Novelty

I am going to need to pack sunscreen and sunglasses for the romp to Governor’s Island this weekend. Did you see my blurb on the GlassLab site? Legit, as Alex would say….>> I spent a bit of time last night as I was beginning to get a fever and didnt want to move too much—scanning the web to see what was beautiful (orange and white swirl, red and white swirl, a dirty olive green and a dirty purple swirl, and the best of all, a grey soft serve (Black Sesame from Japan).  Japanese soft serve flavors are of course, japanese…and very different from our chocolate or vanilla or swirl offering. There is a great Flickr image of a display of flavors, and another with toppings and sprinkles (!); one with ruffly tops on the cones  (all in plastic just like the magnificent plastic sushi) from Black Sesame, Sweet Almond, Wasabi, Green Tea, Molasses with Soybean, Cherry Blossom, Melon, grape, cantaloupe, lemon. I discovered that the Dairy Queen cone (see to the left) is a blop/blop with the perfect pigtail at the top versus the extruded shape that is laid on the cone (like a coil built pot) that is the icon we think of when we think of soft serve. And instead of a pigtail that curls back onto the top puff, it is a gentle curve that does not touch the body of the cone. Are you fascinated yet?

Can you resist the graphics below?

I must admit, I cannot. This spurs me on to keep shopping for the perfect ice cream truck to run in the Trumansburg area. Maybe Wasabi soft serve or ginger (with Melissa Madden’s ginger)? This ice cream truck thing has me possessed for many years…searching on ebay for the perfect italian ice cream truck—with a funny awning and terrible music (Pop Goes the Weasel first verse, no chorus) and sublime treats.

Turns out, the cone concept can go somewhere…with color, with glass treatment, etc…and the funniest thing is that the map of Governors Island is yes, an ice cream cone (hard/scooped in a pointy waffle cone). Rob is encouraging me to do a governors island cone, but  I will see if the energy is there.I  should probably do a little thinking before getting on the island to see if it could be amusing or even workable.

I am creatively trying to bump myself off center to get the juices flowing. So, I am working on black paper with the touted Uniball Signo pen—four stars from JetPen).The Signo is a very flowy, opaque white gel pen that loves the black paper…and working in reverse has been fun. I am waiting for it to engage. More paper needs to be burned before I call it a flop. As always, I am impatient for the work to start emerging. It will. I just need a little faith, a lot of paper, and time.

Alex and I are on the Cornell “Campus to Campus” bus tomorrow to get to NYC. No stops—and wifi (!) So, I figured this would be a good first step getting the boy to NYC (and his mother) for the fun on Sunday. Back on Monday via car with Rob. Then there is the community dish to pass on Tuesday, the 4th on Wednesday, Thursday off and Friday—graduation party for Alex and Alex (60 guests). I am exhausted thinking of all of this. So much to buy…so little time.

Wow.

Alex Cassetti, June 21, 2012, Graduate, Charles O. Dickerson HS, Q. Cassetti, 2012Simply madness. I have been at it so much that I havent had a chance to say hello. I am so sorry for being such a deliquent, but these things happen as I am sure you know. Running and running. Work and filling in the gaps with driving, going to the grocery store, and trying to keep up with all the extras that are out there.

There have been family health issues (large scale under our roof) and of course layered on it was a visit from Kitty, and a graduation for our boy, Alex. Graduation was great. Alex was so happy, just plain bursting with it—and the relief and joy in the recieving of his diploma was palpable. It is a real smile you see in this perfect picture of a graduate. He was delighted to have accomplished this, delighted to be with his friends and family, and delighted to move on. So, the moving on has started and we have pencilled in his Orientation, his  tests and prework, his doctor’s paperwork, moving the transcripts etc. We are moving the show from Trumansburg to Hempstead, LI.

The tenor guitar is ordered and should be here by the end of the week. He is tickled pink with the idea that I got him the guitar versus the watch he kept telling us he needed to recieve (somehow that is all wrapped up in his “old fashioned boy” thing he has in this mind). The “old fashioned boy” was a thing he did as a kid, where he would wear antique newspaper boy hats, type on a manual typewriter, carry a pad around his neck to keep notes on, and want to wear vests and ties. He has this idea that being  the “old fashioned boy” (his term) was somehow befitting breeding and intelligence. Same thing with the watch. He told us that if we gave him a watch for graduation, he could wear it when he got married and then he could say that he got it from his parents at his HS.graduation. I say phooey on that stuff. Get a tenor guitar, learn to play it and tune it a zillion ways and be happy. Then you can play your guitar at your wedding and say “This is what I got for my HS graduation, and look at what I can do!” . And my old fashioned boy grins, smiles and prods me for when it will deliver. I expect a song!

Kitty and Kira, June 21, 2012, Q. Cassetti.Kitty was talking a mile a minute about everything that she has processed for the past three weeks. Lets put it this way, FIT has been amazing money well spent. She is revelling in sewing, and puzzled and inspired by the draping course she is taking. She gets it…and is pushing herself to try new things, go beyond what is being assigned in class. She is delighted by slopes, grades of muslin, all the measurements and dimensions one needs to add or subtract, the import of a puffed sleeve….and so on. She is puzzled by “real girls”, what they do for fun, the need to curl their hair, zebra patterns and high heel decorations, hot pink and nail decals. She is puzzled by the club scene, by the inability for people to see the world as she does—and the pronounced focus she has on gender identities and roles that Hampshire so happily celebrates. It is a bit unnerving for her, but as part of a balanced education, she is getting a whole lot of something from the polar extreme of the Pioneer Valley.

I have to go. I have some driving to do to get Alex and Elly to a graduation party. Then its Farmers Market (#3) and we have people to see, photos to take, Kimchi and mustard to buy. Then, hopefully, it will be a glorious time in the later evening lakeside with the fat bumblebees, magenta sweetpeas, and a blazing sunset. Tomorrow, my friends.

Frosty, Swirly

Ice Cream Sign at Trimmer’s Ice Cream Stand, Trumansburg, NY, Q. Cassetti 2012Blistering hot here for another day. Our little Farmers’ Market was a bit wilted and hot…but we still had a nice crowd drinking a lot of lemonade, buying radishes, brooms and all sorts of other things.  Alan, Rob and I had a good meeting about the Market Manager building that is being designed to possibly be the “Community Build” project during the GrassRoots Festival of Music and Art in July. The plan is to have a space for our manager to be available along with providing a space for kids to have a space to sell fruit etc. during our market. It will have a bulletin board, a clock, a slide (!) a place for a Gott water cooler with a cone dispenser.  There is storage and a way for us to hide the park’s electric box…making the current installation go away (a little eyesore). The aesthetic is vertical siding/ metal roof very much in the vernacular farm structures being built today…so it feels “of the farm” which suits the market very well. The foot print is small (10’x 10’ or so…How fun is that?

I have the fan pointed at the top of my head and I am feeling a bit better today than yesterday with the heat and still hot air. Shady Grove is laying as quietly as possible under the window…just trying to keep her furry black self cool. Alex and friends are swimming in ponds and then hiding in our backroom huddling around with video games, and eating large quantities of food (read cold pizza).

Hot Glass Soft Serve:

I am thinking of soft serve. Twisty lovely cones that I plan to make with my friends on the GlassLab stage. Soft Serve and cupcakes in glass…all one color, and some decorated. Roses and sprinkles, diptop and wrappers. I took a ton of sign pictures (a real favorite of mine). Don’t you love the one on the right? I love how unfriendly and severe, almost engraved—this confection appears. Its all about linework with a bit of color poked behind it. This is pretty evocative of Circus Posters, right? The sheer simplicity of this illustration prods me to work on this idea that runs in parallel with the amazing big blue gummybear, and the cobalt dunny from the Kid Robot team. July 1st is the day I get to try this out on Governors Island. It should be fun.

Hurray for the Fathers!

Thank goodness for Fathers. If Rob hadn’t been a father, I might not have been a mother…and we grew each other up into the respective parent we have become. This parent thing is a feat for every individual that chooses to engage in the process—and to have my co-parent be such a loving, kind person that it is fun to be a team with is a blessing indeed. His patience, understanding and love has helped temper my rage, stupidity, and harshness with our two offspring that they haven’t been too damaged my my “hate” and hostility. They mainly laugh at me these days thanks to his direction and sweetness. He is our oak tree. He is the scent of damask roses on a wet morning. He is my ray of sunlight every morning…and my children share in my feelings.

Thank you, Robbie for being all of our father. The journey has be all the more wonderful with you in it…helping to guide, direct, listen and hear to prompt action and understanding.

Man, its been busy here. Done with big projects. Done with little projects. Kitty’s passport came. Alex is in the lineup to graduate. There are some tough family related things due this week…so Rob has changed his calendar to reflect all of that. We have been lakeside for the past two nights and I proclaimed to Rob that I was moving here immediately. Let the Summer Begin! Bossy me.

The picture to the left is of Gold Dust Lounge, an amazing surfer noir band that Rob discovered in Miami at Art Basel. Gold Dust Lounge makes this music that essentiallybecomes a sound bubble (no kidding) that embraces and sweeps the audience away with them. I love being in that sound bubble, riding the sonic waves, thrilling toGold Dust Lounge with Rob, Alex and Elly at the Corning Museum of Glass, May 2012the surf, the twang and the racing road these guys take. Rob was so taken with them that they were invited to play the May 2300˚ event. Turns out, they loved coming here, the experience, the people, the spur to their creativity. We know, whats not to love…but they get it, and us. Plus, they are so great and cool, we may see them again soon. However, if you want to see them, they are the regular Friday music offering at the Miami Standard Hotel (confirming coolness all over the place). Guess who else is a big big new fan? You guessed it, Boy Wonder is too. Check out that look on his face! This is just the beginning.

Kitty is plugging into the fashion fun in NYC.  She is working away, and in her spare time, she is taking in a little culture (the new Prada/Schiaperelli show at the Met).She saw someone from the TV show ” Say Yes to the Dress” and introduced herself. She was waiting in line to see “Project Runway” filming in NYC and saw Michael Kors on line. Kitty went to shake his hand…but he was seconds from going on, but Kors did something even better, he told K. that she looked “fabulous”! She was working her 40s hairstyle (a crazy underpinning of her bangs to make this long loopy fringe on her face). She easily pulls it off (as with her pearls, white blouse, and longer black skirt she recently wore to class…and I am sure she looked fabulous (and she knows it). Her weekend job starts soon, so she needs to grab as much as she can (though Fridays are free of school).

I am working on Abe Lincoln illustrations (1 hr for the last two—and will continue on these quickies). I may do one of Abe’s dear friend, Joshua Fry Speed…just to make a couple shot…Ezra Cornell will be on my list too. Have to believe Cornell just might be interested? I am also rethinking the work I will be doing with GlassLab.

I am participating in the GlassLab installation on Governors Island with the Corning Museum of Glass in association with the Graphic Design show the Cooper Hewitt is showing this summer. I was and still am working on a Russian  Nesting Doll, a Burka Nesting Doll idea but as it was so surface focused, Rob suggested (and I agree) that I reconsider things that might be showier on the stage. So, I am working on 1) a loving cup inspired by valentines (hearts, birds etc); 2) A cloche for a cakestand that is a cake; 3) (my current favorite) a huge soft serve ice cream cone inspired by the illustrations all around here and last but not least; 4) cupcake (a really fun cupcake, not the lump that happened at Steuben-)-but crisp and fun and swirly.

People in the tintype

Lincoln study, Q. Cassetti, 2012, Adobe Illustrator CS5Yesterday was a gorgeous day. Ditto for today. The Farmers’ Market was fabulous with all sorts of great things to buy—with Meg having black cherry tomatoe plants, and all sorts of elegant currant plants from Daring Drake. We had a massage therapist…and two more people wanted to throw in with us to our delight. Food/catering was selling out to my happiness…and hope that we can continue to drive folks to the market to gather, eat and spend their money of produce, wine, cider, plants and goodies. This is our second shot and I feel real energy around what is happening, the help of the board, and the direction we can point this. I got some great shots and will share with you. I love it when people just “give” you the picture…and I was given quite a few last night. We need more…and we will get them. By the end of the season, we will have imagery to really sell the market!

The big RFP is done. Will deliver tomorrow.  Little projects are moving. The images for the StoneCat have been framed (thanks to Nigel). My cabochons are en route. The market is beginning to stand up on its little shaky legs…and we are going week to week to see what and how it evolves. I am getting things fixed, delivered, and ordered. And! My dies came from Accucut…so it means my diecutter should be here soon! Hello! How exciting is that?

Did you ever notice how big Abe Lincoln’s ears are? HUGE. I saw a life mask , and life casting of his hands at the Fenimore in Cooperstown and was dumbstruck at how odd and overlarge they were…but the facial casting did not get to the ears. Now with this study kicking off a series, I am stunned by his ears…and his amazing assymetrical face. Chasing down info on Lincoln has thrown me back on the amazing photography of Matthew Brady. Brady portrays these civil war era people as the living, breathing people that they were…not shining them up, but just as is…and somehow he captures the individuals essence through a sensitive vision. There is so much humanity peeking out of those sepia images that if you were to just change the fashion, they might be the person on the street passing you by on the way to Starbucks.

I also unwittingly surfaced a whole lot of stuff about the hypothesis that Lincoln might have been gay. It started with my poking around Wikipedia…and then it went on. This is all supported, academic studies…and so it changes the discussion around him. Our first gay president? Interesting. This was not the sort of stuff we addressed way back at Ellis School on Presidents Day. Whole new world.

Rob is home from his travels. It is wonderful to have with us. He is reconsidering his travel for this week. We would love to have him around a bit more!

Onward to the day.

Momento

Work in Progress, Lincoln, Q. Cassetti, 2012, Adobe Illustrator CS5It went from blistering hot to sweater weather in two days. We have a farmers’ market this afternoon—and hopefully the weather will hold and the rain will happen afterwards. It was a great sleep night with blankets, snoring stinky dogs, and a lovely breeze to whisk us away to the dark, dreamless place that seemed so close.

Mei Mei was playing with a young rabbit this morning. I chased her away to give the bunny a chance. Three times chasing away, and the bunny lost. Mr. White was watching the antics with Mei Mei, growling in his throat and running from door to doo.  We launched him…and he grabbed Mei Mei’s prize and made quick work of transforming toy into breakfast. He kept wanting to eviserate this  critter in the center of the back porch—which I prevented by chasing him and his prize with a shovel, threatening to take this snack away for Tucker, the Hawk. Mr. White got the message and all was right with the morning.

I posted a slide show to the Tburg site to put some new images up of the market and begin to get some sort of buzz going about the music, the beautiful things to buy and eat, and the general nice community thing that seems to be going on. More pictures today. I think I should post some portraits of people who work at the market and some more of the shoppers. Toivo, our resident TexMex Finnish group is playing so Rich Koski and his photogenic accordion may make the photo album for this week( I can hope).

Speaking of the Farmers’ Market, I need to remind myself to take a picture of the new fence by Alan Vogel and John Ullberg. When we (Alan, John and I ) were at the potluck, we noticed the attraction of going to the top of the embankment for all the littles in the area. Alan and John volunteered to do a fence, a quick fence to take the burden off the parents a bit. Our plan is to have whirligigs on the top of it to make the market seem more active and interesting…and they (John and Alan) just built the fence over the weekend, lickety split. Now Alan wants us to pencil in time for people to make the whirly gigs in his shop. How lucky are we to have such amazing civic people.

Rob has been away and will be back for a day or so before he heads out to Toledo for the Glass Arts Society (GAS) conference. Alex’s last day was yesterday. Today there is golf and being outdoors. We will see if there is play practice and his plans for the week. He could be going to Hofstra as early as next week for his orientation, but we will need to see if he is accepted for that date.

Did I mention that Kitty has a blog? Take a look. Her brain is working…

Girl in the Newspaper Dress>>

I am back on doing some portraits of famous people this summer. I am thinking of Presidents and political people…but that is subject to change. There are so many original photos of Lincoln, I am going to do a few of him as a warm up. Its fun to work fast and see what happens. This is a work in progress. The image is just the first blush. I need to do this. Chop building.

Black with a touch of color

Find Alex in the Black and touch of color, Choral Concert, June 2012, Q. CassettiI am feeling quite myself after the weekend of just being a lunk, sleeping, doing a bit of cooking and reading. Totally veg. Last week hit hard with our friend Paul leaving us, and lots of stressful action around 2 Camp Street. But today after all of that, I am feeling a bit snappier, happier and able to put the left foot in front of the right to keep onward. The giant pitcher of unsweetened sun tea is helping too…with the 90˚, high humidity day we are being treated to.

The apples are sad this season, but to make up for our longings, the strawberries are bursting out the gate…and they are being picked as fast as can be at the You Picks…and more keeps coming on. Great promises for raspberries. I got a bag full of basil at the CSA (SweetLand) and have a tub of pesto that sandwiches and all other sorts of things are eaten with. Alex is in heaven. Basil is my absolute favorite (fields upon fields on it in my heaven along with rosemary and lavender).Sugar Snap peas are up too, and ready to pick. Yay! Hurray….the early summer fun begins.

I bought a dozen pink poppies and a half dozen white poppies along with a variagated and a red coral bells. Also bought a hanging plant that is chock full of little yellow cherry tomatoes. What fun!

Update: Princess Kitty in NYC. Well, she is getting hit with it and lovingit….from the totally girly girl roommate, to the work work and hard work that FIT is throwing her way…and she is bouncing along quite well thank you. She is writing a blog on Tumblr, and though she is a bit racy in her talk, I am loving her spirit, her observations, all that she is learning and going all between her ears from Tea shops to sexuality.I love being 20 with her again. The Girl in the Newspaper Dress>>  Proud mama. Yes, I am.

Last day of High School for Alex tomorrow. He has “had it” as have we. Time to turn the page. No big moment of nostalgia right now. I am sure come mid September, it will be another thing. I just see how his sister is getting jazzed up, and want the same for him. Rumor has it that he and Rob will be taking rowing/shells and taking sailing lessons this summer. So, more for him to try (he finally said yes…I have been bugging him for years…finally). Did I mention tap shoes for his part in OKLAHOMA? And I am sure I didnt mention his Drama award at Senior night. We did not see that one coming! We are all thrilled and surprised at that honor!

The picture above commemorates our last High School Choral Concert…with Alex protesting the requirement to wear black with a touch of color. He opted for colorless glasses and all black. They sang a beautiful piece by one of Alex’s favorites, Eric Whitacre who is becoming something for me too.

I am a bit obsessed with findings and cabochons these days. What? Yes, I am making fake jewelry to see either on the web or at the Farmers Market when we have a swap meet/flea market. This stuff is hilarious…and as soon as I have finished goods, I will post. It is very Memento Mori meets Goth, meets Pirate…all rolled up into one fun ball of gorgeousness. I do not know if my adult friends will approve, but my younger pals are all over it. I am poised with tube of glue, findings and a packaging concept in front of me. Nothing can get in my way. Watch out….!

Farewell teacher and friend.

Floral Tribute, Q. Cassetti, 2012, Adobe Illustrator CS5And in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.
Abraham Lincoln

Radio silence. A whole week of radio silence…and I apologize.

I have been trying to sort our where the chaos has come from and why I cannot find the glimmers of interest in all the wonderful things out there. Its been like a stall with loads of work but no zing to connect with you and my world. I guess it is because of a text Alex Cassetti got.

Last Friday afternoon, Alex got a text from a friend saying that his dad had died of a heart attack. Alex came home stunned, silent, shocked. He was wooden and worried. Alex told me about this important man’s passing..and we both shook our heads and wiped our eyes in amazement and shock. We worried about the family and most particularly my Alex’s friend Alec.  What to do? How to respond? Give the family space or dole out hugs. Alex opted for hugs. He also suggested that he should pay a visit and take some candy (which he did after we went to the store and filled a huge shopping bag with corn syrup in every shape and unnatural color imaginable). How could he show he cared about this wonderful man

This man, Paul Bartishevich (1956-2012) was a vital member of the school community, particularly sports where we got to know him. He was an inspiration to me to be a better parent, to love each other,to build community whether it was a larger community or just cooking breakfast for a team his child was in. 

Paul taught me to be a coach and advocate for everyone—impressing on what is good, what is valid, what is right while quietly pointing up what could use some work in a friendly, collaborative way. He had amazing energy, a force to be reckoned with—blended with a sharp wit and intelligence, humor and laughter. It was always a party to be with Paul as he was such mensch— bringing you into his circle with stories of his family, his wife, his extended family from events to the traditional games of football (referred to as BartBall) on Thanksgiving. Paul exuded enthusiasm, and happiness—living in the moment and making me want to be swept into the current he was making in this little pool we call home.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this loss to Alec and his family. The vortex of silence….the sudden whoosh and then life changes. The why now? the why? and the hole that will be in the fabric of his wonderful family he loved so much. And so many more holes left in different groups who had anticipated their moment in the Paul sunshine.  

But, his light still shines in all of us. You can palpably feel it. And in his children, you can see that flame, the energy and spirit of this man. Hopefully, I learned from Paul, to reach out, spread the love, and live in the moment we are granted every day. And know, that time is to be cherished. It slips away and is gone….sometimes before you even know it.

Blessings on Paul and the gifts he so generously shared. He will be missed but will live on through the carefully planted seeds he gave to each of us.

Farewell teacher and friend.

IthacaJournal.com’s Obituary>>

Pissing and Moaning

Peony from the Lake, Q. Cassetti, 2012Poor  Alex Cassetti. Today he has to go on the Senior Picnic and then…oh my, he has to submit himself to being fitted for a costume. Pissing and moaning about how put upon he was this morning as we finished up the big big load of recycling and trash….to be surprised by Mr. White’s productivity in the Killing Fields. Yes, once again, right on the back porch, Mr. White methodically decapitated another squirrel (last one was Monday if you recall), and started his process of devouring the beast leaving the head, tail and a foot or two and the liver (always feels almost Masonic in the symbology). So, to spare the neighbors the site of this massacre, I moved the squirrel and Mr. White to another less central/less visable location and he lost interest. Now we have a half a squirrel in the freeze (in a freezer bag) waiting for Elly to take to the Super Hawk, Tucker. Waste not, want not. There was a look in Mr. White’s single eye that suggested that this might not be the only prize of the day.

Yesterday’s conversation with Steve about my work we are going to try to do at GlassLab on Governors Island (July 1, 2012) was exciting and productive. I have my list of things to try before we go — so I am making up a sheet of glass decals, ordered up some 3M Buttercut, and some resists to see what we can do. I am looking into glass enamel paints to see what that would yield tooo….and then away we go. The Maryoshka dolls going from the largest being clear, middle a bit less clear to the tiny one being color and brilliant is the approach. We may do some burka Maryoskas as well as it would be another technique, and could be a second to that nested set. So, I am psyched. Might learn a few things and might add a little nice twist to the things on my resume. And who knows, maybe we can pull it off.

Off to see my friends at TreeGate Farm. We are reviving their project…and hope to get some lift for them. RedByrd went back on press. MacDonald on stall  until his rush of work slows a tad. Goodlife wants to relook at where they are.The Farmers Market starts a week from today….and I am getting a bit nutty around everything working out. I had a nice meeting with a board member who recalibrated everything for me…which was a blessing. And so it goes. Local food, local growers coming on with the season.

And the RFP keeps chugging away. Today is the review of all of our insurance work. Left foot, right foot.

blazes

Tree Peonies from the Luckystone Lodge, Q. Cassetti, 2010Its hotter than blazes today, yesterday. A bit of breeze this morning with the weatherman predicting thunderstorms and hail moving the 90˚ temperatures to 60˚ by evening. A perfect evening for the Senior Campout that Alexander Q. will be attending. Planning is everything. I guess it will be a bonding experience for all of them!

My husband the saint had a long dayof it yesterday braving the highways, bridges and tunnels, hot weather, and lots of carrying to get our princess safe in her airconditioned (a surprise) tower at FIT. He came home, ate a bit and then early to bed with the fans whirring. I had a mini date with Alex. We saw the Avengers to both of our fist pumping delight. I love this stuff. So does he. I loved the treatment of the characters particularly the humanizing and recalibration of the Hulk, a creature I never really understood but thanks to the Josh Weeden redux, he is becoming one of my favorites. We all have our Hulk moments…and now I can fullly embrace it.

After some weed destruction at the Luckystone (and picking these lovelies in the picture), I came home to do email (a lot of Farmers Market stuff), and settle in to work further on this big RFP I have been requested to fill out to be considered a certified vendor for a big institution. This RFP is a lot of work and is forcing me to get my act in gear, refresh my resume, refresh my web presence etc. etc. The stuff is all there, I just need to renew, refresh and parse. Additionally, this process has pushed me to review my thinking on the business, and things I need to do to keep us relevant. So, despite my grumpiness, I am pleased with the push.

Gurus Unleashed, a web aggregator of information, tutorials and the like on Adobe Creative Suite products just linked to a Vector Tuts tutorial showing the new tracing features in Adobe Illustrator CS6. Fascinating for those of us who are followers of the great Vector, and live and breathe new opportunities to smooth our our work. The silhouette feature (particularly for our retouching work) is a beauty. Take a look at this tutorial: here>

Need to get rolling. I have a 9:30 call about the nesting dolls.

Thrills

Inspired by Nesting Dolls: A Cat, Q. Cassetti, 2012, Adobe Illustrator CS5We visited StoneCat Cafe yesterday evening to see the new pictures on the wall…the tulips and the tulips on a black field along with a pair of monkeys. It all looked so great, I am tempted to have a few more output and stretched to take the theme further. These big graphic florals really snap up the space and make it very chic. Hurray for the Stonecat. Hurray for me! What a bragger I am. ( will post pictures as soon as I can connect the camera and see what is in that collection of shots).

We spent the night at the lake—revelling in the beautiful spot we have, and admiring the grass that it took Rob three passes to cut. Lush doesnt even begin to describe it. All my little bunnies were snug in their happy beds doing what they do lakeside—eat, sleep, talk and when the time is right, swim. Our visitors’ funny and smart dog took the first leap of the Summer into the lake…happily taking the prompt from his mistress to take the plunge. If dogs could smile, he was grinning from ear to ear.

Did I mention that I am married to a saint? Well, now you know it. Rob got up early this morning to do a round trip to NYC with Kitty to get her set up at FIT with mirrors and sewing machines, boxes of tea and teapots, and of course things to wear. Our plans to go to New York were scuttled by our girl who really didnt get her stuff packed until the end of day yesterday leaving no time to travel. So there you have it. Another mark in the golden book for Rob. 

My plans are to do some plant poisoning (good by thistles)…and laundry. Maybe Alex and I will go do something fun (can you say Avengers?). Am working on more russian dolls for a meeting tomorrow and interesting things are evolving from the shape. Lets see where this goes.

I know its crazy, but I am thinking a lot about my new home diecutting machine I ordered with a stationery show discount, the Accucut. I hesitate to rave too much as you might immediately put me in the category of scrapbooker (a creative endevor I wish I could better understand…but it is a creative outlet and that is a good thing). However, the Accucut is used by scrapbookers to make essentially paper findings to build memory books with paper and glitter, rhinestones and photographs, ticket stubs, and flowers to document their lives in the most robust way. What that means to me is that there are dies (with creases) that I can buy to cut out my artwork,make cards, folding cartons, coasters etc. right here. Diecutting is one of those points on the horizon for me …always “too expensive” or too promotional for my clients. However, now that I will have the ability to crank out shapes and package them—and if I really want to, have a die built just for me….then the world opens up to retail possibilities (like decorated masks?). And I have a local venue that is interested in my stuff. So hello cupcake holders, masks, boxes, stationery and more…. Should be a ton of fun…(at least for me).

Time to get the engines roaring. There are things to do!

Decorama

Matryoshka in Blue, Q. Cassetti.2012, Adobe Illustrator2300˚ Thursday night was great. Gold Dust Lounge played their surfer noir music to the delight of the outdoor revellers. The amazing and handsome Makepeace Brothers filled the auditorium which was blissfully airconditioned to all our delight. The sales in the shop were amazing (I bought a bunch of rhinestone wrap bracelets, some earrings for kitty and an amazing brooch that grabs my entire shoulder and encrusting it in colorful sparklers describing flowers and parrots. Kitty, Alex, Elly, Gloria and I had a great time. Rob was on the clock, but it looked like he was having fun too. Kitty and I got her set up with Kelly (Kelly Girls) for her weekend work in July at Governors Island with the Museum of Glass and the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Design in New York City. 

I was flattered and delighted to be asked to join a group of graphic designers who will work with the GlassLab Team on Governors Island  from June 30 to July 29, 2012. Each designer will be realizing a design/ idea with the hot glass team to learn and experience what glass can do. I have been working with the idea of nesting  Matryoshka dolls with the largest being clear and colorless with just etching for the features and simple detail. The second would have more etching and be a little less transparent, and the finally tiny one being brilliant, patterned etc. You all know how I love being a folky girl…and the Matryoshka shape really suggests glass…that we can decorate like crazy with glass waterslip decals, enamel paint, hand etching and diamond point pen. So I am investigating crafty etching products. Thanks to  Michael Rogers from RIT- for this decal supplier that can be put on glass: InPlainSite Art. So, I am ramping up to trial a bunch of these things prior to show date. As soon as I know the date, I will let you know…and as I am sure you will be seeing sketches as they come. I have a phone call to talk techniques and how we will roll this thing out on Tuesday. We are looking at a bunch of surface texture approaches (Graal for instance), or stamping and encasing the pattern into the glass before all the crazy applied decoration I would love to do.

We are rolling down to NYC tomorrow and back on Monday to take Kitty to FIT for her summer engagement. Now, all we need to do is watch her pack…(!). I am a bit worried…but hey, it will happen.

Spinning Candy

Lamps from Wanted Design, Q. Cassetti, 2012Wow. And it keeps coming. Gloria and I went down to Corning for an amazing opening of the GlassLab Show: “Making Ideas”  at the Museum of Glass. It was tons of fun, the exhibit was fresh and inspiring with a lot of things that had a high “want” including the snake candlesticks, glass hearts, glass dunnies, and glass gummy bears. I had the amazing pleasure of meeting and seeing old friends, and making a few new ones…Sigga Heimis (Iceland headquartered remarkable designer, warm and amazing woman; Sigga’s designer husband David Sandahl who works on prothesis design; and spent time with Marshall and Caitlin Hyde —learning more about them as people and artists. I had a great time and was wow’ed by the show, the people, the beautiful staging of the event and the warmth of the Hot Glass Family at the museum. It was truly an honor to be included.

Saturday was a day of planning and projecting as Sunday and Monday were days out of the office. Sunday, Rob and I got off early (6 am) to arrive in NYC at 11. I then went to Surtex, the licensing show at the Javits Center and Rob went over to be in a panel at Wanted Design. Surtex and the National Stationery show were inspiring, intellectually challenging, and is having me think a bit more dimensionally about my work. Do I want to take this puppy on? Do I want a rep? How do I hit the high end marketplace I think my work syncs with? Or is my work more geared to the European market…and should I be seeking our a rep in the UK? It was patterns upon patterns with many hot points being topics I love and work with from flowers and gardens, Christmas to even folkloric stuff. I spied lots of stuff with themes around wine, coffee, tea and cupcakes. Lots of Santas and middle America “fun and funky”—Scrubbed textured backgrounds, twitchy lines with  rubbed in color seems to be very popular. The stationery show was an eye opener and an amazing resource center for graphic designers. There were my  favorite paper vendors there (Curious Paper, Mohawk, Crane & Co. and Reich). There were folks who did elegant foil stamping, rolls of “wax seals”, board edging and gilding, embossing, engraving and my new drool love, laser cutting. Heaven. Also, a ton of DIY stuff for stationery stores to get into making custom wedding and event materials were there from simple software/layout systems to hand cranked diecutting sets (I admit, I just bought one!!). And did I say everyone and their brother were selling letterpress stuff! Tons and Tons and Tons. It was a lot to process, so I am planning on reading a lot and talking to you and others to see where this goes. Steep educational trajectory to make this happen.

New resources include (more tomorrow):

Accucut: a home/small shop mechanical die cutting machine
Silhouette Cameo: a small cutter that is driven by your pc. or mac. Will cut from original drawings you can make. Additionally, many existing designs  (many pretty tasty) available online for download at the whopping price of $0.99/ 
Stick with Print works: custom postit notes. small volumes. In Syracuse. 

Wanted Design featured the RIT Metaproject that Rob, Steve Gibbs, Eric Meek and Tina Oldknow were involved in to collaborate with both product design students and glass students along with Josh Owen and Michael Rogers as faculty leads. Remarkable work with great ideas, great craftsmanship and students who are articulate, poised and jazzed by the experience. There were a ton of young designers (it felt like Brooklyn) on site— showing new ideas, new ideas they were manufacturing etc. The best of all was Raleigh Denim (a jeans company run in NC. by a husband and wife pair with 20 employees making outstanding jeans locally out of locally dyed, locally woven denim in NC). Raleigh Denim has the secret to success, two amazing women who were demonstrating quite happily, and chatting away about how happy they are in this endevor…and how terrific it is to have a new business in their town. Bless them.

There is much much more for me to chat with you about. But, it is time to jump in the shaggin’wagon (Kitty’s name) to go get the cowboy. Late night.

this and that

A bow to the Dutch, Q. Cassetti, 2012, Adobe Illustrator CS5Gloria and I are readying ourselves to go to Corning this evening for the opening of the “Making Ideas”, a  GlassLab show at the Corning Museum of Glass. GlassLab is a very cool, design oriented, mobile glass prototyping shop that the Museum travels all over the world to work with designers, artists, and creatives to explore glass as a material. There have been fabulous things created by GlassLab— and this show celebrates this unique offering the Museum has. I think I will take a pocketful of temporary tattoos for my friends.

Kitty is back at Amherst for commencement at Hampshire. Alex is hanging out in the music room with friends making random music. It sounds pretty good. The grass was cut today (with a bunch of things that need some severe ripping out/poisoning (ie thistles). I was thrilled to see my 6 sour cherry trees survived the winter (what there was of winter) and two have little green cherries on their spindly, small branches.

Seems like Mr. White is in the young squirrel chase these days.  Two in one day…and more to come. Lucky Tucker the Hawk, he has been the recipient of these snacks which his person is so happy and thankful to pick up. Good for Mr. White…back on his game, leaving us beautiful prizes outside our door. What with Tucker the way he is, I am eyeballing roadkill in an entirely different way. I almost pulled the car over for a skunk until I realized that wouldnt be the best idea for anyone. Possum, yes. Squirrel, surely. Maybe even a bird or two…but nothing stinky.

Tomorrow are errands and Sunday we drive to NYC for Surtex, the licensing show. I am anxious to see how people are doing business, how they display their work, and the taste level etc. if its not a fit, I am planning on making a list of those folks I would like to work for…and develop a list to pursue the licensing folks within these organizations to make this happen. I do not want to be passive in this enterprise. However, I am anticipating a lot of thinking and talking in the next few weeks/months around this topic. I know the packaging/ comping/presenting world from my time as a graphic designer. I know about booths and promotion…have done it for others. Now its just understanding niche, the market itself, and how to plug in. Golly, I have made money for plenty of other people, why not myself?

Gotta go warm up the car…time to take the 1 hr. spin to Corning.