Think pink

My favorite model, Q. Cassetti, 2011My little spring flower! This is the Disney Princess Dress that we finally settled on for Kitty’s multiple needs to get dressed up. It is the pink dress that we have always admired during prom pictures and as she was so non high school prom with her selections (here and here) with the respective names of the dresses being “Motown” and “Grecian”. Now we have a little sompin sompin that is far from discrete and the all girl, first grade fantasy when the entire world is swathed in unicorns, Lisa Frank, rainbows and pink. Kitty and I had a little photoshoot (with thinking around what the real headpiece will be when the dress becomes “Barbie”). Perhaps a Ken Fascinator? Or a dream house in a wagon —the ultimate of Barbie Mobile Home? Very fun.

It is cool today. In the sixties with promise of a cool week. We are all so much happier with the cooler clime. I have a mint syrup simmering on the stove with a few clean bottles ready to store it. There are calls to be made, thumbnails rattling around this thin skull, trips to the postoffice. Wow. The week is getting ahead of me and I dont want to be left behind.

Spring Bouquet

Weekend flowers, Q. Cassetti, 2011Nice weekend. We started the time with  our inaugural fun at Sweet Land CSA’s first pick up. It was so fun, so much more than I expected…from the lovely food you could pick from to the amazing farmers with wit, wisdom and insight…to the offerings from luscious yellow beets, to leeks, to mint and basil along with all you can pick batchlor buttons and 2 pink peonies. There were tons of different greens, mint, oregano and basil by the long stalk. I have seen the summer and I am delighted. Today made pesto, mint lemon syrup, a leek and carrot soup, sauteed kale and prepped the lettuce for salad tomorrow. I will post pictures to inspire you of the CSA barn, with friendly chalk board instructions, clean blue totes holding all he produce offerings, from the limited selections to the “have at it”. There is an egg share (which we are doing) as well as Stefan Senders Wide Awake Bakery share too.

There were all sorts of my favorite Tburgers there with children milling about or in the sandbox/playground. It is the best. I am so psyched.

Friday night and Saturday night Kitty danced. We had friends of Kitty and Alex at the lake—with all sorts of hanging out. Fun and very restful. I read a trashy book and “chilled” with Alex and Kitty. Saturday afternoon after dropping Alex and friend off to practice music, Kitty and I went to Trader K’s to have her try on evening dresses for a formal event. It was tons of fun with Kitty finally picking a bubblegum pink, barbie number complete with a boned corset style bodice. She looks remarkable (pictures to come). Lotsa laughs along with visiting Petrune for glamour and inspiration.

Alex is off singing tonight with the Community Chorus. We had some pretty enlightening conversation about music, jazz, his enjoyment of the singing lessons he is taking, chord progression and the things he is discovering and loving. He is an adorable guy that I cherish spending time with. I am so lucky. His insights and solid grasp on those things he loves never ceases to inspire and please me.

Need to log off. Drawing ahead.

Steam Bath

Roses Past, Q. Cassetti, 2009HOT yesterday. In the nineties. Feels like the same today. David and John got the doors affixed. Today, there will be rock moving. OUCH. Poor Alex absoutely cannot handle it…so he lounged and groused. Kitty is better. Today we have trips to the doctor. Kitty has her job. Alex will melt at school. Shady is parked right in front of my cyclone fan. As long as the fan moves the air, I am good.

Rob is off on his travelling adventure. Kitty and Alex and I have each other…and the regime is changing where i am going to start bossing people around and making them get off their teenaged thing…and helping. I do not know what the psychology is, but when its one parent, they oblige so happily. They are more easily delighted (ie. we had salad for dinner last night and they were thrilled)…So, there may be a bit less lounging for the Teen Girl and Boy Squad.

I am busy with a new project using art that goes very small in final. So, I am finding that if I develop and ink the drawing on trace, and then build the illo on the computer, the work goes faster and much tighter/better work. I need to relook at the vector approach and simplify. I think that will come with drawing the forms on trace, scanning it in and then redoing it. Now that I have the how in process, I need to work on the what. Feeling dumb today. Ah well.

My calendar is buzzing me, telling me to wake Kitty up. And so. I shall.

Greater

Grate Face, Q. Cassetti, 2011I am always looking and seeing faces surrounding me. I am sure this is something everyone does—but it is such fun. And its always great to see a good one when you have a point and shoot in your hand. I bought a brand new grater at Maines on Saturday and in the great unpacking of the bags, put it down on our stainless prep table…voila. And now you can have him smile at you this morning.

I am inking on trace today. OOOOH. Love it. Thick trace, the really meaty stuff with layers of india ink is pretty much the max. I was working with photoblue and light vermillion prismas on trace last night with the blue being the preliminary sketch and the vermillion being the firm up. Now the inking.  I am cranking out a stack of these babies for a fun sketch project I am working on. Thus, the photo a day program right now.

I am curious about the trendy, color projections. Do you know if they project out one/two years so that the fabric companies and fashion companies can develop product/collections using these predicted colors?

Nidhi Saxena has a blog on color, patterns and designs>>

Fall and Winter 2011-2012 Color Trends in Fashion>>

Pantone View Color Planner Fall/Winter 2012/2013

“Refocus also examines Colour Movements - tones that are becoming more important, less important or shifting in hue and intensity:

- Lighter blues and navy increase in importance.
- Leathery brown becomes more important as a basic.
- Oxblood grows in popularity as browns, in general, adopt a redder hue.
- Olive becomes stronger.
- Purple and purple hues are still evident.
- Brights have a singular status for winter.
- Camel evolves into cappuccino and creamy hues.
- Yellows become softer and less sporty.
- Reds are becoming more orange.
- Traditional winter darks and berry colors are more mid-toned and less blackened.

So, I guess if we have a color magic ball, this may be able to be interpreted a bit. Yay for Olive becoming stronger. And a redder Oxblood is nice too. Is black out? and Navy in? All ideas are welcome!

 
Rob and Kitty had a great trip to Utica and then to get the doors at Croghan Mills. The millwork is great and David and John are here installing them today!

a beautiful Monday in June

Lake blooming Peony, Q . Cassetti, 2011Kitty and Rob blew out of here early for a meeting in Utica and a “quick swing” to Croghan Island Mills to pick up a pair of doors we have had made for the back breezeway. Croghan Mills is a water powered mill that does beautiful millwork albeit not the closest…its an enterprise worthy of supporting.North Country Public Radio did a story on this mill>>

We had a busy day yesterday with lawnmowing and trumpet vine/tree pruning at the lake. My single peony of the season uneaten by the deer was there, waxy and lovely…bidding me to take its likeness. The lake was beautiful and balmy.  The trees are all filling out. The tulip poplar blossoms are there all cream and orange…such a striking and primordial flower. It was great just doing chores in such a blissful surround.

Then off to buy shoes for Rob as he is getting ready for a trip to NYC for work and then off for a longer engagement. His shoes were shot, so we had great results at Fontanas!  He is ready to start counting the underwear and socks, lining up the teeshirts and getting his phone charger.

Alex’s Concert at the Presbyterian Church with the Community Chorus along with the Swamp College Brass Quartet was very nice and nicely crowded. The voice lessons are paying off. Alex is finally opening his mouth and doing a bit more projection. He is coming on strong with all of his music enterprises and interest. It is wonderful to see him opening up and the happiness that surround it.

Our Sweet Land CSA starts this Friday! How exciting!

 

 

On the Fringes

Fringe Tree in Bloom, Q. Cassetti, 2011Another beautiful spring summer day. Today we prep for Rob travelling, Alex for a concert and Kitty for Kitty. I am talking to you before getting whisked off to be number one companion. We have shoes to buy, laundry to do, and a community chorus concert at the Presbyterian Church at 7:30 p.m.

I have a feeling we may have a lot of music in the house this summer with Alex getting all charged up about playing jazz from a very positive music session with a very calm, smart and together friend yesterday. He came home ON FIRE.

LOVED seeing that.

As you can see, the allium is going to seed. Our fragrant Fringe Tree (which is always a second from dying…as the older part of the tree is open and the woodpeckers have started in on it) is renewed, with a new tree springing from the base. Our neighbors all have glorious herbacious peonies. We have none. Guess why! The damned DEER. Target practice starts today. I am having a hard time deciding which weapon we will be practicing with…but lethal is the watchword. The Deerisaurus hate monarda…and that plant is flourishing. Guess that is my choice. All else they eat despite the “deer proof” designation. Stupid us.

We saw the MacGillicuddies who were great with Farmer Thor vocalizing to tunes such as “80 Dead Chickens”, and I think, “Kill the Possum”. Thor was very cute and having fun, spreading the energy to all of us. Rumor has it that the rub board player was his brother who had the same beamishness…loving being up front with the happy crowd. High energy. Lots of dancers. The bar was pleasantly crowded. A good night was had by all (even me!). I actually met some new people (fun!) and had a nice exchange. Did I say I love Trumansburg enough today?

I am busy drawing away, smudging ink all over pages to some success…not a ton. But as you know, I am warming up. Not everything can rock the house as much as I try.

 

Not necessarily going to seed

Allium Gigantium going to seed by the pumpphouse, Q. Cassetti, 2011We heard the Chicken Tractor at Felicias last night to our delight. So much so, we are going to hear them again tonight at the Rongo. It was a bright and breezy summer night last night with the crowd being at the Ithaca Festival, so the Atomic Lounge was not insanely crushing…and the music was brilliant and fun. Kitty was the dancing princess at the contra dance at the Bethel Grove Community Center. Alex was doing the festival, movies and then more bro time. So all were engaged…albeit not as a tribe. But, everyone is growing up and need their own groups, their own communities to flourish and identify with. I know this…thanks to being a member of my own community of artists, musicians, localvores and the fine IthaTrumansburgers.

I am working on a new body of work that I am not going too public on as it is a warm up for a project that hopefully start soon. Alex was asking my why I needed to do this warm up, this sharpening up— and I likened my process to that of a musician doing the scales, or singers doing trills—I love getting my eye “in” and sharpening my sensitivity to the work through practice works. I guess it comes from the calligraphic work with the esteemed professor, Arnold Bank.

    “Calligraphy is the autographics of alphabetics… . Calligraphy is simply the art of writing,or of sketching and drawing transferred to the use of letter design, on the beautiful blank of a fine sheet of paper… . Now in doing it, it has to be clear and it has to be beautiful.”
    Arnold Bank (1908-1986)

I might have mentioned this before, but Arnold Bank was my first real art/ design teacher. Quite honestly, there have only been two significant teachers in my visual career—those being Arnold Bank and Murray Tinkelman. Arnold Bank was a self taught calligrapher who had studied at the Arts Students League—perfecting his thinking and teaching. His course was a disciplined self study to learn a letterform from drawing the forms with different pens from a pair of flair pens taped together to simulate the thick/thin to ink and pens. From music pens to metal brushes to flat brushes. We worked from big to small producing a poster/placard, a poem and then a small book to explore text sizes. This work to learn a “hand” led the student to fully understand and build fluidity in the letterforms, leading, spacing and design in the most granular way. There were pen warm ups that needed to be done prior to picking up the pen to start the work….and these warmups are the source of inspiration for these pre illustration, illustrations…to get the eye in, to tune the design sensitivity, and think about the black and white, designing the negative and positive as the pen hits the paper. I really havent given it much thought, but I do not think other illustrators do warmups…but for me, it is imperative to do the warmups along with thumbnails as it is the physical and spirit aligning….in preparation for the trance that can happen with the work.

Forgive me for not sharing right now, it just is important that it stays with me. So, I will share photos and other things for while until I am ready. You will get snippets of my concerts, my friends, whats growing…the color, forms and shapes in my world.

Must go. I have Kitty and 4 friends, Bruce, Rob and soon Alex who will be anxious to eat. Now, what to cook?

And now, ladies and gentlemen, back to Spring!

Billy Eli at the Rongo 05/28/2011. Q. Cassetti, 2011From last Saturday’s Billy Eli concert. Wild Billy….who puts on an amazing show…a real pro. He is a Texas original complete with his own case of Lone Star beer we saw him pull out of his car an hour or so prior to his set. However, he has dear Trumansburg friends, particularly that of Eric Aceto, who is a very adaptable and remarkable musician who plays with Eli keeping up with his driving Texas drawl and guitar, his “honky tonk twang”. The best of the North and south.

More on Billy Eli>>
More on Eric Aceto>>

I thought I had lost the pictures as my memory card is a bit sticky, but hey…no problems. I really should get a slightly better point and shoot as I cannot get these distance shots too sharp..But, hey! pixels are free and I take such happiness from taking the shots. I like what the show lighting is doing to him…a split font approach to color from a red elbow to a purple face to the dark blue shirt that Eli is wearing…. Maybe a picture from this?

Thank goodness the heat spell has swept away to brisker, cooler, and less humid climes. The sky is blue and the haziness gone. After yesterday’s day centered between the fans, it is nice to have the sun and green, the cool breeze through my window and the floral scent of young ferns and wild purple phlox that are popping. The hot weather was a bit premature for this year. I am happy we are back to a more expected clime.

Rob has a late one tonight. Kitty starts her job at Funky Finds Thrift Company (our Main Street, fashionable second hand—“thrifting” clothing shop), to her delight and pleasure. Kitty is busy anticipating window design and merchandising. Its great to see her fired up to work! Alex is struggling to get the studying done for all the up and coming regents tests. I have to get the camp stuff for him done soon.

More alterations to do. New projects to start!

"No sweat....chillin'"

Detail of front gate at the Luckystone Lodge, Q. Cassetti 2011I wrote (or is it “texted”? ) that to our girl while we were texting and it dawned on me that yes, there was sweat and no, I was not chillin’, but melting. However, the true meaning was that it wasnt a big deal to wait and I was content to wait. Plenty to talk about, think about and do. The experience at the Brattleboro Dawn Dance was beyond her hopes—having a great time, making new friends, figuring out that maybe she is as fabulous as we tell her she is…and buoyed by the confidence that travelling by yourself brings. Our dancing princess is swinging on top of the world. And she is home to folky central.

Waiting and talking to her, I decided to really, really listen to one of her new favorite contra groups. So, I downloaded the new “Flying Tent” CD from the group, Perpetual e-Motion. Wow! Dance music, driving beat, but certainly no old time thing. Good working music. Gets the steam up. Lots of influences…but amazing just as its two guys who have a strong series of references that they meld with a danceable, callable beat…and who make a living being a contradance band.

I am being buffetted by a pair of fans to prevent the Q. puddle from occurring (like yesterday). I cannot even imagine what the top of my head looks like..but hey,that is insignificant compared to body heat.

I am wrapping some small projects up and am on the diving board for a few more. Today there is a field trip to the liquor store (!) as I have the distinct pleasure of having the opportunity to work on a related project and then there is another idea in the works that is related to the same that I am meeting with friends about. So, ideas abound.

Need to get the Luckystone First Year Award in the mail to Hartford (University of Hartford, Hartford Art School’s Low Residency MFA in Illustration). I am giving the first years the same as the past two years, large moleskine sketchbooks to commemorate their getting through the first two weeks of the program, launched into the swirl of change and growth that the program can give you. It is a cheap way to give back, and honestly, after my first two weeks of Syracuse, it would have been a confidence booster that you can get through it… Yes, for some, its a snap. But for those of us who are not overly confident (and in my case lost as it was a brave new world that I wasn’t sure I could cut)—a gentle, and friendly nudge and wink would have been welcome. The books are wrapped and beribboned. Now, all I have to do is write a little something friendly.

Its nine. Time to commence. Stay cool… I’ll be chillin’.

Untangled

Static Uniform, Q. Cassetti, 2011Things are sticky hot and its not even 11 this  morning. The newscasters were proud to tell us that it was going to 90˚ today so the fans will be whirring, shoes off, and little prayers to the computer gods that the machines don’t fry in the heat. I have been experiencing some glitches so I am not too certain that my little prayers have been heard.

Yesterday was tranquility base. Truly. I read. Made lunch and dinner and then took a monster nap. Truly a vacation day….and well received. If only I could do this for 3 or 4 more days, the strands of gluey spaghetti that constitutes my thinking and thoughts would become streamlined and elegant, giving me spaces to put new ideas, thoughts, pictures. But the ole biological hard drive had a day to cool down but not a total reboot.

We got into the water (knees deep) with poor hairy black Shady Grove (who is getting a new haircut from Mandy (who is back with us!!))—hot and panting. We made her do a little paddling around and she had a big drink of the lake water and immediately settled down.  I was entranced (and finished)The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases—a fast and engaging read about the amazing problem solving skills of three particular, eccentric and brilliant people (an artist, a profiler and a polygrapher/manager) who through wit, intuition and deduction…and seeing what truly is there, to resolve cold murder cases that have frustrated generations of police and FBI agents. This tight knit group of friends founded the Vidocq Society, (from their page):

“An unusual, exclusive crime-solving organization that meets monthly at the Union League of Philadelphia, 140 South Broad St., in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Members of The Vidocq Society honor Eugène François Vidocq, the brilliant 18th century French detective who served the Sûreté, by applying their collective forensic skills and experience to “cold case” homicides and unsolved deaths. At Vidocq meetings Vidocq Society Members (V.S.M.’s) evaluate, investigate, refocus, revivify and solve the unsolved deaths officially brought to them.”

to address these cases with the best in the business. Hot lunch and cold cases…pro bono and as a way to bring the best minds together to unravel puzzles that they all have a passion and profession to solve. Not too heavy, but really good and a book you do not want to put down. True crime rocks.

This week is a short one…so I need to make this quick. More, I hope, later.

Perfect Sunday.

Kitty at Felicia’s, Q. Cassetti, 2011Kitty is one of my good models. As is Alex, when he is amenable. However, the light at Felicia’s Atomic Lounge was perfection on Friday evening, and Kitty obliged. I hope this is the basi of another Kitty portrait as it has the range of tone and expression that makes for good work. At least, that is my hope.

Kitty, our dancing princess arrived safely at her destination to be picked up by two of her dear friends to be whisked away to eat dinner and attend a dance at Greenfield. Tonight is the big Dawn Dance which I hope will be all she wishes and she twirls and spins to her hearts delight all night. She has the bus ride home to sleep!

Gloria has flown away, back to Los Angeles to horse and friends, work and beautiful locale. However,, Central New York is pretty matchless today. Though thunder and rain have been promised, we have a bit of an overcast day despite the sun and humidity that beats down. The purple, white and lavender wild phlox has popped, dotting our stands of big, verdant, perfect early summer ferns which right now, billow and grow. We have a piliated woodpecker that is letting us see his grandeur as he wails away at our trees. We can hear an owl and other more tropical sounds such that it prompts me to get some recordings of birds so I too, can be like a real Tburger and be able to identify the birds according to sound.

I have chicken marinating in my own version of Cornell marinade ready to grill tonight. Rob has a bit of work, being Manager on Duty tonight as Memorial Day is the opener for the summer of fun at the Museum of Glass. So, Alex and I will be laking it….and as I have a yummy new book to dive into. Its a bit grisly, but somehow summer and real crime is just so enticing. Certainly not cocktail party talk with the adults and “nice people” but more for those of us who revel in reality t.v. and tales of John Wayne Gacy.

The Murder Room: The Heirs of Sherlock Holmes Gather to Solve the World’s Most Perplexing Cold Cases

So thats it for now. The sketchbook is beckoning.

Saturday thoughts

Daughters, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink manipulated in Adobe Photoshop CS5End of the week, beginning of the long weekend. Did an quick logo exploration for a new client yesterday. A program logotype which was amusing and fruitful. The other new client job met the deadline, and I guess we will hear about the next steps early next week—or at least that is what I hope. You never know how timely the information will be.

We went to Felicias last night to celebrate the end of the week. Long John and the Tights were playing with all sorts of musicians swapping in and out during their sets. There was such happiness in the music, the conviviality of the musicians and the basket of bread that Stefan Senders had for sale in his linen lined basket. We had such fun with Kitty and Alex…and wit and gossip. We are so lucky to have such a fun family. The light was magical…rich and deep. I cannot wait to see what the camera has yielded.

Tonight’s music is Billy Eli at the Rongo: 9:30PM-12:30AM
Billy Eli celebrates Eric Aceto’s birthday with Djug Django, Southern Tears & the Flying Aceto Brothers celebrates Eric Aceto’s birthday with Djug Django, Southern Tears & the Flying Aceto Brothers - So, Alex and Rob and I will stroll over to hear the wild music and catch some of the Billy Eli magic (as well as all the wonder the Acetos bring). Need to charge the camera for this evening!

David planted my cherry trees! They are so glorious in their perfection…small, but hardy. We have put cages around them to give them a chance against the critters. We have put a mesh fabric over all the tasty bits (tree peonies,hosta and others) to see if that will keep the deer away. But as you know, the deer are persistent. Not smart…but they keep at it. Diligent and persistent.

What with all the rain and cool humid days, the raspberries and sour cherries this season will be remarkable. Thing of all the things we can make! Ball Diamond Road in a month or so! Wahoo!

Speaking of making, I just made up a vat of fresh salsa for Alex and his band friends who are making music all day in the living room. We have just Alex this weekend as the Dancing Princess has gone off to Vermont for the Brattleboro, “Dawn Dance”. We got her to the bus this morning…with great pride in our hearts that our girl was confidently moving forward, bags packed, ticket in hand ready for fun.

Onward to sketches and ideating. I have lots to think about!

Powering through

Today is a glorious day. Kitty just told me we had a thunderstorm last night which I happily slept through. I guess we are having a tropical week with rain in the evenings and beautiful days. Tonight is 2300˚ where Sunny Weather will reunite to kick of GlassFest, the second annual celebration of glass in Corning NY. Also, “Mt. Washington and Pairpoint Glass, from the Gilded Age to the Roaring Twenties” is open (with Mark Tamayo’s wonderful show design and my show logotype). There will be a bus full of partygoers (Kitty, Alex, Gloria and maybe a friend) to mingle and mix in Corning this evening. Music and a balmy evening. How nice.

I have an illustration of a songstress due end of day..and we have some tweaking going on…so I  must make it swift.

Morning, Glory!

Pastel Rabbits, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink, Colored in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS5Cool and Humid. Looks like rain just like yesterday so that we have a mid day downpour so we have golden dusks. Kitty, bless her, went out yesterday and ripped out weeds. Today, I think there may be more yard work and then some filing for me. We could get rid of the heaps of paper…and she doesnt have the emotional thing I have with the paperwork. If she could sort and plan them for me, I can act.

I am doing a bunch of layout work along with having a few illustrations that need to be finished and inked for tomorrow. There is something I do not understand. The current illo project I am working on is a less than 3 day project on something that is going into testing next week. If they are going into testing, then why didnt they have  a little time to get the work done versus the ole 3 day, acid stomach thing. Little guidelines and fast timeframe… It just seems that the illustrator picks up the slack on some less than stellar project management. Not a problem, just looking at it as a designer and saying “why?”.

Speaking of illustration, I need to order a few of the 3x3 Magazines to have on file. Also, the pastel Q. is happening. I like the softness of the colors on the image above, with the pastels being soft and not necessarily sweet. Color is hard work worth pursuing. I need to take my woodcut headset (black, brown, cream, red) to another place just, if anything, to push the work.

Gotta go. Morning is speeding by.

Tag Em

Heaven or Hell, from the End is Near, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink, adjusted in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS%There are grackles on the roof looking at me with all sorts of nesting material to make their nest…probably in the carriage house to our displeasure. Rob looked at the bird leavings and proclaimed that we were going to bird proof our back porch as those critters just decide what they want to do and poop etc. everywhere.

There was a cacaphony of birdcalls, crow caws and morning doves this morning while Shady and I did the consititutional. The Garlic Mustard is just about ready to bloom (maybe I can get some help ripping it out…I ripped out buttercups this morning). What with all the rain, the air is tropical and humid. The grass is growing like crazy with all the  rain and cool humidity.

So here is another lesson for me. TAG your online work. Tag your images…and dont be skimpy. Talk about technique, tag subject down to detail, tag your name, your town, and the design elements of the compostion. I got another job yesterday from someone I have never spoken to, never marketed to, never met who, when searching the internet for bees found little old me. Quick sketch process for Friday and more finished work for next week as they are going into a test marketing process. This job has a mythological creature, limes and bees. And, they are interested in the handdrawn Q. Not the vector Princess.

So, since January, I have worked for 4 new Art Directors I have an email relationship with! Wow.

I am meeting this pm with my lovely new friends….maybe about a new enterprise they are interested in.

p.s. Harold Camping has claimed that this recent Rapture alert was just the warmup for October. Bless him, he is in bounceback mode…which gives me more time to work on my Rapture work after the new quickly job:

From The Times and Democrat:

Camping, who predicted that 200 million Christians would be taken to heaven Saturday before the Earth was destroyed, said he felt so terrible when his doomsday prediction did not come true that he left home and took refuge in a motel with his wife. His independent ministry, Family Radio International, spent millions - some of it from donations made by followers - on more than 5,000 billboards and 20 RVs plastered with the Judgment Day message.

But Camping said that he’s now realized the apocalypse will come five months after May 21, the original date he predicted. He had earlier said Oct. 21 was when the globe would be consumed by a fireball.

Saturday was “an invisible judgment day” in which a spiritual judgment took place, he said. But the timing and the structure is the same as it has always been, he said.

“We’ve always said May 21 was the day, but we didn’t understand altogether the spiritual meaning,” he said. “May 21 is the day that Christ came and put the world under judgment.”

Make plans for October. Sounds like a good day to throw a party. Right?

New Week

Harrowing of Hell: The End is Near, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS5Poor Harold Camping. He isnt answering his phone and is collecting himself that the Rapture didnt happen. His wife reportedly says he’s “somewhat bewildered” and “mystified” that nothing happened on May 21. Poor Robert Fitzpatrick spent his life savings of $140,000 to promote the end of the world —

I’m trying to warn people about what’s coming,” Fitzpatrick told the Daily News.

“People who have an understanding [of end times] have an obligation to warn everyone.”

Fitzpatrick spent his money on 1,000 placards on subway cars and several more on bus shelters around the city. They read: “Global Earthquake! The Greatest Ever - Judgment Day: May 21.” Poor guy. No escalator ride to heaven. He is stuck down here with Camping and all the rest of us sinners.

I am busy researching what the personification of hell looks like. The best results have come from images searched under the “Harrowing of Hell”. I love all the medieval and renaissance imagery that has this crazy head with people being stuffed into the mouth either inspired by human heads or a critter/fish/cat type of grotesque. Look at the jewel to the left. I love the big head, the big Christ with a bizarre cross/lance and all the heads of the sinners, seemingly pretty content to be in the mouth of hell. There is a funny tranquility to this image that I find funny and cute. I have always looked for this hell head when studying paintings as I am so charmed by them. So, I plan a bunch of pix to express my love and delight.

Alex is busy at an amusement park today with his Physics class. Kitty has her last week off. Rob is busy as a bee. I have work to the ears….and am sitting in my office with a green light coming in through the window as all the trees have blown out and we no longer have bitty spring leaves, but big, summer leaves.

Maw

The Maw, From the Time is Near, Q. Cassetti 2011, pen and ink adjusted in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS%1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17 — For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.  

Dudes!No evaporation. No disturbance. No beckoning for the good. The Rapture is over…at least for this year. Rapturesoon.com projects the next possible Rapture (but for them, there is no possible, but definite) in 2012. The key points pointing to that are biblical prophesy, the Mayan Calendar, The Great Seal of the United States, Sun Storms, The Atom Smasher, Yellowstone Supervolcano, The physicicsts, Polar Shift and much more.  So take a look at the video on this site…and be warned.

Matthew 25:1-13 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.  

I am def in the foolish camp. It is a little disturbing that only those “in Christ”—living or dead may ascend. What about the the Buddhists, Hindus, Jews and Muslims? Only the followers of Christ? Pretty elite set…

The picture today is inspired by many of the images of the Maw of Hell. I have enjooyed them for a while….and feel that there might be a few images in this, along with some good reference.

Lake was our evening and morning today. I have linens going after Shady rolled in them wet and sandy/dirty to her delight and my horror. I have the alarm ringing and I have to go.