Delighted with Dribbble!

Kitty picking at Sweet Land CSA 06.17.2011I was just asked/invited to be part of Dribbble- a very cool visual networking site that allows creatives to show what they are working on in a very small image to be shared by the community. You enter as a rookie unable to do anything but vote and gather a little community of followers. Hopefully, one of the followers will ask you to become more than that, A Prospect (that is where I am). Being a Prospect means you can upload images, add comments etc. to others work, create folders or buckets along a theme you like. Pretty cool. New way to get the work out there to a new community. I think there are tweet buttons and facebook buttons so once again, you can link and link and link using those filaments of ideas to thread through other online communities you participate in.

And, thanks to following Von Glitschka on Twitter, I found this (and so much more as he is an amazing illustrator and a thought influencer).

Von Glitschka (aka The Vonster) is a writer, illustrator, teacher and veritable go to guy for illustrator stuff. His website refers to him as an illustrative designer (which is another way of framing up the hybrid state I find myself in). He is generous with his knowledge from his books, to his free tutorials, and now free artwork he creates on his iPad (blog, Drawsigner Blog ). He is an inspiration insofar as his work, his reach, his engagement in the online world of living, sharing and expanding his reach. His book, Vector Basic Training, is on my list of things to study to take on better process and thinking around my own vector work. He is funny and cute in his work without any sweetness. His patterns are sublime…as are the tracings he uses underneath. His work is well designed and considered before he puts his hand to the vectorizing.

More later.

Advent Calendar Day 14: sampler

Santa Nutcracker, Q. Cassetti, 2010, pen and ink, from the Second Advent CalendarColder than cold. Freezing nose. Freezing toes. Shady loves it (this is her season) and the cats have all searched out all the hotspots on the floor and are perched on top of them, soaking in the heat. Rumor is talking lots of snow today/tonight…upwards to 8” for us. There is lots of buzz around that. I walked home from Yearbook class and relished the sharp sparkle of the cold and the astringent quality of just being in the moment.

I think that Mr. Mel is coming today to sweep the stovepipe on the little cricket stove (cricket on the hearth) so we can ramp up two stoves in the kitchen/ t.v. room. Additionally, we are going to see the piano tuner, Eileen, to tune the Hermon Camp piano in the hallway for the Sing. So, we will def have our stuff in gear at the end of today.

We scaled the mountain of work yesterday…to my delight as there was a ton to do..lots of think stuff which is rough on this girl. Hate thinking. Love slothfulness. Need my teenagers to help me with the office holiday cards….and need to get the final box of stuff out in the mail. I sense everyone else is as bogged down in details as I am. There is more for today along with some fun sidebars such as entering the Communication Arts show (due 1/07), get the images to the Society of Illustrators for the opening and get the paperwork together to start thinking about refinancing the house. So, plenty to do.

We are swinging into the season of the Hangar soon. We are meeting on Monday with the communications team and wonderful Peter to make plans around what needs to be done, when. I am looking forward to having some time around the holidays to get the art done for these posters….Five or six pix. Quite a bit. There is a brochure, posters, handbills. I hope we can get it organized so as not to be the insane thing it was last spring. I am pulling some of the images out of the archive…and need to do some that are big, bold and graphic…and everything does not have to be the hour upon hour of doing the vectorizing that the portrait work demands. The simpler the better. Looks so good and strong on the banners etc. I have two in the can….and am thinking that Ragtime might want to be a line drawing. Rocky Horror will be a graphic close up of a face…very Liza Minelli simple. Maybe I should give myself an hour to do that to cut to the chase? You know, that sounds like an idea.

Thinking some more about portly Mr. Penn. Noble and humble, honest and true, Mr. Penn. This could be a very silly little exercise. A colonial fantasy and fairy tale.

Indian summer today

Sketchbook Project 10/16//2010, Q. Cassetti, sharpie and prismacolorSketchbook project almost done. I was thinking of pasting stuff in to not see the showthrough as the Moleskine Cahier paper is a bit thin…but you know, I really like the way it looks. Makes it look like the continuous document that it is.

Rolling on a ton of stuff. Picture selection, new edits, finishing up some spectacular microsoft word centered design. What a tool. What torture.

There is a slight chance I might be able to ride in the spare seat on the corporate plane to Denver and back next Monday/Tuesday. Just a fun change of scenery. Forget the art museum. I am going as fast as my legs will carry me to the Rockmount Ranchwear store>> Just to see the wonderful snap shirts…the embroidery…the sheer wonderfulness of this type of clothing. Or for more mainstream stuff, maybe Sheplers>> or Cry Baby Ranch! to see the turquoise Frida Kahlo flaming heart boots or the skull boots for men. There are these remarkable shortie cowboy books for women (“cuties”?). As I keep googling this…it seems like a western wear immersion might not be a hard thing to do. The Museum is closed Monday…so Tuesday morning would be an option. Yelp is telling me about Soul Haus. Check out all the Western Wear offering on Yelp>.Then there is mexican or barbeque for dining…

I think I could keep myself amused…don’t you? Even the thrift stores look like going to another country. Exciting though I would rather be pal-ling around with Alexander or Rob or Kitty.

Need to do some picture research today on happy cats. No grumpy cats albeit someone (stinking TJ is my guess) delivered a big stinky one in my office in the corner today. Yuck. Being the backup crew to the pets is just plain gross. I do not know whether I like cats enough to want to continue to do this after they move off this plain. Thank goodness I didnt do what I normally do which is to step in it (preferably barefoot).

Sagamore: Day One

We had a great visit with Kitty over the weekend. Saturday, we met her on campus and went to pick up some of the computer stuff we are having repaired in Amherst (great resources at a great prices that we do not have in Ithaca). Then we took her and a friend to the Korean Restaurant to have dinner and catch up.

She is in fine feather—all is right with the world. We are delighted as she has settled and is herself again. Not fretful and finicky (the pronouncement day one that she will need to change dorms) has dissolved and she is loving every minute of work and play that is being handed her way. Surprisingly, her favorite course is the Indian Epic course (The Ramayana) with the Penguin book translator (abridged) as her professor. She cannot get enough of it…and she is reading and recounting, talking about mythology and culture…alll those things that makes me crazy with glee. I love the stories but even more, I love the nutty pictures that depict all this Indian Superhero on steroids type of content. It will be interesting when Kitty gets around to thinking across topics from Indian Epics to animation. This is when the real fire will engage. She was quite pointed about ideas and points of view she has developed over the years on the topic of art which really lights her fire…and she will take no prisoners when it comes to that. So our girl with no opinions might have a few of her own. It is wonderful to see our girl blooming in this new culture of growth, learning, talking, trying. I know its premature, but it feels like great things might happen out of this experience. You all know that I certainly hope it does…but it really has energy behind it.

Yesterday, before our trip, we had breakfast with Kit at Atkins Farms, the wonderful grocery store just across the cornfield from Hampshire College.  They have a great breakfast, plus we get a chance to poke around the store and buy great stuff we cannot get at home…so a gigantic bottle of maple syrup on special, some bee capsules (magic feelgood energy etc…I believe!), some gourmet pancake mix for competitive discussion on a project, and a brine for pork and/or turkeys that came in a really nice, basic foil pillow pouch (two color label on matte silver).  It was nice sitting outside and watching Kitty talk and update us on the wheres and whatfors of her friends and life while watching something go on that we do not have in Central NY (and seems to be a waaaay easy way to fundraise).

Fee: $15. to get a pair of used pants, old shirt and all the hay you can stuff into it. There were hats (fromWilliamsburg Snack Shack, Q. Cassetti, 2010 Oriental Trading Company or the like) for the scarecrow’s head. No huge skills out there for the making and stuffing of these hay beings. And little and big around here cannot get enough of this entertainment. The local fire departments (as posted at the Williamsburg Snack Shack) even get into this holiday offering fun. Lunch was good at the Snack shack. So, this sort of selling seasonal fun hasnt crept into Central New York. People were tying corn sheaves onto their roofracks yesterday along with the odd carrying of these haymen under calm daddies’ arms…limply wiggling, deadweight figures that were a bit eerie in  their likeness….but well worth considering to do in our Tburg Farmers’ Market space.

We visited The National Yiddish Book Center at Hampshire. The Book Center is remarkable from the moment you park in front of the asian inspired facility, framed by beautiful gardens with meaning with comfortable places to park yourself with in the sunshine or in the soft pine woods with adirondack green chairs in a circle around a generous table. There is a pond and an orchard with a garden devoted to Yiddish literature and writers. There are performance spaces that we saw peering in through the windows. Combined with the Eric Carle Museum, the book world, illustration, imagery, photography, storytelling all hugs our little Hampshire giving the students an amazing source for their own work, their own stories, their own images and illustrations.

Sagamore Rooftops from our room, Q. Cassetti, 2010We drove across Massachusetts and up 87(?) to poke into the Adirondacks at Exit 23. It was a beautiful blue green drive with golden light and trees beginning to turn. There were ski gondolas as lawn ornaments the minute we turned off. The drive was inspired into and up the mountains to arrive at Sagamore just in time for dinner, a gathering of all the interesting people on the Museumwise board and then cold, cold sleep.

Today has given us blue skies and a cool day. I am surrounded by historians, curators, conservators, preservationists, organizers and planners. It is a most wonderful group of active minds, passionate about their topics, their work, their learning, this group. There is such vibrancy that there are glimmers of the travel with Hartford and Syracuse. I have needed some time to think and reflect. As much as I have brought project work to do, which I will do, it is nice to have an expanse of time to think, to do, to draw. Tonight there is a “meet up” at the Adirondack Museum (which I love)—and more ideas and interesting people.

One more thing>> take a look at this>> the Eye Fi>> too cool for school.

Its coming down.

Bees all around, Q. Cassetti, 2010, mixed mediaYesterday, Kitty had studying with friends and shop time. Alex relaxed.

I worked in an unplanned way on these patterns which was derivative of a 2.25” x 12” inked pattern tile the other day. I thought it looked good as a limited palette (see first post on Saturday) and then evolved the color…and then pulled the illustration elements out of the mix to make other patterns. This is a fun break for now. I seem to go to patterns when I am in a lull…and then it gets me recalibrated back into the thinking of the current body of work or pointed at a new one. I find it interesting that this is the process.

I was looking at Virginia Lee Burton’s art project, the Folly Cove Designers’ work. You can still buy this work through the Sarah-Elizabeth Shop .  Burton, the author illustrator of the recognized children’s book, Mike Milligan and His Steam Shovel taught classes in Cape Ann MA.  From these classes and students, the Folly Cove Designers evolved (from the Sarah Elizabeth Shop background page)

The Folly Cove Designers was a group taught design by Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios. They used what they learned to design, and then carve, linoleum blocks to print on fabrics for place mats, runners, hangings, tablecloths, skirts, and yardgoods for practical uses. They started in 1938, over the years including more than forty artists in their guild-like association. No works were signed, everyone putting the group first. When their teacher died in 1968, the remaining designers decided to disband. The sample books, long yard-good hangings, and related material which remained in their retail outlet (the Barn) were given to the Cape Ann Historical Museum in Gloucester, where they can be seen to this day.

From Spiritus Temporis.com The Folly Cove Designers grew out of a design course taught by Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios. She lived in Folly Cove, the most northerly part of Lanesville, Gloucester, Massachusetts. She was able to express the local consensus that the world was a beautiful place, and the elements of beauty surround us in nature.

Her block printing thesis grew out of the home industries/arts and crafts movements of the past. The artist/designer of products for home use is separated from the product by machine age technology (and now globalization). Fine art for home use is within our own power. To this end her design course taught an ability to see the design in nature, a set of good design rules (dark and light, sizing, repetition, reflection, etc.), and the craftsmanship of carving the linoleum, and then printing fabric for home use.

 

On completion of the course the graduate was permitted to submit a design to the jury(selected Designers rotated this responsibility starting in 1943) of the Folly Cove Designers. If it was accepted as displaying the design qualities as taught in the course, then they could carve the design in linoleum and print it for sale as a Folly Cove Design.

The design course started in 1938. In 1940 they had their first public exhibition-in the Demetrios studio. The following year they decided to go public, they called themselves the Folly Cove Designers. Every year they had an opening to present the new designs, and everyone enjoyed the coffee and nisu (Finnish coffee bread). They established a relationship to wholesale their work to the America House of New York which had been established in 1940 by the American Craftsman Cooperative Council. In 1944 they hired Dorothy Norton as an executive secretary to run the business end of the successful young enterprise. In 1945, Lord and Taylor bought non-exclusive rights to five designs which pushed the reputation of the group, and began some national publicity and diverse commissions for their work.

 

The Home Industries shop in Rockport, Massachusetts, owned by the Tolfords, sold the Designer’s work to the public starting in 1943. It wasn’t until 1948 that the Designers opened “The Barn” in Folly Cove as their own summer retail outlet. In the late 1950’s they extended the season to ten months. Virginia Lee Burton Demetrios died in 1969. The following year the group disbanded, ending a period of unique creativity and cooperation. Some Designers were with the group for only a season and others continued with the group for decades. In 1970 the sample books, display hangings and other artifacts from the Folly Cove Designer’s Barn were given to the Cape Ann Historical Association in Gloucester, Massachusetts who are now the primary source for information about the Folly Cove Designers.

I am going to try to figure out how to post these to Spoonflower.com when I have a chance to understand the technical specs etc/

It is raining like theres no tomorrow…but in the way things are here, we will have a cloudless beautiful afternoon here on the plateau. Need to get going on paying work. What a dawdler I am.

 

 

 

Where did the day go?

What a day! Productive! Wow. Moved a ton of little niddles off the desk, finalized, saved and sent to the printer. It really feels like everyone is trying to wrap things up. I may have time to really dig into the gratis stuff (illustration for some posters and for a few logotypes!) Yay! I may have a pressrun early next week in Rochester-- a three color job on uncoated paper that I keep being warned that it will not look like a job printed on coated paper. I am on the edge of saying that I have been around the block a few times and know this stuff...but its their job and I have to let them do it--that is, warning me that the final will be softer than the proofs. There are bills that need to get out--and POs that need to happen--so its pedal to the metal and then a quick stop. Shreeeeeekkkk!

Was messing around with quarter page pictures and tiles of that...and putting them together in a bunch of ways--thinking about overlaps, about frames and the like.I have a bee in my bonnet to put this stuff down. Am thinking about the Three Kings, and a Mary/baby J. picture.

We have Bruce for a day or so more. Its been very pleasant and familial with him around as we have known him forever, and he seems to love Trumansburg, Ithaca, and the entire hometeam. He settles in well and brings his own oatmeal in a box when he visits. Plus, for Alex and Kitty, he brings a new point of view from the other old farts (number one old person speaking).

Am mesmerized by "The Lovely Bones" on the Kindle. I wasn't expecting to be enchanted, but am but at the same time, terrorized.

Ordered a list of yummies from the Regional Access from a palette load of pesto for Boy Wonder, some frozen pizza bagels and chips for our holiday party for friends of the youngers, and some chocolate to make into truffles with Kitty. Man, I love that operation. I was perusing the list of things offered--thinking of all the things I could do with the cheese, bread and bones available.

More Later>


Big show opening, "Pixel and Pen"a n exhibit of digital art and process. Works by Aesthetic Apparatus, Nicholas Blechman, Q Cassetti, Linda Gammell, John Hersey, JamesO'Brien, Ryan Peltier, Andy Powell, Anthony Russo, Nancy Stahl, Gordon Studer, Roman Verostko, and Mick Wiggins. Curated by James O'Brien at the Christensen Center Gallery, Augsburg, MN from Thursday night through January. James 'Brien is an extraordinary illustrator who works digitally put this show together. I am flattered to be in it (my portrait of Kitty is my entry) with some celebrated illustrators.Makes me want to keep at the portrait an hour program. I took some nice shots of Kitty this weekend along with that of Rob, our friend Steve, and of course, Peter H. So, I need to get on it. Plenty of work to do.

Am getting through a load of work...much of it in in the a.m. out by 1. Really more throwing than designing...but this is the expectation.

Must go for now as it is time to heat up dinner for the expectant crew.

Brilliant fall days. Yesterday and today. We got the dishwasher (after 3 weeks) fixed...the part finally came in. Chet the Lawnmower man came and manicured the grass along with dealing with the thick layer of sassafrass and walnut leaves that have dropped. Its funny, but all the walnut trees and walnuts have gone from being on the tree to suddenly all being on the ground. No middle ground for the walnuts.

I got an F


I am getting somewhere with these Stooges....and was thrilled when I posted it to my facebook just to get a reaction that Pablo Lopato (impetus for this new twist) weighed in and said "Nice!". That means, keep going.

Gary Kelley talked about how he developed his books..the thinking, the research, the design that the illustrator engages in the process with the art director having a point of view and placing the type. Very interesting from the standpoint of the designer and from the look of the books...the engagement of the designer. Gary loves the relationship so it works for him. This is a dream situation for Gary as he views it not as the big CaChing! but more that this is another opportunity to do what he loves and develop a complete body of work, essentially, a portfolio to get his work out there. What I love about Gary is that illustration is magic for him. He loves to see the idea bloom into the image from the conception through to the final with every step a juicy morsel to be savored, stressed over and adored. I can so relate to his more art oriented approach--looking for colors and shapes--and allowing measured risks to happen as the color evolves and the design builds off the bones of the sketch. Remarkable and quite inspiring. Gary's two new books, one from Hyperion on Eleanor Roosevelt which pretties her up a bit, but is as compelling visually with the nicely designed images and spreads to the not for little people book on Paganini and his deal with the devil (mirroring his extrodinary book on Robert Johnson done with singular and stunning monoprints). Both worth buying even if its for grown ups.

Gary's vision, his joy in his work, the so called, simple paring down to color and shape is very motivating to me--his artistic ambition to constantly be amused, charmed, inspired, driven by the work of other artists and have it change and effect his work and direction is a gift upon the closure of this chapter to me. Somehow these last weeks are so poignant and so distilling to make the time fly but at the same time stand still when you hear the truths that are being imparted.

C F Payne loves what he does from the abstracting and stretching of the head to the making/doing of his work--but it is somehow less spiritual and brawnier than that of Gary Kelley. Chris is working on a "celebrity" book with Steve Martin--and it seems to be a happy marriage (we hope for this). Everyone worked on their own projects from portraits in either pastel and/or the multiplexed C Payne technique or on thesis work or in my case-- doing some intellectual stretching trying to simplify and abstract heads.

I had my thesis review today. It was Murray Tinkelman, Doug Andersen, Bill Thompson and to my delight, Bunny Carter. They wanted me to recount a bit of what the paper speaks to--and then to talk about my time at Hartford. Bunny was very nice and very positive about the work, where it could go and that the thing I will need to worry about/focus on are more bodies of work like this or like Memento Mori that will drive the style. Murray projected that in the right time (like the sixties) I would have been asked to join the Pushpin Studio (wow...!). Bunny projected that this work was going to get out there--and get published--and that the thing I will need to worry about when I have imitators, was to keep in front of it. Wow. Imagine. Do you think? And, she also said that she was proud of me as a women doing this...and from a goddess of illustration history and a keen observer of people, I am tearing up from that. Now, I just have to dog it to see where we go.

So, I have the F.
The Terminus F. I want to hug the world, hug myself and cry a little bit.

Back on track


Finished up the first round on the paper and got to Murray and Doug. Murray called yesterday around noon very positive about the content, the work and the actual paper. He was very complimentary and kind...which makes me proud. Also, a bit hesitant as it now has to be better in the final. I guess I will hear from Doug at some point. After that, I will hire an editor and then refine. The work needs to be refined (some redrawn). And, there is one valentine on the desk that is to go into the final. Time to polish and finish. This is why there has been a lull in my writing my daily drivel to you....too much going on in this arena and work(!). Bizeee...

Speaking of Murray, his work and words are featured this week on Leif Peng's very interesting and expansive blog, Today's Inspiration. I highly recommend Murray's entries as it portrays what illustration studios were and how talent was brought along and emerged from this system. When I started as a designer at Corning Glass Works, we had an illustration studio in town that did line drawings and gouache paintings of Corningware, Pyrex and the consumer products for their catalogs and sell sheets. These poor devils had illustration jobs, but not the more glamourous jobs the Cooper Studio and even Pushpin had for their artists. But there was work for renderers, inkers, painters even in Corning, New York. Now the concept of an illustration studio seems inconcievable except in the case of illustration based companies such as Hallmark and American Greeting Cards. I also recommend the entries on Murray for a peek into the risks he took as a brash, young man with tremendous talent and occasionally not the most perfect timing. I love the illustrations from the baseball player and the wacky machine (the early version of the man machines he did for U&lc), the armidillo, the wonderful wolverine and the wealth of whimsical pen and ink work he did. It is a real shot in the arm for me...a gift to keep going and to not pick fights...Murray is an inspiration with his work, his persona, his gift as an educator and mentor and a friend. And, bless Carol for letting him do what he had to do to become this person we know and adore.

Zina Saunders, wonderful illustrator, insightful writer and all round high energy person noted the Peng entry on her page on the Drawger site. She also included an illustration she has done in a woodcut style that is fabulous. This artist never stops.... Wonderful work, wonderful writing and very interesting and wonderful comments on her page. Take a look.

I am hot on little people drawings. I loved Murray's baseball player for the spirit of the little man the simple face, the feeling. I was looking (and I admit, reading Roald Dahl's Matilda) at Quentin Blake's illustrations and was prompted to take all of the examples (BFG, Esiotrot, The Witches)off the bookshelf to see his work. Blake also has a very cute and amusing website that presents illustration content in a very happy, nontraditional way (categorically) and uses an almost "cloudlike" table of contents with flash animation to enliven and make the site sparkle as much as Blake does. His writing and storytelling is wonderful. And, Blake shares pictures of his studio, his house, his life that adds to the humanizing the legend. Love his pencil neck children along with the imperious, ogre like grown ups often with bad facial hair and warts. Now that I am looking at little people--I am going to have to plunge in. I have a birthday card to design for a client...and illustration definitely is in order.

Now that the valentine piece is coming along, time to design some heart patterns for end pages and section transitions. I am mulling over whether I do a perfect bound publication with Lulu or whether it is wire-o from Lulu. Though the perfect bound is pretty, the requirement of the paper is no printing on the backs. I think that wire-o might suit that better. Plus, they have a few nice color options that could be good. Need to order fu dog buttons (and a few more as there is no limit to the numbers of images to include in the order) and a postcard or two. Nothing over the top. Also need to get some sample output done on canvas and on maple plywood. The wood could be great with black printing on it...24" x 36" panels. But big canvas ones could be good....I should get a sample of each and see which works.

The image at the top is from my work on Avian Flu. I have been a bit wired (read neurotic) about the new Swine Flu (which is now PC to refer to as H1N1). Swine is better than avian for me because at least the vaccines are not incubated in pigs...just eggs. Plus, if you knew the annual flu statistics that we all do not even miss a beat on, 30,000 people die annually from the the "regular" flu. But, the full on pandemic is not someone wants to go through--and I have taken it to a mental image of a Bruegal-esque moment of death and destruction, catherine wheels and fog, a barren landscape of sorrow. Bird headed doctors (the plague masks were bird beaks that had a scented cloth in the beak to stave off the stench of the dying), carts of corpses rattling down Camp Street. Nothing is impossible in the world that grips me at three in the morning (won't life be great once menepause is over?) What is in this head transcends a school closing and please wash your hands and cover your mouth precautions. I am happy though that the family of man...globally, are behaving consciously and responsibly to maybe make this a quiet emergency versus a global trauma. There may be some pig pictures coming to the fore....

New web concepts we need to talk about later: Issuu, Squarespace
New vendors: Justbuttons

And I have a new wonderful surprise I am not spilling until I try them.... I am THRILLED to be so witty!

More later, my friends.

jewels from ebay


Name: Doris Lee
Artist's Date: 1905-1983
Title: Blossom Time (Woodstock)
Medium: serigraph/trimmed margins
Signature Placement: Estate Stamp Verso
Size: 18x24

Name: Doris Lee
Artist's Date: 1905-1983
Title: Bird & Vine
Medium: serigrah
Signature Placement: LR
Size: 17.5x12.5
Reserved: No

Name: Doris Lee
Artist's Date: 1905-1983
Title: Reflections
Date of piece: n. d.
Medium: lithograph
Signature Placement: LR
Size: 21x17
Reserved: No
Condition: good

Name: Doris Lee
Artist's Date: 1905-1983
Title: Poster for Memorial Show at WAAM
Date of piece: 1984
Medium: commercial Lithograph
Signature Placement: Unsigned
Size: 28 x 16-1/2

Name: Doris Lee
Artist's Date: 1905-1983
Title: Fruits & Vegetables
Medium: lithograph
Signature Placement: Unsigned
Size: 17.5x23.5
Reserved: No

Name: Doris Lee
Artist's Date: 1905-1983
Title: Christmas Fruit
Medium: serigraph
Signature Placement: LR
Size: 24.25x30
Reserved: No

Name: Doris Lee
Artist's Date: 1905-1983
Title: River Bathers
Medium: lithograph
Signature Placement: LR
Size: 11x16
Reserved: No

Well, dang. We were talking about Doris Lee and her husband Arnold Blanch so I went to my favorite mall, bookstore and gallery and googled her. There is an auction of prints and originals that I gleaned these images from and wanted to share with you>> I can editorialize forever on this work--her primitive forms, simple color and the twisty twirly line work that gives it a sense of humor and charm. I love how shapey it all is. My next Garden is going to be inspired from these, these very images. This work speaks to me.

bright and early


Rained all night with lots of electricity and lightning. We swam in the late afternoon and was attempting another shot around 8 and with the flickering white and sometimes yellow sky, we got out knowing the minute we decided to stay, we would be electrified. It was a nice attempt, though. I have a ton of food to take to the team chez Camp for lunches this week. I have a little personal goal to try to get lunchmeat out of the central position for the team, which means making bigger portions of the family stuff and serving it up for lunch. The other food goal is to try to eat close to the source--taking carbon and big farming out of the mix. In addition to that, I would like to strip out the layers of processed anything, and work only with fresh or frozen--bags of rice etc. Will take a bit more labor, but we will know what we eat...fully. Its better from a health standpoint and from a worry standpoint. Plus, with teenagers, its good training for the rest of their lives. Or at least I think so.

In the Wonderbus, ready for the trek: I have the wonderful gazpacho I made which I plan to extend a bit and the Camp House Soup (a basic tomato based soup with pasta, beans, zucchini...that evolves as our leftovers do. Just added finely cut steamed green beans.May add some hominy. Cans and leftovers...and the gang eats it all up!) Also a big plate of cut up fruit. Should so it.

Today, its work with a nice business lunch for me. I will need to redo Ornamentapalooza ...which is okay as I showed the John Alcorn silhouttes to the client, and they loved it...style wise that is. It will be mine, but the blocking of the shapes, the "packing the suitcase" design and the wit of the negative and positives will be inspired by the man of the moment, John Alcorn.

R has the week off to review the site, work with the team. K needs to read a big book she hasn't cracked. And A has training at Taughannock. I do not have the week off...but maybe we will knock off early on Friday just because. Maybe.

The alarm is ringing for A. Need to hop>>




It was a perfect evening with a sunset blazing and turning the water from a tropical blue to purple all in the span of about an hour. Fireworks to celebrate K.'s foot surgery which was done and over to all of our happiness.

I am getting fired up to be Manhattan Q.--take no prisoners, drill with constant phone calls--push,push, push. Need to. Being nice--you get 5 strikes before this clicks in. So, hello me, meet the tough me.

I spent a little time this morning with my Dover book on Kay Nielsen and feel that I will probably have that at my elbow, hoping if my brain can't absorb it, my elbow can. I love this guy. Talk about obsessive decoration...whimsy. And interestingly enough, from a theatrical family so I like to put that lens on looking at his work...because it makes more sense. I love the way Nielsen describes his foreground/ background as they are rendered as the layers or scenic flats are on a traditional stage. He will use drapery in the foreground to draw your eye, or just a a little detail to say, "I am the top of this illustration". The top illustration is one that we saw at the Eric Carle Museum's show "Flights of Fancy". This was a confection (in real life) of delicate color (which the photographic images lose to just gain color on press), tiny pen and brush work, an oriental rug of color, linework and pattern and the sheer imagination in creating such a work. The central female is exquisite..with her face overwhelmed by the design of her hair, her dress, her environment. An amusement, take a look at her foot, his foot and the Oriental man to the far right...check out their sizes...! And the black and white line image below is beautiful in it's restraint in the line and pattern. Almost a point/counterpoint to the image at the top. I am showing the king below for its symmetry, the use of black and the candles. Love the candles.

More great illustration news:
A wonderful story on Murray Tinkelman will be in the next http://www.illustration-magazine.com/http://www.illustration-magazine.com/ (Issue 23). You can see thumbnails of the publication in advance>>. I am subscribing today. Put it off for some reason, but now reason to get back into that.

The wonderbus is ready to go. K is out of bed and is clunking down the stairs.

Gotta go.

Barometric shifts


A door banged closed and woke us up last night. R rolled over and was back in his dreams. I, however, had started the whirring gears...so I flipped and solved at least half of the world's problems. Shady and the cats were up, patrolling in the change in the air. Ticking claws on the wood floor. The wind kicked up putting white caps on the lake waves, with an ermine sky--with a tiny hope, a tiny peak of a blue sky and a rosy tinge to the clouds beyond. It was pouring early--but I hope it will stay for a while as A has training at Taughannock Park with running on the trails in nature. He was looking forward to it, so we can just hope its not in a downpour. According to A., this is not a problem...but as him mom, I don't love it.

However, I did get my iPhone to sync with my calendar, so that is really good and very exciting. More bang for my iPhone buck. I also posted a link to my illustration site with the Fort Worth Buffalo to Little Chimp Society (a European illustration networking/ promotion site). I have put some of the recent music related work and a button for decorative illustration on the qcassetti.com site.. I think this decorative illustration should, instead of just being a category, should open onto a decorative page where the Memento Mori work can migrate along with the little things I seem to be doing. As this is the thrust of the next year, I should give it a real home versus just a click.

And, we all need to think (soon) about the Society of Illustrators LA show entries due mid September. I think the Buffalo, Carol Elizabeth Jones CD, and some selections from Memento Mori. I really did put quite a bit of time in that pursuit...so I should see if there is some traction. One of the shows selected one of them...so its a new year...and a chance to see. By next year, I will have thesis work and probably a good 12 other images ready to submit. I just need to breathe and put my head down.

While I was trying to stop my brain last night, I read a week or two of Today's Inspiration following the life and work of Robert Fawcett and followed an interesting link to the CAW blog Charlie Allen's Weekly Scan. Charlie is very funny in his observations and collection of images (today its the woman of steel, further down is a nice study on hands...and so on). Take a look. Thanks to Charlie and the discussion of hands, I was able to still the whirring gears...and dreamland welcomed.

Today is a panoply of stuff to do: there is the chauffeur service, work, meeting with the college counselor, and moving one kid, picking up the other and working work and phone calls into the mix. Thank goodness tomorrow just has one kid activity...as the tsunami project looms.

More later>>

patchwork


We attended the big cd release party for Toivo at Felicia's. The music was great and the sales, hopefully, better. We had nice drinks (a mojito for one, and a Trumansburg Lemonade for the other, kids had cokes) and were struck with the crazy offerings Felicia's has...a beet martini, a ginger margarita and much more. It was a brief stay with a chance to say hi to all the band members and survey the some of the old time music nobility in place to launch this nice new collection of songs. Take a listen>>

We had a nice dinner at Bluestone--with it feeling like vacation with everyone diving on their food as if they had never seen it.
There was lots of fun as the tabletops have been painted with chalkboard paint..so K and A went at it and I drew a monkey that inspired me to think about Alexander Calder and his wonderful bent wire animals. I am doing to do a wire drawing of a monkey this weekend with the computer screen up and pointed at some Calder animals for clues.

Today is the wedding at the farm in the afternoon. I am hoping that the tradition of a big rain may not happen today to give these sweet people a chance to start their marriage with sunshine. If not, they both have enough sunshine inside to tide us through. Its going to be a traditional Tburg dish to pass event...which should be fun and enlightening. Prior to Tburg, I used to hate dish to pass...but this has changed in a town of good cooks who all seem to pull their weight in excellence and contribution. Now its fun. My guess is that as the groom is plugged into the local music scene, we are going to have some amazing music this afternoon too.

The unplugging happened. My brother, an IT/MBA executive type, sent me an extensive list of first you do this, then you do that...to explain how to stump these pirating monkeys with a password protected wireless set up. Now this person (yours truly) has to just do it...so unplugging will be unnecessary.

Need to start on holiday cards and the illustration for our party "5 at 2" (five years at 2 Camp Street) along with squaring away guest list, food thoughts and of course, the music (maybe Toivo?). The house will be significantly changed since 5 years ago, we will be prime set up for the Art Trail, and why not. It may verge on a huge guest list...as we love everyone. So, the pen needs to think about the Provensens and their horses for the card...and a maybe a bow to Saul Steinberg for the other. Who knows. I just need to get going. Yesterday was a great day of closing out jobs, cleaning up the small stuff and prep for the Tsunami which I get the impression is going to happen.

More later>>

flipping


May the unplugging begin. We were winding up dinner as the moon was rising last night(is it just me, or is it getting darker much sooner already?), and there arose a glow, a lcd glow from across the driveway on the edge of the property line. Yes. She was at it again. Pirating internet signals...just as bold as paint. So, today the great unplugging happens until I can find the IP address of the router and work the magic online. As you can gather...this is really riling me up. It could be funny, really funny in the ridiculousness of all of this...with our white haired neighbor scampering to not be noticed, computer in hand, searching for signals and mumbling about the former signal they used, the Linksys, gone. "No more Linksys" a mantra, chanted over and over again as she patrols for a connection with us...Monty Pythonesque in it's silliness...but still enraging me none the less.

More kid work with AP papers due next week with slow progress on the reading. No action on the grammer tutoring that needs to happen and planning to meet with our college coach who is going to lead a workshop on geometry as many of her students do not understand it..and as I found yesterday, the PSAT is riddled with geometry. So, I am reeling with the stress of all of this (note the time) and have a slightly unwilling party that this is getting "done to". I am so not enjoying this...I have my own deadlines and papers and projects. It would be nice just to be able to do my own work versus dragging the horse to water and shoving it's head in, opening it's mouth and scooping the water into the mouth. If I could swallow for the horse, I sure would try. Need to be able to manage this better.

On a happier note, classmate Chad Grohman posted his entry for the Obama show in Denver (due date I think is 08/18) that is quite lovely and a departure from his vector work. His strong design skills and color palette peeks out, but this piece is delicate and considered in his approach to his subject, and the political topic in general. It emotes a feeling that he captures in the title, "Hope". Here is some of his preliminary work>>

Paul Zdepski, also a classmate and fellow blogger, shared a wonderful Czech story book about a farm, some livestock etc. The story is great I am sure, but the sheer explosion of decorative borders, title pages and the illustrations within said borders is enough to blow your mind. He has got a connection at a library when the books are cycled out..and this absolute gem came his way. Very bold, shocking...I am going to need to monkey some of this...and see if I can own a bit, learn a bit from it. Beyond the decorative borders, the blocking and tackling of the images are great and the line/stipple effect with these simple blue clouds is worth borrowing for the Monkey King(if he ends up with clouds). (Note picture posted, Sun Wukong actually has clouds built into his shoes.I wonder if Sierra Trading Post has these built in cloud shoes? take a look>>

Finished up the pub for the Museum. Tweaked it yesterday and we are good. Started the slides that I was dreading. It was important just to start messing around with it to see what happened. Had the multi masthead newsletter meeting which resulted in a chinese menu approach to changes (we like this from that, and the color from here and oh, add this here, etc) which I have turned into a new resolution to go out today. I was checking my email on this newsletter and we started talking about it the first week of July. My, how we like to talk about things.

Nothing on the rising Tsunami project. I will need to contact my clients to see if this is a go/no go and the status. If its a go...I will no longer have time to toss in my sleep over teenagery,as I will not be sleeping. We'll see.

Toivo has it's CD release party tonight at Felicias. I worked with Toivo on their cd production with Rich Koski, champion accordian player and leader of this group, and artist, Annie Campbell (Rich is in the center, Annie is on the drums)--doing the layout and graphic designery things to bring all the components of the imagery that Rich and Annie wanted together. The CD is great, as testified by Jonathan Cook of the Finding Ulysses blog:
I got my hands on a copy of Toivo’s new CD, Laughing Shoe, the other day and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it since. So have my kids. Whenever I play the CD, all three get up and started stomping and tapping in orbits around each other on the floor.

My children’s decision to dance isn’t a reflection of a deep understanding of music theory, but it is nonetheless a good sign of music that’s constructed well. They won’t dance to the wandering classical music that plays most of the time on WSKG, and even the hypersurrealist immature electronica of Yo Gabba Gabba fails to inspire them.

Toivo, on the other hand, combines solid folk traditions that have withstood the cultural selection of audiences for hundreds of years. It’s not trendy. It just works. The Laughing Shoe also celebrates our local landscape, with songs like Swamp College Schottische, the Podunk Two-Step and Waterburg Swing.

And, with names that reference our little plateau (Swamp College, Podunk, and Waterburg), combined with the energy and happiness this music communicates,Toivo should have us up and moving this evening.

a bright moment


Just got the used, sensibly covered version of Alice and Martin Provensen's The Golden Book of Myths and Legends. I had found some images on the web on the Alice and Martin Provensen blog and got very itchy wanting the whole thing to see the images in context. I have not been disappointed. What spurred me on was their blocky strong design, the unclassical colors like brown and pink (how very Bergdorf Goodman of them)and chartreuse and light blue, and their love of classic red and black figured vases. They use line and shape--sometimes fusing them, sometimes having the line and shape overlap-creating an interesting dynamic with the design. Their people are simple with lots of energy with hand and arm shapes (no outlines whatsoever)often reversing out of the clothes or where it overlaps. Some of their figures remind me of aspects of Picasso's Guernica in their overlap, relationship to other figures, the shape it fills. Very bold and raging with energy.

Murray was right on about these two. Whoa.
More in the mail from Alibris!

More plate spinning today. Had a good chat in the early a.m. with R about the next museum show and the possible approaches the graphics could have to sync up with the architecture of the project. I think I have enough to render some ideas and get that rolling way before we need to roll. I am really hoping to move things along in the next month so that the inclement tsunami of work will not wipe me out. Will post the final illustration of the studio glass artist that will get married with type today.

We are finally redoing theluckystone.com. Not ready for prime time...but we are skyhooking off the look and feel of qcassetti.com as it is so simple and easy to get about. Yes, I will walk away from the "look at these clients, look at the depth and scope of the work we do for them" story as I think people look at things they are interested in and or are familiar with. The big ponderous "preach" might be just that, big, ponderous and maybe, boring? While we were at it, I have put some new images up on the illustration page, mooshed the Memento Mori sections into one button and started a new button as a bow to the future called Decorative Illustration. By next year this time there might be a few things to put under that heading!

3x3 is putting out a directory (syncing with their Pro Show) and I am going to take a few pages to see if it yields anything. Charles Hively recommends an animal or two, and a figurative piece (I guess a Burka?). This will need to be resolved today as the deadline is soon and this is something easy to forget.

Meeting with the Johnson today. Will talk to my new curator friend whose expertise is on Asian art to see what she knows about my new pal, the Monkey King.

More later, have to wake up K and hang up the sheets that are done.

Maria Sibylla Merian & Daughters at the Getty


Merian's Crocodile from the Princeton Digital Library
I was clicking around and found this croc and art by this artist and was floored. Today I was nosing around to see if red or black ware was Greek or Roman at the Getty siteto find out that there is a show currently there of Maria Sibylla Merian (1641-1717) and her daughters Johanna Helena and Dorothea Maria. Check it out. Whoa.

cotton head


Isn't this sweetness itself? I think I need to go used books shopping and buy up a clutch of Provensen literature as I need to try to be them and see what happens. Not copying, but trying out there little hints and ideas. There might be something here. I love their layout style (Animal Fair has some nice approaches with grids, lettering etc) and then this stuff from the Bible book (along with the stuff from Mythology which rocks). I am all over their stuff.

In my sleep deprived stupor, I re-read my Jean Tuttle notes and found I had the wit to write down her influences, so I spent a bit of time googling the italian futurist Fortunato Depero, the fabulous Provensens, Beardsley and Leonard Baskin who was noted but not necessarily as an influence but in looking over her work, he fits there too. There is a lot for me to glean from looking at these influences as they resonate with me too--to different effect. I found a limited number of George Stavrinos, cited both by Jean and Nancy Stahl as inspirations for them and actually remembered his work which I have always associated with the world of Ziggy Pop and Disco Bunnies. His work is muscular, figurative work which given the world of airbrush that was happening at the time was singular. I dont know if I see it in either Jean's work or Nancy's for that matter.

We didn't wrap it up until 4 a.m. so putting my head down wasn't as simple as it appeared. I got 4 hours and got on the road (stopping at TJMaxx for paper napkins and paper goods for the present closet, and cute polka dot underwear for Kitty to sweeten the deal relative to the SAT coaching she has been resisting). I didn't wreck the car coming home actually staying on the road and driving the speed limit...and now, I can get dumb and design some things.

Onward to functional dumbness.