Fragrant

Kitty, Q. Cassetti, 2011Kitty and I drove back to the Luckystone via the Lucas Winery vineyards last night. We had the windows open and what with the slight warmth and the cooling humid day, we were treated to the most sublime fragrance of ripening grapes—floral and fruity capturing the spirit of our evening. The boys were all off having fun with friends or in Rob’s case, doing business, so Kitty and I had a girl date at the Americana Winery’s restaurant—having hamburgers, sitting outside, talking about Kitty’s passion for fashion and watching the big, furry cats groom themselves. It was wonderful. She regaled me with hopes of helping with the Hampshire theatre group on the costuming, the searching and the reason to thrift in the Pioneer Valley. We talked about decorative arts versus fine arts and how its okay to not have something burning to express…but to just go out there and engage. Passion might come later. I believe one needs road time to really develop opinions, passion, beliefs to express. How often can one at 18 have much other than discovery to express. This seemed to concur with Kitty’s thinking—to her newly realized permission to explore.  It capped a day of solutions versus problems.

I spent some time with Mike from Apple to try and figure out the crashing I have with my computer. Better but still a bit tenuous. We worked on resetting the RAM and throwing away all the cache files (there were 75,000 files to throw away!). We will see if there is any action here. I have a case number so I can call them back to pick up from where we left off.

Rob thinks I should have two set ups, one for graphics, the other for illustration. I don’t know about this, but will think about it as I need to protect myself from this stuff. Its too bad there isnt a person you can have come every four months to do a clean out, a virtual “oil change” and filter swap on the computer in a preventative mode. I would be one of the first ones to sign up. Would that be too hard, too complicated to do? It would be soooooo worth it.

I had a very fun conversation with a friend of mine from the school. I asked her if she could go with me to the Demolition Derby just so she could fill me in with the whos who, and the whats what around town. Small town doings, and gossip to the max. We have great laughs and I love her. She suggested in jest that we should join a Horseshoe League (!!) at the Falls to really get the low down. Imagine! And think of the horseshoes inspired pictures!. What an American “sport”! Right up there with the dem derby where the sport is a parking lot of cars (only parked on the track at the Fairgrounds)—each car parked close to the next one. Then the sport is to get free of the crowd. So, the only thing the drivers do most of the time is to back up, and then pull forward with as much force as their jalopies can handle. The aesthetic of the demderby is “Mad Max” meets “John Deere” with fabulous paintjobs or lack thereof (my favorites). The crowd loves it as there is smoke, gas fumes and if lucky, something our intrepid firefighters might have to handle. American Gothic meets “Monster Garage”. To heck with the environment! To heck with sustainablity! To heck with conservation! Bring on the pump cheese nachos and the Ulysses Demderby!

Speaking of fun, Sausage Fest 2011 tomorrow. Need to acquire the links.

I was trolling on the web and found Tifani Carter who was trying to copy my work. I found it fascinating to see what she did trying to mimic my Shady Grove images with her own dog and how she interpreted what I did.  Interesting how it isnt the technique, but the design that makes the piece. I was particularly intrigued with how she mimicked my swan but had to do all sorts of back flips to make it happen. I mean, I did all the edititing and design….but she still didnt get the technique. Here are her two entries on trying to figure out what I do>> One>> Two>> She did honor quite a few of us with her explorations, so I am complimented to join that group.

Kitty is here so its time to go.

 

Enough!

Bandstand at the Trumansburg Farmer’s Market, Q; Cassetti, 2011 (08/17/2011)I have had enough. Enough! I have spent the better part of a week, nursing a computer along—redoing work lost etc. and I have had it. I am going to call a technician, regardless of the price and speedy please, to come to my studio and make right all this crap that is going on. I hate not having my tools work, and as I am a digital princess, it is particularly bad when the tool in question is the center of my working universe. Remember the real life scenes of Mary yesterday? They were reinacted in full my your truly yesterday.

Trying to put some perspective on it though, when we have these rough patches, it makes the smooth all so much sweeter. I need to hold that thought and try to keep my patience.

With the computer antics yesterday, I did manage to do quite a bit with the other stuff—the business stuff (mailing and paying, banking and calling and so on) which was quite rewarding.Next added task, refinance our morgage. I am just ready to get back to business.

Oh, and the carrot soup—every last drop devoured. I think I have an idea what teen and college aged boys like to consume. Soup. Today, bean with kielbasi. Cost of pot of soup—around $4.00. Feeds around ten happily. Sounds like a plan. They are whipping through the freezer jam (two jars consumed yesterday). Peach is adored, but the sweet cherry, blueberry, nectarine and lemon is eaten even faster. Even on nasty white bread. So the inspiration to make a peach ginger freezer jam looms on this evening’s roster. Maybe mix some nectarines in to give it a bit of a bite?

I attended the Farmer’s Market last night, a beautiful end of summer evening—and it felt like the best of our little Tburg. Toivo, a Finnish/ Tex Mex band was playing in the bandstand with people dancing, children chasing, people shopping and eating all in rapture over being at the Market, with their friends, savoring the summer evening. Groups of people were chatting like a cocktail party, others were learning about fracking while others sampled natural bug spray or tested the fresh bread for sale. I am so happy that I can be a help here as where is happening now is so lovely and so in tuned with our little town that we can only shine it up, promote it more and think a bit about how to keep it going. Last evening was a glowing pearl on the necklace of summer events.

I put a Facebook page up to begin to extend our communications reach with the Farmer’s Market. We needed one, plus, this is one of the vehicles we  are going to use to get the word out about the Market Manager position (volunteer with a stipend) that is coming up. Its a cool job for someone who likes local food, is interested in community, family, people, music. There is some training as well as some broader course work provided looking at Farmer’s Markets, how they are structured, etc. If you are interested, or know someone, submit a statement of interest to the Board (the FB page will tell you how and when) and we will contact you when the interviews will happen. Could be a great way to be involved in your community and get to know something about local producers, the growing interest in local Farmer’s Markets, and a facet of Trumansburg’s little community. Think about it.

Green Man fever continues. One done yesterday with acorns. Another in the sketchbook with acorns (Kitty approves). More to post to bore you to death.

Kitty has a friend visiting tonight from New Jersey. We have Alex Jacob and maybe Eli. So combined with work, a pickup at the Regional, lunch for 10, and the general day to day—I should pop my gummi vitamin (just discovered them and LOVE them) and get rolling.

A domani.

 

Heavenly

The Cestello Annunciation Sandro Botticelli 1489-90, tempera on panel, 150 x 156 cm, Galleria degli Uffizi, FlorencTurbo Junior (one of the grey cats) is perched next to me, a grey gumdrop, surveying the front yard for something to chase and catch. He is so vigilant that I hope a little something comes out from under the house to give him a little thrill. Shady is curled up, a comma, on the floor taking in the breezes while we spend a little time between the drop off and return to Taughannock for Alex to preseason with the team. We are waiting to give the others a little more time to sleep before I shuffle them off to Trumansburg for the day. It is such a beautiful, cool morning—that I am grabbing as much of this as I can before I go to the command central to start directing and doing.

The hostas are in bloom, so Turbo and I are revelling in the cloud of pure scent that is coming our way. I imagine this high lily fragrance is one that might have accompanied the angels in annunciation scenes as a similar flower was presented to the young and naive Mary. Always with a beautiful palette, lots of gold and splash and the winsome, asexual angel—having to deliver the news (might not be the best to an unmarried, young woman) that yes indeedy, Miss Mary was going to have a baby. The lily was kind of the peace offering, the sweetener, the holy FTD arrangement to soften the blow. I hope it did the trick. I know I would not have been charmed. Confused and furious…more like it. I love thinking about an alternative Renaissance Annunication image (maybe in the Botticelli style as it is so stylish and the color so very pretty) of the announcement to Mary and what the real emotions and response was versus little Miss Placid just taking the news. I love the idea of the “what the f*ck!” fury that is more the reality. Mary shaking her fist at the heavens? Mary crying her heart out? Mary rushing the horrified angel—grabbing his arms and shaking him fiercely? No little antiseptic, prissy litttle ” thank you very much” but a full bore Italian response. Declarations of how this is not to be her fate! Calling down pain and injury to the messenger? Hurling herself to the floor to beat it with her fists—raging and fuming? Whoa. Talk about the Renaissance graphic novel. Its this sort of situation that makes me wish I was more comfortable painting than using graphic tools.

I have been honored to be asked to sit on the Trumansburg Farmers’ Market board. I had my first meeting last night which I throughly enjoyed as the women are all very bright, very articulate and represent different facets of local food so the conversation was interesting, educational and much of it actionable. The Market is a young one—but developed and managed by an exceptional manager, Deirdre Cunningham who is stepping down from her position after the season ends so we will need to find a new manager to take this nascent project to the next step. We have a lot to be thankful for. Deirdre (and the Board and Village Board) have really moved the needle on this amazing addition to the community. I mean, within the two years—the community built a market structure and then a charming bandstand in the middle of it. It has gone from a quiet little event to a place that people go to eat, to shop, to meet. There is local music every week and sometimes a performer who juggles and plays the banjo for the littles. All of this change and positive growth needs to be brokered, managed, promoted and organized. This is no small task that I would hope we do not take for granted….but we do as it just magically happens without understanding the sheer brawn and brains it takes to make it seem so seamless. What an amazing place this has become. I hope I can be helpful to maintain and move it forward.

So today I will put up a Farmers Market page on Facebook and create a flier for the new position and get rolling in the doing. I think there is a lot to do, to say, to design, to direct as a member of the board that I can be helpful with—and with the new time that is mine from the Hangar— this should not be an imposition. Should be fun getting to know these new and smart people too.

More soup in the pot for today’s lunch fest. Carrot. The recycled soup from yesterday was devoured with many of the team going back for seconds and thirds. I added some frozen veggies and the whole thing was looking good—so I added a small bag of frozen shrimp to take it to another level. If only I had a bit more fresh corn. Ah well. Cheaper than lunchmeat and chips. So much better. I do not think the carrot soup will delight as much. I can only hope. Bean soup for tomorrow as I have white beans soaking in the pot part of my wonderful pressure cooker as we speak. And I will get a ham hock when I pick up cat food for the cat empire this p.m.

Loving the Green Men pictures. Not ready to give them up. I have got a little mojo going—and so I will ride it out. I want to clip a few leaf clusters from “Professor Wells”, our English Oak here at the Luckystone for reference. I should get some other oak leaves too as acorns are on my mind—and want to see where this could go. This tree is so named as it was planted by the family to recognize the Luckystone’s former owner and it was penned in on a landscape map that came with the house. This curious little diagram drawn in pencil and filled in with watercolor all of the trees, plantings, former gardens and beds that the Fitchen and Wells family contributed to the environment here. We really should take it out of the frame and point out which trees died, which came down in the big storm and how we have reconfigured things to our liking (very little change).

That’s it for now. Things are to our liking with very little change (or at least today). Time to go forth and be productive.

(did I mention that I am loving my Kensington iPad keyboard? I am!)

Feels like Fall

Green Man 15, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and inkSummer is winding down. Fall is on the horizon. I feel it. It’s not just the weather, it’s going from those indolent days to those that are jammed packed with my own work, other people’s work and needs and then those of the locals who have work and needs. So, I watch these last golden days of summer and reflect on the time, the people and the feeling of those rich days in anticipation and apprehension of the future.

Rob left way too early this morning to catch a plane to spend a day and night in New York on a project. Kitty had a fun day at Petrune modeling clothes for the Etsy website. I will link as soon as it or some of it posts. Alex had meetings and gatherings with friends—playing and listening to music with others. Its great that there is more to do than slothful behavior in the t.v. room. I tidied up some ends, directed few things, made a phone call or three, and started the beginning of a true fall activity, the making of restoration soup.

Restoration soup is soup that is compiled of leftovers that is magically bound by tomatoes and any sort of starch (leftover/ preferably pasta with pesto). All the random little single servings of leftover vegetables are mixed in. Some beans. The odd ear of corn, shucked. Italian Seasoning in the winter. Fresh basil as we speak. Sometimes it goes by Recycled Soup. Others, Garbage Soup. With leftover chicken from the grill, and the random leftover link of sausage I have a terrific starting point for that. Regardless of what goes it, it is surprising that it always turns out well…and is downed immediately while it is cleaning up the clutter in the refrigerator. I also have a pot of carrot soup going…for the ravenous at the lunch table (count ten)…that is on the menu for today’s entertainment and consumption. Kitty, my soup eater, practically dances in anticipation.

Speaking of sausage, Sausage Fest 2011 is planned for Saturday. Sausage Fest is an annual tradition for the Trumansburg Cross Country Team. We invite all the boys and cook sausage. There are tee shirts, games, swimming, and generally bro-ulation. Alex invites the team and many of the Cross Country alumni (that he has run with), so its very convivial and truly is an event that they all look forward to as part of the pre-season entertainment. I don’t know what it is about Cross Country, but it is a sport that is for many, more about the team than it is about the running. Sure, they all run and run hard…but its the cuddly boy thing too. They hug and support each other. It’s very cute and special.

I did something semi intelligent as well. I signed up for a few of the Entourage classes to be better at the Yearbook this year. This is the Last Year of Yearbook—and what with the chops I got with InDesign last year, and hitting the deadlines early, I think it will go swimmingly. Hopefully, we can figure out how to make the technology work so the students can engage more than just taking pictures and retouching them. We have a new powerhouse member of the team who will sell and advertise like no one’s business…so that will be good too. So my goals are—get the work done. Parse it out quickly. Sell the books like crazy. Do not have a big time burden at the end. Hand off the project to either a mom team, the PTA or let the school worry about it. No one seems to care until there are no more books to buy as they did not order them. Time to up the ante.

Good news. Rob has been asked to speak at the Sagamore Museumwise conference too in September. Maybe he can tag team with me? Maybe not. We will be going to Sagamore over a weekend, come back for the only home meet on a Tuesday and then drive back for the remainder of the week. Should be a wild one. It is so beautiful at that time of the year in the Adirondacks and the Museumwise people and participants are so lovely and charged up, that its a treat. I need to get some questions in to better understand my audience. Today.

I entered the current body of Green Men illustration on my Behance page (and Prosite page too)—and was made a featured portfolio on Behance, an editorial decision where they highlight the current images of interest. How nice is that? So I have been getting comments and insights from all over the world—and it is interesting to see what is coming out. Might I consider drawing a tarot deck? This mythological critter thing always has interesting legs. I am not “feeling” the topic as much as others, but it is good to have a process when it is not felt as much just to see if there can be success. Emotional engagement does not have to happen in order to make a picture. Yes, its is more of a personal boost, but certainly not imperative to design and make a good picture. This process has been more about design and figuring out how to do this sort of thing versus the man, the mission, the history, the entity of Green Man-ness.

the power of new technology

Green Man 14, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and inkAs you know, I love stuff…any kind of stuff is fine by me. I love technology—cameras, computers, its all fun. And my favorite go to for technology is my wonderful IPad (given to me by my brother and husband) which has filled in the gaps, has provided me a vehicle to watch movies, read books (and not clutter my side table with paperbacks that I do not want anyone to know I read), recipes on demand, a drawing tablet and now thanks to Kennsington, a little mini, bluetooth keyboard that allows me to write you this verbal meandering on a more regularized basis. Yes, I tried with the iPad hunt and peck keyboard—but it just didn’t get me writing as fast as I normally do with a keyboard—and thus stopping or slowing down the stream of stupidity I write. And, with this keyboard, it makes writing on the iPad app for Squarespace totally pleasant, so travel combined with the opportunity to share immediately is going to increase. Hurray for small moves! Hurray for bluetooth (which I am beginning to understand and get the hang of) ! And hurray for slightly more seamless, offsite communications! Love this world we live in! Right?

I have been enjoying Dribbble. This is a microbloggy type of site that one is invited to participate in—if you are a visual person. You are given so many shots (I think its 24 per month, with no rollover)—to post a 400 x 300 pixel image of work you are working on—and then folks can comment, like or heart. Once can post visual responses—and it is a nice back and forth. One can have followers etc. (common with the Empire of Tweets), and Facebook. It is exclusively a visual site. Its nice as you can tweet the images posted…and if you have it set up to have your tweets fed to different parts of cyberspace (Facebook, Behance, LinkedIn, Tumblr and so on), those post immediately, so more mileage for every post and every click you make. Does all this effort to thread these sites together through tweets and RSS feeds really manifest more work, more attention, more recognition, more anything? I do not know—but time is valuable, and the question is—and I think I already know the answer, is there a right solution for this?

Seems to me, uneducated and naive in this cyber world of “getting out there”, there is no clear answer. The web is for everyone…and you can tailor your experience to those things that interest you…and only you. It is one of those wonderful spaces that you can be totally self absorbed—and pursue your likes and loves—regardless of anyone else. And, you can do this privately on a global stage. Just as your experience with the web is personal, so is the promotion, the tagging, the blogs, microblogs, social sites, promotional sites all need to reflect you, your interests and what your pocketbook can support. It can get expensive if you filter advertising and private sites into the mix. But again, this is personal choice—and with the DIY headset I am understanding…everything goes.

That is why an approach of fearless trying—and linking, and spending the time to knit it together to create a cohesive image is important to me. Good chance it might not be the same for you..but then again, this is MY web experience…at least for now. My rule of thumb is that you never know anything unless you try it…so sticking my toe in the electronic pond and seeing where the ripples end up is my approach. You never know…and interesting people and projects have come my way just my putting my work on threads and seeing how far and wide they go. India is one of the bigger countries that sends people to my work via google. And I am in China and Estonia. Go figure. I guess the work speaks to this aesthetic and audience. What is next?

It is a silver-gray morning at the lake. The water is the color and form of mercury with a subtle deliineation between water and sky…all misty and moisty. The crickets living in the wisteria are having an audio party, chirping away. Last night, I made up a pot of more freezer jam: sweet cherries, blueberries, and nectarines with lemon and just slid the 4 robust jars of it into the freezer. What fun this freezer jam is. Next stop: ginger peach. I think that sounds divine.

It is looking like fall. Its cooler and thus, I want to cook a bit more. Lovely Alex regaled us with his love of Thanksgiving—particularly that of last Thanksgiving—from the food (in detail) to the guests (he loved it) to the relaxing and quiet of the day. I had totally forgotten that last Thanksgving was premade holiday that I made mostly in advance (gravy, stuffing, breads, desserts, cranberries, side dishes) and froze—unthawing the day before—pop the bird in…and away we go. Definitely the way to go….and I am getting my lists ready to be in advance this year. That really, really worked out—and the food was only a few weeks old in the freeze, so it was just fine. Plus, it pushed us to have turkey before Thanksgiving for the bones to make buckets of stock that the whole of Thanksgiving hangs off of. Gloria will be with us this year which should make the family scene more lively for all.

The week beckons. Kitty and Rob go to NYC tomorrow. Alex starts preseason training today. I have commitments all week. And we are squeezing Sausage Fest into the mix on Saturday. I mean, preseason isn’t preseason without the annual “skinny boys| big sausages” event. Yes, we have the teeshirts. Yes, we have the guest list. All we need is the sausage. Done. I also raised my hand (as a senior’s mom) to provide breakfast for 28 on September 10th for the cross-country boys and girls just to keep my end up. Now, what to make….? And back we go to providing pounds of apples and bagels, writing checks, and showing up to events. The bittersweet thing is that this is the last year. Now that I have really gotten the hang of being a mom—the merry go round will slow to stop. And I will get a new role with this training. The good thing is that Alex is delighted that the end is in sight. No hesitation, no maudlin shows….plunging ahead. Love this boy.

More green men. I am getting the hang of them.

Rainy Sunday

The sky is the same color as the water, a muted oyster color, and the rain is sweetly beating down on the parched grass and needy plants. I am sure Rick from the fruit stand up the hill would have something to say about the lack of water this season particularly as it relates to the price of sweet corn around here. However, maniacal me is delighted in the prospect of a bumper crop of raspberries and peaches to crank out gallons of freezer jam that is now the hometown favorite. I have made two batches which were promptly devoured by the crew, with some more peach, nectarine and sweet cherries to mess with in the next few days. It is such a pleasure to have this wonderful soft fruit to fiddle with. I got a wonderful collection of things from our CSA, Sweet Land Farm from a mess of sweet red peppers, to some lovely carrots that have spurred me to grind and cook and process this morning. I roasted the peppers and peeled them. I made 2 quiches with my egg share. I made a fresh carrot soup for Kitty. I plucked my collection of basil stems and ground it with olive oil to freeze to add to my soup and spaghetti sauces this winter..to promise myself that summer is on the horizon and not to lose hope. Around the first week of February, that is needed. And of course, there is the delicious Cornell chicken marinade which I have a bunch of chicken soaking in. So, we have some culinary traction for the week.

We had a crazy day yesterday with all sorts of car shennanigans--picking up, delivering etc. We got Kitty to her job. Rob a haircut. Alex more progress on his college essays. We had some swimming (delightful, particularly that they promised thunderstorms to no avail). And then a trip to The Haunt to hear Jacob K., Eli and Daniel's band play. It was great. The Haunt is a venue I had never gone to before-- and I was surprised at how nice it was from the space with tall ceilings and the room arranged perfectly for a musical presentation, to the nice porch that stretches down the inlet--by the water--where we sat, had some things to eat and enjoyed listening to Kitty tell us about fashion, clothing, modeling and the thinking she is immersed in with her fabulous job at Petrune. Alex and the boys loved the music, the performance, the scene. Rob and I were planning to try to get to the Rongo for a performance, but things were so relaxed and pleasant, we just settled in for the evening--which was great.

I am beginning to think and agitate about what to enter in the Society of Illustrators "Illustration 54" this year. Maybe some of my rabbits, my green men, the Cornell dog--what else? By the end of October, I should have the two new portraits for the Museum done, so maybe there will be something there. Oh, and I forgot, some of the craziness with the linear advent calendar images that the world seemed to really gravitate to. Hmmm. Then there is Illustration West, Communication Art, and American Illustration. I should get the steam up and enter the Creative Quarterly shows too. What a gorgeous magazine.

The week beckons with lots of visiting and people along with the dose of work and deadlines that keep it interesting. I cannot wait for a little window to draw and mash fruit with pectin. What fun1

Onward to two hours of sports prep for parents at the High School. I hope I can stay awake. Somehow falling off the bleachers in the gym might be a teensy bit embarrassing.

Later.

Peachy

  • 5 cups ripe peaches, pitted and quartered
  • 1/3 c lemon juice (or key lime juice)
  • 1/3 c  “no sugar needed” fruit pectin,
  • 2 cup(s) sugar
  1. Coarsely chop peaches in a food processor. and place in a saucepan with lemon juice and cook to a quick boil.
  2. Add sugar and pectin to hot fruit. Bring to a boil and turn off. Quick/Quick.
  3. Place jam in cleaned jars, plastic tubs or zip lock bags. Allow to cool. Either freeze for later or eat in the next week or so.

signs of fall

Green Man 12, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink.The hosta have their huge white trumpets pointing to the sky, fragrant and rich, ready to beckon autumn. We always have them for Alex’s birthday—just on the front end of school starting.It is hard to imagine that summer is on the downside—and that change is in the air—back to school, back to college, finding colleges, finding programs, Thanksgiving and Columbus Day weekends all in eyeshot. I really just want to freeze this time of cool breezes, dramatic clouds on the horizon, the purple/paines grey and pink evenings, and the mesmerizing sleep we all are granted in our lakeside bower. Doesn’t get much better than this.

It is a quieter week on the work front. My client is taking her well deserved holiday so we have a bit of space to finish up some loose ends. I hope I can break through some of the more rigid things and have projects moving again. It would be great.

The freezer jam I made from some of the peaches we picked is half done (home team say yum yum)…and I made another dose last night. Quick and so easy…and all about the fruit. Next step, no sugar and maybe some fresh lemon peel…or peaches and raspberries? Oy. More raspberries concurrent with the Hector National Forest Saturday drop offs for Alex to do Cross Country training….He needs a pick up and delivery…so I can pick in the three hours in between. Divine!

I started a poster for the Library anniversary and surprisingly, I think the vector is too staid for the event, so I am going to draw this one. Needs to be more whimsical and illustrative. A portrait is not the right family/fun message I think they are looking for. I have 2 vector portraits on board too…so I have a bit of everything.`

Hi!

Green Man 10,, Q. Cassetti, 2011,pen and inkI  feel like I might just get there. I am working away on a project that is all about the details—the illustration details that have to be able to be reduced down to a very very small size. I have been wrestling with this— working big, reducing smaller, looking at positive approaches, then reversed approaches. I think I have finally clicked my brain into where this needs to go—and I feel that I might be able to square away the changes on this project today. Then on to amending the fun distillery project which has grown some legs, and is ready for phase two work.  I  have two new black and white (and greys) portraits due by the end of September-so the decks need to be cleared before getting into that  and a few other things.

Green men continue as the pen moves. I need to do an illustration of an owl (with book and or a birthday cake) for the Ulysses Philomathic Library’s  bicentenial party in October. Heather Christ Hallagan is busy making a chic and fun event, so helping out with a poster is the least I can do. The only request from the board was to have an owl and to make sure it is “cheerful”  I love it…cheerful!  I think I can do that…not sure, but I can try.

Wiki How actually has an article on how to be cheerful. Only seven simple steps! And here are some simple tips to be cheerful:

  • Don’t be negative, cynical, or deceitful.
  • Always be sure to smile. It’ll make everyone around you feel good!
  • Get out of the house. Sometimes being alone is good but loneliness can consume you. Take a bike ride in the sun or ask a friend out for coffee.
  • Say hi to people, not just the same people every day but let others know that your willing to be friends with everyone.
  • Listen to your mind some of the time, and your heart all of the time.

I had a client once who was the queen of requesting cheerfulness as part of anything we would do for her (in addition to her desire for us to use red as it too, is cheery and helps create that cheerful condition). This cheerful request was as confounding to me as requests from clients for things to be “unique” or even better’ “creative”. I guess this charge for cheeriness means that they would not be receptive to something black and white with the content including death references or the german wonderfisch. Onward to trying to be cute. Now there’s a challenge!

 We are having a crew of our fellow CMU alumni at the end of the month. Could be as many as 20 that we need to entertain, feed and house (as many as we can budge up to make room for). So, I need to think about things I can make in advance for breakfast (freeze a few coffee cakes? cook sausage for strata and freeze? prep some dips? make some  peach freezer jam from Sunday’s gleanings?). I am twitchy about beds and towels, pillows and blankets—but we have our new and wonderful cots that will help to move the needle.

It is a nice rainy day for work. Rob is home normal time. Kitty and Alex are home. Jacob and E. are back from their performance last night. Maybe Mr. Houseworth will get the water issue taken care of so we can lake tonight.  Even in the rain, it is a delight.

a snippet of summer

Bees on the Peaches, Silverqueen Farm, Q. CassettiThe bees were adorable yesterday, flying from raspberry to peaches…seeking sweetness and clustering on the peaches that birds had pecked.  Ripe fruit was underfoot in the orchard, with nothing going to waste…with plenty for us too. The ripe, rotting fruit was a heady combination of peach and vinegar—memorable but not bad.

Kitty and I chatted as we gathered the fruit, a very pleasant time just being together. We both agreed on our wonder at bees, their friendly business, industry and diligence. We also exclaimed over the opportunity to grow your own fruit—producing food enough for a big family and then some…and how so much opportunity we have in this fertile area. Maybe my cherry trees will be the beginning of an orchard with peaches, apples, and hazelnuts? Maybe a course on beekeeping at Cornell is in the works.

Oh good! Its raining. We are finally getting some water (yesterday and now today). We need it.

Today is bits and pieces. I ordered my Christmas Cards…and I think having the valentine done by the end of August would be good too. I need to pursue the study abroad thing for my boy and get Kitty prepped to pack. There are projects to start, and projects to finish. I would love to close some out this week. Maybe there is hope?

 

 

Summer lull

Green Man 10, Q. Cassetti 2011, pen and ink.Yesterday was a day of shuttling and shopping, cooking and floating, revelations and quiet. Rob went sailing with our friend Peter and our friend John on the prettiest little wooden sailboat on Cayuga Lake.

I took Kitty into her job by noon with a stop at the fabric store to buy fake fur to make  hats out of. We looked and touched pretty much everything in the store, ending up with a yard of tone on tone spotty cheetah type stuff that she was delighted with. I then did a little grocery shopping (for the crowd of 10 for lunch everyday) coming home to marinate chicken, brown a big hunk of beef for spaghetti sauce, and a mamouth pork butt into the crockpot for pulled pork (the crew loves it, its cheap and in the crockpot, not a lot of heat is generate). After all of that, I glanced at Alex and Jacob looking glum and uninspired, so I suggested I take them to Jacob’s favorite music store to see what there was to be seen. I dropped them off, and ran to TJMaxx for wrapping paper and thises and thats. Then, my phone rang and it was time to pickup the boys. With more time to kill prior to picking up Kitty, we went to the new Trader Ks to find some really great things for the boys. We took a long and neighborhoody drive down the hill to gather our girl and go to the lake for swimming. But that changed as Kitty went off to the last Blue Stockings game (one of our rollerderby teams) and Jacob and E. stayed chez camp for music and such.

So, Alex, Shady, Rob and I were lakeside and talked about how maybe Alex would like to spend a year (maybe Rotary) abroad to experience all of that. Bless him! He finally heard me…! How great would that be? and what a great calibration for him out of high school and into a world that loves him and that he can grow and expand in. This is so so great. He would so love it. Now, to  make it happen.

Today, we had a quiet morning with coffee and swimming.  Once Rob started to mow the lawn, Kitty and I went to pick peaches and raspberries. I have about 3 quarts of raspberries in the freeze with many many more planned (seeing the abundance of green berries ready to go in 10 days or so). The peaches were sublime with soft fruit on the ground with tremendously happy bees scavanging for the sweetness to take home to the hive. Maybe some bees and fruit need to become integrated into the greenman project.

Bespoke

08.03.2011, Concert in Canadaigua, Q. CassettiWild day and wilder evening. We left pretty promptly in a rain storm (imagine!) to go to Canadaigua via Geneva to pick Mr. Alexander up. He was in fine form and it was great to see him. As we pulled out of his host’s driveway, the sky seemed to clear up and as we moved closer and closer to our venue, the sky brightened, the sun shone and the most amazing clouds over our lovely Central New York fields emerged. More English clouds than those of Maxfield Parrish, which Kitty and I gasp and rave over. Beautiful nonetheless. Very linear and shapey.

We were directed through these fields and country roads to a big parking lot complete with a zillion attendants, security folks etc. The real deal…to easily park and access the CMAC (Constellation Music) venue. It is an open air pavillion with huge screens so everyone can see the acts, nice legroom and tons of little service tents from food to beer/ wine (you need a wristband…clever them to buy them…so the ID is done once and for all). Bathrooms were easy and accessible. It gave us a gander at the Community College of the Finger Lakes which is a little gem and worthy of considering. Really, really nice. Rob and I were by far, the oldest people in the venue…with fashion highlights being the universal white hotpants, flipflops, bandeau top with a shredded or modified teeshirt on top. Boys were pretty Bro-ie (both in manner and in looks). The place reeked of pot…and no one had any, I mean ANY problem lighting up etc. The teeshirts were lyrical (see above, the Front of the said shirt simply said “wake up drunk”. Poetic. Right? However, after the rappers amused us with their dancing with their pants hanging way off their hips with their boxers more than peeking out—the crotch fondling and the hand gesturing, and the evocative lyrics inspiring one to meet “Hoes”, acquire and consume weed, and of course roll it. There were all sorts of things one does with the Hoes (complete with buy a teeshirt that says Hoe on it)..No mystery here. Not really family values.

However, after that stuff was done and the the fans gone, the real fun began. I love Gregg Gillis, the pride of Pittsburgh and did not disappoint. Kitty and Alex and team were crowding the stage….and then Gillis started tailoring a bespoke musical presentation, sewing little patches of music together, fusing them, stitching and tuning—matching thread with thread so the final suit, the final musical event was seamless…and a single fabric…not the layers and pieces that composed these witty pieces. The crowd loved it, as did I. There was the requisite balloon drop, confetti, and then the lively use of a leaf blower with spools of toilet paper to spew white ribbons into the air. Gillis engaged, entertained, enthused, inspired. And I am…inspired that is.

NY Times on Gregg Gillis: “The 373-Hit Wonder”

Download Greg Gillis/ Girl Talk “All Day” gratis from Illegal Art>>

More later.

Talk

Greenman 8, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and inkIts been a quiet weekend rolling into a very busy and productive week. We had some folks for dinner (Alex and Jacob’s friends and our friend, Bruce). We did a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I slept, read terribly trashy books and chilled. I am surprised how tired I had been, so I got a little spring in my step along with some general laundry doing and little cooking. I had the hope of blueberry picking and maybe raspberries too, but the pillow beckoned and other planes of fun filled with steam punkery won.

Love the Steam Punk thing. Love the fusion of old technology with advanced biology. The fusion of the world of Dinotopia (James Gurney) along with that of Charles Dickens and all the fingers and threads that draw them together. Fever Crumb by Philip Reeve is a wonderful example of this sort of book. The next, Leviathan, by Scott Westerfeldl, pits the Darwinists against the Klinks (those mechanically driven) and fuse it with the socio-political environment of Europe prior to World War 1. Trashy. Yes. Brain absorbing. Yes. A mental vacation. Absolutely.

Kitty worked.  Alex chilled until Sunday when he went over to Geneva to stay and visit with a dear friend and his family (who he adores).

Tonight, I need to leave ON TIME as we are going to the Finger Lakes Community College’s outdoor concert space (CMAC) to see Wiz Khalifa and Girl Talk. I love Greg Gillis, Pittsburgher and Girl Talk( from the CMAC website):

Celebrating 10-plus years of sample-obsessed production and relentless touring, Gregg Gillis returns with All Day, his fifth album as Girl Talk, and his most epic, densely layered, and meticulously composed musical statement to date. Continuing the saga from the previously acclaimed albums, Night Ripper and Feed The Animals, Gillis lays down a more diverse range of samples to unfold a larger dynamic between slower transitions and extreme cut-ups. With the grand intent of creating the most insane and complex “pop collage” album ever heard, large catalogs of both blatantly appropriated melodies and blasts of unrecognizable fragments were assembled for the ultimate Girl Talk record (clocking in at 71 minutes and 372 samples). 

Since the release of Feed The Animals, things have flourished for Girl Talk. He’s played almost 300 shows and hardly taken a full week off from hitting the road. He’s playing even larger venues and making even more of a spectacle—he’s employed a small crew of toilet paper launching stage hands, who also propel confetti, balloons, and inflate oddly chosen props into the audience. For the New Year’s Eve show to ring in 2010, a team was hired to build a life-size house, with attention to fine details, on the stage at Chicago’s Congress Theatre. Described as the craziest house party ever, Girl Talk continues to please live audiences as the mass of sweaty bodies at his shows continually grows. Touring highlights from the last couple of years include the Vancouver Olympics, large festivals such as Coachella, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, V-Fest, Sasquatch, Rothbury, Monolith, Planeta Terra, and trips to Australia, Japan, South America, Europe, and Mexico. 

Earlier this year, Girl Talk finally took a break from touring, festival dates, and college shows, in order to create an album that is being released immediately after its completion. While posting the album as a free download on the Illegal Art label’s site allows All Day to reach his fanbase quickly and with minimal cost, Gillis spent more time on this album than any previous release and considers it the most fully realized and evolved manifestation of the Girl Talk aesthetic. 

More later.

Up Early

The Green Man 4, Q. Cassetti, Pen and ink, manipulated in Adobe Photoshop CS5Up early to take Rob to Elmira to get on a plane to go to NYC. Lucky duck, he is staying at the new Standard Hotel on the High Line…so cool. Granted its work galore for him, but the perk of a cool  hotel is a nice cherry on top for him. We should see him late tomorrow.

It was a pleasant and quiet journey with shaggy, grazing Scottish Highland cows en route in the beautiful blue, green and gold landscape. Lush and summery. Promising rain with the clouds in the sky.

Kitty did a ton of work for me yesterday…remarkable how having extra hands, voice and legs working for you can really move the needle.  We are off trying to get answers for Hampshire questions, getting things to the bank and in the mail. She was great. Alex is plugging away with music and getting college essays started along with SAT coaching etc. It really is a wiggly, uncomfortable time for him…or at least thats the way it feels. I wouldnt want to be in that space.

I have a few portraits to do (just added to the mix) which should be fun. Additionally, there are some new pubs added too.

Lunch with the Hangar today. Should go get the plates spinning and get all the plans in place.

The Green Man 3, Q. Cassetti, Pen and ink manipulated in Adobe Photoshop CS5It turns out to be cool and breezy today. As we have easily 7-10 for lunch this summer, I am worrying about food more than I normally do. The pork butts at the store beckoned, so I have pulled pork in process (crock pot) for the tribe…and I am busy thinking volume, volume, volume. Pasta and big vats of some sort of soup or starch. The eating tribe includes 6 men, and 3 women… So t he trips to the grocery stor are ceaseless.

As you can see, I am on a Green Man jag. Its an interesting process to generate a foliage inspired face. More on that front.

The day is getting away from me. Gottago.

Common Threads

The Green Man 2, Q. Cassetti, 2011 pen and inkGrassroots was a different event for me this year. Grassroots was a highly social few days mixed in with a little dancing, a lot of listening, and laughter. normally it has been long days of non-stop listening, hot and furious amongst the hoards of the great unwashed ( true in both counts). There is some charm to that, but oddly, I have discovered that I am not a shirtless “bro” looking for as much cold, cheap, beer (for you bro aficionados , read “natties”). I am not looking for a hookup on the dance floor or to spend the weekend ” in the bushes”(as a mom mentioned that her child spent the festival there). I leave that to my son Alex to fulfill that role.

Grassroots was this year about community and about the musical DNA that Trumansburg and Ithaca have ingrained in it’s culture. We live in a small area where live music on a very high level can be heard nightly for free or a nominal charge. These are professional musicians with conservatory training, and some self taught but in the tradition of the area, decided early that music was central to their being…and started street performing in their teens. Some make their livings being musicians, while many others have day jobs in libraries, schools, moving companies, food concerns bringing that right brain viewpoint to the everyday as well. This is the thread of music, from the people and their ethos to the actual art performed.

I am honored to have gotten to know some of the most vibrant musical brains in the area, and am charged up by their focus and commitment to music as the spine of their lives, the spur to live and continue to grow that I am questing for as are others of our tribe. It is so curious to quiz people about their backgrounds, their training, their lives as musicians and performers. It has made me better understand the artistic “thing” that moves us all forward— the quest for inspiration, the strength of solo work and for some, collaboration; the timing and sequence, the need to get the work out and seek insight and and reception. Regardless of the channel of the arts— whether it be visual or auditory— these are some common threads we share.