Work in progress

Making honey from past mistakes, work in progress, Q. Cassetti, 2010Last night, as I was sleeping,
I dreamt a marvelous error;
That I had a beehive here inside my heart.
And the golden bees were making white combs
And sweet honey from my past mistakes.

-Antonio Machado

<<Illustration is a work in progress...not completed. I just wanted to see it/ share with you albeit incomplete.

I havent writting in a while as I have had a backlog of work to do...and finally, just finally I have crashed through all of that and I can sit back for a second before launching into the new pile of paying work and personal projects.

The Yearbook has gone to press. I love it when I can learn new things about software, design tricks to make more silk purses out of sows ears, and the figuring it out and surprising oneself when you use the tools and DO Figure it out. It turned out to be 135 pages of images out the ears (all submitted to me as RGB files that needed to be converted). I raided my own picture archive as well as hopping from facebook page to facebook page asking my new HS friends If I could use their images of prom, hanging out etc.and they all to a one were lovely and approved my request. This little exercise really pointed up how good cropping can make a photograph (even a bad one) and how the energy behind a school happens with photography, but not with the yearbook staff. This integration of resources (excited photographers, new media, photoshop and the Lulu book company) is where the real zing happens. And, with a bit of trepidation from former experiences, I was expecting to spend a ton of time futzing with the pdfs to make them right. Lulu got in front of that since my last big publishing, and created an add to InDesign and Acrobat with all their presets easy to access for the final pdf. So that was a snap. And despite my files being huge and having to learn how to use their recommended ftp program...it all went without a hitch. And...I saved the color pdf 3 times and saved one out entirely as a decolored pdf for the black and white (figured that one out) as well as enlarged the book for the softbound black and white (all within Adobe Acrobat in the advanced features!). I ordered 155 color hardbound books, 55 hardbound  black and white books and 35 black and white softbound books. And if we want to order more, no problem. I placed the order around 3 on Thursday and by 3 on Friday, the softbound black and white was finished and shipping. Where is the problem here? !

Kitty and Alex are on the Delaware River on a paddling trip. The weather has been like summer so I hope even if they take a splash, it will remain a fun trip for them. Rob and I had a fun night visiting at the Pourhouse. Bruce comes in today for two weeks. We are having some fun folks over to talk about their projects and ideas. Tomorrow we have Preston Frank and Zydeco dancing in the afternoon. Maybe some cooking. The bone processing has reached another level. Maybe make soup to take a chunk out of inventory.

Need to go. Projects to do, people to see.

 

no sugar here.

Wayne Thiebaud inspiration, Q. Cassetti, 2010Cold day. Still trying to catch up...but seeing the end of some of the projects. I have posted some cakes I took pictures of at Totino's Cafe in Horseheads...As you know, I love taking pictures of cakes whenever they are good as I would love to make a body of cake art inspired by Wayne Thiebauld, a San Francisco painter who is a fresh kick in the booty every time I see his work.

It was Rob's birthday: day two last night. We had a quiet dinner with Ron and Mary..with lots of talk around the prom and medical issues in the family. Love medical issue talk. Makes the sauerkraut so sweet.

Tomorrow is dancing. I got a brand new, used and broken in pair of black cowboy boots for dancing ( from our new and wonderful store, Funky Finds, here in Tburg) for only  $30. Surprisingly, I find them more comfortable than anticipated. Our last class is tomorrow, and then our graduation is at Oasis at the end of the month with Preston Frank. Should be fun. We are all going (kids too).

Friday, Kitty and Alex leave early to go on the weekend Outdoors Club trip to the Delaware Watergap with some whitewater canoeing. Alex had a wonderful time last year...and is looking forward to the trip. Kitty has decided that this is the trip she would prefer to going on the Senior Class Trip which is a few days at Hershey Park--which, I can't blame her. Snooze Fest.

Had a great meeting with Peter Flynn at the Hangar. The doings are very exciting there...and the fall season from his detailing sounds wonderful and very spirited programming. I wll be helping them with the graphics for that program as well. Some portraits/ some strong graphics. Need to move on that sooner than later. We will need to jumpstart the year to get the theatre working on a more regular schedule with a better handle on the scope of publications and print they produce over the course of the year.

Two nice things:  My Bee work was selected to be on the highlight list at Behance  or here>> Another one is that the poster I did for Bunch for The Star of Bethnell Green (in November 2009) will be in a show from May 25-28, 2010 at the Red Gallery, 1-3 Rivington Street, London. Now, I am an international me! Wahoo!

EOD Monday

Yukako and Rebecca's corsages from Vine Garden Florists, Q. Cassetti, 2010Phew. A moment to myself. Sorry I have not been chatty recently, but I have been busy making memories like the memory fairy that I am. Friday was work and then down and back to Horseheads to pick up the complete James Bond outfit from Mens Warehouse (talk about an operation) to Saturday with shuttling for hair, corsages and then the finishing and prepping the pre prom dinner for eight (the foreign exchange students, their dates (one being Kitty) and another couple.

Alex was all figured out by his prom date, so we cut strawberries and got him tied and buttoned, and of course, photographed for the big event. Vine Garden Florists did a wonderful job with the flowers down to how they were distributed-- in a glorious grid that allowed Kitty and me to oogle and awe over who got what and what color was the dress>? After the beauty parlour buzzing with proms and weddings (complete with Champagne set up for the members of the party) our heads were awhirl with glamour and glitz and fabulousity that put our meager little party to shame. But wait, we didnt know about the cars.

Alex went off to a show stopping picnic by a waterfall...and a wonderful time. Kitty had the foreign exchange students and their dates (she was a date) and two more for dinner provided by the staff (read Mr. and Mrs. Cassetti, we know how to serve). We had a ton of pictures that I bossed them into giving me..., we had food and fun, multiple desserts and then the Rotary sent a member's antique cars over to take the tribe to the prom. Lets just  say that was the cherry on the top of the sundae. Everyone came home safe and sound with Alex winning a door prize. A computer? No. A clock radio? No. A gift certificate? No..... A paperback Bible! If one were to read anything into it...what could one surmise? I have many answers to this that I will not bore you with...but its all pretty funny.

Sunday, I  had my hour interview with Jackie Merwin on the Bohemian Potluck Show on WVBR (93.5 fM) about my engagement in the local music scene. I made a bunch of prompt cards (thank goodness) and  after Shady Grove activated the alarm system in the minivan waiting for me...she was then allowed to sit on my feet which settled both of us down and from what the boss said, I did a good job. So...onward. First radio interview, done. Bring on the next. I was amazed at how easy it was...and how I didnt ummm and ahhh my time away. After that, we celebrated Rob's Bday by splitting a sandwich at Shortstop and then driving down to Horseheads to return the James Bond costume (and not ringing up extra charges) and home to pick up the sleepy teens to go to dinner to cheer on Rob for another year! We went over to StoneCat and had a great time seeing friends in crowd and having a moment to talk with the amazing Scott Signori who we all are tremendous fans of not just his cooking but his total adorability and spirit-- which is another affirmation we are living in heaven on earth.

More tomorrow. My bee book awaits.

Charles O. Dickerson Prom Highlights From Two Camp Streeet, May 15, 2010 I will catch up with you later. It has been back to back since Friday and just need to catch up with the catch up. Tomorrow is an exciting new day!

05.13.2010 @ 9:26 pm

Its sick, I know it...but the crunch of all the "yes, no problem" volunteer work which, as expected all hit, late...has been fun. Breathless, but fun. I have had a real bonding with InDesign ...learning all sorts of new things-- like how to turn the artboards around, how to use the secondary guides etc. It has been, albeit under pressure, quite rewarding personally. The end is in sight. I have tapped Kitty and her friends for really good photography. I have made friends with strangers over Facebook to get images, to get information and to network for this publication. It truly is a brave new world of accessable content, content that to many of the providers has no value until an editor (read, me) sees a place for it and then, kaboom, value. Take that to another/higher level and think of the future opportunities. And for that, I am grateful and introspective. I need to stew on this for a while before I can be salient and distill down the "key learnings' (one of my favorite corporate phrases) and be able to articulate them with out edge. It was chilly today...fleeces and wool shirts...but still promising to be spring without the snowflakes and hail of last week. The Regional has a lovely sale of things from granola basics like dried blueberries, raisins, dried cherries, dried cranberries, and organic raw sunflower seeds (5 lbs for $5.) to nice oil, cheese "orphans" to the more exotic. We had haircuts by Thea (and good ones!) for prom in the kitchen of all the guys we know. Tomorrow its the dinner jacket pick up, the patty shell bake off, the shortbread making, and strawberry mascerating for the multiple entertainments in the near future. I have started another bee book from an insect vantage point that is as rich and chewy as Robbing the Bees by Holley Bailey. More pix and more stuff to come. Need to turn in as the dancing the Mamou last night has definitely taken me to another place.

40 and chance of showers.

Spring Iris Bed, Q. Cassetti, 2010Another pedal to the metal day. I am seeing the end of the yearbook...its in sight. I have been scrounging pictures from Kitty and her friends on Facebook, digging into my own mom archives and seeing what the team has...so its editorial pressure along with retouching (even lightly) the images to take them from RGB to CMYK, adjust the resolution to work etc. Lots of color correction with basketball imagery (can you say grainy and yellow?). Ah well. The end is in sight. Forgive me, this has been my spare time recently, so the addage about "all work and no play ...." pertains very much to this gal. Dull Girl to say the least.

We shopped at Sauders on Saturday and then prepped Kitty's birthday (from the notes below). Sunday, we took Alex to Elmira to rent a dinner jacket for the prom this Saturday. He was very specific...no colored tie, no colored vest, no spectator patent leather shoes, no no no. He has been watching James Bond and talking randomly about "gentlemen's sports" so he was direct to the poor clueless gal waiting on us who "knows" what "good" is and that we had definitely gone off the tracks on this one. White shawl collar dinner jacket, black pants, black tie, standup collar, pleated shirt, silver accessories, black shoes. Not sure about the cummerbund, but that is part of the package (which I think is hilarious as the only thing you can keep are the socks)...but its top of the head to the tips of your toes all in one rental package. And, I am sure if you want a hat, a cane or whatever else in the pimpin' mode, the rental company would be more than happy to oblige. While he was being measured, Kitty and I went to gawk at the bridal store next door to our amusement. Then it was back to the office with Rob going to the concert at the Rongo for Mother's Day and I yearbooked. I did take a little break to cut up bars of Irish Spring soap and wrap them in old onion bags and hang them from my new apple trees (who are thriving). Take that deer! The big fat peony buds are on the edge of popping and the lilacs are out.

Rob's Birthday is this Sunday. Prom is Saturday with lots of rushing around having to do with hair and clothes and flowers. I am having the foreign exchange students and their dates (one being Kitty) for dinner prior to the prom. We should have a little family gathering for Rob and I need to dive on the present while I have time. I know what I want to do...I just have to do it.

Alex is down for breakfast, so I need to go say hi and stop playing hooky. Hope to send you a little cheer later today, if I can.

 

The party continues. Someone is playing the offkey piano (we have two...one that has suffered, and one that came with the house)...a group is watching junky tv. and the other group is yakking it up in the summer living room. The hot chocolate chip cookies have vanished. There are some interesting pairings going on.

Poor Rob is asleep on his feet. The build was plenty for this poor guy.

I am scrounging for pix. Might you have pictures of homecoming or Mr. Trumansburg?

 

Breathe

Yesterday sped by--a blur. Work, then a few hours with Kitty and a friend getting makeup at Clinique, shopping at Target and TJMaxx (particularly the red tag markdowns). Then, off to the Pourhouse to meet Rob and find a little grownup time. This morning it was Sauders, our Mennonite Market in Seneca Falls to fill the cart with granola makings, smoked pork chops and stawberries to wing our way home as quickly as I could to say hi to Rob and Alex. They were working on the community build of our new and very glamourous farmers market. (Pictures to the left). There were a load of people there with hammers and tapes-- a veritable barn raising for Trumansburg. This is where Trumansburg Shines...when people give of their time and efforts to build something better.

We got home to arrange the piles of sparkly candy for Kitty and Thea's birthday party which has just started and will be going until 10. We have games (Apples to Apples, Cranium, Twister), we have chips and now I have to buy the pizza. I have a Pizza Rustica in the oven just in case...and the kids keep creeping into the kitchen to steal a bit of the new granola I just pulled out of the oven. Now its time to order the pizzas.

Tomorrow its more yearbook. Its shaping up...I have 96 of the projected 140 pps done and finished. Missing a tiny bit of copy, but its on the up side.

Must go. The natives are getting restless. Shrieking teens.

Greenery abounds

Mother's Day for Peace, Q. Cassetti, 2010, mixed mediaWe went zydeco dancing last night at the City Health Club with the whole tribe and had a good time. Margery Pask, a very energetic and positive teacher got us to do all sorts of things...and with the music and mess of people, it was fun fun fun. We have two more classes and then our graduation at Oasis, a dance club, with Walter Mouton leading the bill. So, immediate payout once we learn the basics. Kitty and Alex were right along with us. More to come. I will have to get used to following better.

Today is Kitty's eighteenth birthday. I know I will sound like an old fart by saying this, but my, my my...how the time has flown. Birthdays are for parents to remember and for the children to look forward. The icing on my cake started this whole new adventure as parents and formers of a small person, old soul, who needed to be channeled and pushed, encouraged and praised and now we have the fruits of our happy efforts in this wonderful person I am so pleased and delighted to say is a member of my immediate family. It was so nice to see the good chemistry that our girl has with her brother. Her happy spirit and lithe form dancing about in front of the mirrors of the practice room--twirling and happy, filled with joy in being with others, doing something new and dancing. It was a glittering moment when she joined us on this spinning orb, and she sparkles as she leads us all in laughter, discovery and action. I am once again, blessed by her presence in my life.

Again, I write before breakfast tour begins. The work still piles up...but I seem to be getting a good hold on it and seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Tonight is a dinner for family for Kitty. I have some marinating to do for something on the grill. I have a pickup of some yummies at the Regional (40lbs of organic chicken thighs for around $1.70 a lb. and two cases of pesto). Tomorrow morning we go back to the Amish to pick up flowers for the house and giving.  So onward. Illustration can rebegin soon.

Under a rock

I have gone silent. Totally silent. There is just too much on my plate to do anything but focus in a breathless, almost manic way on moving forward on all the work and still manage to keep all the gears moving in a positive direction. I am squeezing a little note in to you between the wakeup call and the breakfast call which is immanent. Then there is the driving and then back to the desk with more work. I havent forgotten you. We visited the Munson Road Amish yesterday before work to see their plant stock and assess what we would like. I bought 4 leggy, lacy lavender, some mint and some nicotiana (all plants our deer friends despise). The selection was great as well as the fresh asparagus from their field...so it was a good respite for the work. Today, we start our dancing lessons at 7:30. The whole tribe> zydeco dancing. I hope its fun. Kitty's birthday (18) is tomorrow. We have the neighbors for dinner and then a bigger kid event on Saturday evening. I hear footsteps...Later>>

little bit.

Got the Mother's Day posters done. Got the Hangar corrections in and ready to roll in InDesign. Clocked down some smaller stuff like postcards, and logo investigation (kind of a little hierarchy thing). Need to do the Illustration Directory ad tomorrow along with the Hangar changes. Then, a day or two on the Yearbook as I am beginning to get twitchy about getting this stuff done and keep up with what the team throws at me. Need to get back to the bees. I have recolored one of the Bee Goddess again...and am getting into a palette groove for this grouping and need to work on queens, groups, families, and the midnight inspired "BeeBomb/ Bee Balm" idea. The concept of hives thrown at the enemy and the Monarda flower is a nice juxtaposition. Plus, there is an amazing quote from the LL. Langsroth book that I love. So, as soon as I get over this glut of volunteerism and two birthdays, I will roll back in. It was snowing yesterday and rainy today. But so nice and cool to allow the grass to green up plushy and thick. I really need to get into the flower bed and dig out the monarda as it could use some thinning and in the world of deer, more monarda is def. better. I hear R. is home. Need to fire up the Grill. Cornell chicken tonight!

In the chair

Waiting in the chair at Satori, the hairspa experience. Quiet, happy buzz and I have coffee and a bit of time for you. We are quiet as all the guests have flown-- and the play has finished-- so we can roll to the next round of plans for Kitty and Rob's birthdays, our new class on Wednesday to learn to zydeco dance (the whole crew-- kids and all) and the community build at the Tburg farmers market.

I have been asked to be interviewed by Jackie Merwin in her May 16 th "Bohemian Potluck" radio show. We are going to talk about my work that I have done with local musicians-- illustration, design and the like.Should be interesting-- about 20 minutes of talk and 20 minutes of music. I should get her the Carol Elizabeth Jones CD as she is part of the mix and connected to the bubble of old time musicians here. The Chokers are playing at Grassroots-- need to think about a possible poster--something limited edition and the "gotta steal" poster of the season. Hmmmm.

So the cast party was great on Saturday. Adorable kids who seemed to have a good time-- and ate everything but 15 baked potatoes which have been chopped and reconfigured into soup (Alton Brown has an amazing recipe that R proclaimed that you would pay for in a restaurant!). I will link later today... Here comes the beauty..... Must go!

Woodstock and Sally looking for Woodstock's girlfriend, the wormPhew. Got the Hangar Theatre work in hand. A few more hours on the posters and brochures and I think we will have it in the can. I got a sheet with their palette and logo iterations which is good (albeit after the fact) and feel that some heavy duty templating of this work will make it run more smoothly, drive a more consistent image and make a better impression which to my thinking is pretty amateur right now. There has been some tremendous work done in the past, but it hasnt been managed and those tools need to be put in place. Plus, with the amount that they ask of local businesses and individuals, the plea for valued volunteers should be part of every publication. If you get the volunteers, you will get donations and all the rest as your audience will have more skin in the game than just ticket purchase. Just a thought.

Night two of the play was good. The afterparty at the Woodland Roadhouse couldnt have worked out better. Everyone ate, had fun and took pictures of each other. Now, we are up an at em for a trip to Sauders for the Baked Potatoes and bagels tonight as well as the boys will be heading to Geneva to have Alex's new bike realigned to fit him. I must run off,but will log in later to say Hi.

Smorgasbord

Kitty Dancing by Emily Pratt, 2010The picture to the left sums up spring here in Tburg. There are plays and dances accompanied by parties and gatherings, music and food. The flowers are on the grow with the peony's red stems pushing up and exploding. The tree peonies have ripe big buds that will be the hargingers for the herbaceous ones.

We went to the Rongo to hear Toivo last night. Toivo was wonderful and the crowd was filled with all sorts of interesting and interested people that I loved catching up with. More talk on local food, local grain and local cuilinary opportunities.  Turns out that Peter Hoover has a hundred apple trees and leases bee hives for pollination and ten pounds of honey. He told me about how is managing these frosty evenings with electric fans pointed at the trees, keeping the air moving so that the buds do not freeze. He voiced some concern around the frosts and the cherry harvest this July as there may not be the quantities. He told us about his time in Venezuela engaged in the music and culture and his return trip a few years ago. It was great having a chance to visit with a local treasure.

I was told another sad piece of news. It recently surfaced that there is a hundred year law that has been put back into action that there cannot be chickens in the Village of Trumansburg. I thought that might be a fun thing to do as we have friends and family that have chickens and they have been selling me on the idea of trying it. I figured we could hide them in the back forty...but now....I wonder what they would think of llamas?

Then we went to the Pourhouse for dinner to hear the Grady Girls playing wonderful, lively irish music with friends and family of the girls dancing and beaming over their music and performance. Very happy and happy making. More wonderful people to talk to and catch up with. Its fun to have a crowd here because wherever we go, we bring the party with us and are able to introduce our friends to the wider world.

A less taxing alternative to slow dancing, Emily Pratt, 2010 (note: Alex C. is wearing the red shoes)Tonight is the first night of the HS play, "Snoopy!". Alex is very concerned about the vestiges of eye makeup so is always peering into a mirror or a dark piece of glass to see whether it is gone or not. Both Kitty and Alex were all dressed up (honoring the first day of the play) this morning with a bounce in their step and I hope a song in their heart. We will have performances today, tomorrow and Saturday. Friday night I am the mom in charge for a gathering at the Woodland Road House for after the play. And Saturday is the cast party here chez Camp which I have concluded will be baked potatoes for everyone along with drinks and maybe yogurt and granola in little cups. Simple, healthy and hot carbos for energetic people. Need to make my Sauders list immediately.

Got a zillion small things done yesterday. The iPhone art has morphed to gen2 iPad cover instead. Andy Howell, the art director cropped the illustration (which looks pretty cool) and I will re-jigger the final for him this a.m. I am hopeful that this might get noticed and sold. And, I love the idea of wrapping an iPad which is a bigger canvas for my work. Two things for the Museum iPad sketchyesterday.

Designed another series of buttons for the iPhone/Blackberry for an app. my healthcare client is doing. As an aside, if you need to do something like this or even sketch this sort of thing, I found this wonderful, wonderful template online along with this step by step article on development (complete with GUI templates in photoshop and illustrator for design) These tools made generating a series of icons a snap--as there were a series of back and forths that could have been less simple if I had not had this tool in layers to click new images into new layers and save. Easy> therefore, higher fun factor.  So, I am kind of cranked up about this. Pretty exciting. Stefan has a good idea for an app that maybe we will need to figure out when we have a spare moment after I get his work done.---

I want to send out for more postcards and a sticker for Hodge Podge Lodge for our granola bags today. i am going to use Printograph as their prices (and quality) is excellent--and if I keep going there, I will be eligible for their brokers' pricing which I can then use for my clients. That would be very sweet.

Onwards.