Art by Mama Cass

I haven't been doing Nothing.

2012-01-09T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hi,

I know you all have been wondering what I have been up to the last few weeks,

well,

it hasn't been "nothing."

Coaching, swimming, drawing, painting, searching, loving, eating, and living are all part of my daily activities lately. I'm only lucky if I remember to use my camera.

My kids (the Barracudas) finished their last meet of the season with a second place, and we are pumped to keep training this winter to swim even faster!

I helped remind them how awesome they are by creating a team poster for them to color-in, with these new dual-colored markers by Crayola. They had a great time putting the markers down, and the poster came out vibrantly fabulous! Go Barracudas!

In December, my former college roommate, friend and teammate Rachel commissioned me to paint a piece for her and her boyfriend Willy's home. They are awesome for each other, in love, happy, and they still have Rachel's dog she got in college, too! I haven't met Willy, but I learned that he has a green thumb and he loves Bonsai trees. Rachel studied photography in school, but she always had a love for contour drawings, so I created a colorful, intricate piece to show their love, and I included a movable monkey, her dog's favorite toy!

A real family portrait!

and here are some process shots from the piece:

Off to the future!

Have a great day.

Love, Mama Cass

Being lost in the world + self-exploration = DISCOVERY.

2011-11-28T10:09:00.000-08:00

In August I would have told you that I knew the general direction my life was going in.

I was painting everyday in a studio in Philly.
I was writing everyday.

I was full of ideas.
Today, on this beautiful day in November, I am in the Princeton Public Library, and here is some of what I've been doing.

I have been:

Working on my Motto:

Who gives a damn about the past/

I live for the day/

Plan for the future/

Pack a lunch/

and Haul Ass

- Big Boi

I have been:

Reclining across the Organ Mountains

in my dreams of New Mexico.

I have been:

always 100% truthful.

All I have given you is Everything I Am.

Raged it, and Proven It.

I have been:

Confused, hurt, employed, unemployed,

lost, faithless, and completely in love.

I know what it feels like.

On November 19, I had my first art show in Philadelphia at O.U.R. Gallery and Studios.

Here are some pictures from the show!

Everything is for sale, btw.

Critiquing some of my work.

Speaking to the public.

...Speaking publically. :D

My work hanging in a gallery! :D

Artist Life Goal #1: Complete!

What did I discover?

I don't always know which direction to go in,

but I'm going to be fine.

Love, Mama Cass

Jersey Fresh Jam 2011

2011-08-21T14:44:00.000-07:00

Hola! Yesterday I went to the annual 2011 Jersey Fresh Jam in Trenton, NJ. Mama Cass, along with 49 other graffiti artists (only a handful of girls i would say), painted our giant hearts out on the walls of Terracycle. There were local DJ's, Em-Cee's and magazines, as well as a tiny tasty italian water ice truck!

It was sunny, beautiful and hot. I ended up using an umbrella all day while I painted and made a fashion statement at the same time! Please enjoy these pictures from the event:

Shout out to my friend Leon Rainbow, the sickest graf artist and friend I have in Trenton, thanks for having me out to the event!

love,

Mama Cass

Silver Surfer Vaporizer + Mama Cass = your recommended daily allowance of awesomeness.

2011-07-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

Its finally here! My custom design for Silver Surfer Vaporizer's Wave Rider Series is up for sale! You can order it here and go tell your friends!! Be on the lookout for the second design, coming soon. I have been working with SSV for a few months now, and let me tell you, those are some awesome people! Much love for SSV.

Here is the design, entitled Lightning Volt:

Also, I applied for, and was accepted to Artsprojekt, affiliated with Zazzle. I now have the beginnings of my online Merch store, and you can order right off of Zazzle! If there is a specific piece of my art that you would like to see on a t-shirt, mug, or anything you can dream of, please just send me an email!

You can visit my store here!

And last but not least, I will update you on my summer! I have been living in Princeton, NJ since February, and my, what an adventure it has been! I scored a job at the gym here, giving private swim lessons, coaching swimming, and a wee bit of lifeguarding. My boss has dubbed my two fellow swim instructors and I his dark angels, a la Charlie's Angels. As a token of appreciation for the lovely combo that is an enjoyable/easy job + good money, and also since this is my last week in Princeton, I made a cheesy poster to commemorate our summer together.

You have 3 guesses as to which one is myself, Mama Cass.

Thats all for now! Adios!

The Atelier and my most recent works

2011-07-01T08:19:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

Last week I visited the Atelier in Trenton, NJ, also known as Modern Metal Works. The artists there are amazing, friendly, positive and inspiring and I was just blown away by the awesomeness thats going on at this place. I plan on visiting as often as I can while I'm in the area. Check them out and if you are ever in Trenton, don't miss out on your chance to hang and learn from some fellow amazing humans!

That is Erik, one of the main artists and leader at the shop and he is awesome. To see some more pictures of my visit, click here!

In other news, I also just finished my latest painting Heaviness of the Brain is Always Felt in the Heart:

To see some more detail shots, go look at my flickr!

I am going to Washington DC for the 4th of July. I am very excited for the fireworks there! Happy 4th everyone! Enjoy.

A Mermaid for Natalie

2011-06-21T08:56:00.001-07:00

Dear Natalie,

How long have I been promising you a mermaid? 2 years now? Well, here you go, finally :)

Natalie is a friend of mine from college: beautiful, cross-country runner, Architecturally gifted. She has a wonderful blog you can check out Here!

<3 Mama Cass

BBoy BBQ (semi)FAIL = Princeton Wall Art WIN!

2011-06-15T06:45:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to Philadelphia for the 10th annual BBoy BBQ to do some live painting at the event. Unfortunately, some paperwork didn’t get done and the artists were forced to quit painting by the local Law Enforcement Officers (po-po, five-0, the fuzz, cherries and blueberries?, ie. the man). So, since I didn’t get to paint my heart out in Phila, I went ahead and did it in P-ton (Princeton, that is) on my friend’s RV. Click here to see the entire stream of images.

Here is a video of some Baby BBoys and Bgirls getting down just like their mama taught them. I had a great time at the event, and I definitely plan on going next year! Enjoy!

<3 - Mama Cass

Fear and the Comedy - Traveling Mind + my birthday = one good day.

2011-06-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

Hola!

Today is my birthday and I have tons of exciting news! First of all, I am 24. I'm not sure what time I actually turned 24 because according to my mom, it was at night, and according to my dad, I was born in the morning. Oh well, thankfully we celebrate birthdays for an entire 24 hours!

Secondly, next weekend I will be attending the 10th Annual BBoy BBQ, a hip hop music festival taking place in West Philly. I have been selected as one of 30 artists nation-wide to live-paint on a huge 40 ft wall! It should be incredible. Yesterday I shopped the Utrecht outlet store for all my supplies, and dang, I got some good stuff. Pictures will be up after next weekend!

Lastly, today is also a big day because it marks the release date of my dear friend and colleague Barrett Wilson's new album release. His band is titled 'Fear and the Comedy' and the name of the album is 'Traveling Mind.' We have been working together the past couple months putting the right image with the music and this is what we came up with!

The entire album was written, recorded and produced by Barrett himself, and he has recently put together a band to start performing live! If you are in the LA area, be sure to keep your ears open for their killer sounds, especially Barrett's heavenly way with the guitar. You can stream and download the entire album here: http://fearandthecomedy.bandcamp.com/.

Hope you enjoyed all the new ear/eye candy! Until next time....

<3 Mama Cass

2011-05-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Here is "The Golden Rule"

It's about being kind to others, listening, and being kind to yourself. I hope you love it.

love, Mama Cass

Another Uber-Super Post of Recent Things

2011-05-04T09:58:00.000-07:00

I've been a busy girl.

I have realized there are a lot of empty streets in this world and I'm gonna paint them.

Enjoy all my latest :)

The Words

2011-04-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

I just finished this piece yesterday. It is called"The Words."

It is watercolor, ink and coffee on paper, 11"x15".

It is based on this writing by Becky Tillett.

I am happy with this piece. It was quite intensive as I was painting it, I have realized that I am becoming a detailed artist rather than a messy artist. Somehow I try to keep a healthy balance between the two - messy details! ha

Here is some more eye candy for you, some drawings for recent paintings:

This is Yoda-Speak, yo!

and this is Nicole's Hands.

More work coming soon!

love, Mama

Progress is continually good

2011-03-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

The Words. Progress. Enjoy.

love Mama Cass

motivation

2011-03-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

today i finished my blog header, you can see it at the head of my blog :)

i have some more work coming up this week, stay tuned!

*love* mama cass

Progress is GOOD!

2011-03-18T12:14:00.000-07:00

Progress is good, and it's fun to look at too! Here's some progress on my current work called "The Words." Hopefully I'll have it done by early next week!

This is a drawing for my new header design on my blog. I'm gonna work on painting it today. Progress!

Its been SO long!

2011-03-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

Hi. Here's what I've been up to lately:

...as well as traveling, moving, lifeguard-training, job-hunting, & cooking. :D

I also finished my new website and got it up a few days ago. It somehow got onto notcot.org which was exciting!

Art for Sale!

2010-12-13T10:15:00.000-08:00

This is everything I have for now, I'm trying to get rid of stuff before I move away from Savannah. Please email me (or call me!) if you want something (think: Christmas presents!).

cbabeswim@gmail.com

Freelance recently

2010-11-28T21:00:00.001-08:00

I just finished this image for the back of a business card for my friend who is a make-up artist.

Happy Monday!

Love, Cassie

Hustle

2010-11-16T12:08:00.000-08:00

This piece is based on a song by Menomena, amazing band, called Hustle n Flow and the words illustrated go a little like this:

Oh in the morning
I stumble
my way towards
the mirror and my makeup
it's light out
and I now
face just what I'm made of

and in the evening

I stumble
my way towards another

daily struggle
it's dark out
it's time now
that I pick up my hustle

and you can hear the beautiful song here!

I painted this piece for Becky as a gift. Its huge and cool and it smells like coffee!!

oh, to be loved.

2010-11-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

... it's fun. 10/6/10

I'm zonin

2010-11-08T21:30:00.000-08:00

This piece is entitled Zone, and its watercolor, ink, and tea on nice stonehenge paper. I made this as a gift for my friend Zach, whom is very awesome. Enjoy!

10/26/2010

2010-10-26T20:03:00.001-07:00

nightnite.

i GOT TOOeD

2010-09-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

September 16, 2010: i got a new tattoo. its my own design!!!! a self portrait. took 6.5 hours. i added the original sketch here at the bottom :D

In other news, here is a new sketch i just finished. I think i'm gonna title it "Awaken." It has to do with life so far.

ok i am off! until next time <3>

BXTRLOL

2010-08-26T19:35:00.001-07:00

my cousin Becky is beautiful and talented and she asked me to do a p0rtrait of her, so here you go Beckster:

Becky recently purchased the best gift for me ever: a ticket home to see my family! Here is a picture of all of us a White Sands:
love you Becky/Buckst*r/Young Buck

I just want to say: Thank You Jedidiah!!

2010-08-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

2010-07-31T19:29:00.000-07:00

This piece is entitled Trial and Error, and it is ink on paper.

The image on the left was designed by Nat, the image on the right was designed by me!

I came home after work one day, and Nat had done that first piece while I was gone. It struck me so hard and so deeply I was immediately inspired to create the second piece. I dreamed about it and the next day, that second piece poured out of my head onto another sheet of paper. This is our first "real" collaboration! so proud....

Here are some details:

Our former collaborations consisted of hours of sharing a laptop in bed taking turns drawing with a Wacom tablet and they look something like this:

thats from 2008, when we first started dating! aw!

BTW NAT HAS A BLOG AND YOU SHOULD GO LOOK AT IT.

NAT'S BLOG!

he's a really amazing artist. I feel so blessed to have the luxury of being inspired by him on a daily basis. now you can too! :)

ok, that is all. love!

2010-07-31T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hola! So today I got off work early and went for a bike ride around Savannah. The sunset was approaching, the air was hotter than biscuits and sticky, and it was absolutely gorgeous. I jammed out to some sweet tunes on my shuffle (best purchase i've made in a while), and looked at the pretty mansions 0n Washington Ave. *sigh* to have a house like that someday.....

The past few weeks has been a scramble to make some cash by rent time, I overdrafted my account for the first time ever ON BILLS (usually I'm good about saving my money), and i was freakin out. Sketching helped me a bit, and the discovery of my new favorite band, Menomena, which may be the most amazing music I have ever heard. You need to hear them before you die. I even bet listening to them while dying will make the experience more enjoyable. Anyway, here is a compilation of recent sketches:

The following image (and some variations) have been floating around my blog lately, but here is the final flyer for Megan's senior fashion show which I designed. The show was great, the models were gorgeous, and the clothes were amazing:

adios!

SketchzillaPenTime!

2010-07-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to take a couple minutes to update you on where, I think, my style may be heading in the future. At least my sketchbook is starting to look like this. Its fun to draw with ink, because that means all you can make is happy mistakes! No erasers allowed. Whenever I draw with a pencil i end up erasing everything anyway, so draw

ing with a pen has forced me to just keep going, and I am loving it so far!

Here's a detail from the middle one:

If you get a chance, go check out Drawgasmic, the show is this Friday, July 10!!

HELLO THERE --UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM!!!

2010-06-19T11:43:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!!

It has been forever and a day since i last posted, but my mid-year resolution is to change that. I got a new job last week and I have found some new inspiration recently and here are a couple things i wanted to show you! The first is my Drawgasmic submission , which i told you all about in my last entry. PLEASE go check out the event, its going to be AWESOME! (www.drawgasmic.com)

Myself, my boyfriend Nat, and my cousin Becky as well as about 5 other of my friends that I know of will all have pieces up in the show! Mine is called No One Ever Told You?

In other news, I went to Italy last month, and it was amazing. There we are out in front of St. Peter's Basilica!

And last but not least, I just finished a new piece entitled "Resolve".

It is a personal piece about a long conversation I had with my mom recently. After i finished, i realized that the illustration board i painted it on now smells like coffee and keeps making me hungry.

and that is all for now! be expecting me back soon.

love Cassie

!!UPDATE!! I sold this painting last week to an amazing photographer and a good friend George Gill: he takes amazing wedding photographs and beautiful fashion ones as well. He's also one of the most hilarious dudes I've ever met, as well as the kindest and most talented. Please go check out his website at http://savannahweddingphotography.com/.

get published

2010-04-28T15:57:00.000-07:00

I forgot to tell you, my boyfriend Nat (check his work here), my cousin Becky (her work here!), and myself all got accepted to Drawgasmic! If you are an artist and you think you're pretty cool, you should apply! The process was pretty easy and I got an email about 15 minutes after I applied announcing that I was accepted. There is going to be a huge show in June and then everyone will get their piece published in a Drawgasmic book! pretty sweet.... now do it!

here is a little sketch from my new sketchbook i just got (i'm in love! i can ink and watercolor the pages) enjoy!

a venture into fashion illustration

2010-04-28T15:41:00.001-07:00

So, I skipped swim practice today. It gave me a chance to work on a postcard for my friend Megan's fashion show. The theme is fashion travels. It's almost ready to be printed, I just need to put in the date/location/time of the show.

CatStroke

2010-04-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

A girl on my swim team and I decided to trade some art. She loves her cat, so I drew him as a swimmer. :)
My fellow pizza-girl coworker Jenna is starting her own dog-grooming business and asked me to design an image for the back of her business card, and this is what i came up with.

I'm leaving for Italy in 2 weeks! I am hoping to draw some new inspiration from my travels.

Owl Love You Forever

2010-04-01T08:42:00.001-07:00

I'll love you for always....
watercolor, gouache, ink and acrylic on canvas:

Owl Eat You All!

2010-03-31T09:36:00.000-07:00

Alright guys, I haven't posted in forever. This is a sad fact. However I have TWO pieces for you today! One is a commission from a good friend, one of the most amazing people i have ever had the opportunity to get to spend time with. His name is Robert Hess and he is a film maker in Orlando. Check his work at http://www.sustaininglife.org/. He asked me to do a piece based on one of his favorite quotes, and it goes like this:

"Some of us in lifeboats, some of us in yachts, when can we connect all these lovely dots?"

The original is 22"x 30" and it is watercolor, gouache, coffee, tea and ink on Stonehenge paper.

The second piece is called "Owl Eat You."

Its going in a show this weekend over at Desoto Row, and since i submitted my entries before i actually painted my entries, it's title at the show is going to be "At the end of the day."

Makes no sense. Oh well, it is up to the viewers to interpret that one however they want. For this I invented a new technique with the help of my genius painter boyfriend extraordinaire: Nat. Sorry, its a secret! If you are in the savannah area, come check it out on Saturday, April 3 from 5-10 pm. At desoto row- 40th and Bull.

k bye!

2010-03-10T17:56:00.000-08:00

Look at everything as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time. -Betty Smith

2010-02-18T18:58:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to Dr. Dre, John Travolta, Molly Ringwald,Vanna White, Matt Dillon and Yoko Ono. ( I just wanted an excuse to post this card I made for Kimmie. )

t-shirts and day jobs

2010-02-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

hey guys. so i made a self portrait (-; its actually going to be in a show next weekend with a couple older very large pieces i made in school last year. my boyfriend nat also will have a few (effin sweet!) pieces in it. if you are in savannah, go check it out on February 19th from 6-10 pm at Desoto Row on 40th and Bull. It should be pretty awesome!

My amazing/talented/beautiful cousin Becky is coming to visit me next week and I am SO EXCITED! She is a graphic designer/photographer from Colorado Springs. If you like to look at sweet pictures, check out her website http://rtillett.zenfolio.com/.

Well my sister is a senior at Las Cruces High School in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Next year is is going to swim for UNLV in Las Vegas! Their highschool swim meet is coming up and i did the design for their shirts (below). i must say bulldawgs look pretty sexy in a swim cap.

well thats it for now. see you guys soon. <3

2010-01-27T11:30:00.000-08:00

Hey guys! ...just wanted to say hi. I'm having a FANTASTIC DAY in case you were wondering. A day off of work and doing everything i want, yes! I made this card as a promo for www.blablakids.com. They have the cutest stuffed toys. I want one for my birthday.

today.

2010-01-23T19:45:00.000-08:00

What is the right thing to say in the first post? I haven't painted in a while but things I like to paint include (but are not limited to): cats.

umm, and I like to push around bright colors on dirty paper.

hey, I did a piece for HOW Magazine's February issue on keeping creativity alive in the office. You should go check it out, its on page 103! Here it is:

She is a cubicle worker expressing her creativity.

A: I'm glad I don't work in a cubicle.

B: Expressing my creativity is something I need to work on, especially considering it is what I obtained my degree in.

C: It is hard for me to capitalize my "i's" but I am trying my best.

D: In my attempt to utilize my degree, I am doing a new mailing this week. My first mailing was in June 2009 and I got one job out of it (see image above), and my postcard was this:

Z: I just finished this new card last week and I am sending it out (hopefully) Monday. My new goal from this mailing is TWO jobs! My ultimate goal is to stop working at a pizza shop eventually. Sorry pizza, I love you but I cannot eat you everyday.

that's my cat. :)

meow!