biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver

Apr 11

A Picnic with Biscuit!

This past weekend we took Biscuit out for a picnic since the weather was so nice outside! Biscuit really is happy that it is warmer outside! Below are a few photos of Biscuit enjoying the sun. He loves to sun himself!

This week Doug put Biscuit’s Hound About together — and Biscuit enjoyed a 2 hour ride in his Hound About! However, after going to bed after his long ride in his Hound About, Biscuit woke us up and he wanted to play for the next several hours in the middle of the night. Needless to say, Doug and I were exhausted at work the following day after only getting three hours of sleep! The past few nights, we have been taking Biscuit for a long walk to help ensure he sleeps through the night for us!

A few photographs of Biscuit are below from our picnic! We are so happy that it is getting warmer!

Apr 10

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Interview with Helen Greenstein, Artist

Interview with Helen Greenstein, Artist

Recently, I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Helen Greenstein, an artist, living in Atlanta Georgia. Helen makes custom creations out of felt and everything is hand-stitched-to-order! You name it, and Helen can felt-ify it! Some examples of Helen’s work are shown below. You can visit Helen’s website to view more of Helen’s work.

I think Helen’s creations are adorable! We are going to have Helen make a custom sheltie of our beloved Biscuit!

KATHERINE CARVER: What were your beginnings as an artist and when did you realize it would become your chosen form of expression?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: I’ve wanted to be an artist since I first held a crayon in my hand. I can still remember the feeling of the crayon paper wrapping in my tiny fist. And it was always clear to my teachers that being creative was my strength, unlike grammar.

KATHERINE CARVER: Did you study art formally?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: I was on track to get a BFA, but switched to business because I was concerned about being able to get a job. My college counselor advised me that being an artist only meant starving…which was a hard thing to hear when I was paying my way through college. So I gave up my dream and earned a marketing degree with a minor in studio art.

KATHERINE CARVER: How do you describe your style?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: Simple and modern. I love clean lines, and hope that’s reflected in my work.

KATHERINE CARVER: Can you describe the time when you first realized that creating art was absolutely something that you had to do?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: I’ve always had to be creative. No matter what I do. I have always found a way to continue to be creative, either as a hobby or as a paying project.

KATHERINE CARVER: What was the impetus that inspired you to begin making felt dogs and other animals?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: I’ve worked with every medium possible – charcoal, paint, ink, clay, metal, and photography, etc. It wasn’t until I bought a book called “The Cute Book” by Aranzi Aronzo, that I discovered felt. A whole new world opened up for me. It’s sculpture with fabric and sewing. It uses bold colors with a clean look. I was instantly in love.

KATHERINE CARVER: How have your own dog(s)/pet(s) influenced your artwork?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: What’s funny is that we don’t have any dogs, if you can believe it. I love dogs, I really do. It’s friends and customers stories that inspire me to make their felt creation embody their pet as much as possible.

KATHERINE CARVER: When and how did you begin your business, Eleni Creative?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: I started in 2008 with felt Christmas ornaments at a local art fair. Through interest at the fair my business grew and evolved. A bird ornament led to my first baby mobile of birds. The mobiles led to a request for a dog. And it continues today. If they request it, I’ll make it!

KATHERINE CARVER: What does “being creative” mean to you?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: I feel as though everyone is creative in some way. For some it’s writing, for others it’s numbers. If you’re expressing yourself, that’s creative and brave.

KATHERINE CARVER: What inspires you to keep going and what keeps you motivated?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: New requests keep me going. Making the same thing over and over isn’t ideal, but I love hand crafting items for customers. It’s the custom requests that definitely keep me excited, especially when it challenges me.

KATHERINE CARVER: What is the most rewarding and satisfying part about being an artist and creating your felt artworks?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: Two things – bringing flat material to life; and my customers’ happiness.

KATHERINE CARVER: Looking back on your accomplishments, to date, what are you the most proud of?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: I’m proud that I’ve stuck with it. And I’ve been able to because I’m very lucky to have an amazing husband that supports me and what I do. He actually wants me to live out my dream. How crazy is that!

KATHERINE CARVER: What are you working on now?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: A flying rabbit mobile, of course. It’s a custom request and it’s going to be so cute! It’s definitely one that makes you smile.

KATHERINE CARVER: What artists inspire your work?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: Honestly, Georgia O’Keefe’s early oil paintings. I admire that she started later in life, and in a male driven industry. Her oil paintings are simple, colorful and bold. The Chicago Art Institute has the most comprehensive collection of her oil paintings I’ve ever seen. I was in tears viewing her incredible work.

KATHERINE CARVER: What piece(s) of your artwork is your favorite?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: The felt collie dog. I’m very critical of my work, and that’s the only one I wouldn’t tweak. I love it.

KATHERINE CARVER: What advice do you have for aspiring artists?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: Don’t give up. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do what you love. If you truly love it, there’s always a way to make it happen.

KATHERINE CARVER: How can people view and commission your art works?

HELEN GREENSTEIN: Everything I’ve done is on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/elenicreative/.

I can be reached via e-mail at feltician@elenicreative.com.

Further, I have a shop on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/elenicreative.

Finally, you can view my website here.

*All photographs are courtesy of Helen Greenstein.

You can read additional interviews here.

Apr 9

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Biscuit’s Adventures to Quiet Waters Park

This weekend we were planning to take Biscuit to D.C., before we realized that we had a play at the Everyman Theatre! (We will likely try and take Biscuit to D.C. in the coming weeks.) Thus, Doug researched some alternatives for us. A friend told us about the Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis. Unlike our last visit to the dog park, Biscuit had a great time and he even met a nine-year-old female sheltie named Coca! Biscuit has not seen a sheltie since we moved from our former neighborhood! What a treat! Biscuit was all smiles at the dog park! (Although, Biscuit has not met a lady as special as Princess!)

Some photos of Biscuit’s trip to the dog park are shown below!

Happy Tuesday!

Apr 8

A Different Look at Self-Promotion

If you are like most people, you are probably uncomfortable with the idea of “self-promotion.” As a blogger or a business person, you need to promote your offerings so that people will know about them.

However, most people are self-conscious about it. You do not want to bombard and annoy people, and you do not feel right tooting your own horn.

After reading this, you should never again feel uncomfortable with “self-promotion.”

You are not promoting your SELF. You are offering a valuable product or service that others need and/or want, and you are telling them about it so they will have an opportunity to benefit from it, if they so choose.

If you truly understand and accept this truth, than promoting should no longer be an issue for you.

Having an honest belief in the goodness of the product or service you are providing is the key to being able to promote it effectively.

It comes down to how you look at business as a whole. Businesses exist to provide people with something of value. If you take your business seriously, and run it with integrity, then you are doing something good for the world. There is no shame in telling people about it.

Try taking inventory of the positive things you are providing with your service or product. Entertainment, inspiration, enlightenment, education? What is it? Do you believe in the goodness of it? (If not, then why are you doing it?)

You are not trying to draw attention to yourself for no reason. You are offering something of value. But how will people know unless you tell them? Let people know that you have something they might like, and if it is not for them, they are free to ignore you.

Your hesitancy to toot your own horn will serve you well. It will remind you to keep offering something of value, even as you are promoting. (Free giveaways, extra content, interesting facts or relevant information. Anything you can offer that people might want.)

You may need to lose the phrase “self promotion” altogether. When you can replace “tooting your own horn” with what it really is — ”offering something of value” — I think you may find whole new reservoirs of motivation and enthusiasm for it.

Happy Monday!

Apr 5

Blog Stomp – A Time Saver

I had heard of many bloggers, especially photographers, raving about BlogStomp. I had to check it out myself. If you are a blogger, especially a photographer blogger, you should check out BlogStomp. It is a useful tool to prepare and share your images on your blog. (Version 2.0 was released not too long ago.)

I really like the simplicity of BlogStomp. It is a nice alternative to watermarking — which I have never been a fan because watermarking negatively impacts the image. The new 2.0 version of BlogStomp is pretty simple to use and it has been a huge time saver for me as it prepares your images for the web in seconds, and it allows you to cluster images together! It is literally one click to “stomp” your images onto your blog! So for your bloggers, this is definitely a time saver! You can purchase BlogStomp for $49.00 for a single user.

If the weather cooperates, we are taking Biscuit to an excursion to D.C. this weekend! We will get his Hound About ready — one of his favorite things to do is to stroll around in his Hound About!

Apr 4

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Biscuit at Home Depot

Last night, we took Biscuit to Home Depot in Columbia to see whether Biscuit prefers Lowes over Home Depot. We discovered that Biscuit likes both places! We really wish that spring would get here soon so we can take Biscuit to more places outside! Biscuit was a hit at Home Depot and he received many compliments! Biscuit seemed to like every department from Gardening to Plumbing! A few photos of Biscuit’s trip to Home Depot are below!

Thank you for your good wishes for Biscuit. Biscuit begins his human form of a phosphorus binder tonight to help with his kidney deficiencies.

Apr 3

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Prayers for Biscuit

The other night, we took Biscuit to the vet for blood work and urine tests, another vaccination, and a check-up. It was discovered that the polyp in his left ear has grown since we were at the vet at the end of January. The vet is afraid that the polyp will get too large and close his ear canal leading to further medical problems. (Biscuit’s left ear is the ear that we have been battling ear infections ever since we rescued Biscuit.) As such, Biscuit is going to have surgery to remove the polyp and a dental cleaning on April 26, 2013. We do not want him to go under anesthesia any more than is absolutely necessary.

Unfortunately, last night we received Biscuit’s blood results and urinalysis results. We learned that Biscuit’s kidney enzymes are elevated, the highest they have been since he was diagnosed with kidney disease, i.e., his kidneys were and continue to not function at 100%. The vet said that, at this point, through prescription diet and medicine, we have kept these kidney enzyme levels under control. However, his kidney enzyme levels are increased now. This week, Biscuit is going to begin taking a human phosphorus binder to help lower the phosphorus levels in his blood. We hope that this will slow the progression of Biscuit’s kidney disease. We first learned of Biscuit’s kidney disease shortly after rescuing him through blood and urine tests.

Please keep Biscuit in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

Apr 1

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Biscuit at the New Home Construction Site

Since the construction on our new home began in early March, we have been driving over to the construction site on a weekly basis to see the progress on our house being made. Of course, Biscuit comes along with us to monitor the progress! Below are some photographs of little Biscuit pursuing around the construction site. Thankfully, he is smiling which is a really good sign!

Additionally, Biscuit had a great weekend! We took Biscuit with us to a birthday party for our good friend. Biscuit was in seventh heaven at the party! He loved being around so many people at the party! We also took Biscuit with us to Harbor East in downtown Baltimore for pizza and he loved it. We think that Biscuit remembers going to Harbor East prior to our move! Also, Biscuit even was able to go into the Lululemon store (one of my favorite stores) with us where he was a hit with the ladies!

(Ouch! The sun is too bright for my little eyes!)

Happy Tuesday!

Apr 1

Good Read: Uncertainty by Jonathan Fields

Recently, I finished reading the book Uncertainty by Jonathan Fields.

I enjoyed reading this book. In a nutshell, this book is about managing the creative process, particularly with regard to entrepreneurial pursuits. In this book, Jonathan Fields has drawn on his own experience of success, transformation, effort, and uncertainty to give us pointers on how to face our fears and use them to propel us forward, rather than hold us paralyzed. Not only is this book motivational, inspiring you to take courageous decisions, it also provides practical advice on how to deal with the fear and take steps to avoid disaster.

Jonathan Fields offers a fresh perspective on the creative process based on his own experiences as well as research. He frames the creative process in a new way by talking about things like creativity anchors, co-creation hives, attentional training, and reframing.

I appreciate how he brings these complex ideas down to earth for readers. I think the strongest part of his book are the thought-provoking questions he posses to readers. These are found throughout every chapter. In addition, he provides a “Conversation Starter” in the back which includes even more ideas for the active mind to ponder!

Fields continually encourages self-reflection, and I for one agree that self-awareness is key to not only successfully navigating creative pursuits, but to learning and growing in general. One of the most helpful insights I got out of this book was about the value of certainty anchors and in particular the importance of rituals in creative endeavors.

The other important message I gleaned from Fields’ book related to co-creation hives. The entrepreneurial journey can be a lonely one, and therefore gaining support and assistance from others along the way can be very rewarding. With co-creation hives Fields recommends formalizing the process to ensure a win-win arrangement that best leverages a cohort of value-adding contributors.

For me, the primary message of this book is to accept uncertainty (as hard as that may be). Whenever you start on a new path or venture or endeavor, accept the uncertainty. Looking for any guarantees before you start can only lead to mediocre work and not great work. Great work is possible by accepting “uncertainty and its trusted sidekicks: risk of loss and exposure to judgment.”

In reality, there is uncertainty with everything in life.

In other news, thank you to all of you who participated in the blog giveaway with Adirondack Stone Works! The winner of the blog giveaway is Kathy! Your contact information has been given to Adirondack Stone Works, who will be in touch with you shortly concerning the custom stone you have won!

Mar 29

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Biscuit at Lowes

Since the weather has been so cold, Doug and I have been limited on where we can take Biscuit for some outings, which Biscuit greatly enjoys. Since Lowes was such a hit with Biscuit several weeks ago, we decided to take Biscuit back to Lowes in Elkridge. This time, I brought along my camera! Biscuit was such a happy boy and he received many compliments! Below are some photographs of Biscuit enjoying an outing to Lowes!

We skipped the gym last night and took Biscuit to Lowes again as he needed a “morale boost!” As soon as he entered through the sliding doors at Lowes, he began to smile. We walked up and down the aisles looking at all sorts of items for our new house! Biscuit was smiling and he was so happy to be out and about! We stopped at Chick-fil-A on the way home for some vanilla ice cream, which Biscuit loved! We know that Biscuit misses our former house and neighborhood. We know that he will be much happier in the new neighborhood and our new house once it is finished being built as there will be lots of doggie friends and new smells! If only we could tell him this!

We also took Biscuit with us to get pizza earlier this week to get him out and about. Doug and I sat outside in chilly weather eating our pizza; however, Biscuit did not seem to mind and he was quite content to be out and about pawing incessantly for more of his prescription kibble!

Biscuit is a reminder of how something so small, such as going to Lowes, makes him so happy! We hope that spring is on its way soon so we can take Biscuit on more adventures!

Biscuit got groomed and bathed over the weekend (after his outing to Lowes!) Biscuit, pictured below, is looking good after getting groomed and bathed!