HAS:Day Three

"If I had my life to live, I'd live over a delicatessen."

"How would you keep them down on the farm once they've seen the farm?"

Two opening quips from Arnold Roth who led our meetings today. These quotes were attributed to Abe Burrows, commedy writer. He led us in a merry chase quoting all sorts of funny people, introducing us to Humbug, the magazine, Poor Arnold's Almanac, and some terrific english images (Princess Di and Camilla Parker Bowles for examples). He had a wide ranging career from replacing PG Wodehouse with an english publication to spreads in the New Yorker. He pretty much has had free rein throughout his career (57 years of freelance) with his work, opinions and approaches even down to a cute story of how he pushed back Hugh Heffner about details in his History of Sex series he did for Playboy.

We then had a great presentation by Daniel Abraham on copyright based law, why it is important, roughly how to do it, and what the levels of registration represents--wheither legal bills and fees or just fess for the illustrations covered. It made me very paranoid, but Mr. Abraham saliently suggested that these forms and submissions should happen on a regular basis--maybe having the quarterly tax day also be registration day...?

The afternoon was a crit of a selection of all of our images from the photohoot yesterday afternoon. It was wonderful the imagery we had all produced. There were hoots and catcalls from the audience along with captions for each one. The work was pretty amazing and refreshing in the simplicity of the light, the incamera composition and the approach each group took with their models.

When we were out getting lunch, we bought some holiday presents at Pylones, a store I saw in London with tons of color and decorative films laid on everything from toasters and sippy cups, to yoyos, whisks, and brushes, pens and trivets, wallets and key chains. Color galore. Very fun and exciting. I bought things for clients and others...inspiring for all of us who illustrate.

I showed the sketch work I am doing to my thesis advisor who recommended I keep going. Would I consider trying scratchboard? Tinting with watercolor? Tinting with other paint? Work with some figures. It was all good and moving. Positive feedback about the work from him, my mentor and others who were interested in looking at the deck. Now all I have to do is keep going.

HAS: Day Two: NYC/ Brooklyn




We used hopstop to figure out how to get over to the Pratt Institute neighborhood for a day with Ted and Betsy Lewin and the photographer, Bill Kontzias. We were cycled through in groups of 9--with a walk through Pratt, time with Bill with a brief, very brief overview of shooting images and how it relates to art and illustrations, and time with Ted Lewin and Murray doing a series of quick shots using different lighting with classmates as models (with hats). I was reluctant about this and the travel but it turned out to be a wonderful experience on a perfect fall day with the subway being really nice, clean and nonthreatening these days (and I was thanking my stars with my subway time when we lived here to take the fear away). The Lewins were charming and hospitable, opening their beautiful brownstone to us from their basement aparment for Bill K to present his slides to tromping through their house to the tippy top to Ted's studio for the shoot. Betsy took us to Pratt, which was impressive, beautiful, clean and very happy to see their show at the library and then some little side trips to see sculpture she loves, the Italian Courtyard, and the amazing steam plant (can you say the home of steam punk...very "Brazil" with turbines all shiny and red, all sorts of iluminated dials and meters, a wall of some pretty scary, frankensteiny switches all on two levels with a catwalk above which a stupendous, golden light fixture which sang with praise for electricity and power.


Bill Kontzias, a photographer and teacher at Pratt, took us through the development of the use of the camera from camera obsura to the current camera we use today--showing it's influence in art and evolving into illustration. His insights were wonderful and made many of us sad that he couldn't spend more time with us going through the development of the image, the storytelling, the light. His wisdom and knowledge really resonated with me. I love it that he stated the the Lens does the drawing and the light does the painting of the image. He spoke so briefly about the types of shadows on a face...from the butterfly under the nose to something called a loop light, which was used to great artistry in the Mona Lisa--which shifts the shadow from the butterfly shape off to the left or right, and in so doing, focuses the light on the eyes, softens the cheeks, really adds to drawing the face. He waxed eloquently on how Michelangelo really "got it" relative to lighting and perspective which Konzias linked in many of his examples through to the same concepts with Thomas Eakins rowers and the medical class images. He showed us some pretty mind blowing perspective studies that Eakins did (beyond art...) along with pointing out the contour and edge lighting that took Eakins paintings beyond that of normal photographs. He showed us original Eakins study shots, which in their own rights were modern, elegant and for me, more relaxed and "real" than Eakins beautiful but stiff representations of people. One could live in the space that his photos rendered..but maybe not so much in the painting. Kontzias also cited that a camera is a a tool for photographers and illustrators--and that tool was something that could see beyond that the artist could percieve at the time. Just hearing this took the stigma out from working from and with photography. Its been done since Vermeer...so whats all this about cheating and stuff. What a head job was done on me in school. Once again, its the final picture that matters.

It was fun working with Ted and Murray working with a bouncecard and a single source light with a gel on it. Some examples are posted for fun. We had a nice lunch at a Thai restaurant with all 36 or us broken into tables which the nice staff took in stride as we kind of overwhelmed the place...It was really good, affordable and got us charged to get back on the subway to get back to town. We are sitting here in our room with our feet up...talking away, checking mail and seeing what is up. Some of the group are going to see a show, some to the Society for sketching and the two of us who are happy for a bit of nonteam, quiet time.

More later.

HAS: Day One: NYC

Great speakers at the Society, Steve Brodner and Leo and Diane Dillon. The Society looks terrific under the new direction of an old business associate, Anelle Miller who has cleaned the place up, put flowers and decor in the right place, who transformed the womens room into a nice place versus a bad bar and grill restroom. The place seems spotless, with show graphics, illustrations hung straight, and plumb, and with the staff def chop chop. She has transformed the place and really deserves kudos for the hard work in making the society more of a snappy place (the worn holes in the shredded carpet were gone. Yhe big room we were in was comfortable, big and well suited for our lectures in the morning and the crit in the afternoon.

Steve Brodner was as always, salient, smart and insightful. I throughly enjoyed his insight about the recent events. His work is extrodinary, transcending Thomas Nast--with wit and bite that really communicates not only in his print work but now the new "Naked Campaign" videos he has done with the New Yorker Magazine. What really worked for me was his talking about the idea of creating a niche, your own job and then backing into it. He had decided that he was going to take this approach and it has worked from assignments covering political campaigns, to this new venture with the New Yorker. He is entrepenurial in his work--getting it out through the print and electronic media--thinking and learning as he goes. He also shared his approach to work/teaching:
1. Read for Essence
2. Sketch
3. Form a Sentence > establish his metaphor
--whats my statement
--think about staging hierarchy
4. Composition
5. Finish

Every pictures needs to mean something. "There are no casual notes in Mozart." He also is pretty fluid in his use of media from drawing with a paintbrush to pen and ink, to watercolor and so one. His influenced are mainly Steadmann("angst"), and Hirshfield ("elegance"). Brodner is a thought leader beyond his niche. We are lucky to have him walking this planet.

I am so jazzed by Leo and Diane Dillon. I have always loved their work...but what makes them tick, their philosophy and interplay is amazing. They learned to work together out of their competitive nature. The fought and fought until they came up with a working method where one person would work on a sketch and pass it to the other and back and forth until it is realized. Then a tight pencil needs to happen, then a color comp and then a final. The Dillons have three artists in their family> Leo, Diane and then, the third artist, The Dillons. In taking away the ego, the me--as Leo said "You've given yourself away if your style is yourself". Once they have given that up, the media, the rendering, the sheer pride in the final image and it's pristine quality takes a far more significant role. So, we saw woodcuts, we saw crewel work, stained glass windows, wooden panels, paint on acetate, pastels, airbrush. One image more striking than the next with a surprise for me in the woodcuts (one inspired by Will Bradley that really called to me) and in the new children's book on Jazz (very graphic, referencing Tom Purvis to some degree, Milton Avery etc.)that pushes me to try more graphic things too. I know I can do this, I have just held off going there. They also had a body of work centered around crythosethia..making objects up out of other objects. They also are prime great layout guys from not denying gutters in their pictures, to changing borders throughout the book to changing an element like flowers throughout the publication. T hey also like to like mini stories within a children's book with wordless stories that little children can "read" along with the parents. They are the pair I hope to focus on my paper.

Must go to check email> Its been great. I showed my mentor my work...I need to keep going.. need to try hots and cools> and keep making pictures to see where it goes.

Hopefully, we will have indian food tonight with the gals and a few invited boyfriends.

On the bus

Had a nice time with old college friends in town with their twin sons
I'm tow (college tours to see Cornell, Syracuse and Ithaca College).
They were all great, the kids were charmers.And we all had a nice time
with pancakes on the lake, pizza in Tburg and tours of the house and
the Taughnnock falls overlook.

I am packed for NY as well as the bumper trip to Miami. This bumper is
a treat as it is the naming cruise for the first of Celebrity's newest
class of ships, The Solstice. We are going with a contingency from the
Corning Museum of Glass to see the ship live along with witnessing the
newest outpost of hot glass demonstrations ,atop these new ships.

So I have it covered for snow and sun.The week with Hartford should be
fun and not too over the top as frankly I feel a bit rundown and
tired. We will be seeing a top flight group of illustrators from Steve
Brodner, Zina Saunders, Leo and Diane Dillon, Arnold Roth, Peter
deSeve to name a few. There is a crit of our illustrations for Vin
diFate. Wears also going to Brooklyn to have a photography workshop
with Ted and Betsy Lewin. There will be a visit to Illustration House.
We meet at the Society. So it's illustration, illustration,
illustration!

It's tight on the bus with everyone chattering away on their cell
phones--a veritable babelmobile!

More later--

rush rush

Now is the sorting and culling. The. cleaning and picking bits out, sorting the types of things from my bags. One shirt not two. Underwear. Camera and cables. Earphones. Phone and plugins. Done Done Done. Get those rechargeable batteries charged. Minime charged. Do I need this tiny tube of toothpaste? or do I have too few/many pens. Flash drives to drive the universe. It's as if I am going to Patagonia for a lifetime...and not to NYC for 4 days. Jeez...Need to dig out the bag and load in the q-uniform. High quniform, low quinform. Night quinform, day quniform. Umbrella? What kind of coat? Less is more. It will be warmer than I would anticipate. Must make this quick as there are bags to find, laundry to do, money to get and so on. Which color? Black overall, It think. More tomorrow or later today. This is the best I can do.

Unfocused fear


The excitement of the election, the race to the finish has deflated.On to the teams. Poor Obama. He is having to run the marathon at the Olympics before he even has a chance to move his socks into his White House dresser. The foretelling of how bad things are going to get...promises something dire without any fleshing out. I hate the ambiguity of this. Should we be buying flour, rice and oatmeal in 50lb containers and storing canned goods under our beds reminiscent of the provisioning my grandmother (who learned this in the 30s) would do? Should we be plan to lean into it? Should we pay off all of our bills? Should we be stashing cash...which might not be worth anything? There are trickles of how bad its getting. Our school superintendent sent out this note:

Community Forum: School Budgets and the Economic Crisis: What Does it Mean for Tburg?
All members of the Trumansburg community are invited to an open forum on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 7 - 9 PM, in Room 313 of the High School to discuss the impact of the current economic crisis on the Trumansburg Central School budget. The District has begun designing the budget for next year and are seeking advice and creative ideas from the community. With over 50% of Trumansburg's funding coming from the NYS, a freeze or cut, could have a significant impact on the program the District provides to students. The Trumansburg Central School District's Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) is sponsoring and will moderate the forum. Superintendent Paula Hurley will make a brief presentation and other members of the Administration and School Board will be in attendance.

I think I am going to this meeting. At least information is power...versus the scary ambiguity that exists in the ether surrounding the financial doom we are going to live through. We have tightened our belts...but the college money we stashed for K and A has trailed away, our so called retirement the same. Thankfully, we have our morgage and that's it. No other loans. All credit cards up to date. All expenses paid as we go.
So, perhaps the squirreling away of provisions may make me feel better. Or just listen and wait. Be prepared to hear what is put out there...and be prepared to act.

Late nights redoing work I thought was done--but revisiting seems to be important. I am getting some headway, but it seems every step forward has a quarter step back. Will I get through this? Can I keep it going--with haircuts for kids, laundry, something in the fridge, Mandy taken care of, 'walk around' money for when I am not there. And clothes, how to reduce down to just the "vital few" (that's corporate speak for something else)--as you know..love that corporate speak.More left foot, right foot. I need to think positively.

I had some nice chats with K and A individually yesterday. They are my jewels. I love my kids and their good thinking and ideas. A and I went to the store and shopped...his being rational and thinking (versus my opposite behavior) and had nice talks. K came into my room last night (R is gone) and sat on my bed and then crawled in next to me...and talked until late (she stayed up later doing a nice drawing of a mask). Financial change is tough, but I have my jewels...my treasure.

Chad, of the famous Chad Grohman Blog, weighed in with good input on the owl sketch posted yesterday. I am revising the illustration and splicing in an new bottom treatment--for this p.m. I was tweaking the color of the garden sketch(with the monkeys..experimenting with overlap, monkeys etc)--with a different color palette than I normally feel comfortable with. I also tried doing something new with the color of the clouds which I love..seems a bit candy colored...but pretty. Take mental notes...

More later.

future tense


If I weren't enrolled in an illustration program, or possessed by noodling illustrations along the way...this would be on my lists to do. Perhaps an ISDP program in Music?

I guess this is my inner Pittsburgh coming out.


Dropped in the clouds from another piece. The ink drawing was too spare...and needed it. I think they helped. Also,putting my Virginia Lee Burton hat on (particularly evident in her inspiring illustrations for Robin Hood)--I should redraw the field the owl is sitting on...regularizing the ground shape).

New horizon. New Day.


Tears all around. Obama triumphant! This is a paradigm shift. It is beyond just the office of the President in new hands--but one of the dreams of the sixties have been realized. I was pleased that we all behaved like adults, with John McCain being a gentleman in his speechifiying and his concession talk. Perhaps new President Elect Obama can take the rest of the week off, get his head together and get those two dear girls the puppy they were promised. Now, the question is what kind of puppy? A little taupe pug...named Sally (after the former almost Vice President?) that they dress in clothes from fancy department stores. Sarah Palin will be taking her brown paper bags laden with all of her contributions from Saks Fifth Avenue to Salvation Army today. The denim shirt goes back on and she can go back to being the Queen of Alaska. Can you imagine that crown? It was fun getting to know her husband, Willow, Piper, Bay, Trig and Tron(?)--and look forward to how team Palin is getting packaged and repositioned for the next go-round.

Now on to business. Things calming down, a bit. Meeting today about the logo project. Need to get details on the web project....message from the client contact and the technical requirements don't seem to match up. So, a call to the tech guys need to happen. Outputting a bunch of images for a chat with Doug Andersen, my thesis advisor from Hartford. Again, just the prep is educational. I have been feeling like I haven't dont much, but there is a style evolving, and a technical approach evolving. By March, I should be further ahead with more work. Its all been uphill learning...and I have one or two that might be able to be finalized (or final already). I still don't think that there is enough work given the time we have had off...but it is what it is...and with the time between now and March there is ski club weekends, and blocks of time that the Art Trail took up. So, probably by our San Francisco trip, I will have the NY picture (a vector portrait of the Statue>>big big big, and the same of a pigeon or a NYC greek coffee cup, and a John Alcorn inspired image cooking in the cooker). And, I should have at least 3 + finalized images for the thesis. Need to review the thesis paperwork so I can get the less directed work done in advance. Plenty of down time and plane time between now and New Years.

More later

Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University


Holt Architects recently completed the new front office, waiting room and administrative offices for Cornell's Baker Institute for Animal Health --which used a collection of my illustrations output on fabric and sandwiched in plastic-- a product from 3Form (a worthy company with interesting materials for architecture, large and small scale exhibitry or even god forefend, an illustration show). Its a bit less than 6' tall and the detail holds. Holt did a great job of revisioning a very clunky, not well considered space--discretely using color and other materials to create a modest, functional and very stylish place worthy of such a fine institution. Just wanted to share it with you.

New 3x3

I just got the most recent 3x3, cracked open the magazine and found my SPREAD!! Then, on to the web to give you a link>> and dang! Charles Hively posted my sweeter than saccharine picture of a Papillion avec papillons! I am thrilled to bits. From what is shown in the magazine, I definely do not look like little miss country mouse! Wow!

Syracuse Poster Project


I forgot that I have been selected with Don Kilpatrick (SU, ISDP MA, Illustration 2006) to participate in the Syracuse Poster Project. The committee selected two images from my body of work. There are poems written (haiku for my pieces) and then they are produced as posters and as kiosks to promote the arts in Syracuse. You can see more about the project here>>. Don's work is beautiful and poetic. Mine is from my original "slash" illustrations (name coined by John Thompson) with the baseball catcher for our Baseball project and the guy on the stoop for one of my body of New York City images. Got the haiku yesterday and had to flip the mechanicals as they of course need them the week we are away in New York.

Hope

The good thing about having an hour drive to go to the dentist is the opportunity to let your mind wander and think. This is a momentous time. A time that will be pivotal to our future as a nation and a people. After the tragedies, thoughtlessness, and automatonic state we have lived in--many living on financial ruin unknowingly, many living a life without ever having to say no and wait.

We have seen cities trashed by by local, state and national government's inaction and callous disregard. We have been dragged into a cluster of wars without a say--with surges becoming mainstream and the aspect of money, riches and our people never being discussed. Always more, never weighing the options, never truly problem solving...staying on a task that might not be the right one...doggedly worrying it without asking why? or are there other approaches. Not only has the national leadership from the President down to the mouths in the House and Senate but also down to those who deem themselves "right" and those of us who are labeled "unpatriotic" therefore, wrong. We cannot educate our children--nor to those in power, education is something you just do...it just happens and it is not the organic plant that grows and flourishes and brings us all together fostering that ability to ask why? how? or challenge the assumptions. Education gives us the right to state the truth without repercussions. We are told to open wide and gulp when more filth and lies and greed by our leadership is presented as commonplace--with the expectation that we all do as they say, not as they do.

It is a time where we as a people are humilated, poor and embarassed to be Americans. We have been represented by people who have no sense of appropriate behavior, who have taken an imperious stance with the rest of the world that does drive off of listening and collaboration but by a dictatorial command. We are financially beholden to those who hold our extrodinary debt with god knows what sort of unholy promises made to keep those debts in hand. We do not spend money on the things we are good at : ideas, innovation, the future--but that of guns and investment bankers. I am stunned that this so called bail out has still permitted these skanks of bankers and dealmakers to continue to take home the astronomical salaries and bonuses now supported by everyman USA. Does Joe the Plumber understand that? And, is there any plan to regulate in the future? Is there anything that we as co-owners in these establshments have to dictate change inside the business and as a chance to change and teach each other financial health and behavior?

I know this diatribe is unhealthy and frankly, something we all know. But here is something new for me at least. I feel hopeful. Cynical old me, I feel that with this new man, this thoughtful and articulate man, we can ask why. We can engage in a national conversation. I feel that maybe with Mr. Obama, a sense of intelligence and dignity will be assigned to this engaged person to bring respect back to the office of President, and indirectly to our image of ourselves as Americans. I believe we are capable of so much, and the last eight years have suppressed thought, innovation, and excellence for a private agenda of a minority, headed up by a man of clay--a man who believes that Armegeddon is within his reach and his final days prior to being elevated to heaven will realize the word of God. I believe we live those words which can be summed up by the simple phrase " to love thy neighbor", which I believe is the key to many of the issues we have. If only we could reach across and talk with each other, to listen and engage, to share and not demand. Imagine the world we could have. Mr. Obama represents that hope that yes, in 4 years things could be better. I think we should all give him that chance.

Vote tomorrow for the future and for all of us.

Sunday

Its been a whirl since Halloween what with the pumpkins, the lumieres, the overbuying of candy (always afraid to run out) and the this kid is doing this, that kid is doing that...with the week ahead's expectations and deadlines (as expected) expanding and changing that it made this poor girl's head expand and expand and expand. I am finally deflated and can talk again. We have been going getting this person here, that person there, and the chores in between...so we approach the new work week with at least an attempt at trying to stay on keel. R goes to Miami for 3 days. I get out of here Sunday for 10 days...and have as usual, a road block of work with more piled on top (..."here is a website we need immediately, our objectives and raises are all built on the success of the job...")with all sorts of guilt and agendas built upon the brick (or lack thereof) in the thinking. So, I work weekends and nights to get this done when they have had ( lemme think...eleven months! to get this accomplished. Sorry to be so sour, its just that I hate the pressure combined with Christmas crap that still seems to be recycling. Oh, and did I mention, we might have guests? I hope we can move that needle as I do not have the time for them. I am planning on the time R is out of the house to work until midnight to get the work done. The logo (we cannot miss a month, so we need it a month earlier), a new publication, the website "how boutsomething Retro ?" (can anyone out there in the Real World tell me what Retro means...I know what it means to me, which is def. WRONG)??

Need to put my head down. Getting cranky. Have been dreaming about illustration (which is the magic these programs give you..the ability to go into pre- REM thinking about lines and weight, sketching pictures in your head, progressions, ideas, influences...a really wonderful pink cloud to float on when this real stuff gets, well...

too real.

The photograph bought on eBay by Zeke Schein, who believes it depicts Robert Johnson, left, and fellow bluesman Johnny Shines. © 2007 Claud Johnson.
ps. Read the new Vanity Fair's article on Robert Johnson, the inspiration of the book by Gary Kelley, Black Cat Bone and book, Me + the Devil by Scott Bakal. It's an interesting tale of the acquisition of an image from ebay that is thought to be the third recognized image of Johnson. There is a lot of history and his story to make Kelley's and Bakal's work resonate with history, music and the grounding that Johnson provided to today's musicians. Take a look.

IF: Vacant [gaze]


Memento Mori moment: October 31, 2008:

Everyone Tarrou set eyes on had that vacant gaze, and was visibly suffering from the complete break with all that life had meant to him. And since they could not be thinking of their death all the time, they thought of nothing... “For really to think about someone means thinking about that person every minute of the day, without letting one’s thoughts be diverted by anything; by meals, by a fly that settles on someone’s cheek, by household duties, or by a sudden itch somewhere. But there are always flies and itches. That’s why life is difficult to live.”

Albert Camus (1913–1960)
Algerian-born French journalist, writer.
Tarrou, in The Plague,
part 4, ch. 5, p. 197, trans. by Stuart Gilbert
Penguin Modern Classics (1948).