this and that

A bow to the Dutch, Q. Cassetti, 2012, Adobe Illustrator CS5Gloria and I are readying ourselves to go to Corning this evening for the opening of the “Making Ideas”, a  GlassLab show at the Corning Museum of Glass. GlassLab is a very cool, design oriented, mobile glass prototyping shop that the Museum travels all over the world to work with designers, artists, and creatives to explore glass as a material. There have been fabulous things created by GlassLab— and this show celebrates this unique offering the Museum has. I think I will take a pocketful of temporary tattoos for my friends.

Kitty is back at Amherst for commencement at Hampshire. Alex is hanging out in the music room with friends making random music. It sounds pretty good. The grass was cut today (with a bunch of things that need some severe ripping out/poisoning (ie thistles). I was thrilled to see my 6 sour cherry trees survived the winter (what there was of winter) and two have little green cherries on their spindly, small branches.

Seems like Mr. White is in the young squirrel chase these days.  Two in one day…and more to come. Lucky Tucker the Hawk, he has been the recipient of these snacks which his person is so happy and thankful to pick up. Good for Mr. White…back on his game, leaving us beautiful prizes outside our door. What with Tucker the way he is, I am eyeballing roadkill in an entirely different way. I almost pulled the car over for a skunk until I realized that wouldnt be the best idea for anyone. Possum, yes. Squirrel, surely. Maybe even a bird or two…but nothing stinky.

Tomorrow are errands and Sunday we drive to NYC for Surtex, the licensing show. I am anxious to see how people are doing business, how they display their work, and the taste level etc. if its not a fit, I am planning on making a list of those folks I would like to work for…and develop a list to pursue the licensing folks within these organizations to make this happen. I do not want to be passive in this enterprise. However, I am anticipating a lot of thinking and talking in the next few weeks/months around this topic. I know the packaging/ comping/presenting world from my time as a graphic designer. I know about booths and promotion…have done it for others. Now its just understanding niche, the market itself, and how to plug in. Golly, I have made money for plenty of other people, why not myself?

Gotta go warm up the car…time to take the 1 hr. spin to Corning.

Illustration Friday: [blind] Sight

Blindsight, Q. Cassetti, 2006

A day of presents

After Ambrosius Bosschaert, Q. Cassetti, 2012, Adobe Illustrator CS5There was a fresh young squirrel neatly left at my doorstep this morning. Dead, but not disturbed in any way. A beautiful little thing with his amazing paws with lovely pink pads and soft coloration. What to do with him? Toss him in the compost as usual…but somehow that didn’t seem right. In the spirit of a friend who told me the “waste not want not” tale of his own, I decided differently. This friend was really unhappy with a rather robust groundhog who had burrowed his way under the fence to attack my friend’s garden. Fresh vegetables were the prize.  My friend was not going to allow that sort of tresspassing—so he pulled out his beebee gun and shot the culprit dead. This same friend feels that if you take a life, you should take energy from it…and so proceeded to skin and dress the groundhog, place him neatly in a roasting pan, and put the whole thing in the refrigerator for his lady friend to roast for dinner. He said it was tasty.

So, in that same spirit, I was thinking that maybe Elly’s hawk, Tucker, might think that this offering might be a mighty tasty snack. Poor Tucker is stuck in his hawk house during the spring and summer as he could be tempted to fly away—and so is constrained when he goes out and hunting is off the table until it gets colder. The taste of wild meat might be just the thing compared to the little bits of gizzards Elly produces for him. Our little offering went into a freezer bag and he is nestled among the bags of frozen kale and boxes of chicken stock for just that purpose. No roasting pan here. Just the real deal for a real raptor.

Another gift is that today is  Rob’s birthday. He is a present everyday to those of us who are proud to be his family. I hope there are lots of nice things in his day to celebrate how much he means to us. Happy Birthday dear boy.

Really nice illustration news! Nancy Stahl, a teacher at Hartford and a Vector Queen, just was admitted to the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame for 2012 along with R.O. Blechman, John Collier, Ludwig Bemelmans (Madeline books), Edward Gorey and John Sloan. Talk about an amazing lineup…and it is so wonderful Nancy has been recognized for her beautiful illustration and work with the US Postal Service. Her illustration work is sublime—elegant and simple. She is the bar for all of us vector princesses as she keeps churning out inspiring work to all of our delight.

Would love to stay and muse with you. But, time is ticking. Today is CSA day and I have to get Kitty squared away with residence documentation etc. gotta go.

Whaddah day.

Barley Rondel, Q. Cassetti, 2012, Adobe Illustrator CS5The world was at the Rongo last night to hear the amazing Stringbusters and to welcome our favorite, Billy Eli with Eric Aceto and group. Many of the Tburg Royals were there…so there was lots to talk about with fascinating people who had things to say. Lets just say, I am having a love affair with our little Village, and every social event, every interaction just sweetens the love more and more. I had to leave a bit earlier than Mr. Cassetti as I had to be ready to rock this morning at the Community Yard Sale at the Farmers Market. Thanks to amazing Suse Thomas Wolfanger, she was there to help—getting money and spreading the love she does so naturally. We had an amazing day, a great turnout. As I noted on Facebook, fresh from the Market: “

Such fun at the Trumansburg Farmers’ Market! Bought a few amazing things (Pendleton shirts, Woolrich shirts) a pashmina scarf, a fluffy chiffon scarf with pansies on it, and a scarf with a 1953 calendar on it (amazingly interesting palette. Had a divine Kimchi hotdog from Trevor and Shelly MacDonald along with sampling their amazing Sauerkraut balls and a half sour pickle. Amazing! Sharon Tregaskis from TreeGate Farm was selling beautiful seedlings. Meg Meixner from Wolftree Farms was selling organic chickens and eggs. Margaret Shepard from Sage Hen Farm was selling garlic, leeks and greens. There were mushroom logs and perennials along with a great assortment of treasures. I am sunburned and energized. What potential we have in our amazing village! Pictures to come.”

This event was great because it allowed us to see how we needed to be “on” for our first day (we need keys to the electrical box, we need signage, a lot of direction getting people situated, a bit of process, a way for folks to hang banners etc.). It also prompts me to suggest that we should think about the flea market idea…and that maybe a Sunday event might be fun during the summer (once a month?). Do you think that could hold up? After seeing the crowd we got, I think there is something here…and could provide a fun activity for all. If we promote it, it can happen. I def. feel we need to do this sale again next year.

We need to get Alex to a boat for his senior dinner dance tonight. It will be a perfect evening for this party…which will be great for our boy. Rob and I will burn time in Watkins to take them home around midnight. Rob is off tomorrow to pick up Kitty and attend a meeting in Albany. Alex is going to be acting with Running to Places from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. I plan on making flower pictures just for myself (!) for Mothers Day!

I bought a pair of very cute black espadrilles as my mothers day present to me!

Onward to more springtime fun!

Illustration Friday: the [kernel]of truth

Grain wreath, Q. Cassetti, 2012, Adobe Illustrator CS5.1