Harlequin Bunny, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and inkAnother perfect day. A bit overcast…but brilliant green popping out. TJ is sitting on my office window sill, watching the birds from our higher perch while giving himself a bath.

Apropos of nothing, IIsabella Blow was inspired by yesterday’s nugget. I learned about Philip Treacy, the imaginative milliner who created many of the hats we saw at the Royal Wedding (Princess Beatrice’s beige wreath and ribbons as the most noteworthy). Check out the hats, gallery on his site. Treacy uses the head as just an element in his scupture using felt, straw, and fabric. His work is elegant and yet can be outlandishly Grace Jonesy…Theatrical but still in the zone of fashion versus costume. Just take a little tour on his site, and you will see what I mean.

In addition to learning about Treacy, I found out about his muse, Isabella Blow (1958-2007), English magazine editor and “international style icon”. (Interesting article from The Daily Mail written by her ex-husband).

“If you don’t wear lipstick, I can’t talk to you.”
— Isabella Blow

Isabella Blow spurred some of the most interesting British fashion….Wonderful…even down to her funeral complete with a willow casket with over the top white roses, millinery ribbon and a black hat perched on top of the whole shebang. Her casket was taken to the cemetery in a victorian glass hearse- very Edward Gorey-eque. If you search it, Treacy designed very beautiful ostrich plumes for the horses that pulled the hearse….totally stylish.

Onward to the ordinary.

Bunny Buzz, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and inkBuilding an ark is an opportunity here. The lake is full and cresting over many people’s docks. And the rain continues. It is cold and damp…right to the bone with the humidity being so high.

The weekend has lapped into the week. Yearbook gets released today. I created a cute little brownie inspired by Palmer Cox’s brownie…but making it a bit more woodcutty…and colored. Also worked on an illustration for the upcoming Mt.Washington and Pairpoint show at the Corning Museum of Glass. Interestingly, it is a supergraphic illustration that is going on a 72” x 72” panel…vector/cut vinyl.

The food project is almost complete. We are getting the big pubs moving though I got three new things yesterday. So it just keeps coming. The nice thing was last night for the first time since before Christmas, we had a simple dinner and watched a bit of t.v. which was such an amazing thing. I cannot wait for our lives to settle down a bit to have more quiet time as a group. It was great.

I am working on bunnies as I am just plain stale. The addage, “All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy.” works for me. I am hoping that something will arise and be interesting…but now its just a movement of pen…and a chance to make pictures of sweet, fuzzy creatures.

This weekend is the Mothers Day for Peace gig at the Rongo on Sunday along with everyone on Main Street doing chicken barbeques on Saturday and Sunday. Alex has the SATs on Saturday.

Friday, we need to go see which old car owner will take Alex and his date to the prom (!). A local antique car group volunteered to take couples to the prom! How great is that? We are ordering a tuxedo from an online resource, (the name will not surprise you): Buy4LessTuxedo.com. You can rent online at TuxShip.com for signifcantly less than the scary Mens Wearhouse. However, we are buying as it is an investment. Alex and I have our eye(s) on something simple and elegant with a pique shirt (wing collar he nominated). The corsage is ordered with the specificity of something that smells nice like either a gardenia or freesia….their call. We may do a nice dinner for 12 before the event. It is all coming up so fast! Tick tock.

Off to the post office and bank.