with little adornments of japanese food/cake erasers on the top for fun. I am taking a momentary break from chopping just to say hi…but I am back on almost immediately to get the roast going.

Tomorrow is MLK day. Rob is off as is Alex. I have work…along with some treats like looking at the amazing, amazing, tear inducing article Ursula Roma sent me (for 3x3), getting Jason K. scheduled and planning the display for the Tompkins County Library in March with a group of other graphic designers in the area. And then there is the real work too.

Work in Progress, Ragtime, Q. Cassetti, 2011

Looking at the weekend, already!

Indian Garden, Q. Cassetti, 2011, sharpieToday is a brilliant, blue sky day with sun beaming down on the back forty, casting long purple shadows on the walnut trees that I can see from my perch.

Speaking of perch, Rob and Mandy put together the absolutely gorgeous Martha Stewart “Craft Room” flat flies from Home Depot’s Home Decorator site>> I got three, pale warm grey “three drawer flat files” (which are subdivided drawers that you can customize the compartment shape). I know I promoted this last week, but now that we have the real thing in hand, I am even more enthusiastic. The quality is beautiful though its like IKEA times ten to put together….but if you are looking to equip a studio or need flat files (the metal ones will really set you back a pretty penny)…and you can look real, and functional without it looking industrial. Take a look. I now have a real live orderly place to put my things and try to keep my work in some semblance of normalcy. I think, I hope, I am on the edge of knowing that life is going to be more sane with this.

Yearbook was great today. The team has figured out the software and they are absolutely diving into it. I need to work with Victor on the cover as he has some high expectations with gradients and masks and stuff. Will need to see what we can do.

Need to dive into the workload. There are some things to critique. Things to specify. Some calls to make. 

no snow da

 

Inspired by Indian Women, Q. Cassetti, 2011, sharpieAs the sauce is stewing and the water boils for dinner, I will talk to you via my iPad. I am typing away on “pages”— liberated by my ability to stand at the stove and attempt to write and listen to the radio. I started a gigantic pot of spaghetti sauce this morning with meat cooking, mushroom plumping ( porcini..for depth) and a gigantic can of red sauce ( red pack) with veggies. We can be snowed in! And tiny Alex can eat.

Shady was frisking in the dusty, icy snow— her favorite time of the year. Mr. White is yellow white in the clean blue white snow. Both wood stoves are now functioning, so we can hunker down with our hats on and soak in the heat as the chill sets in tonight . Kitty called to say that Hampshire College closed today due to all the snow. We will see here as the Tburgers are pretty puritanical and it really needs to be dire before anything is closed around here.

I designed and ordered a valentine for a friend. I agreed to a chicken illo to be in the next edition of “Edible Finger Lakes”. I recolored the “Ragtime” poster and moved the elements around on the Rocky Horror to make it more PG.

Am living in the warm pool of Madhbari illustration — the gods and goddesses, the happy cows, the pod heads that are space fillers, the flora and snails, and the endless fish that seem to also fill the pages the way the Pennsylvania Germans wedge birds into the nooks and crannies to make sure nothing on their pages can breathe. In my Indian world, these benign cows smile placidly at the fish while the happy pod heads narrate the rich story they are all inhabiting—inviting us in. Lines upon lines with the occasional big white (or black) field to rally force some visual order from the twirly embroidery.

Let’s see what happens!

Tuesday with a great date 1.11.11

Madhubani Garden, Q, Cassetti, 2010, sharpieToday was a big day of showing off. I took the posters down to the Hangar group and showed them the progress we have had in the imagery. I am going to recolor the Ragtime poster( which I am good with) and there was some agitation and sensitivity around the Rocky Horror graphic (a bit too over the top from some)…which I mean, it is Ithaca where people are a bit sensitive about this sort of thing. So, I am good with the input and will work towards making some changes.

Worked on some of the standards for my big client. Interesting to be reviewing from the outside with the lense of someone who will be using these standards. There is good progress. Erich tweaked the grammer and punctuation…and I did the design sweep. It is interesting to anticipate how these standards will be modified, mangled and misunderstood. And, the optimistic side says, think of how wonderful the world will be if one or two of the plethora of agencies out there, if they “get it” and consistency is achieved.

My new furniture (three flat files from Martha Stewart) came late yesterday. Six enormous, heavy boxes are sitting in the hallway. There might be a bit of construction here in the evening.

Need to get Peggy’s valentine done and taxes paid. An evening of parts and pieces to anticipate along with maybe a bit of the snow they are predicting.

Five out of six entries that got into Illustration West 49, Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles, by Q. CassettiMonkey, Q. Cassetti, 2010I was cruising Facebook to find out all sorts of people found out about Society of Illustrators, Los Angeles and what they got into their Illustration West 49 Show. I was combing my email looking for my note and kind of threw my hands up and figured I didn’t get in. But, I tried again late yesterday afternoon, to find out, yes, I did get it….and yes, I got quite a few pieces in! So, here is a posting of those images that got in. Now is the question of money and time…and whether it is worth spending a ton of money to get work framed and out to LA for a week’s show in Gallery Nucleus. Will need to weigh my options.

More talk later today. 

Better understanding the obvious

Collection of images of Evelyn Nesbit

Had a meeting with the new Director of the Baker Institute and new Assistant Director for Development/Public Affairs. They have a change agenda which should be interesting to see how it evolves…and whether I am in the mix or not.

Prior to the meeting, I had a little oasis of time and went to GreenStar. My granola was critiqued by my major eaters and they suggested we get rid of the sunflower seeds. So, minus the sunflower seeds, it changes the ballgame.There I was at the center of the green universe in Ithaca, fully immersed in the bulk grain bins. Adding more nuts is an option (pecan pieces, not walnuts…they are too definitive) but is there anything else?. Turns out, there were all sorts of other rolled grains outside of oats. There was rolled rye, rolled rice and a nice (visually) rolled Kamut (a relative to wheat but apparently nonwheat eaters have no trouble with this). I am a visual person and the Kamut was golden and a bit thicker than the other grains, so I weighed out a bag to see what could happen with it. I liked the thickness, the less bendy quality (than Oatmeal) and maybe it would add some crunch to the mix as it might grab the oil/syrup sauce in a good way. Last night proved I was right. Best batch yet. New add…vanilla to the slurry. Onward.

Also bought some vegetarian “meat” from the “Field Roast” brand. Vegetarian meatloaf and vegetarian chirizo. lets see what these things taste like without the meat titles. Also  bags of basmati and arborio rice. Bring on the snow. We have enough stuff to last the winter. It was so nice and tranquil at GreenStar at 8 a.m. It was refreshing from the normally shopping cart olympics that go on during prime time during the weekend when we normally go. It was sane enough to check out the nooks and crannies to see what else is there. I found peppercorns and the spices quite a treat.

Hangar Theatre posters are wrapping up. One more…and then tweak time. The Triathlon is knocking on my door too. Valentines too. Yikes.

Today was haircuts for the boys and lunch at Thai Express. Back home, and frankly, exhausted as this cold is still holding on like a hungry monkey. I am a bit better…but tired. Tomorrow its the zoned zone.

The Evelyn Nesbit pictures come out of my doing research on ladies in picture hats (1900) on Flickr. There are some really searchable antique picture sets from several national sources. While I was looking, I found these of Evelyn, the wife of Harry Thaw (nut, drug addled idiot and related to me), and lover of Stanford White. I have never really thought about Evelyn and what she was all about. Well, a picture does tell a story. This is a young girl, whose lawyer father died, and whose mother took her to a photographer as a model and away they went. Today, she might be on a reality show such as “America’s Top Model”. But instead, influential tastemakers such as White and Charles Gibson (who word says that Nesbit was one of the reference women for his famous Gibson Girl) took her in hand and hurdled her into the limelight. I mean, I audibly gasped with the flower pictures (above). They are so amazing, fresh, and timeless. Imagine seeing this delicate girl in the broad daylight. Spiritually, she does match up with Gibson’s girl. Her life was formed by tastemakers, supporting her family. She tumbled into a horrific marriage with Harry…experiencing her own addiction to drugs and alcohol without the fortune that these men made from her.

Must go scan and think about this lovely girl.

quiet day

Rocky Horror Poster, Q. Cassetti, collage, 2011Fruits of my labor for today/yesterday. Have been setting them up and beginning to knock them down. I have four out of 5 posters for the Hangar done with three approved. They are all due on Tuesday, so I still have to put my head down and run at it. I am panicking over the Ragtime thing, and may instead of drawing it, work it up in photoshop and then decide on drawing or a photo composition. There is just too much niddly-ness needed in the image. Once we get the images done— I will be relaying out their brochure (based on the model from last year), doing all the covers of the programs, two different sized posters and  a huge banner layout for the building. Then, we will only have to worry about the Ithaca Running Club graphic illustration they are interested in.

Still not 100%. More like70% but better than the 15% I felt on Monday. So, the needle is moving in the right direction — just not fast enough for me.

Wonderful Ursula Roma is working on the writing for the 3x3 article coming up for me. Poor Ursula tried to interview me as I gasped and choked and sent her my thesis. I think we got a scrambled bit of something and I will be interested in seeing what she makes with the magic lunchbasket of wigglies I gave her. Jason Koski will do the pix (hopefully after I get this mop cut) and then we will be good). I really should have Erich add images to the website to build that out.

Out of the blue, I was contacted by Garrick Webster from Computer Arts Magazine in the UK about my folk inspired work (particularly that of Lubki). He wanted images and me talking about why folk art? who requests it? what does it mean? How does it work/not work? I am not sure whether it is an ink on paper magazine or that of the web. Either way, I am flattered and who knows what will happen. I sent him a little whitman’s sampler of folk related images and lots of bla bla blab and we will see how he chops it all up and makes sense of it.

I got an interesting phone call from my new ad agency friend, Chris, who wanted to know if we could meet up with Dwight and Charlene (these amazing egg producers) who were down at the Regional Access checking on an order (hundreds of thousands of their eggs had frozen). I will be doing portraits of them in the future and having them here for me to take a picture of them was a real (albeit quick ) opportunity. Dean came along so as I forced salami sandwiches on them, Dean regaled us with farming tales, his invitation to attend the next TED conference in NYC in a few weeks and the whole food movement he is involved with which, from my experience with Thor and Stefan here with the grain, has a real overlap. So, though unplanned, there was some work related fun and new people in my life. And, I got some good pictures, too. Dwight and Charlene are adorable.

Rob is here. Time to go.

 

heads down

Original Poster for Ever So Humble, Q. Cassetti, 2011, digitalWorking on the Hangar. Finished this up along with the Gem of the Ocean and Rocky Horror. Rocky took a turn(wonderful) while I was tooling around in photoshop. I will share tomorrow and see what you all think!

Second Workday: 2011

Raggedy Ann and Andy, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpieI am feel a whisker better. I couldnt really breathe yesterday…and was choking and coughing like a nut. But I slept a little bit better and took some over the counter pharmaceuticals which seemed to open my head up a bit. Alex is home feeling bad as is Rob. Its in the water…or at least the air.

However, got a bunch of stuff off my desk so I could do the same today to get ready for the onslaught. I got a nice email from the new team of folks at the Baker Institute for Animal Health to talk projects/process etc. which is nice as you never know when the people change and whether the work I have done has any lasting value than the last administration. Good news. We will see.

Did a bit of research on Madhubani art. Interesting note here:

“The origins of Madhubani painting or Mithila painting are shrouded in antiquity, and a tradition states that this style of painting originated at the time of the Ramayana, when King Janak commissioned artists to do paintings at the time of marriage of his daughter, Sita, to Hindu god Lord Ram. Madhubani painting has been done traditionally by the women of villages around the present town of Madhubani (the literal meaning of which is forests of honey) and other areas of Mithila. The painting was traditionally done on freshly plastered mud wall of huts, but now it is also done on cloth, hand-made paper and canvas.”

Note the honey is part of this program too! I think this interesting image to the left, the amazing tight crop, the happy eye floating amongst polka dots, flowers and stripes with a total abandon and happiness. Look at the wiggily eye, the solids and line…no shading, no mystery added.

Gloria has left us after a few weeks here in TBurg—back to Southern California, her horse and friends. Seemed like a quick visit, but good for her to connect back up with friends and family and parents. The team is nudging a new tub into Kitty’s soon to be finished bathroom (Yay!). It is amazing that the house is beginning to be a bit more wrapped up than ever…with projects finshing, the exterior touched in every spot…without any reference to the slummy aspects of the house. The new projects are moving the needle significantly—but in the tuning of the life in this historical house versus function or no function. More later. I leave youwith pattern!

 

 

First Workday: 2011

When Cats Fly, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpies from the second sketchbook project, Long day yesterday. In the car most of it… We got Kitty tricked out with food and drugstore stuff with productive trips to Target and Whole Foods. Wow. If only we had one here in Itown (Whole Foods that is). Sure is the Museum of the Organic Lifestyle. Pricey but inspired buying, inspired display, and a complete grasp of what their customer is looking for. I was intrigued by the packaging we saw in the babyfood aisle—foil packets and these flat packages with sealable spouts (which really makes trash to go in the landfill…so environmentally, maybe not the message they are trying to get across. Yes, there is less, but it doesnt reduce to zero).

Kitty and Alex schlepped the whole contents of the back of the wonderbus to her room (skiis and more) and got her settled. We took back far less than we delivered so that the May pickup will be a crunch. Kitty seemed so happy to be back in her new digs, new friends, new opportunities, new things to share and try. Rob and I were comparing our first semester of freshman year to that of Kitty’s and yes, thank you, she is doing just fine. We forget how time is the big ingredient for change.

Rob had to work on a presentation in the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express until 1:30 when we picked him up to take Kitty back and say good bye. And then, we were off with sandwiches from Whole Foods and my lovely teabags from Harneys. I have been driving Rob crazy by carrying a shortie steel thermos with me when I travel. However, this trip, he saw how good it was. Everytime we stop for a bio break, I get hot water from the venue of choice (free) and then plop an elegant Harney teabag into it…and we have tea to sip between stops. For those of us coughing, sneezing and throaty, it has been a lifesaver. And, if you dont know about Harney Tea, you should>> I recommend the Hot Cinnamon Spice (reg and decaf), their bulk Earl Grey Supreme, the Holiday Tea (drank a box of the sachets in less than a week with Kitty) which are the basics around here. And the perfume of these teas are rich and amazing which goes right into the flavor of the tea. It makes the Liptons/Red Rose stuff seem like sawdust. More expensive but a transcendent experience.

First workday of the new year. Need to make it count.

I love Yelp.com

Sunday morning. Thank goodness the Pioneer Valley is a bit misty moisty as it is helping the ugly, rasping, hacking, choking coughs we have. So the quiet night at the quiet Holiday Inn Express was just what we needed, medicated.

I found our dinner spot through the wonderful yelp.com site after looking at my choices in Amherst, Northampton and Hadley while Rob power napped (and boy, did he need that). Yelp pulls through again! We settled on a Mexican place, Mi Tiennes (need to confirm) which is close to us at the motel. Yelp reviews promised delicious, the real deal, affordable and inspired. And it was served up gladly as promised. Their gorgeous tortillas, made in the kitchen were light, fluffy and airy. Alex had chorizo tacos with lots of fresh lime, cilantro and fresh cheese. Rob had a grilled steak that looked perfect. Kitty had huarches and I had sopas which were essentially the same except for the tortillas. Kitty's were thinner and long, mine were a bit fatter, and round ...English muffin sized. We had crema, a little cheese and some crispy beef on these cornmeal shapes. fab ($6.50 for 3). And we absolutely would never have found this gem if Yelp hadn't pointed us there as it is in the back of a lot that holds a small, rundown Knights Inn, next to a darkened coin op laundromat. My new favorite Hadley haunt. Maybe we just get the room inches from the restaurant's door, and settle in!

We drop Kitty off and noon and trundle home. Rob will be working here in the motel until then. Alex is here...so I will wrap it up so we can stock Kitty's dorm room with food etc.

More later.

trying out new tools.

I am trying something new. My iPad has this nice little program from Apple called "Pages" and I figured I would give it a try to see if the blogging could happen with the keyboard and tools that are native for this pad. I am finding that the pad is a bit brisker than I am as a typist - but with some practice, this is far easier than the phone stuff. It all just takes time.

We got off to Amherst around noon today with turkey pesto sandwiches, power bars and tea...along with a small pharmacy as R and I are suffering with the cold du jour. It wasn't a bad drive as everyone and their brother are home watching the game, and I am sure they are frying up the heaps of chicken wings everyone was selling Thursday night. I mean suitcase sized boxes of wings that I can only project out that "Dad" had the turkey frier jacked up in the driveway in anticipation and getting practice time before the game of the games, the food holiday every red blooded man in the U. S of A. Lives for, the long awaited and deeply relished, Super Bowl (of the universe). No Baked Wings for these cowboys. Hot fat only. And lay on the butter. We are a bunch of pansies and girls at our house. No hot fat, no wings. Just driving.

While Rob naps a bit, and Kitty and Alex thrill to another Food Network show, I figured I would chat a bit with you over the recent thises and thats. News! I moved my desk to the new space...and Rob cracked open one of the recycle immediately catalogs to find that Martha Stewart has a moderate line of furniture for the home craft room that is really quite nice. It is from Home Decorators http://www.homedecorators.com/S/MarthaStewartLivingCraftSpaceCollection/. It has a desk, all sorts of hutch type topper / organizers along with two types of flat files that configure well with the desk and the hutch stuff. Three painted colors-- an olive mossy green, a warm white and a birchy grey. End of the year money means I got three flat files for the new princess office digs. Cool? Right!

Am on the Hangar work. Have the Gem of the Ocean in hand. Am doing combat with the Rocky Horror. Have a viable Ragtime. Have a viable baseball one. We will see. I have such little time. When we get back to the grind, the nutcrackers and holiday schmaltz is getting toted back to the attic tout suite in prep for the next big gig..s valentines day splash to recognize the contribution Beth Chiron and team put out with creating and running our little Pourhouse "club". More on this as it develops.

Robs is awake. Gotta go.

new year: 2010 review

The year changed quietly for us. The great happening was around two, R. Had a blazing fever so I went on a search for acetaminophen …clunking and banging around until a bottle surfaced. What with the happy confab of my hot flashes and R.s fever, we could have turned the heat off in the house and melted all the snow in the vicinity.

It is New Years that is one of those milestones that gives me space to reflect on where I am, the year before..and possibly the year to come. We had big entertainment from the recent gig with the chorus to the cast party, a few birthdays, the dinners pre prom and pre dinner dance. We searched and found a college Kitty wanted to go to. She was accepted, packed, moved in, and has transitioned to having two homes. Alex on his own steam got a job washing dishes this summer at the Rongo. He is seconds from a drivers license(all self motivated activities). He has new musical friends— and they are actively music making, writing, trying, experimenting. Rob and team have moved the house forward from a new back porch, investigations on the kitchen, a new bathroom and a new studio for me. Robs work is good..with some fun nuggets embedded like cool people and travel. This year I had the pleasure to go to Museumwise at Sagamore which was a treat. This year I learned about bees, about Lubok illustration style, and worked on some new illo approaches. This year I helped the Hangar Theatre, Wide Awake Bakery and Farmer Ground Flour update their image. I was a rock for my big client. Mr. White adopted us. So much doings….and I have not surfaced any of the depths…just the tactical stuff.

It was a year of expansion and personal change. We helped two friends to change their thinking and lives. Kitty stepped into a new life confidently. Alex is taking on responsibility and focusing. Rob and I have newfound pleasure in more time together. It has all been wonderful.

Who knows the broad strokes of change and evolution for this year? Not I. But change is good and with the opprtunities presented to us.. What wonders will happen. I just need to be open and watchfulbto make sure I see them when they surface. Keep your eyes and ears open in 2011. I wish you the best.

IF: Resolutions

The Cholmondeley Ladies ( cats), Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpies, the second sketchbook projectI am resolved to be true to myself. Whatever I see in the mirror, the reflection in a dark window, the glance in a glass, is true and something I should be happy with. I will embrace my wicked side along with the one that suffers to be good. There is something in parallels that disturb and challenge. This is my resolution, to better understand that paradigm.

Looking over the horizon

More from the Madhubani women artistsIsn’t this the nuts? I mooshed three illustations together just to get it to you. I am dying…this is line times a zillion. What white space? Noodlers unite!

Today is the last day in the office this week, I hope. Rob moved my office yesterday to the old princess bedroom in the wing over the kitchen. It is a quiet haven overlooking the backyard. So I am sitting here with the light streaming in the windows. I have a view of the snow  out back—all golden, purple and blue. It is great not being perched by the front door where the dog yaps yips and barks…constantly jumping up to to the fed ex guy, and all the antics at the door while trying to continue to work. New year, new office and maybe new name (not legal name/ but working name). The new gallery needs to be named too. So they might be linked, or might be more related to the geographic/location.

I made a few quiches last night along with trying out another King Arthur recipe (their Cream Cheese Pound Cake that I “added in” coconut) which used up more stuff from the fridge. The teen eaters devour this stuff (the chocolate cake from Thanksgiving was 90% devoured by the end of day Sunday. Whoa. So, the flour is flowing.

Saturday, we take Kitty back to her other family at Hampshire…healthy, bouncing and well shod (I gave her two pairs of shoes for Xmas)…along with skiis, presents, coats etc. We need to get new phones before too. My old phone spun out with a new iteration of iTunes and couldnt reboot. Sunday we come back. Not much lazing around the woodfired stove for us.