An Attack Plan for the New Year

It has been quite some time since I have posted and I have so much to catch you all up on! One of my resolutions this year is to make sure that I post at least once a week, so please check back often. I have many projects up in the air at the moment and many I have completed, each will get their own post (I don't want to overwhelm anyone with just one GIANT post).

This post will simply be a welcome back to blogging and a welcome to the new year. I thought I would share my resolutions with all of you (the more people who I tell the more likely I am to keep them- puts the pressure on).

2011 New Year Resolutions:
(1) Blog at least once a week
(2) Make more of an effort with how I present myself; wear makeup, contacts, and complimenting clothes more often
(3) Do more things that make me happy, and only because it makes me happy; crafting, adventuring, etc
(4) Learn that it is ok to be selfish; go for what I want and take more me time

We will see how I do!
I hope everyone had a safe and joyous holiday! Let's attack this new year together!!

Kosmo out

Cafe Art

Hello Internets,

So as many of you know I do not live off crafts alone; I am forced to work a survival job as well.

• Survival Job (n) [ser-vahy-vuh-l job] a post of employment that a person has in order to survive or endure: She works her survival job to pay for rent and utilities so she can live like a real person.

My survival job is at a cafe serving as a barista, I know working for the man!

However, just because I need to dedicate my time to getting money I do not dismiss my inner crafter. The most obvious art created at a coffee shop is Latte Art! I love latte art! Latte art are designs and pictures made by the silky foam of the steamedmilk when skillfully poured into espresso. Lately I have become quite skilled at my heart-u-ccino (like cappuccino, heh) and can even do a heart within a heart! And my latte rosettas are also something to be admired!
The heart-u-ccino can be accomplished by pouring the milk (1/2 foam) from the side of the pitcher first slowly and when the cup is about 3/5 of the way full, pouring faster and then lifting the pitcher to the opposite end of the cup. The heart within a heart can be accomplished by first plopping a dallop before beginning to pour. The rosettais all in the wrist. Begin with silky milk a VERY small amount of foam, pour from the spout into thecenter of the espresso slowly at first gradually getting faster. About half way full start rocking your wrist back and forth until a ribbon forms then bring it closer to you. Once the cup is almost completely full pull the pitcher quickly across to the opposite end of the cup and you have a rosetta!!

My manager has become privy to my crafting skills so when we have promotions or deals she has started asking me to create signs for the shop. (Iwould have photos but my phone was lost last week and all pictures went with it!) Lastly we opened a brand new store last Friday!! Super exciting! The new Gregory's Coffee in NYC is on 39th Street and 7th Ave right behind the giant button in the fashion district! So my manager asked me to make the congrats card for Greg! Here it is:

The front with a layered opening.

And the inside with Greg jumping out of espresso beans!

Being crafty always comes in handy and makes everyday life so much more exciting!
Keep it crafty ;)
~Kosmo

PS I have some really exciting news but I will save it for when everything is definite!

Virtual Crafts!

Hello all!

So my dad is traveling a lot this summer to attend workshops and take classes at various science institutes and universities. He recently joined Facebook to keep up with family and now that he has almost begun his travels he has been journaling on the site. I made my dad a full out blog on blogger to keep everyone up to date on his journey.

I also set up a photobucket account so he can text all the photos he takes on his phone to the internet and have them automatically sent to his blog slideshow. Here is the link to my dad's new blog! I hope you take note of the craftsmanship of his shiny new online journal and I hope you enjoy his witty telling of his soon to be journey around this nation.

http://skosmoskijr.blogspot.com/

All the Best

~Kosmo

CGrif Invites

Sorry it took so long to post this! Well here are the final invites!

And here is their final website: http://www.weddingwire.com/CaitlinandAndrewGriffin

Also if you have not RSVPed please do!

Please come check back on Saturday, I will be updating more often!

Keep it Crafty!

~Kosmo

Wedding Invites!

I got another freelance wedding invite gig!! A friend of mine, Caitlin Smith, is getting married on August 5th and a few months ago I got hired by her to do her wedding invitations. Her wedding inspirations were Monet's Water Lilies, a quote from the Turtle and the Pheonix, and birds for their cake topper.

I played around with stamps and water colors and came up with these three samples:

I am in the process of creating the final invites; I already have 5 completely done, 25 just need writing, and 30 need to be started. I think I should have them done by the beginning of next week. I won't post the final image until they are sent out (to not ruin the surprise for the guests).

All the of the stamps are embossed (and feel really frickin cool, if I do say so myself), each invite is completely hand made and cut from watercolor tablet paper.

I hope you enjoy,

Kosmo

Sketchy McSketcherson

Lately I have been sketching again! It has been beautiful out so I have been able to go to the park and be inspired by the world around me. Also at work I get a lot of down time while the show is going on, so I have been able to sketch there as well.

These sketches at the moment are not leading up to anything, just a nice hobby. Who knows, if I really enjoy one it might fuel another project or evolve into something more.

Here are some of the sketches:

This one was originally going to be someone on the verge of speaking. I started to sketch a person's lips but it was conveying something totally different to me with each line I drew. Eventually it became this scene of water crashing against rocks. Can you spot the bird trying to get to her nest?At my subway transfer station there was a little boy hiding from his mother behind a trashcan. To him it was like playing a game, he wanted his mother's attention so badly but as the game went on and she did not participate he gave up and resigned to just sitting there alone behind the trashcan. In this drawing I wanted to convey that innocence and playfulness with a touch of loneliness.

Lastly, my Times Square. At work I was trying to think of something to sketch and a co-worker suggested Times Square. I had actually drawn a sketch of Times Square about a week prior and had hated it. Then she said well fine draw a tree! I love drawing trees!! Well then draw a natural Times Square... whatever that means. So I sat in the theatre and drew this.

Now where you come in: If you have an ideas for sketches or for inspiration for a sketch please send them to me! I love assignments!

Hope you enjoyed my drawings! I have couple other projects that I will update you on next week once I make a little progress on them.

Enjoy the nice weather!

Kosmo out.

Theatre projects!

I have been meaning to write this for quiet sometime! I am currently working on three theatre projects all of which are very exciting and very different from each other.

The Grunt Work

Since January I have been interning with Ensemble Studio Theatre working as the assistant to the season producer, Annie Trizna. I have been learning how the administrative end of a theatre runs and making lots of connections. Of course it is not all producing, I get to take out the trash, make copies, and run lots of errands but I am learning a lot.

It is a part time internship so I don't get paid but I do get a three hour class once a week in return for my services. Our class is based around the needs of the interns. Some weeks it will be a master class with a member of the company, while other weeks we will have a lecture on managing an Off-Broadway theatre. It all depends on what we want more of and want to learn more about. Also, as an intern class we are developing our own theatre piece. Each intern has a hand in writing, directing, producing, and performing in the piece. At the end of our internship we will present it as a showcase for the company and friends.

Trying Something New

A close friend of mine, Jessica Pearson, a director residing in DC and founder of the Hobo Jungle Theatre Company, has written a play that is going to premier at this summer's Capitol Fringe Festival in Washington DC. She was looking for artists to get involved in anyway possible. So I tossed my hat into the ring! I am going to be her head of marketing!! Marketing is something I have not done before but would love to try it out. My sister has offered to give me pointers being an experienced PR agent. And since I work close to the head of Marketing at EST, he has also offered guidance on my endeavor. I am planning on really diving into this project later in the month.

Directing... as I tend to do!

A couple artists who work at the Henry Miller Theatre with me have been itching to do some work. I asked around and found a great script written by a good friend of mine Steven Spotswood. The play is called Fire Burn and follows three spirits who are closely connected to the fabric of time. These characters are first presented as the three weird sisters from Macbeth. It is a interesting and fun script, SO much to play with! We are going to try to present a reading of it before the end of March. If not we will then try to present it at some point over the summer.

Still more

I have been interviewing, auditioning, and applying for a whole mess of things for the summer and next year. Everything is kind of up in the air at the moment but I will keep everyone informed as I go.

All the Best,

Kosmo