3.2.21

Been Busy, Busy, Busy

So, I personally have been a lot busier than I expected this past month. However, I believe that that is a positive thing considering all the recent changes I have had in my life. I know that sounds a bit juxtaposing, but allow me to explain:

Within the past year, I have had two major moves, a shift in career direction, and also starting two businesses (one of which I launched yesterday-more to come on that!) in addition to considering developing and launching a third idea by the end of this year. So, while all of those are stressful, I am now in a state of busy in terms of maintenance with those various projects which is a good thing! I am finally settled into my new neighborhood and have a set studio space in addition to continuing to wrap up school (yes, I am still pursuing my undergrad -- see more details in my resume section), so I am busy in that the unstable things in my life are not stable and moving on a pathway forward. The only downside is that I have to continue with this intense momentum, but I personally enjoy the daily shuffle.

I have a lot of irons in the fire, including trying to launch a successful book pitch midway through this month to hopefully gain funding to pursue a self-publishing project. I will add some of my lineart below as insight into the book trailer I will be finishing up in these next two weeks. Unfortunately, though, this large scale project meant I had to for-go some other illustration competitions, but I believe it will be a worthwhile experience to see where things go!

Honestly, my brain is a bit overwhelmed with everything I have going on, but it is nice to revisit a bit of writing to give my brain a chance to empty and also send it off into the void that is these blog posts.

Upcoming Goals

I am pitching a book idea this month!

As stated in my little preface above, I will be pitching a book idea this month with my school entrepreneurship program. There is a bit more in line with that, too, such as funding opportunities, exposure, and networking events which I hope could lead to more chances to connect with people in the children’s book/YA literature publishing industry.

I am currently looking for internships and funding opportunities for graduate school.

I recently got accepted into my college's Master’s in Entrepreneurship program. While I am excited, I am trying to get the cost of attendance as low as possible and also hope to secure a graduate assistantship during attendance. I have until early April to find something to work out-let’s hope it does!

Looking at agencies to send postcards to.

I am continuing my hunt to find an agent/agency to work with. I understand my portfolio needs a bit more finesse for picture books and storytelling (hence why I have this huge book pitch project in the background(, so I hope by the end of the month to have done enough research to see which agencies and agents I would like to partner with since, ideally, it is a mutually beneficial working relationship; a business partnership, if you will. I would like to work in a setting where I feel as though I can actively grow alongside the people I work with in a positive, creative community I can add to both as an artist and a person.

Life and Shtuff

I am finally fully settled into my new place and neighborhood which is nice. I also took a big leap of faith and temporarily stepped away from my day job to focus on my studies. While this was a substantial deal for me, I have a very supportive group around me that wants me to focus on what is important right now in my life and, honestly, doing the breadth of projects I currently am would simply not be possible if I continued working as I was. Moving more into the semester, I hope to create great work and continue to deliver on the projects I have started and continue to grow.

I am honestly nervous about my graduation during the pandemic. I know I don;t have it nearly as bad as those who graduate last Spring in May, 2020, but there is still a great deal of anxiety in terms of job security and opportunities available. Ideally, I would love to partner with an illustration representative and/or a literary agent, but I am also looking for internships in the book publishing field in addition to trying to see what could be done about graduate school. There certainly is a lot on my mind, but I have been very happy to say I have been able to take the time to focus on executing more artwork than I have had the ability to do in the past.

I think so long as I keep it together, there is a very fruitful future where I can have my cake and eat it, too!

What I worked on in February

Here are some pages from my book pitch ttle Mohan. The story is about Angelica, a stubborn 12-year old girl from Bogota, Colombia who is forced to take a camping trip with her family. However, after an unfortunate night where Angelica falls into a river, she wakes up in a different world where she discovers the strange, dark beauty of the rainforest with an even deeper secret!

*Angelica after she wakes up on the river bank having been saved my some unknown force.*

I have most of the work inked in for my book trailer I am putting together for this project and some flat colors laid out.

I hope that through whimsical adventure and a fantasy twist on some local lore to the region can help my narrative of learning to appreciate the value and protection of diverse ecosystems on our planet.

I guess that is all for now! If you head over to my instagram you can find some of the other projects I am working on including an update on a greeting card collective I put together with some local illustrators and local craft shop!

What’s Inspiring Me

The Netflix series Our Planet

Since I am working on a nature-themed book, it makes sense that I have been devouring any and all nature-related content for research. However, even if you aren’t making a book with a nature theme, I would highly suggest checking it out! It was super helpful just for making cute sketches because of all the various plants and animals in there.

July’s People by Nadine Gordimer

This is my new book I picked up this month. While the language took me a moment to understand in the first couple pages (like, who’s POV are we expereincing?). I was thankful enough to get a copy that had annotations from the previous owner who, by the looks of it, in general really loved literature and had no issue scribbling up and down the margins with all kinds of great insight! This is why used books are great.

More Rainforest Research

Yes, more rainforest research. But have you seen the Malaysian rainforests? I think oftentimes people consider the Congo or Amazon but there are definitely a plethora of other, smaller rainforests that have just as much diversity jam-packed into their ecosystems that I think more people should consider!

*This plant is the Liana which is found in the Malaysian rainforest. Feel free to go down the rabbit hole of hyperlinks-Britannica does a great job of taking you all over the place!*

A Sweet Treat I Think You Should Eat

Going back to the fact I have been busy, I have been very much enjoying smoothies this past month as a way to have something quick, filling, and satisfying. If you know me, I love running and have to keep up with my time constraints but also getting the most of my workouts. I know I sound like a silly fitness blogger when I say this, but protein smoothies are the best! I have a tub of vanilla whey-based protein powder and also just collagen.

You should try any variation of a protein smoothie based on what you like! I generally go for the banana and mixed berries with some vanilla protein powder. Some peanut butter, coco, and yogurt is also great (with some added collagen peptides). I feel like smoothies are too easy, so get funky and creative! I don’t normally like kale in my smoothies (though it’s great steamed with some garlic), but this mixed berry smoothie seemed to do the trick!

Go check out Liz Della Croce’s other recipes here! — *Go check out Liz Della Croce’s other recipes* *here!*

Another newsletter done!

I feel a bit bad I didn’t get a chance to go more in detail about my artwork this time around-still developing a lot of things! Right now I have a bunch of sketches and linework, so next months should be more exciting with some updates to my website and also art dissections. I am also thinking of posting a Google Poll to put some options out there of what you guys would like to see!

I hope guys are all doing well! The winter is towards its end, we are still fresh into the new year, and the COVID-19 vaccine has rolled out-overall, the world in general is getting pretty better! If you liked this post, please subscribe to my newsletter, check out my social media @cassie.cavallaro, and send any inquiries to my email in the ‘contact’ section of my website.

Thanks a bunch!