Regionals were today.

From the Sketchbook Project. Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpie and prismaWe had the team last night for about five pounds of pasta with pesto and cherry tomatoes, a salad and two full loaves of bread. It helped, but given a very cold, wet day…they were beaten slightly by Newark Valley and came in second (to their chagrin). So, no trips to the States for this crew, but second place for regionals isnt anything to sneeze at. Next stop, the team dinner Saturday night. What to cook. I need to make something nice for tonight as I am sure my boys will be starving.

Spent two and a half hours in a rather mind numbing CSE (Committee for Special Education) meeting at the school this morning. Long long long and complicated. All of this is so interesting…how people learn and the environment, the teaching, the reinforcement, the way people are encouraged and in other situations, managed or reprimanded.  There is no right way to teach, to learn…and the schools often take what works for the norm/ for most…and it becomes the way things happen. No kid is the same, and when a kid doesnt fit within the range or standard of learning, this is when we come to play. So, I am learning a lot about the interplay of sociology, psychology, physical therapy, special accomodations, one on one work, and tools to create a good environment for kids to learn…and there are many.

More branding with my big client. We reviewed color (pressproofing all the colors) and tints and I hope/think we have a palette we can live with. We have a font. We have an understanding on how this new look and feel might begin to play itself out. We have a start of the image type/photography type. So…its left foot, right foot…and we will see what will happen over the course of the next few months. Then, we will help to roll it further. Had a nice call with Edible Finger Lakes. Will need to get an image together for their Winter pub…and will do that tomorrow. I am thinking the coziness of home (home sweet home) might be the one…Need to lay that out tomorrow.

The cats are yowling. Time to make dinner.

 

late afternoon

More holiday fun. Am a bit worried about getting these done in time for Thanksgiving. It going to be a push…so I have been running full bore at this. This cat looks okay in black and grey…but odd in brown and orange which was the initial approach. Ah well.

Rob got home safe and sound late last night after the election t.v. gorge of CNN and the like with the amazingly vacuous conversations and discussions, the emptyheaded approach to lots and lots of moving graphics, countdown clocks, slider bars with percentages, and the horse betting approach to who won the race the moment the polls closed with around 2% of the votes in. I was dumbfounded that this carnival with women in brilliant red jackets and lipsticks, other less brilliant but more opinionated looking as if they were missing a few nights sleep. Then, the pompous know it all talk from the tea-partiers, from the new leader of the House and its business as usual. I wish to heaven we could get out of our own way and really see, and solve the problems at hand versus continuing the circle dance that keeps happening in Washington. Its all anticipating and guessing. It was all talking heads with all sorts of know it all schmarty pants crap. I find it amusing but highly irritating as the real issues are glossed over, one more time. Oy.

Tonight we have the top seven xc runners for a carbofest (pasta with pesto, bread, salad…maybe some sort of baked thing if I can get my booty in gear to do that). Rob brought goodies back for the boys from the fab Rockmount Ranch store— so maybe a fashion show from Alex and Rob for them to decide which shirt they want to keep.

Gotta go. New projects popping up as we speak. oy.

Moving stuff off the top of the pile.

sketch in process for Hangar season, Q,Cassetti, 2010Working, as you can see on putting some work out there for the next season of the Hangar posters. I have a new point of view on these babies given the fall imagery that was generated for their Cabaretc programming. To be honest, it was a bit shocking to go from my work which I spent a lot of time on to elevate the imagery of the institution to something that was sophomoric, less than excellent and frankly suboptimal. It really put me right in my place and made me realize that the difference between excellent and less so was not really understood. So, I figure before I wrack my brain for perfection, I will cull from existing work and only do new when I don’t have anything in the files. This is the first go at some of the work that exists prior to designing the other 3 images.

Nice phone call with a possible new client from NYC. Might be another local foods products company (needing a chicken, a cow, a map and a few hand-drawn landscapes). Illustrations will be essentially the brand… and not a big rush. So, despite the fact that the money isn’t great, there is cash there and it will hopefully give me a nice new contact. I loved my contact….a smart sweetheart of a guy. We will see.

Got the go ahead on what a happy cat looks like. Sent my client four cats and asked them which cat was happy. The one to the right was the cat selected. The editorial from the big Vet was very cute and funny giving editorial on the cats I picked.

Have been whaling away with the sharpies in the new green notebook. Today is purple…a red purple from a few days of blue pens. Am loving these colors on the cream paper. Hand of God prevails. I am using the word FACET in the images to speak to making and creating. To me, The Hand of God is FACET or CREO (to create) or FACIO (to make). Love these odd mystery words plunked in the images. My sheer mistake, I made a fairly odd border of birds..(assymetrical) and have added type. All new for this cat right now.

new week

Sketchbook Project 10/24/2010, Q. Cassetti, sharpies.Today is the Hand of God Day. The power of the creative force. The power of the maker and the destroyer. The giver and taker of life….symbolized by the hand. Could be an interesting chapter to the sketchbook project. I love egyptian and indian hands…fifties hands…so this will give me a shot at making pix like this.

The image to the right is from the Sketchbook Project just as another blip and nod to the moving hand, the automatic writing going on.

I made some chicken stock yesterday and really took it easy with some downloading and filing of photographs. I really couldnt function. My head was spinning from the details and work of the week. I really couldnt get charged up about making Halloween happen, so I didn’t. It was miserable and snowing in spurts, and Rob was kind enough to let me off the hook.So we visited with Ron and Mary while Rob popped corn and  charged up the wood cookstove in the kitchen to make things cozier and warm. We kept the lights out of the main house (which can be threatening and scary). So, halloween was peaceful for us. Alex went off to friends for a huge bonfire (he proudly told me this morning that there was a wooden jungle gym crowning the top of this pile..!) which thankfully I didn’t know about or I would have been in a tizzy. But, he came home safe and sound demanding the opportunity to watch zombie movies (yuck) and eat pasta with basil pesto.

Rob is off to Denver today/tomorrow. Alex has state trials for Cross Country this week. I have lots of project work to do along with running here and there for the business. It is welcome to November, and there is lots of stuff to do around the holidays, cards, presents, etc. Not only for me and my business, but for my clients too. Oy. Getting nuts around that. Put it on the list!

 

Sunday

From the Sketchbook Project, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpie and prismaIts been a quick weekend without much to point to to say “Facet”(latin for making something, accomplishing something). I must admit, I am pretty exhausted and wrung out, so that I am not much interested in anything but sleep and pushing a pen around making dumb pictures.

I got the sketchbook in the mail on Friday (done) and have started another one just to see what evolves. The sheer speed of making pictures that you cannot tear out and modify to make presentable is great. Plus the making of lines has been fun. New book: no tear outs, just sharpies, work fast, date the work. Lets see what evolves. Something will…I have to have faith in that.

Saw the great one act plays at the High School yesterday. Nice, very cute. The best one was centered around monkeys locked in a room with typewriters writing Hamlet. Very cute premise, very cute acting job. Wonderfully leggy, limber Jake P and Nick S. were fabulous as simians…ones that smoked cigarettes and spouted philosopy.

Alex and I joined Bruce and Rob at the Pourhouse for sandwiches and mingling with more neighbors. It was nice. We got home later to find Alex and his friends Alec and Jacob here to play video games and hang out. It has been nice for him to have these brothers to gather with.

Rob goes off to Denver and back tomorrow. I have endless phonecalls with my big client. I hope there will be a chance to enter more images in the SILA show. SOI is done. I wonder when CA is? I also think I may enter some logotypes into CA design to see if I can get them published too. I need to double duty these things with type. Speaking of my business….I am going to morph the public name of my business to Q. or Q. Cassetti (with the legal name staying Luckystone Partners) as my brand really is wrapped up with me and my work. With that, I am going to either pick up the “chop” of the Q that I already have…or work on a dagger Q. (you will see)…as a chop. When people call us, its that they are calling me and what I can bring to the table…so why skirt it? Right? This just hatched after talking to the Edible Finger Lakes people… and figuring that out. They came to me for my work. Same with the Hangar…and so on.

Thats it for today. Need to fire on different ships now.

Thursday morning

Creatures, Q. Cassetti, sharpies, 2010Finished up the sketchbook yesterday. All the scans are done. I output a cover with a typographic identifier and double spraymented the cover on the book. So, its done and ready to ship. Exciting. Once The Brooklyn Art Library has the book, then my link on their page actives and I can see the traffic. I hope there can be input too? In 2011, the books go on tour. Fun.

I am so taken with the sharpies and this nice cream paper—that I have started another book now with rules and regulations. No tear outs. Only sharpies and prismas. Deal with the showthrough. Date the work. Work Fast. That’s it. So, you will  see more of this sort of thing for a while. Nothing too finished but quantity may explode a bit. Working in a faux woodcut mode…fun.

Finished up a bunch of small stuff yesterday so I can work on the Feline and Baker today to keep them up to speed. The holidays are breathing down our necks…and I am a bit nervous…so need to get this done. Client isnt worked up about this…but I am. So, I need to get another cat going along with a shot list for the two annuals. I hope the picture I have picked is a happier cat than the grumpmeister I submitted before. The dog is good to go. Gotta call Pioneer today to take the production idea further. The idea is either to go letterpress overall or do a litho job and go in with the black (as an alternative printer) as a matte foil stamp…to give us a bit of umph with the cotton stock. Sweetness.

Also have a new job coming up with Ithaca College for their summer program. Poster…and postcard. Need to start honchoing this as it will need to be in the mail over the December break to show up in the students’ homes so that mom and dad can talk about summer programs with junior.

Am picking up a case of freerange chicken (bone in breasts) along with that of basil pesto I ordered last week. Will need to break out the bags and make little collections of 4-6 breasts per bag for the freezer. I was wondering what was for dinner. Sounds like chicken!

Bus tickets for Kitty’s return over Thanksgiving is on the schedule. Done and done. Need to call Kitty this p.m.to go through the plans.

Gotta go.

 

 

Relook

Sketchbook Project 10/23.2010, Q. Cassetti, pale blue sharpie.I dont know if Denver can happen. There is too much going on with my big client.. premeetings for pre meetings before a big meeting. What to present? What is the point of the meeting? What wants to be represented? What’s the takeaway? And I find that I am having some value during those meetings being a bit harsh…a nice counter to my nice client. But, after doing some research, Denver is so appealing just to eat barbeque and mexican and shop for snap shirts (want to do that with Alex Cassetti)…and maybe see a rodeo or something along that line. Love it.

The blue skull on cream is pretty. Love the color. Love doing single color work on cream as it changes the black and white dynamic. Sweetens it. Anyway…two more drawings and the notebook is done….all I will need to do is paint the cover…pentel black on beige with maybe the new coconut beige to deepen some of the line work.

Just spoke to Pioneer Printing about letterpress vs. stamping the Cornell holiday cards. They could be way sweet. Joe Seppi and i are in love with the same printing stuff…so the production of these babies could be beautiful. Will need to redo the cat card…to make it less grumpy. He just delivered a nice clean job on Kraft paper card for Ithaca College…Service is excellent. Price is excellent. I am thrilled to pieces.

Today is a brilliant day on the plateau. Seems that we are on the edge of the massive storm coming east…I hope we are holding tight on the tree front. These big storms are a worry for me as it tests the success of how we have been maintaining our trees, our big old trees…and if we have missed ones that may have seemingly been healthy, but turned out to have structural flaws. Remember this storm? It literally uprooted this enormous pine tree on the lake three years ago. Looked like a bomb went off. These beautiful big trees…you never know.

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).

Star magic.

Sketchbook Project 10/20/2010. Q. Cassetto. sharpie and prismaLive from the sketchbook project. I have a few more pages and then I have the cover to fiddle with…and then zip zap in the mail. I stopped by Michaels to see if they had a marigold pen (or even something in the marigold zone) to no result. But oh my. The scrapbooking stuff is amazing. Glitter pens, paint pens, stick on this and thats, papers, cricket cutters, edge trimmers and punches. More crap than anyone needs. Matter of fact, to do a sketchbook as a scrapbook from the craft store would be fun…with all the junque, jewels, ribbons and pins…with puffy paint etc. Wowza. And sheer discipline kept my hands off these things. Who needs it. I should use up all the other sharpies before I do more…. There’s the new thinking. Use up the whole package. Nothing other than that…no adds…and when the color runs out…you keep to what is left….hmmm.

I am going to stick with the small sized book for now. I like the quick page drawings. Not really as refined as before, but I am working out ideas quicker…and then it is ready for a final versus the sketch being the final as many of the ink work goes…. We’ll see. The ink is flowing again, and I am going “automatic writing” mode to see what engages.

Need to get the rest of the SOI work in the mail. Deadline 11/15. Met with the Vet School today. Good meeting. We talked about cat’s faces: happy faces, sad faces, what the right face is…isnt. Cuddly wuddly, or attitudinal. Dogs are so much easier to gauge as the cats have owners who are so invested in what they love about their cats etc. The holiday card for the dog is good. Cat is not good— not happiness—too grumpy. Reason to go at it again.

I got a ticket for a padiddle on Friday night going to get baking powder (I mean, how often does one run out of baking powder)…and got pulled over for one headlight working. This is the same headlight I had checked a week ago. So, back again today…and the guys wiggled the lights, and said there were no issues. Right. But we are doing a less quick fix…and getting the parts to replace the wiggliness. Got the doctor to sign off on the car…and the paperwork back to the Ulysses Town Court Officer….so I am not going to jail, at least this week.

Don’t you love Kitty’s video? I LOVE it. It is so her. It is so gentle and kind…a valentine that dances like she does. I am so proud. I have to admit it…but she is doing so well. I hope its all moving forward on all fronts…as she can go rogue and surprise us (like when she forgot to go to Latin for a half semester. Oy.

Alex and I had fun going to the store yesterday to get basics and halloween candy. Bags and bundles later…we were loaded up. He wanted to eat hamburgers…so I took him out to Five Guys for a mid day burger buster. I made a beef stew (really really quick…less than 20 minutes cooking) in the pressure cooker. I need to figure out how to make it more flavorful as the slow cooking really gives it depth. I added red wine and leeks, onions, and a whole bunch of parsley, 4 chopped portobello mushrooms and a package of white cap mushrooms….and it is still pretty quiet. Maybe garlic? More savories. A tad of tomato paste? Hmm. Rob worked until late yesterday…so the weekend was pretty scant in the family time department.

Maybe more time tonight with dinner.

Saturday afternoon.

the sketchbook project #2 10/22/2010, Q. Cassetti, sharpieI havent been slacking off entirely. This sketchbook project has been a shot in the arm. No requirements other than making pictures, limiited size, a who cares attitude and limited palette reserved to sharpies (new marigold color and new dirty, victorian mauve the favorites) along with limited prismas for punch. I scanned in most of the work today (see in The Atelier) just for kicks. Another self imposed rule, no tear outs allowed…work on top or else. So, its random stuff, but the pen is moving and that is the beginning and end of it. Frankly, that is the key to all of this. If the pen moves, I fall in love with the paper, its absorption, the spread of the ink, the color of the ink, the color of the paper, the detail upon detail and my loonie self imposed games to make it more fun. The pages just fill up…and new ideas beget new ideas…and I am back on the creative Catherine’s wheel again. I have been not psyched carrying the big sketchbook around (love you, love it..but a change was in order…I will be back)….and this little self imposed deadline of the sketchbook project has definitely kicked me back in the game. I am looking at the lubki with happiness again.

What a week. Thats all I can say. What a week. The end of the week was one gumdrop (entering the Society of Illustrators Show (NYC) and starting the same for LA. Three Xmas cards put to bed, doing design dlligence on other consultants work, and jumping on a few grenades. Alex had friends over last night and I baked for them (all of them in the Peter Pan mode…needing a mom or a Wendy to make nice for them). So, I made a mess of bagels and a mess of biscotti. Rob and I hung out. It was early up this morning to get Alex to the school so he and the crosscountry team and the outdoors club could go to the Montezuma Wildlife Sanctuary to plant trees and eat lunch. 

I had an amazing meeting with Michael Welch and Zoe Becker from Edible Finger Lakes who came to ask me if I would do the inside back cover …illustration and maybe writing!! My call on the whole thing. I showed them this goofy sketchbook and they liked it…Its a quarterly so its no biggie…and the exposure will be wonderful. I am beyond flattered… This is a lovely publication…really the only significant regional magazine with great taste, good reach and good design. This is the right place to be. So, more personal brand building…and more opportunities to work with cool people. We had a great talk about local food, food packaging, food distribution, their insights and observations which I found refreshingly honest and matched mine. What a treat!

Rob is working today and tomorrow. Alex has a party tonight. I might take a blue or grape pen and see what comes off the tip of it…You never know what is stored in the barrels of these beauties….and then, there is black I can get back to…ooooh.

lab work : v.3

Lab illustration, Q. Cassetti, 2010, digitalClient loves dogs. I love dogs. Here is the second holiday animal card due this eek. There is a bit more tweaking with the dog, but this gets us close enough for conversation. 

Lots of work around color palettes for the other client along with some mini meetings on covers of brochures and on newsletters. I have a 1 hr meeting about a masthead I can fully wait for…as this dy seems to be back to back with little time to do anything…So, I wanted to post this just to say hey… and get back to you later with any news that is fit to be printed.

Tburg is sucking up the leaves by the side of the road today. Shady Grove is snoring…and Mr. white has snuggled down inbetween my papers and is  making all sorts of throaty sounds trying to steer clear of the Emperor of the Cats and the fights he likes to draw poor Mr. White into.

More later.

lab work: v.2

Work in progress, Laborador, Q. Casstti, vector, adobe illustrator, 2010

Time flies when you are having fun?

Working away on holiday antics and fun…as you can see. We are maxed out with work, lots from all corners of Central New York along with further reaches of New Jersey and beyond. I am personally making piles of holiday presents and getting ready for a wrapathon this weekend…so as to be able to move towards November with an end in sight for the rush on December. I really need to have the holidays all figured out by November 11 so as to roll into Thanksgiving and the month of December without late nights and any more significant nail biting than normal.

I’ve got approval work. I’ve got consulting stuff. I have a laborador retriever to draw. And then it dawned on me that I have a ton of other illustration and illustration related work in the near offing: The Hangar Posters; The Taughannock Triathlon Graphic, and then there is the bakery and the mill. Yipes. I guess that quiet weekend has just got loaded up. Plus, lets not forget the applications for SOI NYC and SOI West shows due at the end of the month.

I roasted two packs of chicken backs this morning and put them in the brand new magic tool, the pressure cooker, along with carrots, onions and celery and let er rip for about 12 minutes. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. First off, I didn’t kill myself (I live in fear the the top of the presto will blow off and I will live the rest of my life with a metal mask because of the damage inflicted). Second, the pressure gauges and outlets worked perfectly. Third, I was able to get the top on (like a pro) versus the bungling the last two times. Fourth, it worked….and I have amazing stock in seconds compared to the slow cooking all day thing. Do you think Rob might be upset if I took the pressure cooker on a mini honeymoon? I might have to marry it.

I am plugging away on my little sketchbook project for The Sketchbook Project. The current thrill is that I am working in sharpies…no blacks allowed…and am doing 3-4 illustrations a day to sock in the book. So, I should clock down this sketchbook in no time. I am going to design a cover (wraparound on the epson) with a ribbon with little bees sewn on to dress up the now grungy brown cover. Dig this:

“For the first time ever, we’re adding notifications for each sketchbook. As the artist, you’ll be able to receive e-mail or text message notifications each and every time your book is checked out to be read! We do our best to make sure every sketchbook gets a little love, but we can’t promise anything about how many times it will be checked out. We’re not responsible for dropped texts, e-mail notifications that get sorted to the junk folder, or the costs associated with receiving text messages. We’ve got enough responsibility with all these sketchbooks to catalog!The books will be included in an exhibition that tours Brookly, Austin, San Francisco, Portland ME, Atlanta, Chicago, Washington DC, Winter Park FL. So, its trackable and we will be ab le to see who sees the work and if there is any response. Its a nice little creative sidebar that is keeping me interested and frankly, thinking a bit more…randomly…but a bit more.

Its a lovely afternoon. I will go to the bank and get home for more work. There is hope we will be going to the Pourhouse tonight to see the Grady Girls. Should be fun. Need to get all the paperwork complete for Alex to ski with ski club this winter. Am working on figuring out how to get Kitty from Amherst to Ithaca for Thanksgiving and Xmas….a bit of a path…but not insurmountable.