The toads told me to do it...

My last post suggested what I haven't stated overtly - I've moved again, the studio is now located in a very different place than Ontario, Canada.  As the fall progresses in Canada, where I am there is very little to mark the passing of the seasons (except we do hear seasonal music around now and my favorite Christmas album - Boney M - for once in my life fits in with my cultural surroundings!).  

 Ginger, the last cat, surveys her new domain.

It's been a very busy few months taken up by relocating, unpacking, assembling furniture and trying to find all the various bits of my studio and supplies as well as a job interview.  I am without finishing spray and it's apparently really difficult to get aerosols delivered overseas - oh Krylon, how I need you now!  Well, by the time I figure out how to get some I should have a few pieces ready to spray.

And here is the new workspace....

Yeah, it's rough working out here!

I have a bunch of pieces in progress, but none ready to post today - so instead I'll share this trio of sages with you:

These guys live on the patio of my new location - they mostly stay in the dark cool spot under the old patio table base (okay, they exclusively stay there except in dark of night when they come out to hunt - I snapped this picture the day I discovered them when I tried to move the base, it's now safely back in place and they are happy with that).

Now the only thing I need still to do is impose some structure on myself.  I've recently found my interest in Myers Briggs typology rekindled.   Yeah, I'm one of those people who loves to dissect the human condition whenever I can (note that I'm a dissector, not a categorizer).  I'm pretty sure I'm INFP, though I've tested INFJ before and my cognitive function tests are never consistent with anything (other than Ne/Ni/Fe/Fi always jostling for the top four in frequency... I have zero doubt that I'm NF temperament).  At any rate... a four letter code isn't any excuse for being a great starter-of-things and a dismal finisher of them, but it does help me to recognize that enforcing a schedule without external stimulus doesn't come naturally to me and that it's okay to leverage other sources to help me create and impose some structure on my art time. Now I just have to figure out how to do it!

If any of you are artists, or similarly plagued with inherent schedule hyperflexibility, let me know in the comments what tricks or tips you have for creating structure in your workday without dampening your creativity!

Moving is such hard work for kitties!

It's tiring, all this driving... note the plains of Wyoming/Nebraska/Iowa/Western Illinois (take your pick) in the background. Ginger is particularly pooped in this shot - having spent an hour telling me just what she thought about this whole 'moving' idea and then maintaining her place as Queen Bee in the Seat of Honour the rest of the ride (at least Michael didn't vomit on her this trip! Go meclizine!).



The official cat of 'Cat-in-a-Box' stalwartly guarding the coffee and skittles on the long drive...



And Nessie - taking her turn on the Seat of Honour (yes, the Seat of Honour is a dog bed on half a vari-kennel in the back of the car - comfy as well as being a good vantage point!)....



Surprisingly (or perhaps not) the cats didn't care one bit about the snowstorm in Nebraska, they mostly just slept. Now they have happily claimed all sunbeams that enter this house - apparently sunbeams in Illinois are just as good as sunbeams in Colorado! :)

~ Pam

Scratchboards and weather....

We have arrived! Cat-in-a-Box is officially based outside of Chicago now!

It's been a slightly hairy week, moving across the country is rarely a pleasant experience but this was actually the smoothest move I've had yet (and let's just say this wasn't my first rodeo!). Generally my husband and I take a Uhaul trailer to tote the more delicate items like computers, monitors, and art. I had the forethought to package my unused scratchboards separately with the intention of being extra-cautious about climate control. Scratchboard is a pretty hardy substrate, however I have on one occasion taken a board from the west (dry Colorado climate) to the midwest (colder and more humid) and back again. That board became more difficult to work and I was never certain if it was the humidity change or the temperature change that affected it.

Well this time I had my plan all laid - however as usual, life got in the way. It's all well and good to make plans, but when you arrive at the hotel four hours late because of the severe winter storms in Nebraska (after we'd passed 3 semis and over 15 cars and trucks off the road I stopped counting) and then wrangle four cats and their associated paraphernalia into the hotel room let me just say that the last thing you are capable of doing is digging out that special box of scratchboard from a pile of other stuff and suddenly your faith in the durability of scratchboard and whiteboard takes a huge upward leap!

Winter Storm - (c) KMTV Action 3 News

Now, more rested and arrived at the other end, I am regretting a little that the sratchboard got so cold. Only time will tell if there was any ill-effect. The one board that I had that was affected was still workable, it ended up turning into this piece:

"Ginger" (c) Pam Boutilier

When I get to working any of the boards that have traveled I will let you know how the surface is!

I also am able to share another commission I did shortly before the move, this is little Jessie. Her portrait was done in pastel, which was really fun to do after working in scratchboard so much recently! She is such a pretty little girl!


"Jessie" 5x7" Pastel (c) Pam Boutilier

The studio and supplies are piled in boxes - the next couple weeks are going to be just as busy as the last few!

~ Pam

Where it all began....

Recently I was looking for some document or other and came across my 'bin of remembrance'... I'm not a terrible hoarder, but I do tend to keep my drawing and writing as well as cards and letters from people. Most of the drawing of the last two decades can be found in my sketchbooks but I have this one bin of loose sheets in plastic document-protectors. It mostly consists of sketches and cartoons, concept drawings and random high school notes to friends. But among all of those I found what might be the oldest pet portrait I have saved....



Note the very yellowed paper, crumpled and water-stained, and the lovely extra touch of some amber scotch-tape residue on there. It's dated 1989, so I would have been 14 when I drew it. I'm pretty sure this one wasn't an actual portrait - that what a time when I was very into drawing cats and dogs from magazines, pet food labels and kitty litter packages (my mom owned a corner convenience store), and just about any other reference shot I could get my hands on. This one had 'Mike' scrawled at the top - and it tickles my memory that 'Mikey' was the spokesdog for a pet food at that time.

At any rate - not the most auspicious beginning. I know I drew things (especially horses) much earlier than that, but those seem to have been lost to the ether...

So that was then... and up to the now. The new studio is all unpacked and I'm finally getting back to work. It is wonderful to have so much open space and natural light! I'm still shuffling my supplies around to figure out what the perfect organization is for functionality - but that's a part I actually enjoy.


I've got several things in the works - so more posts will follow (I mean it this time!)

~ Pam