Advent Day 7: Santa Box

Santa Doll, Q. Cassetti,2010, sharpies from the second Advent calendar projectNice little Yearbook class today. There was editing, cover designing and we planned a fun event for the last day of school prior to vacation. We are having the tacky Holiday sweater/ hat contest with a prize (a free yearbook). Lots of energy there. Plus, we just got the link to get into the Entourage site so we can get the templates, the training, the tools to do the book.

More lacy line drawings this week for the Advent Calendar. I am spurred on by Russian Nesting Dolls and the chops from the Lubok looksee that I have been studying. Santa to the left is a nesting doll too… decorative and happy. I have another one in the works and then maybe some shining baby pix along with something having to do with the bad hats.

A week and counting to the Holiday choral event. Kitty and Mandy will be home to help decorate…so we need to get the trees up this weekend and plan what goes where. Its all got to be done before next Friday as the gig starts at 7 so we will need to be prepared to roll into it. Piano tuner coming on Tuesday. Maybe I should get some candycanes?

I found that Ludgates is selling the perfect turkeys…so I will make a call for one today. So, that has been figured out (yeah!). Now its time to make the cakes, freeze the side dishes, make some gravy and have a holiday in the freezer before the day. It is so easy to make a feast that way. I think chocolate layer cake? and maybe a derby pie? Stuffing just like Thanksgiving with sausage, mushrooms and parsley. What about cocktail food?

Communication Arts is due January 7th (the illustration show…I am going to enter the design one too). Need to call Picture Salon to find out what is doing re the Society of Illustrators output….need it as the first show for Illustration 53 opens January 7th. So, I gotta book.

Advent Day 7: Holiday Greens

Green Man, Leaf Man, Q. Cassetti, 2010, pen and ink, from second advent calendar projecThis is a green man, the beginning of my next series after this advent calendar project. It has been done as part of the advent calendar and will sit in that group, but it is a spur to more work. This green man was inspired by my friend who got the back of his head tattooed with another image of the Green Man which inspired me to do a little reading…which surfaced a deep body of work to reference, inspire and push me further.

Wikipedia nicely sums up why it works:

“Found in many cultures around the world, the Green Man is often related to natural vegetative deities springing up in different cultures throughout the ages. Primarily it is interpreted as a symbol of rebirth, or “renaissance,” representing the cycle of growth each spring. Some speculate that the mythology of the Green Man developed independently in the traditions of separate ancient cultures and evolved into the wide variety of examples found throughout history.”

This is spurring me on. I have some more lacy angels, a new nesting doll and plan on some santas, Zweit Piet and others to keep this 25 day celebration of the holidays interesting. I have been looking at the lubki inspired work done recently, and discovered that those clues are peeking out of the new line work (no crosshatching just pattern on pattern) and feel that the line work is tighter and more along the lines of some of the Murray encouragement. So, I think there will be some more simple line work in addition to the more intense ink/brushy stuff.  To see other images that havent reached this spot, please click> and, for last year’s advent calendar>>

The weatherman is predicting snow. And some inches for us in Tompkins county…between 4-8”—so I am hunking down (with my cough) and Rob has the wonderbus. I have some stuff in the oven to roast (and turn into something with the marvelous pressure cooker). I want to start some sourdough starter/biga today..so as to be able to start throwing down some bread in the next week or so.

We are knocking down a bunch of projects and got some big steps yesterday. Gotta get stuff in the mail soon.

Cool article on an animator/microbiologist, Janet Iwasa, featured on EarthSky. Iwasa decided that scientists were communicating in a very primitive way about cells so she created these films. Here’s a link>> I love the idea of scientists being animators…and what about animators who are scientists…? What a great world we live in…that people that were previously siloed can cross over and use the arts to explain science. The two disciplines are so close…but in the academic world, kept separately…There is a place for the fusion that can happen given the new acceptance of polyglots(thinking Kitty).  Kitty has gotten her papers done and now has a day or so to finish up her film/animation s he is working on. Feels like there might be a late night or two in that. I miss Kitty…but we had a nice chat to catch up…and it was reassuring for her old mom.

Advent Day 6: Full Swing Holiday

Lacy Angel v.1, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpie from the second advent projectThe Studio sale was great. I picked up a bunch of drinking glasses and goblets on the dollar table and then went to the high priced, cooler stuff. I got a few lattecino patterned vases, a bracelet, and a few cool little bowls (for me). So, there is cool stuff to give to local friends, and a few great things for us. It was nice to see a bunch of old Corning friends and to see the Museum bursting with their holiday open house.

Then, it was off to Sams Club (I thought they might have swags and wreaths which they did). It has been years since I have been in a warehouse club, and it was great…particularly as Rob didn’t let me go full bore into the thises and thats. We got the swags and wreaths (making the wonderbus particularly fabulously deliciously scented), some new sharpie brand pens (ultra thin), some printable postcards and some cheese for pasta. I also got a huge box of oatmeal for granola making. Thinking of granola, I think that might be my version of the Christmas cookie this year. It looks good in the container; I have the wintery stickers; and folks tend to love it…and its a tad bit healthier than cookies. I think I will be doing some dog biscuits though. Really fun and the poochitas love them.

Collection of Holiday headwear from the web.A note: Going to Corning is a bit like going to another universe. People just do things a bit differently than we do here on our plateau. The general populace’s sense of public humor, their favorite restaurants and stores, what they do in their spare time, what they value is a bit different and to me, interesting. Where is she going with this one? Well, I was horrified and at the same time amused by the passigiata of people at the Studio sale (particularly) casually strolling about with their holiday Santa Hats. First it was a middle aged mom type with fuzzy boots on and a big, pink, fluffy santa hat with a big embroidered patch in the front saying “Princess”. After her was a little girl wearing the same pink hat with a crown sewn into the fluffy white band. It was also branded as “Princess”. Then a rather sloppy man, calmly sported a Vikings Santa hat (purple and white and big graphics just like the Eagles one above). Another nonchalant man had the traditional Santa hat with Mickey Mouse ears (a holiday classic). While we were prepping to exit Sams, I looked across to the car facing us in the lot, and there was a skinny, runty guy with his gold and black Steelers hat!. I think there is a market there. How about some really deviant ones? Like Masonic Santa Hats with an all seeing eye on the top? Krampus Santa hats? Or Santa hats with cool words like “Stupid” or the novel word, “Dank”? Need to work on that. Big money potential. Very funny to me.

There were holiday sweaters galore. Everyone had something with holly or candycanes printed on them from belts to shirts. It all was very “festive” and it frightened me to death. Need to do some more scary illustrations.

Onward to more Advent calendar images. I am vascillating between all sorts of things..and am getting charged up for a new body of work inspired by my friend Peter suggesting I work on a green man image. I am loving what I am learning. Could be the bees for the winter for me. I knew something would pop up if I just kept at it…yay.

Advent Day 5: Krampus' visiting day!

Krampus v2. colored, Q. Cassetti, 2010, pen and ink/ digital color, from the second advent projectToday is the day. The big jingly monster will come to your house to either take you away or whip you. Kind of your choice, I guess.

Off to Corning to the Studio Sale. Last day of great stuff (the dollar table awaits) and then maybe a trip to Sams for some styling stuff for the house for the Xmas Xtravaganza (ie, the choral event). 

Yesterday was very peaceful. Alex went off with his team to do another Pinesburger Challenge (he ate 6). And Rob and I stayed home. I made more stock—but more elegantly, it was simmered on the wood fired stove we have (most excellent). And, I am on the last round of Xmas and may be able to get the boxes in the mail this week. Only snag was that the envelopes I got for my corporate card are too small. So a trip to Staples is in order too.

I love having the retail part of xmas out of the way. Now I can bake dog biscuits and people cookies. I can prep for the holiday cooking which would be excellent and buckle down on the work that comes at this time of the year.

We do have snow. And, it is sticking. Not quite Buffalo (I think they got a foot) but enough to count and sit heavily on the bushes.

 

Advent Day 4 : Pre Krampusnacht activities

Krampus v.1, Q. Cassetti, 2010, pen and ink, From the second advent projectOh yeah. Tomorrow is the evening that that jolly old demon visits all the frightened little children and beautiful young women in Austria and Hungary…shaking his chains, and brandishing his birch twigs to beat the children for their misdeeds all year. Oh, and if that isnt enough, Krampus also doubles as the boogie man, and will take those bad children away from their warm hearths and loving parents if the badness cannot be assuaged by beatings and fear. What fun! Another rollicking add to the Holidays! A tidbit from Wikipedia fleshes this out:

Krampus is a mythical creature. In various regions of the world – especially Austria and Hungary – it is believed that Krampus accompanies St. Nicholas during the Christmas season, warning and punishing bad children, in contrast to St. Nicholas, who gives gifts to good children. Due to German and Austrian influence, the myth of Krampus is also prevalent in Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia and northern Italy.

The word Krampus originates from the Old High German word for claw (Krampen). In the Alpine regions, Krampus is represented by a demon-like creature. Traditionally, young men dress up as the Krampus in the first two weeks of December, particularly on the evening of 5 December, and roam the streets frightening children and women with rusty chains and bells.[1] In some rural areas the tradition also includes birching – corporal punishment with a birch rod – by Krampus, especially of young girls. Images of Krampus usually show him with a basket on his back used to carry away bad children and dump them into the pits of Hell.

Modern Krampus costumes consist of Larve (wooden masks), sheep’s skin, and horns. Considerable effort goes into the manufacture of the hand-crafted masks, and many younger adults in rural communities compete in the Krampus events.

In Oberstdorf, in the alpine southwestern part of Bavaria, the tradition of der Wilde Mann (“the wild man”) is kept alive. He is like Krampus in that he is dressed in fur and frightens children (and adults) with rusty chains and bells, but has no horns, and is not an assistant of Saint Nicholas.

In the aftermath of the Austrian Civil War the Krampus tradition was a target of Austrian Fascists allied with Nazi Germany.[2]

Second Day of Advent: Variation on a Theme

Winter Russian Nesting Doll 2, Q; Cassetti, 2010, Advent Calendar 2010, pen and inkSnowed. Really snonwed yesterday and now we have some sticking to the trees and ground cooling the ground which was very mobile and warm last weekend. Cooling it and cooling it so that when the real snow happens, it will build and accumulate, reversing the efforts of the summer sun and spring breezes. I just finished taking Shady out (she was so happy having a roll in the snow, her absolute favorite) and reveled in the peachy gold light filtering through our gigantic pine trees, the sparkle of the ground and the still, delicate deer—watching and waiting.

It has been a few days of sheer buckle down and do it. Revised a presskit in a half a day. Aircraft graphics revised/ entirely relooked at. Two publications in the works. Pancake and Muffin graphics almost finalized (I will post and link later today). Today, its finishing up what we can on the two annual reports. There is packaging of stuff and some meaningful listmaking in the works too.

Spoke to Kitty. She too, is working hard as all of her papers are due this Friday….and her bill (ouch) is due January 1. After this Friday, she can get back on the animation she is delighting in. I caught her at dinner, tucking into a rather exotic sounding pizza (we were having leftovers) and the chatter of friends and aside conversations with her abounded. Alex and I worked on his student resume (needed today) and then kicked back and listened and talked about a musical piece he is working on. He is loving being a producer…working with his very skilled and bushytailed new music friends who can play anything and do not worry about being directed. My boy is blooming.

Need to take a little time before the office officially opens to do a bit of research for these advent pix. I am thinking up all sorts of stuff and need some reference so that the drawings look like “something” versus the blob and squiggle that it could.  More later.

First Day of Advent

Russian Nesting Doll 1, Q. Cassetti, 2010, Advent Calendar 2010, pen and inkFirst day of advent! Its raining buckets with the promise of ice and colder weather. Today is the beginning of the second year of my advent calendar project. Last year, I went wild and discovered all sorts of interesting characters (framed around companions of St. Nicholas)…and who knows where it will go this year. To see last year’s calendar pix: This year, I have begun by working smaller and faster. I am going to keep it to black and white. I am starting with a little collection of nesting dolls which may evolve to Mother and child stuff…and there are nutcrackers (both wooden and squirrels) in the mix. Maybe some references to the Peaceable Kingdom by the ever wonderful, Edward Hicks. So, stay tuned… New work made daily.

Rob is off to NYC early. I need to get the amazing pressure cooker stoked for soup for the team (they are laying a floor in the garage/carriage house. and will want some hot stuff for lunch).

More later.

Last Tuesday of Eleven Month

Tangerine Heart for Sketchbook 3, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpiesIt was wildness yesterday. It was Monday, the day after Thanksgiving. So, plenty to catch up with, and plenty coming at us fast. We are wrapping up the pancake/muffin mixes today along with stuff for the Museum, for Cornell and for the Big Client. Got a fast one from the Big Client this morning— a redo of a presskit that 2 agencies have touched aready and is missing the “wow”. I pried and pushed to find out what the “wow” means…and so confounded, I am working on a cracked acrobat file with layers upon layers of vector patterns merged with the text/copy. A mess just to pry the content out of the file. Ouch. Lots of flat planes of bright color…I hope that gets us to wow. I have very little wow in my mojo…I work very hard not to have wow.

Had a great and inspiring conversation with a like minded art director with an agency in NYC that is pursuing my doing some illustration for a Dairy Cooperative in NYS. He gets my work and worked with some of the Fraktur images, the vector stuff and some of my black and white work…parsing it to “Realistic”, “Folk” and “Symbolic” drivers to the work. Plus, he married the work with some cool fonts that I have been inspired by (and bought the one, and two more yesterday—see BadTyp to the left). I totally had forgotten about FontShop. Neville Brody (wonderful Neville Brody) is one of the principals there…and thus the work is fun and inspired (along with fonts from Matthew Carter). We talked prices. We talked deadlines (all doable)…and hopefully something will happen. Could be a good project and a good relationship as I really love this creative. Great brain…and we have common sensibilities.

Am working on a bunch of black and white Matryoshka doll illustrations (Wikipedia). They are just like chips…cannot get enough of them as they are decorative and fun. Not much meaning there…but I think they could be festive.

Gotta go and move the needle.

Last Monday of Eleven Month

Swan Heart from Sketchbook 3, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpiesPiles of work…yikes. I am pleased I got the little done yesterday (thank you Rob) with the NYFA application and the scans as they were just hanging there wanting to  be done. I also had a really nice time with a little drawing in the evening complete with peppermint tea. It was just nice.

In hindsight, it was interesting to complete the NYFA application because it was all about funding artists to continue to build their voice and vision—so everything is pointed to showing that. I am pleased that I made a list and created a flow to the imagery to show how the styles and imagery flow (which, interestingly they do) prior to uploading them all. The images will be shown really large—in two groups of 4…so a progression from the SOI Willowhead (from Memento Mori) to Forever Love (from the Valentines) to The Fraktur Angel heart, to Valentine “Sweetheart” (bees),  to Bee Mine Valentine, to Bee Goddess, To Bee Twins, to in Search of the Sweet (Lubki illos). It looked good and consistent. The drawing group is assessed with Book Arts and Printmaking. My work fits right in there. Additionally, they have a folk art subset they judge mid year, next year which I plan on applying for. This foundation work is appealing because it has a fiscal piece to drive the work versus trying to sell it.

What is this with Wikileaks? What is going on with this world?

Another just as important, I called The Regional to see if they had another delicious turkey for Thanksgiving. The home team is wild for it.

More later.

Quiet last day

Thistle Heart from Notebook 2, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpies, prismacolorThe cooking is done. We took Kitty to the bus station early this morning and were sad to see her go. It is doubly sad as the poor thing had a fever, didn’t sleep well and in general, seemed off her game. That is the trouble of having the pressure taken off…you relax and then, of course, you get sick. It was so good to see her reveling in her work, her studies and her new friends. Her attitude is so positive and can do, it is remarkable what a new group of friends, their influences and inspiration can do for her. She was never really central to a “group” and now she has one, embraces them and is motivated by these smart kids. We packed up a ton of food for their thanksgiving on campus…and she had it all neatly packed in her wheelie suitcase. She will be back in a few weeks (to our delight) to sleep, eat and giggle with us. We all cannot wait (and the pets mean it too).

Rob and I took a little trip over to GreenStar for a quick provisioning. They have inexpensive B grade maple syrup (yay) along with nice green olive oil (also in bulk). So we loaded up on basics and came back to Camp Street to have lunch with our old college friend, John and his son, Nate, going back to college. It was great to see them and spend a little time talking about thises and thats. It was fresh air. John was interesting about all the books he is reading, his interest in shooting and the out of doors, along with the general life and living patter. Nate filled in the cracks. What a team! Alex was gone with friends.

Then, I gave myself permission and completed the NYFA grant application. Put everything up on the web, posted the images and notes, wrote the 700 word bio, proofread it all and hit the submit button. I wonder if I will even hear if I am rejected? The site was really clear except for any info on when they will announce. All I can do is hope. It would be cool.

Now, I am finalizing the scanning from the sketchbook work that is in the hopper since 11/18. I have a ton. I have been vascillating on whether to stay in the small sketchbook format or grow it. Then, I thought I could do both sizes at once…and now, I am on the fence. I am beginning to get charged up for Advent Calendar 2010. Little Russian Nesting Figures are on the list. Maybe a few Krampus (in plural, are they Krampi?)—and some little critters (lions and lambs and the like). Maybe some folk PA German inspired stuff too. I love how cuddly and dreamy this little collection makes me. Its a mental cup of camomile tea.

Another interesting illustration note. You all know how much I love and admire the blog of Leif Peng, “Today’s Inspiration’? Well, if that wasnt wonderful enough, I was googling Lorraine Fox to find that Peng has created another blog, “Female Illustrators of the Mid 20th Century”>>. Wow. And the work out there of Lorraine Fox is so wonderful and inspiring….>>>

Now I really  must go.

Dark Already.

Demons rising from the Maw, Q. Cassetti, sharpies and prismas inspired by Lubok illustratioinIts that season…that happy season that girls can dream of Krampus and Ziet Piet. They can dream of Erzegebirge folk art and Russian dolls. They can think of all the lovely saints and santas. And so, the beginning of advent is almost upon us…and the drawing season for Advent Pictures almost is here.

I have been cooking pretty much full time since Thursday. We had 11 for dinner on Thanksgiving and 13 last night. In betweeen, I processed the amazing bird into lunch with sandwiches, three casseroles and a monster pot of stock for yes, Christmas’ bird which I will make all in advance like this time. I made a pair of quiche (using the leftover stuff to go into the stuffing that I couldn’t use up), a pan of toffee bars and three little ladylike loaves of nutbread. It is so critical to deconstruct and rebuild new feasts while the bird is front of mind…and the leftovers abound. Makes a lot of dishes, but I now have five whole dinners for the freezer which should help over the course of the next few weeks. Kitty has food to take back to school for her friends’ own Thanksgiving (nutbread, cheese, toffee bars, crackers, cranberries).

We went to the Corning Museum of Glass to their blowout holiday sale. They had all sorts of deals…the best to my thinking was 40% all Bodum and 80% off all Waterford (including some really beautiful Marc Jacobs designed pieces). Bruce came too, and we filled up the car with things to keep, to give away and to admire. Spangly bracelets and tea cups. All sorts of things.

I am serious about this NYFA grant. New York Foundation for the Arts presents over 100 grants to artists ($7,000) to work on projects in certain disciplines. I am going to propose a body of work  in the Drawing area around the concept of People, Personalities, Events, Occasions and Symbols in the New York State Burned Out Zone from 1700-1880. That would cover the Mormons and Joseph Smith, The Fox Sisters, Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, The Oneida Community, The Universal Friend and more. The Masons, the Shakers and all sorts of religious and political fervor reigned supreme….with all sorts of interesting things being stirred up here in Central and Upstate NY. I would pursue it in a folk style (inspired by the people of the time along with the American Puritian Gravestones, Fraktur, and Lubok styles…all within the hand). So, I have an idea. I have reference and I can map out what the images would be. So, though it is no strings other than a presentation (I would like to do it at Sagamore or here Chez Camp open to the public or the Library)…it would give me a year to work on an interesting body of work.

That is the thinking for now, at least…its something.

Thanksgiving post mortem

Slept late. Thanksgiving went off without a hitch. Prepping in advance was the way to sanity-- allowing me time to polish some silver, set the table and count the knives and forks. Our dishwasher has been funky-- so I even had the chance to descale some of the cloudy glasses(soak in hot water with a good deal of vinegar in the mix, rinse, regard and redo as necessary before rewashing).

The ubernice turkey was just that. Looked like a photo from a Ladies Magazine. Cut like a dream. And, best of all, a toast from the thoughtful and spare speaker, Alexander, who RAVED about it. No faint praise from someone who decisively hates turkey.

To give thanks

Cross walk, Q. Cassetti, 2009, vectoThanksgiving

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

Happy Thanksgiving! I love this holiday. Its all about the food, the fireplace, the cozy hearth, the happy voices. I am gloating over how smart I was to freeze and prep over the course of the month so that today I can ice cakes, cook the bird, and set the table without going insane. It is all ready to go. Thawed out last night (but not the gravy which needed a bit of help from the microwave). So, I am writing a little entry while there is a minute.

We drove to Amherst and back yesterday. Wasnt too bad. Thank goodness for cups of savory black tea….That kept the brain turned on and the eyes from shutting. We had a quiet time on the way over, and then after Albany, Rob took to the backseat and Kitty and I caught up from Albany to Bainbridge when Rob woke up. We had a nice evening at home catching up, hearing about gender identity and seeing videos of animations made by women (I promise I will share). Then it was off to dreamland to wake up to be Thankful.

I have so much. I have a wonderful husband and children. I have a happy life with friends and family. I We all have our health and vigor.  I have a beautiful place to work with projects and ideas and clients who are a blessing. I have a new set of skills that gives me joy with illustration and visual story telling. I have a venue to focus research and reading on…and all of these are great gifts of happiness and joy that I daily am grateful for. I have a rich life with people I love…in a community that I embrace fully…I have no end of blessings. For this and so much more, I am Thankful. We all need to look across the table at those that surround us and count the many things we take for granted, and nod…and account for those gifts.

Tuesday is Friday

Winged Cat from Sketchbook Two, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpiesWhadda day. Got the illos to Picture Salon as the Society of Illustration, Illustration 53 paperwork came today. Gotta get the Nutcrackers finished and ready to hang by December 20—so there isn’t a ton of time. So, sending out for the both of these illustrations to be output and stretched on stretcher bars gets me getting that off the plate. Should upload the files this p.m. and get the paperwork done sooner versus later.

I am also thinking of applying for a NYFA Artist Fellowship (due 11/30) for kicks. They have a nice drawing/book arts section that maybe an exploration of imagery as it relates to imagery derived from 1700’s folk art ( Russian, PA Germans, etc). The grants aren’t huge, and the deal is to write a paper and deliver a presentation (which I could do at the library(?) or maybe even at the Museum Conference at Sagamore (as an afterdinner mint?).  The grant seems very straightforward to write…along with 8 pieces of work to be submitted as well. There are 100 fellowships offered. And you know my thinking on this sort of thing…you cannot win if you do not enter. Thus, the thought. I do have extra work (all of it hitting the email box this afternoon with cheery notes saying “Happy Thanksgiving” here is the 200 pound pile of paper you need to bake into our little publication.

Another positive thing was this cool art director from NYC who was interested in the digital portrait style for some packaging. Turns out, he likes all my work and generated a presentation using my work as scrap with three different approaches. So, yogurt and milk packaging might be in my future! The presentation was being given this p.m. so we will see what happens. Neat, eh?

Tomorrow we are off to get Kitty from Amherst. The office is open. Alex has school, poor devil (along with a physics test, urg). So we leave early (at 6…zip over…get the princess…and zip back with cuddly dogs, cups of tea and happy chatter). I forecast a sleeping girl…

Wednesday night all of Thanksgiving gets thawed out. The gravy, pie, cakes, stuffing stuff, bread and stuff…all ready to roll. I got the massive turkey from the Regional today…all nice and polite in a clean brown box. The Regional also had pecans, wild rice and dried cranberries at a great price at their little broken case store by the door. The Turkey is in a crate with a few bags of ice…no need to defrost…and I really need to figure out how long it will take to cook…The container says 7 hours! Yikes! Next step, holiday decorating for the 17th. 

It is all moving too fast!

Before the Sunrises

Purple nooodle, Sketchbook2 project, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpies.Got some wrapping done. Not all finished but groupings are boxed and all they need are tags. Those that need to be fleshed out, are still on shelves. However, I am not feeling lost or disheartened about all of this…so I am feeling like goals could be met.

Now, for Holiday Decorating. I am going to need swags. Big question with that is to be a big girl and buy the real deal, or go for fauxpine, and have it around for later and not to worry about shedding etc? Other question, should I buy a few little lit trees for the front porch and that would be that? They would be sweet. I am also thinking luminaria for the Chorus event might be sweet too. Hmm. The shelf of nutcrackers need to come out. Big visual strokes. Not the usual “how bitty is bitty” thinking. And silver ornaments? How many zillion do I have. More zillions might be good. First, though, the Thanksgiving events need to happen. That is this week….

Finished Sketchbook 2 yesterday. Need to scan in and see what evolves. Had a nice hour last night making lines and loving my pen and paper. The last few images were valentines (only halfsies) so I cannot wait to see what happens when I flip them. I could cheat with a mirror, but the real fun is doing it in photoshop and seeing if what I hope/think will happen, does. Or, even better, a happy surprise! I am grooving on Sirin wings…and am putting them on all sorts of stuff. You will see as soon as they are scanned.

Rob is off to Albany early this a.m. for an interesting meeting. I have yearbook before 9…and then a quick drive to deliver cards to my pals at Cornell. There are the following things on the boards: work for the big client, Brochure and logotype for the Museum, Calendar to come for the Museum, a brochure for IC., and the two annuals for divisions of the Vet School. I need to nip at my printers as things are  not moving fast enough for me on the cards that are printing etc. I am using a small press that bumped my work for a job that their client screwed up and they needed to go of press for the second time. I am not thrilled about that. I have personal cards being printed and plan on sending out a business card and rack card for the Bakery as that need is there and the prices are good.

Alex has three days of school. Bruce is off on his holiday today. So, activity abounds and its not quite 6:30 in the morning.

Rob found my work here:  Crazy Chinese channels/ sites. I wish I could see what they like about the stuff. I find it fascinating. This Anina group literally lifted the entire bulk of work form  Chinese Padmag. Hmm. I also need to look into the address (web) that someone just plunked on one of my pieces. What does this mean?

Hand/eye

Eye/Hand, Q. Cassetti, Second Sketchbook Project, sharpies, 2010Cooking off a bunch of stuff that is seconds from turning in the fridge. Now its cooked and frozen to use later this week. We had a quiet evening of it, and a quiet morning with a good call with Miss Kitty, a visit with Miss Vann and Mr. Delfs, and music from the synth from Mr. Quarrier. Now, the house is a bit empty, so I am writing you while my holiday labels print on the printer.

In the past few years, I was shocked by how horrible labels for holiday packages were, so I bought avery labels and printed out my own labels/own design on the Epson. Its always fun…but a bit of torture to get the labels (mac is never supported in the template world) to match up…so the designs were floaty and random. However, this is not true anymore. Avery has really cleaned up their act by having no end to great templates (including for ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR!) that you can download and immediately use. I found this out this week when I was making up a little package of business cards and rackcards (handmade jobbies) for the new bakery…and discovered the new and improved Avery. It is a wonder!

So, I am going to spend the rest of the afternoon filling out labels, filling boxes and figuring out who is done and who is not. Thanksgiving is around the corner and I need to get this done. Time is fleeing…

I also hope I can crack open the sketchbook to get a bit more done. I am two pages away from finishing book #2 and am anxious to start the new one. I have been nosing around my Lubok book for new inspirations, more Sirin, more odd countrified people and dwarves. It will be interesting to see where these pix go. I have around 9 images that need to be scanned in…so there is plenty of stuff and nonsense.

Spoke to Kitty. She is in great shape…personally, spiritually, academically. It is amazing to watch and listen to her growing as we talk. She is maturing daily—and devoted to her work and animation. She is watching her friends and learning. She is leaning on her new friends to grow, to talk, to listen and I am so proud. She is looking forward to coming home to cuddle with her cats and dog and snuggle in her room. Alex was so nice on the phone. Fond words, fond tone. I love my kids. They are nice people.

Did I mention marvelous Mandy stopped by? We will see her in January for a few weeks. That should be fun.