biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver

Apr 1

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!

Happy Easter! (Below is a photograph of Biscuit from last Easter!) We picked up some items to give to Biscuit for Easter this year!

Happy Friday!

Mar 27

Interview with Natalya Zahn, Illustrator

Interview with Natalya Zahn, Illustrator

Recently, I had the opportunity and pleasure of interviewing Natalya Zahn, an illustrator living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Natalya illustrates dogs and other animals. Some of her work is displayed below and you can also visit her website and blog to view more of Natalya’s work.

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

NATALYA ZAHN: I am very fortunate to have come from a family and community of artists. I knew from day one that art would be an integral part of my life, and my parents happily encouraged me – I spent countless hours drawing, painting and constructing things in their studios (and anywhere around the house, really).

KATHERINE CARVER: Did you study art formally?

NATALYA ZAHN: Yes. I had a hard time deciding whether I wanted to go to college specifically for art, or whether I wanted a liberal arts background that would allow me to study the sciences (which are another major passion of mine), but upon visiting the Rhode Island School of Design during my decision process, I fell head over heels in love with the campus and energy of the place… after that, there was no question where I would attend. I still have a serious interest in biology, zoology and anatomy, but ultimately, art school was a wise choice.

KATHERINE CARVER: How do you describe your style?

NATALYA ZAHN: My style is overarchingly realistic, but it has been shifting a bit lately. I have found that the older I get, the more expressivity I want out of my work. Maybe I’m getting increasingly impatient – more likely I’m just much more confident – but I have a greater and greater appreciation for spontaneity of brushwork, efficiency of line, and deliberate, bold use of color than I used to.

The ink drawings that characterize Oscaratemymuffin.com are actually a brand new direction for me that arose out of being inspired by other contemporary illustrators. In fact, I started Oscar’s blog and developed the “brand” precisely as a creative challenge to myself – it’s my sandbox of sorts to really explore the medium of ink (which, as a style, I thought had more potential to be commercially viable than the acrylic paintings I had been focusing on previously). It’s been a total joy, and I’ve been able to apply the techniques that I’ve learned and developed to many new, non-dog related projects.

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

NATALYA ZAHN: I grew up in rural Vermont, where both the Northeast wilderness and peaceful, bucolic farmland were in abundant supply. For as long as I can remember I have been drawn to animals… I was always the kid who lagged behind on a walk in order to stop by a fence and entice a cow over to say hello, or pet a neighbor’s dog; I rode horses throughout my childhood and high school years; and my favorite destinations on family vacations were always zoos, aquariums or the great diorama halls of natural history museums. To this day I find the company of animals somehow more rewarding than that of most people I encounter… As artistic subjects, I think they (referring to pretty much all animals) are head and shoulders more beautiful in form – and breathtaking in their variety – than humans, consequently, people rarely show up in my work.

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

NATALYA ZAHN: For a long time after getting Oscar people would say to me, “He’s so handsome – you must draw him all the time!”, and for some reason – I didn’t! (shame on me!) He’s always been a wonderful inspiration for my creative eye, and I have thousands of photographs of him, but it was only recently that he became the star of a whole series of artwork – I suppose I’m making up for lost time. Since developing Oscaratemymuffin.com, I’ve made it a point of conveying his very unique personality through the illustrations – the blog is a character study of sorts – and it’s been great fun to introduce the Beast to the world, and finally give him the spotlight he deserves.

KATHERINE CARVER: When and how did you begin your blog entitled, “Oscar Ate My Muffin”?

NATALYA ZAHN: Oscar’s blog debuted on his birthday, March 27th, 2012. I had been wanting to develop a blog solely for him, and launching it as a “gift” to him on that day seemed perfectly appropriate. I wasn’t sure exactly what direction it would end up going in – that’s the beauty of blogs, they’re so completely organic – but I knew illustration would be a distinguishing element. Looking back now through our posts, you can clearly see an evolution of the ink style I referenced previously… it’s quite a trip.

KATHERINE CARVER: Where do you show/exhibit your work?

NATALYA ZAHN: I actually don’t currently exhibit my work, though I wouldn’t be opposed to a gallery show. Between commercial work, self-initiated blog projects, and my responsibilities as an adjunct faculty member at a local college of art, time is just in short supply these days…

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

NATALYA ZAHN: Being creative is a total state of mind for me. More than any particular materials or mediums, it’s critical to my sanity as an artist and designer to always have the freedom to be “making”. I’m so lucky to be able to make a living using my creativity, but outside of the paid projects, I take all kinds of opportunities to visualize ideas, be it doodling on napkins while waiting for a meal, sculpting a critter in fresh, wet snow, or collaging my own cards and envelopes for gifting to friends; there really is a way to transform just about anything into a project.

KATHERINE CARVER: What is the most challenging aspect of being an artist?

NATALYA ZAHN: From my experience, many artists struggle with being their own best representatives – we’re perfectly happy to humbly toil away all day in the studio, but when it comes to shopping our work to prospective clients, negotiating contracts and terms, and pretty much anything regarding money (all of which distinguish a successful career from merely a hobby), we tend to go into avoidance… Speaking for myself, learning and excelling at this “business” aspect has always been the very most challenging part of my job.

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

NATALYA ZAHN: It’s probably easier to make a list of things that DON’T inspire me … I find amazing details just about everywhere I go: neighborhood animals and wildlife; the seasonal state of surrounding plants and trees; colors and textures of the urban landscape – the world is absolutely full of beauty, you just need to remain present and aware in order to see it sometimes. My running project “wish list” is far too long to ever be tackled in full – this can be a frustrating position, but it also means I rarely end up feeling truly “stuck”.

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

NATALYA ZAHN: It’s hugely satisfying to see my illustration live a life of it’s own out in the world – whether it’s printed in the pages of a magazine; repeated in a pattern on apparel; or branding a product on a grocery story shelf – that feeling of pride never gets old. And even though there are very stressful, daunting aspects of being self-employed, I get to wake up every day actually eager to go to work… that’s pretty epic.

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

NATALYA ZAHN: I’m honestly just increasingly proud of having built the career path I’m currently following. It has been an arduous, frustrating, and very challenging effort, but I’m finally feeling things solidify, and I’m so looking forward to where it all goes from here.

KATHERINE CARVER: What are you working on now?

NATALYA ZAHN: My project queues tend to be quite eclectic, but right this moment I’m actually recipe testing and gathering visual reference for a really fun illustrated dog treat feature that will be appearing in print later this summer – that is unfortunately all I can disclose!

KATHERINE CARVER: What artists inspire your work?

NATALYA ZAHN: So many favorites and influences – a few: Rein Poortvliet, Jillian Tamaki, Ping Zhu, James Gurney, William Wegman, Maira Kalman, David Downton, Tom Lovell, Walton Ford…

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

NATALYA ZAHN: I don’t know if I can narrow down a single piece as an all-time favorite of mine, though most recently, I had a fantastic time creating a dog-themed wrapping paper design that I had screen printed for the 2012 holiday season, shown below. Using a black lab puppy as my inspiration, I generated a handful of small ink illustrations that I then assembled in Photoshop into a repeating pattern. The pattern was printed in one color on newsprint and I used the sheets to wrap gifts and send out promotional packages to a few lucky art directors. It was a great success and I’m looking forward to creating more patterns in the near future. (Here is a link to the pattern project in a New Year’s post to the Oscar blog).

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

NATALYA ZAHN: It’s easy, especially when just starting out, to get hung up on what kind of work you think you ‘should’ be making, or what others tell you you’re best at – disregard this. Your best work will happen when you focus on that which you know and love, and your most valuable audience will follow that work. Not sure you really know how to visualize what you know and love? Just keep ‘making’, and let each step, each project, lead to the next. Momentum is HUGE and you never know where the sparks are hiding until you hit them.

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

NATALYA ZAHN: I have an online portfolio of assorted work that can be viewed at http://www.natalyazahn.com – there is a dedicated “Portrait” section for those seeking a painting or drawing of their animal. I’m currently doing commissions in both full-color acrylic style, and my newer ink drawing style. Those interested in a portrait should feel free to email me for more information and a price list: natalya@natalya.com.

Please visit Natalya’s website and blog to learn more!

*All images contained in this post are courtesy of Natalya Zahn.

You can read additional interviews here.

Mar 26

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Biscuit + Snow

I cannot believe that it is almost April and we have snow! Below you can see Biscuit trudging through the snow! He really loves the snow and his first snow with us was this past Christmas!

Happy Tuesday!

Mar 25

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Adirondack Stone Works Giveaway — Preserving our Pet’s Memory

Adirondack Stone Works recently contacted me to share their pet memorial stones with me and inquired as to whether I would have a blog giveaway using one of their stones. Adirondack Stone Works sent me a custom engraved stone, pictured below, entitled, “Biscuit’s Space,” to place on our front porch of our soon to be home! This stone will be a constant reminder of who is in charge! As you can see, it is a beautiful engraged stone and a constant reminder of our precious Biscuit!

Roughly ten years ago, Adirondack Stone Works was founded by Jeremy and Tavia Pellani in upstate New York. Jeremy and Tavia started Adirondack Stone Works with the intention of offering simple and tasteful pet memorial stones at affordable prices. Jeremy and Tavia got their start engraving stones for a local no kill animal shelter in upstate New York. Be sure to visit Adirondack Stone Works’ website here.

Pictured below are some examples of Adirondack Stone Works‘ stones.

It is extremely difficult to fatham the loss of any furry family member. Their time here is so short and fleeting. This is why I believe it is very important to have photographs taken of our furry family members as a visual rememberance of our beloved furry family members. I never like to think about losing our beloved Biscuit who enriches our lives so very much. We try not to take anything for granted and enjoy each and every day with Biscuit while he is here with us. We are very grateful for Biscuit.

This inquiry from Adirondack Stone Works got me thinking about how we memorialize our furry family members. Each person memorializes their furry family member(s) in different ways. Some owners have chosen to memorialize their beloved pet through video or photography, while others have gone so far as to clone the deceased. “Furever” is a new documentary that explores the ways that Americans react to their grief when a pet dies, and the trailer for the film was recently released. Here is what the filmmaker, Amy Finkle, had to say:

Furever is a documentary about the people looking to hang onto the memories of their four-legged loved ones, and the booming trade that is providing services that are an equal amount of creativity, empathy, and opportunity. Furever is a feature-length documentary that explores the dimensions of grief people experience over the loss of a pet. It examines the sociological evolution of pets in the U.S. today, particularly their position in a family unit, and how this evolution is affecting those in the veterinary profession and death care industry. With interviews from grieving pet owners, veterinarians, psychologists, sociologists, religious scholars, neuroscientists, and the many professionals who preserve a pet’s body for their devastated clientele, or re-purpose a pet’s cremains in unique ways (taxidermy, cloning, mummification, freeze-drying, and many more), Furever confronts contemporary trends, perspectives, and relevant cultural assumptions regarding attachment, religion, ritual, grief, and death, and studies the bonds that form between humans and animals, both psychological and physiological.

Please leave a comment about your thoughts and ideas on what you believe are good methods to memorialize pets. Here is a link to photographs illustrating how others have memorialized their pet(s). One winner randomly selected will receive a free custom medium stone from Adirondack Stone Works to celebrate your living pet or memorialize your pet that has already passed on. The medium stone from Adirondack Stone Works is roughly 11-12″ across, 1.5 – 2″ thick and comes with two lines of text (up to five words on each line) along with an optional cat or dog paw print(s).

Details and Rules:

*Leave a comment.

*Please leave a valid e-mail address, as this is my only point of contact.

*One entry per person.

*Deadline to submit a comment is this Sunday, March 31, 2013 at 11:00 p.m. EST… and the winner will be announced early next week!

(Stay tuned — there will be more blog giveaways!)

Mar 22

National Puppy Day!

Tomorrow, March 23, 2013, is National Puppy Day! National Puppy Day is a special day, recognized on March 23 annually, to celebrate the magic and unconditional love that puppies bring to our lives. But more importantly, it is a day to help save orphaned puppies across the globe and educate the public about the horrors of puppy mills, as well as becoming a nation of puppy-free pet stores.

Below are some ways to celebrate National Puppy Day!

1. Adopt a puppy from your local shelter or rescue organization.

2. Volunteer at your local shelter and offer to walk a puppy or play with a puppy, clean cages or anything else that the shelter or rescue organization may need help with.

3. Donate money, food, and/or toys to local organizations.

4. Write your Congressman/Congresswoman and ask that he/she support the ban of puppy mills in your state.

5. Microchip and get an I.D. tag for your puppy.

6. Have a puppy party and invite all of your puppy friends and their respective puppies over!

7. Have your puppy photographed or painted to commemorate your puppy!

8. Buy your puppy a fun new puppy toy.

9. Buy your puppy a comfy new bed.

10. Teach your puppy a new trick!

Doug and I believe every day is Puppy Day! We plan to celebrate National Puppy Day with Biscuit by taking him for an outing, which he always enjoys…as long as it is not an outing to the vet! We hope for warmer temperatures soon, as it will provide us with more flexibility to take Biscuit to more places with us more regularly! Biscuit does enjoy going to Lowes! Biscuit will be getting groomed tomorrow, and he will be going to dinner with us at our friend’s house, which Biscuit will enjoy!

What are you planning for your special furry family member in celebration of National Puppy Day?

Happy Friday!

Mar 21

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Good Reads

Good Reads: Daring Greatly by Brene Brown; and Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon.

Recently, I have been trying to find more time to read in order to complete reading the myriad of books on my desk! I recently finished reading Daring Greatly by Brene Brown; and Steal Like an Artist by Austin Keon. These were both Good Reads!

Daring Greatly by Brene Brown

Brene Brown, Ph.D., LMSW is a research professor at the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. She has spent the past decade studying vulnerability, courage, worthiness, and shame. Her 2010 TEDxHouston talk on the power of vulnerability is one of most watched talks on TED.com.

Daring Greatly was named after a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.”

In this book, Brene Brown presents her findings on the concepts of shame, weakness, and vulnerability. Defining vulnerability “as exposure, uncertainty, and emotional risk,” Brene Brown maintains that this feeling is the crux of most of our meaningful experiences. Ultimately, she writes, it is not a weakness; everyone is vulnerable, we all need support via friends and family. Trust and vulnerability go hand in hand. Brene Brown believes it is essential to expose oneself to a wide range of feelings in order to combat shame, break down the walls of perfectionism and stop the act of disengagement that separates many from themselves and others. “Rather than sitting on the sidelines and hurling judgment and advice,” she writes, “we must dare to show up and let ourselves be seen. This is vulnerability. This is daring greatly.” When we choose to dare greatly, the rewards are vast: We feel more loved and are more loving, we feel worthy of that love, we choose our path and commit to it with daily practice, and we live with courage, engagement and a clear sense of purpose.

One of the reasons I enjoyed reading this book is the openness and vulnerability with which Brene Brown speaks of her own experiences. She is clear in describing herself as “a great mapmaker and a stumbling traveler” and I think it the descriptions of her own struggles with vulnerability that make the book so accessible and relatable.

What spoke to me overall, is the idea of how we are in a culture of “scarcity,” thinking we are not “enough,” that we are failing somehow as a person, and how that leads to fear, shame and guilt, etc. Brene Brown contends that in the end, we need to be brave and let ourselves be vulnerable, whether what we do is successful or not, because that is the only way to fully experience life and joy. We cannot shut out just the bad stuff selectively. When we try, we shut out the good stuff too. Overall, I found this book eye-opening and thought-provoking.

Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon

I loved this book! I read about this book last year, and recently ordered it. It is a quick read and it is filled with insightful quotes, fun drawings, and inspirational photographs. This book helped me to think more creatively about becoming more creative by introducing me to a variety of different perspectives that will help me become more alert and more aware.

The quotations included in this book are excellent. Below are some of my favorite quotes.

“Art is theft.” – Pablo Picasso

“The only art I’ll ever study is stuff that I can steal from.” – David Bowie

“What is originality? Undetected plagiarism.” – William Ralph Inge

“It is better to take what does not belong to you than to let it lie around neglected.” – Mark Twain

“Start copying what you love. Copy copy copy copy. At the end of the copy you will find your self.” –Yohji Yamamoto

” The work you do while you procrastinate is probably the work you should be doing for the rest of your life.” – Jessica Hische

“Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work.” – Gustave Flaubert

Happy Thursday!

Mar 20

Living with Less

I recently read an interesting New York Times article about living with less. “I live in a 420-square-foot studio,” stated Graham Hill, the author of this article. “I sleep in a bed that folds down from the wall. I have six dress shirts. I have 10 shallow bowls that I use for salads and main dishes. When people come over for dinner, I pull out my extendable dining room table. I don’t have a single CD or DVD and I have 10 percent of the books I once did.”

Hill’s happiness grew once he got rid of unnecessary stuff — and the stressors that came with it. I know with our recent move, we gave away items; shredded many papers; and threw away a ton of “stuff ” that we no longer needed, that accumulated in a relatively short period of time. It felt really good to clear out the unnecessary, especially because we did not want to move unnecessary items! Sometimes having less is actually having more. Getting rid of things is such a cleansing feeling. Do you agree?

The above illustration by Maxwell Holyoke-Hirsch.

Mar 19

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Featured: Biscuit’s Dog Rescue Story and Katherine Carver Photography

I am happy and honored to report that Biscuit’s rescue story along with some of my photographs have recently been featured in Pretty Fluffy! It is my hope that people will read Biscuit’s story and see Biscuit’s genuine happiness exuded in the photographs, which will lead more people to strongly consider adopting a rescue dog or shelter dog. There are so many dogs and animals in need of furever homes. Biscuit’s story is inspiring and provides hope and possibilities for all. You can read the entire feature here!