Springlike

Braids 2, Q. Cassetti, 2011, Parker refillable pen with Itoya gel pen refill.Feels like a day in early early spring. The light is low and golden, casting shadows through the trees. As we got the buckets and barrels of recycling down to the curb, the cold air felt great, invigorating, and what with the lovely light filled sky, nothing seems impossible today.

Rob is coming back from NYC after a nice dinner with some old friends from the first renovation of the Museum project. His emails were sunny and chatty. They had a really nice time.

Good news for the Museum of Glass adding more work on Rob. It has been announced the the Museum will be undergoing a $64 million for a new wing at the Museum. They will be working with architect, Thomas Pfifer and Partners NYC. Excerpts from the Evening Tribune article:

”..the project will include a new Contemporary Glass Gallery and a new Hot Glass Stage, the amphitheater-style space where glass artists give demonstrations to tourists and also during events such as 2300 Degrees.”

“…the expansion and renovation will blend with the rest of the CMoG campus and will keep much of the historic Steuben Glass plant’s footprint intact. For example, the plant’s iconic Robertson Ventilator – the strange black structure that towers above the roof – will become part of the future Hot Glass Stage.

Also as part of the project, the area just north of Steuben Glass will add green space and a promenade. The parking lot for CMoG tour buses will be moved to the main lot just off Interstate 86, and a new drop-off area will bring tour buses right to the main entrance.

From there, new circulation flows on the museum floor will bring visitors into the new wing.”

So, you can see, there is plenty to do around these plans…and Rob is one of the players in this scenario. I am very proud of my hubby who has been dogging this for the past six years and finallly got great results and an opportunity to really boost the offering of this amazing museum for all of us who love museums and all they offer. More on this…as the world finds out.

Jacob and E. leave us today. Alex C. has another evening being a star. Alex is to be Prince Dauntless in “Once Upon a Mattress”.  He is as happy as can be. We are delighted for him. We listened to his songs last night on youTube. He has some nice pieces,with nice solos that will push his singing and push his beginning physical comedy.

I got word that I got work into the winner category of Creative Quarterly 26! When I went to the website to see where I fit in, etc. I was stunned (and excited) to see that I also got work into the winner categories for both graphic design and illustration. Feeling much better. The no show this year with the Society (NYC) was disappointing, but these other shows are affirming to keep swinging, and trying for base hits. Fellow Hartfordian, Amy DeVoogd also is in the winner illustration category (Yay!) and Fello Syracuse alum, Mark Bender, amazing Pittsburgh illustrator is in the runners-up category. Congratulations to all. I need to find out which images get in (and I will post) along with getting  a portrait shot. Ey yi yi.

Society of Illustrators Los Angeles: Illustration West 50, Accepted!

I was delighted to see that no, I hadn’t missed this one…and that the pieces above and to the right have been accepted into the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles Illustration West 50 Show. The portrait is of Domenic Labino for the Corning Museum of Glass’ Masters of Studio Glass Exhibition for Labino. Top beehive is a personal image. The Wheatman is from my Greenman series. The image to the right is from my Ganga Devi inspired whimsical illustrations (yay!).

I am delighted with this selection as it is a push to keep going. Each of these images talk to a different hand I have been working on, and two of them representative of two of my little imaginary worlds I find myself floating in.

Thank you Society of Illustrators LA and the judges that selected these images. You make today an even sunnier one!

Dim Sum Bunny

Dumb Bunny, Q. Cassetti, 2011, pen and ink, colored in Adobe Photoshop CS5Finishing up a ton of stuff. Got two big publications off the desk, and another two going to press in the next few days. Have had some fun with the new branding system—making little illustrations and pushing it a bit. I even talked animation with one person…and was able to spin enough of a dream to  let my client see what could happen with the combination of ideas. A couple of good words like “continuum” and path, and journey…and he got it…So, hopefully he can sell it to the broader group.

I think the Communication Arts folks have let their people know who has gotten into their Illustration annual…and I think I am not on that list. Charles Hively let us know that they are working on the annual 3x3 and we should hear soon from them.  I got 2 out of the 3 “AMLP” (a Million Little Pictures”) cameras so that Kitty,  Alex and I can enter this project. Should be fun. I signed up for the sketchbook project 2012 as it was a kick this past year…and got me on a jag…so its worth it. Need to start getting some work done. I think I will do another hour portrait a day program this year as it really got me thinking improving the chops. The recent portrait I did was a testament to the important to do a throw down like this. It pushes your eye, your hand and gets you to the place you need to go, faster and surer. I hate being unsure under pressure. Confidence is such a jolt and makes the work so much more fun…and more of the emotional charge that it can be. Loud music helps too (Alex has gotten me to listen to Kanye West, DJ Shadow and Girl Talk (my friend Marc says its very “2010”—which for this Van Winkle is absolutely au courant).

Gotta go. Its delightful that its still light out despite the rain. We have a few daffodils, a few red buds of the peonies poking up…and the stinky frittillaria pushing up to the deer’s dismay.

American Illustration (A129) accepted work:

Just got these three images into American Illustration 29. The top is Krampus from my advent calendar project, and the other two were part of Hartford MFA thesis project on valentines.

From AI 29's Facebook page:
Congratulations to our AI29 Selected winners ! From an impressive 8.033 pictures, the jury selected only 388 images by a majority vote or better to appear in American Illustration 29, representing the best images from 2009. A slide presentation announcing the winning images will be sent to all entrants and our member list of over 30.000 creative professionals in May.