Summer dreams

StarGazing, Q. Cassetti, 2010, vectorHere we are in Sheldrake with the day lilies brilliant by the side of the road. It is the time of ebullient sweet peas in masses, curling and twisting themselves in the greenery and down by the shore. It is breezy and definitely summery— that sweet spot I remember on dark and snowy February days and whisper to myself that  the time would be coming for breezes and the tonic of lake water and blue skies. And, we have sunsets dwindling at 10 p.m. with the sketching of pink reminding us of the slow burn of the sun.

New things on the local front. First and foremost, celeriac. Yup. celeriac! Our Sweet Land Farm often has a tub of it to pick from, so last week to amuse Kitty who adores the mandrake quality of alll the rootiness of this root, I grabbed two, determined to make something, I have discovered that if my friends are at the market, then we have a chance that someone is a champ with daikon, celeriac or kale (not part odd my local mis en place). So after quizzing a few moms who are good cooks, I dove into making a cold soup of celeriac, cucumber, potato and onion. Remarkable and very complex and herb ally  delicious. I fed it to the corporate lunch table to good results. More this week. Bring on the kale and Swiss chard!

 Also, I have been honored to be asked to on the Tburg farmers market board. It should be interesting as it is in it’s infancy and is ready for the next steps of programming and public awareness. The Wednesday market is wonderful and embraced by many with our Tburg musicians, chefs and farmers there to make Wednesday evenings more jolly. I have been charmed to see groups of scouts congregating there for ceremonies. We could have community dish to passes or bring back the summer movie fun of a few years ago. Our new bandstand is perfect for a summer wedding…with tables under the roofs for the reception. Maybe a permanent puppet theatre / child  mini farmers market too? Something new to ideate about. I can see a posters or something illustrative!

Part of this momentary peace comes from drawing and reading. I had to stop drawing a few weeks for a project, however, I am in the warm up phase, looking for my topic again. I have jet downloaded some fiction along with listening to the newest from the author of The Devil and The White City. A miasma of sleep, books, and my imaginary world with my ink pens. Dreamy!

Midweek?

Double birds, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink.I am hobbling around today as I came close to falling down my studio steps as Shady was too close to me and her tail was under my foot (which was on a painted staircase). Thank goodness I was doing as told (by the Chief of Safety here, Robbie) and hanging onto the handrail, so I caught myself, but in the catch, sprained a muscle in my leg. But better a strain than a broken noggin. So, hobbling and ibuprophin is the therapy on hand…and Shady is making me mad…but there you have it.

We are knocking em down and setting em up. We have Tucker on hand with a rake and weed wacker. Nigel is doing image research and tagging for us. Erich is doing what he does. Kitty has done some office work, filing, mail, recycling. So, we are keeping busy, and lunch has a new tenor with the college students at the table. I am anxious to move the needle a bit and get the small stuff we delayed (like updating my website) refreshed and finished. Also, we are going to learn something about the InDesign/ ePub creation as I am thinking this may come on as a house of fire…and with that, we will need to be ready. Lynda.com has some seminars on it…and I am thinking I might create a little advent book for kicks of my images for fun as a trial balloon.

We have guests this weekend. Jacob Kotler (our new summer family member) will be back from Michigan this p.m. and Alex will be back too.  So, there is some scrambling to do to make this all mesh happily. Gotta go

Dog Day

Hot Dog, Q.Cassetti, 2011It was summer yesterday. Hot as can be, so much so that the lake beckoned and we obeyed. It was the first aquatic foray of the summer, a bit brisk but soo soo worth it. Poor ShadyDog was a panting black mess who after her first dunk, settled down to her standard, non anxious self.

We were delighted and energized to greet a new Alex after his first week at the Ithaca College Summer Music Academy. This is a normally pretty quiet guy chattering his head off about all things music, his likes and dislikes, new friends, new abilities, new accomplishments. So much of the things he loves is frankly, for us, greek, but when he rambles on about odd key signatures, about those things that “one doesnt do”, about chord structures and where he likes to sing…is a bit obtuse for us, but we are learning and happy to do so. He has surprisingly really cottoned to the singing and is LOVING it…from what he is finding he is capable of, to the physical things/ the training/ the mind/ body/ music combinations. He loves the warm ups with yoga and then matched with singing warm ups. He loves singing opera. He pretty much loves it all with the exception of the know it all, smarty pants students that drive him crazy. Thank goodness we know that time takes care of a lot of this….

If this is what the college experience will be for Alex (once we get him to a place to understand the programs)—he will flourish…and evolve in a far more dramatic way that I think either Rob or I have anticipated. The passion is there. All we need to do is point it.

Kitty had a great day at Petrune. She is LOVING it…the dynamics of fashion, business, girlfriends. To think, she is encouraged to try on the clothes! She is enjoying meeting her fellow employees and doesnt mind the work of messing around with garments, tagging, steaming, learning QuickBooks. This too, is hopefully, blowing down a few doors. All we need to do is get her in front of a sewing machine…and then the world is her oyster. Baby steps. The world awaits.

Rob and I talked about the schedule for the next three months…where we needed to be, and how we can make the most of it. I have been asked to speak at the Museumwise Museum Institute this September at Sagamore. :

“The Museum Institute at Sagamore is a four-day retreat for museum professionals. The Institute supports a hands-on/hands-dirty approach, inviting presenters & participants to fully engage a topic with the goal of creating an enlightening, engaging and inspiring discussion”.

More on that. Then there is Art Basel Miami and a trip to West Palm Beach to see an installation at the Norton with the Museum. Then there is college stuff for Alex and pick up and deliveries of Kitty. Busy.

Time to make lunch.

 

Bounty!

Ball Diamond Road Sour cherries (chintz), Q. Cassetti, 2011Couldn’t resist! Kitty and I took two friends for more cherries today at Ball Diamond Road. The day has been perfect with low humidity, high blue skies, a breeze and cool. Dreamy. The cherries all looked like chintz and wallpaper patterns. The Queen Anne cream and pink cherries were in huge clumps looking like staid collections of bakelite charms ready to pin to my sweater. So, there are new cherries for our lunches if Kitty and Mandy let us share. Kitty and Mandy keep devouring the sweet cherries trying to get the firm ones to give them the pleasure of the “pop” that the skin provides when you bite into them.

Tonight its pitting the sours and sprinkling them with a bit of sugar before freezing them for either jam (later) or baked goodies when there is time.

Working away on some illustrations and learning some new things with the existing tool set. I am trying hard to simplify— Simplification is hard work, but rewarding in its own way.

We visited the Tburg Farmers Market and chatted with Stefan at Wide Awake Bakery (and took his picture) about all things local—food, food initiatives, local doings, harvest dinners and all that is fun to both of us. I was asked to possibly join the local Farmer’s Market board as a non vendor representative. I need to chat it around and see what its about. But, I feel that this is a group I can engage in and be effective.

We then watched the juggler/ musician who had every child enchanted and engaged. Then, off to dinner to hear Toivo play.

Today is more work here. Nigel, Erich, Mandy and Kitty are here—so its a bigger/fuller house than the normal day to day. I should go.

 

Cherry Season

Kitty in a cherry tree, Q. Cassetti, 2011Cherries, cherries, cherries. Today was the opener of the season at Hazlitt, with others opening tomorrow for sour and sweet cherry picking. There were red ladders with serious pickers (those who know what to do with the picking baskets clipped to their belts) and many of us late risers (getting to the orchard by 7:20 a.m.) rushing to keep up. Martha, Kitty and I picked (with Kitty’s cache going to a friend) and then picking our own sours and sweets (for our use and Martha’s mom). We picked 32 pounds of fruit. There is something sublime and spiritual about cherry picking as it is quiet and overlooking the beautiful lake…along with the breezes and color of the fruit, translucent, glowing red. It was no biggie picking this much fruit, as if one made a “day” of it…one could really go to town. We loved being on the front end of the picking as it was not so selective—but lots of fruit that one can pull off by the handful. Great clusters of these ruby fruit that come off simply,sometimes leaving the stones on the trees.

As you can see, Kitty, as usual, happily climbed the tree to get the fruit off the top of the tree…laughing and guffawing with us.

So tonight, I plan on pitting my sour cherries to put up in freezer boxes for later use. Kitty and I are thinking strawberries later this weekend to freeze and put up. It is so fun to go with these gals…as we yak and laugh and laugh. I feel so lucky to have some lovely people in my life. Maybe the other orchards tomorrow ( Ball Diamond Road opens 06/30 as does the other stand down the road from Hazlitt).

We are working on some summer related projects for our clients…so having hot dogs for lunch makes sense. Mandy has joined us…and Nigel is back with us too. I am a bit dumbfounded that its the fourth of July already….and we are fully launched into Summer. Maybe the wool sweater today is confusing me…?

last Tuesday in June.

Andy from the 1 hour portrait project, Q. Cassetti, 2011, Vector illustration using Adobe Illustrator CS5Churning away on portraits. The vector image to the left is a likeness of Andrew Cuomo, champion and Knight errant for New York State. I voted for Mr. Cuomo and am impressed by his approach, his ability to build consensus and the hard work he has to do. Being a politician is thankless work. I think  there was a lot of hard work on the phone and in person to make this vote happen to allow everyone to be married if they want to. For me, there is a feeling of optimism about being a New York State resident, versus down in the dumps over schools, taxes and services.I have never been particularly pround of being a NY Stater—but with the work and style of Mr. Cuomo, I might have to revise my thinking.

Kitty and friend Martha just bounced up here filled with news from contradancing on the Commons, bra shopping and her new job at the second, really fabulous vintage clothing store on the Commons. Kitty is enchanted with the new place, Petrune and the level of making this a really solid business—so that she is learning that its more than just fashion (which she is charmed by). She loves the skus, the book work, their Petrune Etsy shop and hasnt stopped chatting about it. This foray into fashion from book keeping to steaming clothes is a lesson that one chips away to make the frothy moment to happen.

Alex called and was exhausted last night. Guess he is getting “It” thrown at him. So, so much better than vegging in t he living room waiting for BLD (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner)…and making dishes dirty. I predict a change.

1 hr. portrait v.2

Liz, from the I hr. portrait series 2011,Q. Cassetti, 2011, Adobe Illustrator CS5I am becoming a disciple of the Vonster and his work methods in Vector Basic Training. He is such an organized illustrative designer, that his work is accurate, well planned and thought out, and drawn within an inch of its life. I toted the book with me on our chores yesterday and dipped into the chapters waiting for hair to be cut, rides to be coordinated.

As you can see from the left, I am working away at one hour portraits really taking 1 hour. Nix the shading, nix the complexity. Paths, blob brush and eraser are the Adobe Illustrator modes in play here. Liz truly took less than an hour. Yes, some of the curves could be a bit nicer, and more tone could have found their way into the image…but the clock was key here. More vixens and others to come. Chops building.

Alex is packing for two weeks of Ithaca College Summer Music Academy while playing the piano and the unamped bass. Kitty is off in the world of fashionable thifting. Rob is working on village things so I have a moment to say hi. After we drop Alex off, our hope is to hear Eilen Jewel play at the Sheldrake Point Winery. Eilen Jewel is a great talent that we all love—and to have her in our back yard is an extra YEAH!

The week ahead beckons. Lots to do so I will not be counting raindrops or measuring the grass as it grows. As an aside, one of my apple trees which I thought had died, is sprouting green stuff at the bottom, so my heart leaps as one is still good. The caged cherries flourish albeit the tops are eaten by those varmints (deer). There will be cherries to be picked for cherry pies (the Amish celebrate wedding breakfasts with sour cherry pies) for all of the new couples who will be married here in the most perfect spot in New York State. Time to start baking!

Homebase

Audrey, Q. Cassetti, 2011, Adobe Illustrator CS5The lightning and thunder shook the early morning. Now we have a green lit morning, damp and promising more rain. Summer is here.

Kitty is working with me on a mailing. Alex is done with his tests…and had an interview yesterday for a job. I think I will need to press them into action versus lounging and making dirty dishes all day. Teenagehood is trying…though I love them.

Don and Jason Hair, the treemen to the stars, were here yesterday to take down the really scary dead trees (scary qualifies as “can it kill someone walking down Camp Street?”) and took the enormous piles of brush away. There was lots of talk around the busted chipper shredder which made Jason and Don load up the trailer with all the detrius to take to the dump. More fun is hoped for today (unless the rain scares them away). The Brush Hog, a wonderful tractorlike piece of equipment which is a tool of great destruction and confusion may be pressed into action. Don was itching to go for broke beyond the back forty with all the privet and honeysuckle that are springing up all over.

The portrait of Audrey is the beginning of the summer portraits. I did a summer of portraits two years ago and it was so informative and fun, that I figured I needed to get back to the one hour portrait to work on my chops and get my eye in. I like the calligraphic qualities of this illo that still allows me to have nice eyes and fun hair. We will see what happens with this. I am only burdening this project with time limits only.

Cherry Picking is next week! Baskets of Sour Cherries at 6 a.m.! I cannot wait!

Onwards.

Vector Methodology

Portrait Project, Q. Cassetti, 2011 Adobe Illustrator CS5Working on a series of quick portraits. The one to the left is a work in progress (the nose needs to be quieted down) and the neck needs to just go to white and more swanny. Right now, its kind of a mess. But as this has limited time on the clock…I will amend later.  This is a good exercise as the process needs to be worked with in order to keep my eye in. I think this is it for today…and I will start another tomorrow against my friend the clock.

I am throughly enjoying Von Glitschka’s book:

 Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork (Voices That Matter)

I generally like tech books…but this one could almost be termed as ‘Yummy!”. Glitschka is focused on good file building, using the tools, power commands, actions, and setting up your document to allow the work to flow and not to be stuck looking to click on things or pulldown. He drives the work to be more fluid, more accurate, more streamlined while recognizing the scrap that accumulates on the left and right of the final art.

AND, its not all about working on the computer. Von Glitschka is very emphatic about designers and illustrataors to keep drawing to develop designs, layouts and images.  He introduces his techniques and tools—driving the designer/illustrator to go back and thumbnail until the idea is exhausted. He uses a 2B pencil, ballpoint and mechanical pencil. I am a bit messier using verithin photoblue, ultra fine sharpie or verithin red pencil, and then ink, ink ink. But its the same layered drawing to make a final to work from.

I highly recommend this book to any student or working designer or illustrator…let alone any visual artist as his work methods are tried and true, and help you to work in an organized and efficient way. How often is methodology laid out so clearly for graphic designers and illustrators? Thanks to Von Glitschka, we have this tome to reference. I like it so much, I have it on my iPad and have a hard copy coming as I think I need both.

Vectorizer

Red Floral, Q. Cassetti, 2011, Adobe Illustrator CS5Feeling so happy that I have crashed through my creative barrier and have gotten the first blush of my project done  to see where we stand…what we hate? what we love? where we could lean a bit more…what could go away. I am always reticent to edit grandly as there may be stuff I weed out that the client loves as taste and perception is so personal and I admit, I always like the odd stuff. Always. I am always quick to apologize for liking the “wrong” solution…but maybe that has to do that I like the wrong colors, and have a skew that is not quite the same as the rest of the world.

Vector Basic Training: A Systematic Creative Process for Building Precision Vector Artwork (Voices That Matter) by Von Glitschka is front of mind for me. I am only in the second chapter but am charmed by how Mr. Glitschka peels back the mystery of the vector down to who Mr. Bezier was and how the curve was created mathematically to the delight of all of us that despair of numbers and figures. I love the author’s fearless writing style combined with his honesty on his likes and dislike/hates of the software. I hope I can get to another chapter today as he is building my confidence to try more things which are surprisingly speedy and fun. There have been some cool plugins that Glitschka recommends: Xtreme Path and Vector Scribe. Vector Scribe is something I am going to take a peek at when I have a chance.

Illustrator/ Photoshop /Ink

New Process happening…and I am liking it.

Allow me to torture you by sharing what I am doing…as I believe in full disclosure, no secrets…and if there is anything I can share to make your work go further, better, faster…I am more than happy to collaborate.

First, I am doing ink drawings (keeping the “hand” in the work). Scanning them in at high resolution (600-1000 dpi). I retouch them/clean the drawings up in Photoshop (brush/eraser/paths) to make them a bit less wiggly and “I drew this messy thing in my sketchbook”. Nice and clean. Then, I res that image up to be at least 70 MB (in “Image Size”). I make a workpath and export to paths. Photoshop is done (for now). I open the path in Illustrator and clean that up (pathfinder and paths) and then I start working into the new vector “inked” illustration.  More real drawing…feels less mechanical and moves surprisingly a bit faster. Simple. Plain. Done.

I get drawn forms and feeling, but lay in the detail with vectors. Faster, truer and really nice. I am delighted.

I am slugging away on a fun project and feel like finally, just finally, I am getting some traction.

Today, I am hoeing out my stuff…wheat from chaff. Keep versus Sals. Exciting? Right? I have a book on tape to keep me amused. Kitty is working. Alex is hanging. And, best thing of all, Rob is home (our Father’s Day present). So, a bit of spring cleaning and coffee. A bit of picture making…and then our wonderful boy is back. Hurray!

Delighted with Dribbble!

Kitty picking at Sweet Land CSA 06.17.2011I was just asked/invited to be part of Dribbble- a very cool visual networking site that allows creatives to show what they are working on in a very small image to be shared by the community. You enter as a rookie unable to do anything but vote and gather a little community of followers. Hopefully, one of the followers will ask you to become more than that, A Prospect (that is where I am). Being a Prospect means you can upload images, add comments etc. to others work, create folders or buckets along a theme you like. Pretty cool. New way to get the work out there to a new community. I think there are tweet buttons and facebook buttons so once again, you can link and link and link using those filaments of ideas to thread through other online communities you participate in.

And, thanks to following Von Glitschka on Twitter, I found this (and so much more as he is an amazing illustrator and a thought influencer).

Von Glitschka (aka The Vonster) is a writer, illustrator, teacher and veritable go to guy for illustrator stuff. His website refers to him as an illustrative designer (which is another way of framing up the hybrid state I find myself in). He is generous with his knowledge from his books, to his free tutorials, and now free artwork he creates on his iPad (blog, Drawsigner Blog ). He is an inspiration insofar as his work, his reach, his engagement in the online world of living, sharing and expanding his reach. His book, Vector Basic Training, is on my list of things to study to take on better process and thinking around my own vector work. He is funny and cute in his work without any sweetness. His patterns are sublime…as are the tracings he uses underneath. His work is well designed and considered before he puts his hand to the vectorizing.

More later.

Back to Fraktur

Drawing (Variety of Birds),Decorator: Anonymous [School of Johann Adam Eyer (active c. 1790-1820)] Free Library of PhiladelphiaI had a great meeting with a new company, Topography about their image/identity. Greg Kops and Danielle Klock are actively engaged in critical thinking around communications (the broad field from print, to digital media through to products and services). They come at this information in a new way, a distinctly focused on results and data along with the linguistics, and perceptions of their clients through the lense of the web. It was fascinating to hear them talk about the things that they know and practice—and particularly, they will be helping me to better understand my engagement in digital media and communications, and how best to harness and understand the power of what I am doing. Right now, its shooting in a barrel for me. Best to know at least what is in the barrel and whether it is, what I think it is. I am now more seriously engaged in gathering data from Google Analytics…and trying to push all of my tweets and blog writings to as many places as I can aggregate this information. This should be an interesting process getting to know Greg and Danielle for their company as well as the eQ. (or is it IQ?).

Reward of Merit (Belohnung),Decorator: Anonymous Decorator: ca. 1820 - ca. 1840 , Free Library of PhiladelphiaI am back at the font of inspiration, The Free Libaray of Philadelphia’s Fraktur Collection (note image posted) for a project I am working on. I keep coming back to the birds, the leaves and the iconography that these inspired people used. I love the beautiful palette of soft color combined with the lyrical line and child like story telling that is used. They are symmetry crazed like me. Hmm. There are some ideas brewing goaded on by the remarkable Fraktur artist, and itinerant calligrapher, school teacher David Kulp (1777-1834) or the rich and pure hymnal illlustrations from the Ephrata Community.

I am struggling with stripping the detail out of my imagery…but keeping something to make it less like big graphic shapes (which I have done a bunch with)…So I have changed sketchbook size (smaller) to work closer to  the sketch size which forces me to strip out detail as there just isnt space for all of the tiger teeth etc. I just need to keep at it.

I hope Kitty will work with me today. I have a mailing she can help with. Alex is busy with tests and a tryout for Jazz chorus for next year. Tomorrow is our pick up at the great CSA. Maybe Saturday will be a strawberry picking fest to freeze a bunch for now and later. We are loving the frozen raspberries from last summer. The strawberries will be a gift too. Totally worth the effort now.

Bright and Shiny

Cool,clear and beautiful today. Alex was up early to prep for his Physics examination. Kitty and Thea were up bright and early to get on the bus to get to Ithaca to watch a friend give his final presentation of a project. I got the trash and recycling to the curb—trying to make some sense of the trash room which was essentially “trashed”. Its nice to have that done.

I wanted to share this interesting link with you….which you may be interested in (or not) but I think its cool, kind of a celebration of our digital age, the digital cottage from whence the digital cottage industries happen. To wheel this back a bit, I love where the world is these days. One can, if inspired, start a business, sell stuff online, and create a job, a business, create a salary without having to pander to “The Man” and all that entails. So, the paradigm of going out to “get a job” may become more staying put, and creating a niche for yourself. Etsy is a model for that…but anyone with a website can/could be in business. One step further, anyone with a computer can be a small manufacturer. What with the amazing stuff that is created for scrapbooking, one can do limited edition vinyl, paper, plastic laser cutting combined with the lovely Epson printers (large scale) that can print paper, fabric, material etc. Laser cutters like Cricut, The Silhouette, or the Klik-n-Kut (CNC cutters)  that work with standard purchases along with VECTOR Graphics (hello! this is my world!!). Companies like Spoonflower allow us the opportunity to create patterns and custom fabrics for ourselves and for sale. Klic-N Print allows you to print on ribbons, stickers. There are all sorts of inexpensive on-demand and conventional printers out there online that I cannot say enough about. And there is this new site I have discovered, Ponoko, part of the “personal factory movement”. This is what Ponoko says to explain the business they are in:

Welcome to the world’s easiest making system.

Ponoko is an online marketplace for everyone to click to make real things.

It’s where creators, digital fabricators, materials suppliers and buyers meet to make (almost) anything.

We kicked off at TechCrunch40 at the end of 2007 with a vision to reinvent how goods are designed, made and distributed worldwide.

The core of this vision is the trade in product designs – kinda like the trade in music (iTunes), photos (Flickr), movies (YouTube) and software apps (iPhone) before us.

We host tens of thousands of user generated product designs, ready to be customized and made into real things with the click of a mouse.

But hosting designs is only a part of the puzzle. Importantly, we also provide the world’s first digital making system that means these product designs can be priced instantly online and made locally, as close to the point of consumption as possible.

It means goods can be made in the greenest way. Making on demand reduces warehousing and wastage. Plus, making locally emphasizes digital transportation of goods instead of the traditional shipping of physical products.

Check it out. Isnt it great we have so much within a mouseclick away? Think of all you could do and make.

Joyful Journey

From the British Museum, Q. Cassetti, 2009Raining and cold here. Loving it. Its that lovely rain that makes your skin feel fabulous….light and misty. The plants love it too. More great grass growing mist.

I have a happy elephant for you today…gleefully carrying his riders bedecked in bells, tassels and decorations. I think he is a good reason to get out of bed and think good thoughts today. If only we all could bring such happiness to our journey everyday. May this fellow inspire and encourage us all!

Today is “John Hancock” day at the  High School. John Hancock refers to one’s signature (as in Yearbook)— so the day is celebrated with Yearbooks, special lunches, music and fun. This is the day long funday before the tests begin. Oy. The end is near. I am hoping Alex can get some focus and hit his stride in the next week or so. Never compare. Each child is different and the puzzle I find, is getting into each child’s motivations and strengths to push and shove to get the best, get the happiness for each person. This is the true work…beyond potty training but part of the process with these gifts we are presented with. I know Alex struggles with me too, but recently we have had some very nice, very soft and meaningful times together. I would love to have more of that. He is such a sweet and tender person.

I am revelling in my Behance Prosite. I do not think its a stand alone, but is a nice extra to all the other visual networking out there, and is easy to link to all the other network “fingers” I have out there (Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Blog, portfolio). The smooth thing is that the projects that I post to Behance then streams over to the Prosite, where they are organized along with other pages you can post, links etc.that takes the work out further, looking more like a portfolio. Plus, with the easy to use tools, its a snap to put up with customizable features (posting headers, adding spaces and rules) along with the ease of posting visual work makes the $99. a year an easy choice to make. Take a look if you are website free…as this is a simple and inexpensive way to get a web presence that is immediately linked not only to a big audience through Behance but also  to your personal online communities.

Meeting starting in 12 minutes. Need to get my act in gear.

New tools: Behance's Prosite

I just wanted to mention this new opportunity for those of you that are code impaired but want to get as much of your work “out there” in an easy to use, networked, product. As you know, I use Squarespace for this blog which suits my needs well. No need to know code. Easy to use. Back up systems. Nice gallery features etc.

I have been placing my work in other visual networking areas with my favorite being Behance. Behance’s Gallery organizes your project work in a simple to use, plain field to showcase the art and not someone else’s graphic design. Now Behance has taken it a step further by offering their Prosite which repurposes these portfolio and links these projects to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, along with offering buttons for iPhone and a “favicon” for the URL at the top. For $99. a year, it is easy to use and has great reach with relatively low input. Take a look. I plan on a more graceful header when I have time. However, the simple template is not obnoxious. Take a look>>