Whiteout

Study after Ganga Devi, Q. Cassetti, 2011, sharpies on moleskinePowder coming down. Not the big dump as promised tonight. Alex is in school. Rob packed a bag just in case with his trip to Corning. I am a bit worried about Rob and his travels…but he is safety first…so I know he will take his time and use his noodle. Shady is passed out on the carpet after nosing through the snow, playfully digging for frozen pinecones. I am looking out over the frozen tundra to the back of the house making plans for the day, making lists, and having a lovely cup of Gimme! feeling very lucky I do not have any places to travel to. Its messy downtown…

Amanda and I are talking about her planting berries. Elderberries, Gooseberries, Currents…exotics for around here…with her reading and musing over the Miller Nursery catalog (from Canandaigua so we know that it will grow here). White mulberries, persimmons….she muses and has stories. That would be quite the thing for our little Trumansburg Farmers Market. Something wonderful and happy to think about in the snow. I am thinking Montmorency sour cherries and Baldwin apples for the back forty. The tree prices are excellent (compared to the Agway trees at around $40 a pop…$23. looks real good). Imagine.

Need to get 3x3 entered today along with finalizing images to get to Charles H. on the possible article on me. Jason’s photographs are wonderful…and seeing our house and work through is lens is very romantic and looks as if we actually plan the arrangement and curating of our stuff. I may take some snow shots to add to the mix of the look out the studio windows and the view to the back forty.

There is an exhibit at the Tompkins County Library,”Art for Commerce, Graphic Design in Ithaca and Tompkins County” that I have been invited to participate in and need to get two 3’x6’ panels completed. I contacted wonderful Steve Carver about his entry and he has a good supplier in Syracuse who is going to output and mount his panels. I think and hope that I can tag along with him on this. So, I need to prep those panels as well. I think the approach I will take will be to show illustration and logotypes noting those that have gotten national recognition. It will be an interesting process. This show opens March 11, 2011 and runs through the end of May. Maybe the Hangar work, Farmer Ground, Chicken Chokers, Mothers Day for Peace, and the new Wide Awake Bakery (as local work) will be rolled into this as well. Hmmm.

 Time to dig out those files and dive into the mix.

snow watch

Study after Ganga Devi, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpies on moleskine.Rumor has it that we are getting a pile coming our way. The white stuff that is. Shady Grove is psyched. Deeper coldness to dive into, in search of the frozen cones. A divine place to plunge her muzzle deep and frosty to sniff and sniff for the divine pine. And there is the hope that springs in having a snow day, an unplanned day of sleep and cocoa and all the Xfiles one chooses to devour. Who knows, like an unbidden holiday, we never  know until the school closings are called…A,B,C…..South Seneca….T…..?

Got a ton done today. Bunch of things to look at and remark on. Bunch of people to talk to. New understandings about projects. Boxes off to Kitty Cat with stuff for artclasses and fashion to help make valentines day more wonderful.

Had a good chat with the school about Alex and his abilities and how to assess them. I feel that I was not only heard but understood and communicated with. This is always reassuring as, as always, I am not on my own on this one.

A. has play practice this evening, so because I was busy getting stuff out today, I do not have time to chat with you about the Banksey movie we saw yesterday (“Exit Through The Gift Shop”) or other mental ephemera that is floating through my thin skulll. An early dinner needs to be cooked to my lovely boy so he can go to sing and dance and hang out with beautiful and talented teens.

Onward for tomorrow. Turn your jimmy jammies inside out..and cross your fingers for snow. I am.

Snowfall

Study after Ganga Devi, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpies on MoleskineI picked up Alex at Cornell last night after his run at Barton Hall, the huge indoor track facility with hundreds of running, jumping, vaulting, throwing teenagers actively competing for placement and teams. Facebook told me that Tburg did well for both girls and boys for schools their size (first, I think). The winding dark drive up through the campus and then scooting around to get to route 96 was interesting…but Alex and I got home when Rob did, so we could all go to have dinner at the Rongo. We were delighted to run into a mess of people we knew along with a former classmate of Kitty’s, Josh Head on microphone with a band.

This morning it was quiet. Snow is gently coming down which is pleasant because unlike everyone on the east coast, we have not been socked by the white stuff, so we are still charmed. Its really missing the snow that is more pressing for all of us. All the animals are on their hot spots, immobile and waiting (probably for the tinkling of kibble hitting their bowls). I made three desserts (two to take to an event) and one (a key lime pie) exclusively for my big eating son. It was nice to make these confections with the making almost being rote….after the week of doing and talking.

I am busy looking at QR codes. I havent gotten obsessive about it…but now that they have a name and use, and I have a reader on my phone, I am actively looking for them. If the QR code is not the next wave of sending/relating information bridging print with electronic media, then something like it is on the way. Imagine a QR exhibit with QR codes at every object with either a video, a voice/podcast, or a related object/photograph to broaden the reach and experience at the show. Or, imagine a menu with QR codes for each object which you could access the chef talking about each dish or a list of ingredients for the guest to read. What about  a QR code for your resume…It takes the click out of the equation and instead of remembering long strings of urls, it becomes a point and shoot. The Rongo had a “Google Favorite Places” QR code by the door> More of this on the horizon.

Tomorrow Alex has skiing. Rob and I have study hall.

The Firewood Poem by Celia Congreve

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year,
Chestnut’s only good they say,
If for logs ‘tis laid away.
Make a fire of Elder tree,
Death within your house will be;
But ash new or ash old,
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold

Birch and fir logs burn too fast

Blaze up bright and do not last,

it is by the Irish said

Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread.

Elm wood burns like churchyard mould,

E’en the very flames are cold

But ash green or ash brown

Is fit for a queen with golden crown

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,

Fills your eyes and makes you choke,

Apple wood will scent your room

Pear wood smells like flowers in bloom

Oaken logs, if dry and old

keep away the winter’s cold

But ash wet or ash dry

a king shall warm his slippers by.
 

The firewood poem was written by Celia Congreve, is believed to be first published in THE TIMES newspaper on March 2nd 1930.

IF: Surrender [to the pattern]

After Ganga Devi, Q. Cassetti, 2011, sharpie on moleskine

Wednesday with a pearly sky

After Ganga Devi, Q. Cassetti, 2011, sharpiesWorking away on finalizing the Hangar work—with a portrait of two guys (“Oscar and Felix” as its been positioned to me). New watch words for freebies out there coined by Robbie, “Art not Assignments”. Turns out that despite the words that are put to me about my being able to contribute independently without art directing by the recievers of this work—they cannot hold themselves back. So, lots of direction. Lots of rework…from gift of work to gift of worked work…with no positive flowback to me. So, no more work that is an assignment. If you want a gift of illustration, it will be a gift (the way gifts can be suggested but not mandated), and not an assignment that the nonpaying clients do all but move my hand… Not fun and very time consuming. I only have so much free time, so if the free work isn’t fun, then it isn’t being done. Punto.

So, now that I am done with the griping. Forgive me. Just needed to get it off my mind.

We have a few publications on the boards that we are driving towards completion. The Toots illustration for the museum has changed from a vector illustration to line art…more evocative and less direct where we can focus on the line work of her hair…reflecting the linear, pulled canes that her work is centered around.We were trying to use the Milton Glaser portrait of Dylan as a starting point for this, but our curator thought it wasnt right as a model.

Am puzzling over the new brand we are going to be involved in…thinking about the rabbit holes that have been created for “creative” people to keep the work “creative”. Downside is that the creatives are kind of the inmates we need to protect our client from along with those who make magic with Microsoft Word and Powerpoint (those two “intuitive” layout tools). I think there will be a lot of redo on our parts…of work…peeling apart pdf files in adobe illustrator etc. Hmmm.

Its a cold day today…mild compared to Monday. Shady had a nice romp in the back forty with Elsa (her wonderful border collie friend) and now is conked out under my desk, cuddling with the radiator. The boys are busy finishing the new rooms with Jamie, the electrician, neatly running some new lines for lighting and electrical plug ins.

Rahu, the immortal head, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and inkFrom Wikipedia on Rahu:

RahuIn Hindu belief, Rahu is a snake that swallows the sun or the moon causing eclipses. He is depicted in art as a dragon with no body riding a chariot drawn by eight black horses. Rahu is one of the navagrahas (nine planets) in Vedic astrology. The Rahu kala (time of day under the influence of Rahu) is considered inauspicious.

According to legend, during the Samudra manthan, the asura Rahu drank some of the divine nectar. But before the nectar could pass his throat, Mohini (the female avatar of Vishnu) cut off his head. The head, however, remained immortal. It is believed that this immortal head occasionally swallows the sun or the moon, causing eclipses. Then, the sun or moon passes through the opening at the neck, ending the eclipse.

Astronomically, Rahu and Ketu denote the two points of intersection of the paths of the Sun and the Moon as they move around the celestial sphere. Therefore, Rahu and Ketu are respectively called the north and the south lunar nodes. The fact that eclipses occur when Sun and Moon are at one of these points gives rise to the myth of the swallowing of the Sun.

Rahu is a legendary master of deception who signifies cheaters, pleasure seekers, operators in foreign lands, drug dealers, poison dealers, insincere & immoral acts, etc. It is the significator of an irreligious person, an outcast, harsh speech, logical fallacy, falsehoods, uncleanliness, abdominal ulcers, bones, and transmigration. Rahu is instrumental in strengthening one’s power and converting even an enemy into a friend. In Buddhism Rahu is one of the krodhadevatas (terror-inspiring gods).

Wait long enough, something will happen

Laylah Ali, Untitled, 2006-7, pen and inkI know this always happens. But everytime I go through this incubation time, it is frustrating and maddening. I wait and look, see and wait, search and try…and nothing moves the needle. It is stale, cold and hopeless. I am thinking something is happening now…and funny how it is all fusing together (and who knows what will happen). It all clicked when I revisited the work of the wonderful artist, Laylah Ali (b. 1968).

I first saw her work at Mass MOCA in an exhibit and I was stunned by her work, her simple vision and the design of her pieces. Since then, I have gravitated towards her images (often in Miami at Art Basel)—finding joy in ther clear perspective, the underlying wit and flow. I remembered her line work last night and it clicked with the work I have been studying of Ganga Devi (1928- 1991). Funny that this wonderful artist who now teaches at Williams College, and this intense Madhubani artist had an overlapping sense of line, of spirit, of design and use of white space. Now, how do I fuse it with what I have —? I love Ali’s closely cropped portraits of these spooky, androgenous people ( I think “creepy” in the good sense might be applied) and the way she allows the lines to define wonderful headdresses, clothes and sometimes even the texture of skin.

Ganga Devi’s work does the same…only she decorates the backgrounds, gives the figures a context and placement, and does more story telling. The connection came for me with my favorite, and the oddest of all of the Devi illustrations shown on Will Schofield’s A Journey Around My Skull>> her image, Naina-jogin (1988-89) (thanks to Will for posting to Flickr so as to be able to see the tons of detail). Look at Devi’s woman, how androgenous, so creepy as well. Same insane patterning and open space. And, in the Naina-jogin image, the figure is independent of context or location. She is the story. 

So, now I have these two guardian angel artists, one on each shoulder, waiting for me to put the pen to moleskine (new book, new size, new opportunities which I think is key to shift out when stuck in the mire) and see what evolves. I know you all have not be on the edge of your chairs over this one, but just saying…

But it feels like a journey is about to begin. I am packing my bags, finding my reference…beginning to think afresh. Who knows. Ganga Devi, Naina-jogin, 1988-89

Wonderful Jason Koski is here taking pictures for 3x3’s article on me, my space, the work etc. He is nicely doing all the pretty work, but a portrait is in the mix, and I hope like blood drawing, it will be quick, and not too memorable. Ursula Roma wrote a wonderful piece(3x3 requests that an illustrator write the article and Ursula is an amazing writer and illustrator…so she was amazingly gracious to do this for me)…. So we are tying up all the loose ends to make this piece happen.

Jason prompts me to get ahold of our friend Chris to see what we can do to move the 10x10 project (a music project with local musicans). Need to send a FB message.

There are phone calls today. Projects to do. The upstairs studio is progressing with the new bathroom and newly configured smaller room getting “mud and tape” today. Mandy is delivering a huge load of thises and thats to the dump…

New codes

Dumbfounded by Madhubari, Q. Cassetti, 2011, sharpieColder than cold. The car themometer read -6 this morning as we rolled out of the drive- way to take Alex to school and make the big purchase of catfood and rice. Freezing the inside of my nose and drying out my hands and face. So, its a good day to stay inside and stay warm.

Yesterday was cleaning up, cooking (lasagne construction for Alex) and attending the Democratic Caucus at the Village Hall. Rob was voted in to be the year long candidate for Village Trustee (representing the Democrats). And I was, out of the blue, voted in to be the secretary of the caucus (complete with a swearing in and a job to do). I didn’t know what they wanted re notes…so I just did “it” and was not happy to be off my game! But it was a small group of mainly friends…so…

Then there was fun with football. Rob and I watch football with Alex and actually like it. Alex makes it fun.

Some things surfaced yesterday I want to share with you. Do you know about QR codes? QR codes are like UPC codes that relate to content on the web (also called mobile tagging). One can take a picture of it with a smart phone (with the right application) and it will take you to something on the web. There was a very clever application of it at Christmas (wrapping paper with 15 different QR codes that took you to 15 cute little animations having to do with the holidays). Q loves QR codes….and found out where to make the codes online and am going to start using them in my work…links for my clients, an application on my my QCards…etc. Wikipedia talks about the QR code this way:

IPhone has a free reader application that seems to be working for me (QR Reader for IPhone) . Kaywa has a nice online code generator (simple as pie). I think that the QR Code is a great way to send your clients or prospectives the rich content we make as designers and illustrators. It gives us a chance to make it easy..a click, and a memorable click for us to share visuals simply….address free.

Today its posters, logos, postcards, programs,..big week.

Gotta go turn up the heat.  Shady and I am shivering.

A bit on Mr. Fun, Hanuman

The Five Faces of Hanuman from http://www.exoticindiaart.comFrom:

http://www.dharmathai.com/ramakian/2008/07/hanuman-yes.htmlWednesday, July 16, 2008

Hanuman is a white humanoid monkey (a kind of albino) - he has a very special recognition point; in the middle of the roof of his mouth is a crystal fang.

He has the supernatural ability to change form and have 4 faces and 8 arms.
He can yawn and bark, and starts and moons are ejected. His weapon is the Dtrii Paetch (short trident, which he uses when receiving Yaks of high importance). He is extremely able and agile - he has the ability to disappear. He is the hertbeat of “Kong Grapan” magick, even when he is killed by deadly weapons, after a while he begins to come to his senses and comes back to life.
Hanuman is the Son of the Angelic Deities / Consciousnesses, “Phra Paay, and “Naang Sawaaha”. Naang Sawaaha was cursed by her mother, and was left alone in the barren realm, Phra Isworn (Shiva), ordered Phra Paay to take Phra Isworn’s weapon and throw it into the mouth of Naang sawaaha. Naang Sawaaha became pregnant from this, and gave birth to an albino that flew out of Naang Sawaaha’s mouth and hovered in the air!

He was named “Hanuman”, and it is believed that Phra Paay is his Father, because of this legend.Hanuman was a major character in theRamakian/Ramayana, because of his great self sacrifice in lending his services as monkey general of Phra Ram’s (Rama) Army, and ending the war virtually singlehandedly with all his superhero-like feats.
“ลอยอยู่ตรงพักตร์ ชนนี รัศมีโชติช่วงในเวหามี กุณฑล ขนเพชรอลงการ์ เขี้ยวแก้วแววฟ้า มาลัย หาวเป็นดาวเดือนระวีวร แปดกร สี่หน้าสูงใหญ่ สำแดงแผลงฤทธิ์ เกรียงไกร แล้วลงมาไหว ้พระมารดร”Hanuman is assumed to be immortal and invulnerable (he was resurrected from the dead once in the Ramakian). The reason for his immortality being, that he is the son of Phra Paay (the wind/air God), and so, whenever he is killed and lays dead on the floor, it only requires a breath of wind to blow upon him and he is revived miraculously through the power of his Father “Phra Paay”.

Hanuman is also renowned for his powers of being able to expand his body to giant size, and also to stretch his tail to incredible lengths (like in the story where he uses his tail to bridge the ocean to Langka)

Hanuman’s role in the Ramakian;

Hanuman has many roles and many character traits are displayed in the various stories about this simian superhero, which enthrall, and capture the hearts of his audience.In Hindu India, monkeys are generally revered and respected because of hanuman’s role in the Ramayana, and many “monkey temples” are to be found in every town.Humanoid Monkeys generally tend to play a role as soldiers in Phra Ram’s army, hanuman being Phra ram’s commanding general. Hanuman has been incorporated into various belief systems spreading across the Far East and South East Asia, from India to Bali, over China to Japan.
He is to be found in many myths and legends (apart from Ramakian).

From the Thai point of view, hanuman is a hero figure, brave and able, both clever, and physically agile.
He was used in olden times in Thailand as the mascot of the Gabee Tuch Pennant (ธงกบี่ธึช) when entering into battle.Hanuman is often used in the building of edifices, ad of course, for protection in Sak Yant tattoo.
Especially in the Khone theater, which depicts mostly scenes from ramakian, Hanuman seems to attract more interest than any other character in the story; especially from children! Because Hanuman is a figure with a personality that stands out more than anybody else - he wears white, has white fur - shrugs heavy attacks off with a laugh..absolutely invincible.Hanuman may be really the first Superhero of history.He is a master of the dancing arts, with such a gracious way of behaving and speaking….wherever Hanuman appears, he is center stage.

Five Headed Hanuman from exoticindiaart.comHanuman became Phra Ram’s commanding General, by volunteering for duty and prepared to sacrifice his life, with no expectation of any reward, and no promise from Phra Ram of any recompensation of any sort!Whatever m ission Hanuman recieved from Phra ram, however difficult, tiring or impossible it seemd; whether it was to fly and lift a mountain with herbs on it (needed to heal Phra Laksaman and Phra Ram, or to go steal the chariot of the sun. If you compare Hanuman to other faithful servants of Phra ram, like Pipaek or Sukriip, you will have to admit that Hanuman has to labour more and suffer more toil, especially considering the fact that Phra Ram offered no reward, and that Phra Ram had never helped Hanuman in any way before this time. Hanuman’s greatest toil and strugle, the mission with the most danger, where Hanuman sacrificed his self the most, where he must have felt down the most, was the chapter where “Hanuman offers the Ring”

Catchup

Lotus Valentine, Q. Cassetti, 2011, sharpie.Loved my tutorials yesterday on Lynda.com. Learned about the new variable width line tool, the new pathfinder replacement shape —shaper. And the perspective tool. Oy. I dont use perspective this much, but what with this new easy tool, I would consider adding it to my palette of tools to offer. The Lynda.com tutorials are wonderful…and with the files, you can follow along and actually learn the stuff. I need to keep at it as it will make be more of a “proficient” quicker. And quite honestly, I should do the same for photoshop, acrobat and inDesign as it will inevitably save me time with the reeducation.

I need to catch on fire about something. I am in that miasma of not being neither fish nor fowl, not engaged in a topic but working along with the Mudhubari work…but not on fire. The silhouette illos were happening last year this time. Granted, the color work hadn’t happened at this time last year…and the bees hadn’t happened nor had it become a glimmer in my eye. So, there is time….but I am filled with agitation and worry that nothing will happen. But, it will… I know…

Made a pot roast and hung out with Alex last night. Rob was late as he had a dinner with a new consulting group at the Museum. Good things to happen it sounds like.

Today, I frosted a cake I made last night. I was fearful that Shady might have eaten the cake last night as she brought a half eaten sandwich from the bottom of someone’s bookbag and was cuddling with it on her bed last night. But, thankfully, the mouldy sandwich was far more appealing. I made a gigantic pot of spaghetti sauce for this week’s consumption this morning too. We had a visit from our old friends visiting from Montclair, NJ which was a delight….and here we are with the sky dark and the evening in front of us.

cs5 monkey around

Learning the new width tool and brushes, CS5. Q.Cassetti,2011, digital

IF: Dusty [and smoky]

Suburbia, Q. Cassetti, 2010

Smoky and dusty…this time of the year with all of our fireplaces and woodstoves churning away to keep us warm.

“Every life has its years in which one progresses as on a tedious and dusty street of poplars, without caring to know where he is. “

 Max Muller 

Rollercoaster

Works by Ganga Devi (1928 – 1991), found in the book Ganga Devi: Traditions and Expressions in Mithila Painting by Jyotindra Jain.

From A Journey around My Skull: Riding the Roller Coaster with Ganga Devi by Will Schofield

Works by Ganga Devi (1928 – 1991), found in the book Ganga Devi: Traditions and Expressions in Mithila Painting by Jyotindra Jain.

From Wikipedia: “Madhubani painting or Mithila Painting is a style of Indian painting, practiced in the Mithila region of Bihar … and Janakpur in Nepal.”

Jain explains Devi’s non-traditional subject matter:

While she was deeply rooted in the tradition [of Mithila painting], which was a source of inspiration in her work and of courage in her tormented personal life, she was one of the few Mithila artists to respond spontaneously and vigorously to the possibilities offered by the availability of paper in the region [starting in the early 60s]… With the availability of paper, Ganga Devi no longer confined herself to painting the ritual kohbar-ghar and aripan, with their limited vocabulary of symbols and images, but started to investigate the unlimited potential offered by line drawing….

Devi’s position as a preeminent traditional Mithila painter brought her opportunities to travel to Russia, the United States, and Japan…. Moscow Hotel, Festival of American Folk Life, and Ride in a Roller Coaster are examples of how an Indian village artist attempts to mythologize the great contemporary urban symbols of our time. In these paintings Ganga Devi transforms the ordinary commonplace images of hotel facades, motor cars, national flags, ticket-booths, roller-coasters, and people carrying shopping bags into imaginary and ‘fantastic’ objects.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Ganga Devi, Stories of Rama (II), 1977, detail, Hanuman jumping across the oceanIsn’t this work remarkable, modern and clean. Devi can design like no one’s business.The minimal color, the line work, the use of white space and wild detail is considered, planned and so natural. The work just flows. Look at the lovely Monkey God, Haruman, at peace, running complete with a snake in his hand, and the greenery moving out of his way as she speeds by. And in the Madhubani tradition, there are the fish…always the fish confirming fertility.

I found this book on Alibris (affordable!) and have it coming. There are more images that I know we will share in the future from this exceptional artist. It was interesting that chatting with Marc V. today about folk art traditions, I was musing that we really do not have an American folk art tradition and he cleverly pointed out that we are a new culture (200 yrs) and this sort of tradition takes time. Come to think of it, isn’t graffiti a folk tradition? And there are the odd offshoots like Grandma Moses, the PA Germans, Watts Tower, Hobo art….but like our culture, there isnt a single thread….but a multiplicity of them. How many centuries old do we need to be as a culture before we have a national folk style?

Speaking of folk art, and folk style….check out this amazing Czech book posted by the amazing A Journey Around My Skull ( A Forest Story with illustrations by Rudolph Mate (1929)— Very Successionist inspired with wonderful pattern on pattern with basic color as suggested by the simple printing presses. Inspiring. I should google Mates and see what else he has done. This work is gorgeous. I want to see more.

Must go. The phone is ringing. Things need to get done and changed.

Noodlings

Madhubani collectionHere is a collection of Madhubani illustration to cut through the grey day and burn some color into the back of our brains. Don’t you love the line work to the left with the flat hits of red in the background and the smattering of yellow in the detail. The black and tones of grey pulled out of the line work is so lacy and beautiful and can really stand up to the solid hit of red in the background. Totally inspiring. Now, the snakeman to the right, second image! With the floaty happy bubbleheads, the inverted lotus/loti and the waves to suggest either the wind blowing or the water flowing. And the white wiggly pattern juxtaposed against the black and white heavy dot patter that is either a snake or a boat or a mat that the god and goddess are sitting on. Again, more crazy fish and turtles just for fun. These artists should have been paid by the line as they would  become very rich. In my search, I disovered a wonderful blog, A Journey Around My Skull with an entry authored by Will Schofield “Riding the Roller  Coaster with Ganga Devi” (February 22, 2010). Schofield shows us and speaks to work from a remarkable Madhubani painter, Ganga Devi (1928-1991) with her interpretations of the Madhubani tradition which then stretched to be interpreting the world as Devi saw it. She painted rollercoasters, ticket booths and national flags. Take a look. Her work is extrordinary technically and as an eastern vision of our crazy western life. Another nod to Will Schofield who links to an amazing posting of Folk Art Books from india….I am crazy with jealousy over the works he was sent by Tara Books….

Take a look.

Alex is off to sing this evening. Rob is in..but the next few nights will be out with Museum business. I think tonight I will make dinner and some cupcakes for the work team. They have had modest lunches (leftovers) for the past few days and I havent done anything for them that is nice. So cupcakes and some new soup would be good.

There is a ton of publication work to do here. I am catching up slowly. Had a nice chat with Joe Sepi at Pioneer who (angel) is going to test my valentine with a series of foils (I wanted copper…he suggested others) so I can get it done.  He said we would see it early next week. I need to get the photo stuff moving for the 3x3 article.  I need more stuff added to the website to enliven that work too. Seems stale and old.

Its cold here. The cats have all found their hot spots on the floors and have not moved. Shady is odd as she wants to protect me in my office, but hates the plastic surround that is there to keep the dust from moving in the new space. She tentatively steps through the airlocks, painfully looking back at me as if to chide me for forcing her to pursue this uncomfortable and odd labyrith. The new bathroom and room have been defined by uprights today…and there is no abstraction to the new spaces. All seems pretty real and realized. This one is a big change with relatively small moves.

New Week

Indian Heads, Q. Cassetti,2011, pen and inkIcy cold today. Ice on the windshield—such that it was hard to see the road. A bit scary as Alex cajoled me while I drove with my head out of the window trying to triangulate on what I could see, pretend I could see and not see at all. Like driving with a shower door between you and the road.

Got a bunch of work done on some pubs today. And got a lovely opportunity for tomorrow to design some bus graphics! First a tractor trailer for the Museum. Then a container for the Museum. Then an airplane for Corning and my other client. And now a promotional bus!

It was dust lockdown central here. The boys were whaling away on a wall (new bathroom and reconfigured storage) in the new princess office area. All sorts of air breaks with tarps and tape, tarps/tape and tacks. It had it’s moments re noise, but it wasn’t anything the mute button on the phone could muffle. I think tomorrow is the end of the dust raising. Then, its rebuilding time.

I put some images up on the Directory of Illustration site (as I bought a page in the book last year and hadn’t taken advantage of the portfolio pages they make available (along with streaming blog and tweets). I think its a pretty robust offering (more expensive but more reach than the iSpot). We will see if it produces.

Directory of Illustration: Finally has my portfolio!

My portolio n the Directory of Illustration (link is clickable).

Monday rush

Indian illustration.Nice dinner last night. Worked out well. Plenty to eat that we had leftovers for five today. Rob and Alex have today off…with Rob and Mandy squaring off with the rest of the second room of the studio to make straight and orderly the path. And they have had success today! Remarkable.

Got images off to Computer Arts Magazine (UK Publication). They will print images along with put a dozen on a disk/CD for artists/art directors to review. They asked particularly about Folk art inspiration particularly Lubki(!). I am very curious to see what they surface in their article. Maybe there is more perking along in Europe around a folk tradition than what we are seeing here.

Did a few 2300˚ postcard graphics and a poster this p.m. along with a bit of work for the Baker. I am hoping to clock down some more work (finishing entirely) this week. Would be so good.

Gotta go. Late start today…so I need to get down to the kitchen to see what to make for dinner.

Sorry for the rush.

Weekend moment

Cow study, Q. Cassetti, 2010, sharpiesWe saw Alex at Barton Hall for an indoor Track and Field event. He and his team were great…with Alex doing the last lap of a four man relay…and making some personal records (PR). We had lunch at the vietnamese restaurant in Collegetown after his accomplishments and then to Camp Street for down time.

I spent a bunch of time learning new things on my iPad while Rob was busy making magic with the first floor office/gallery (to be) space. Rob is truly making amazing changes. And wastrel me found out new things about design, computers, social media (did you know that a right click on a web page can allow you to tweet it?). Another interesting find was when I found someone had retweeted a tweet I had done from an article on Slate about punctuation. The individual who quoted my link had a really  neat virtual “go to” at about.me.com. About me is a place that you can link all the social media locations you are on…in one place versus the direct to a single location on the web. It has some nice and simple design tools. I need to spend a moment and really pretty it up…but hey. I like the idea that there is a place that is essentially the octopus, the many legged critter that can tie all of one’s disparate locations all together in one spot. Cool.

Tonight is dinner for ten…for Mary’s birthday. I am making a pork roast from the famous cookbook, “Walter’s Swiss Kitchen”, roasted potatoes, a salad and asparagus (I know, its wrong…but it was there and I was weak) along with a chocolate cake I made in two loaf pans and cut the loaves in half (horozontally). So, the cake is a skyscraper with little adornments of japanese food/cake erasers on the top for fun. I am taking a momentary break from chopping just to say hi…but I am back on almost immediately to get the roast going.

Tomorrow is MLK day. Rob is off as is Alex. I have work…along with some treats like looking at the amazing, amazing, tear inducing article Ursula Roma sent me (for 3x3), getting Jason K. scheduled and planning the display for the Tompkins County Library in March with a group of other graphic designers in the area. And then there is the real work too.

IF: Chicken

Wide Awake Bakery’s Chicken!, Q. Cassetti, 2010, vector