“I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.” ~Doris Day
Today marks eight months since our precious Biscuit passed away. One thing that Biscuit loved to do was take a spin in his Hound About! Soon after we rescued Biscuit, we knew that he had issues with his legs — they were extremely fragile and he suffered from arthritis. It was suspected per the Sheltie Haven Sheltie Rescue, Inc., the dog rescue organization where we adopted Biscuit, that he suffered from living in a puppy mill, as his rear legs were slightly deformed. We made sure Biscuit took his daily arthritis supplements to help his condition. As a result, Biscuit could not walk too far of a distance at a time, although he did enjoy his daily walks around the neighborhood!
I did not want Biscuit’s arthritis to stop him from going on longer walks, traveling, and sight-seeing. As such, I looked into finding something that we could use to push Biscuit around in! I came across the Hound About via Google searches. When I showed Doug the Hound About, Doug, at first, told me that it was “over the top,” but he indulged me in my quest. Since we ordered his Hound About from California (not local), Doug and I cut out newspapers to the appropriate dimensions to discern which size to get Biscuit. So, we settled on the larger size, the blue Hound About.
Biscuit immediately fell in love with his Hound About! Doug and I have so many wonderful memories of Biscuit in his Hound About. Since our old house, unlike our new house, did not have a garage as it was located in the city, we kept Biscuit’s Hound About in our guest room! We are so thankful to now have a garage for the cars and storage! Some evenings, during the warmer months, we skipped the gym and took Biscuit for a ride around the Harbor, which he loved! Biscuit was very smart. Since the Hound About was too wide to fit through the front door, Doug had to take the three wheels off the carriage portion of the Hound About to enable us to get the Hound About in and out of the house! As soon as Biscuit saw us taking out his wheels to his Hound About, he got so excited! He barked and smiled, ear to ear, and ran out the front door, just waiting for Doug and I to quickly assemble his Hound About so he could get going on his ride!
The Hound About went everywhere with us when we traveled, and we have many wonderful memories from our two trips to Nova Scotia with Biscuit! Biscuit proudly went all around Halifax in his Hound About and loved every minute! Biscuit loved all of his local Hound About rides as well! We have many memories of taking our beloved Biscuit to dinner in his Hound About as well as stores where furry friends were permitted! He was such a hit with the ladies strutting around in his Hound About! We are so glad that the Hound About brought Biscuit so much joy, and most of all, the Hound About allowed us to do so much more together!
Now, the Hound About has been passed down to little Victory, who seems to love the Hound About as much as Biscuit did! We are sure that Biscuit is smiling down and is happy that another sheltie friend in need, his sissy, is enjoying it as much as he did! We are so thankful that Biscuit entered our lives and brought us so much joy.
Biscuit is pictured below in his Hound About in downtown Halifax after he went shopping with us at Lululemon and Roots among other stores (Biscuit went inside the stores with us)!
In the spirit of the recent Oscars, the Daily Dog Tag recently featured the ‘Dogscar’ nominees, which you can view here and here. Biscuit was featured in the “In Loving Memory” category, #77, shown below. We sure miss our precious Biscuit and think of him everyday. We know that Biscuit is always with us in our hearts.
Can you locate little Victory in the menagerie of cheetah and panda friends?
For those of you who have been following the blog for a while, know that cheetahs and pandas are near and dear to our hearts. The cheetah and panda have become a metaphor in our relationship. As an anniversary gift, I had a custom Cheetah and Panda Totem made for Doug!
Anyone who has been to our home knows that we have a menagerie of “friends” (stuffed cheetahs and pandas) who have taken over our guest room! We have more “friends” than we know what to do with, and they are all not pictured in the photo below — there are even more friends! Our entire guest room has so many “friends” all of whom have names (although we forget their names at times)! Buddy, not pictured, is our most recent “friend” addition! (The pandas out number the cheetahs!)
Victory is not allowed in the guest room unsupervised as she loves to chew — her favorite passage of time! She chews on and through her own “friends” that she keeps in her little ‘hut!’
“If you don’t have a dog, at least one, there is not necessarily anything wrong with you. But there may be something wrong with your life.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
I have recently begun a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog! I have also been documenting Victory’s milestones so to speak each month — you can read these here! I think that it is fun to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories.
Recently, we had a few really nice days, almost like it was spring and then we received snow the following day! During the nice weather, we were able to open our windows and enjoy being outside after having some really brutal winter days! Doug and I decided to take Victory out in the Hound About! We originally purchased the Hound About to help our beloved Biscuit motor around since he had severe arthritis. This enabled Biscuit to go on long walks and see places that he would not otherwise have seen. Doug originally thought the idea to purchase the Hound About was “over the top,” but soon learned how much Biscuit loved his Hound About! We have many fond memories with Biscuit in his Hound About!
We decided to let Victory have a test drive in her Hound About! At first, she was a little nervous, but soon after she too was smiling (like her brother Biscuit did) as she rode around the neighborhood in her Hound About — the only difference being that she liked the screen in the front zipped, whereas Biscuit loved poking his head out the front of the Hound About! Perhaps, in time, Victory too will be riding around in her Hound About with her beautiful face poking through! We hope to have many adventures with little Victory in her Hound About and perhaps this will be a way to get Victory out and about while having a “safe zone” similar to her ‘hut‘ at home! Hopefully our dog training, which starts in about two weeks, will help build her confidence even more! Victory is doing great and her fur coat is literally sprouting!
P.S. If you are interested in getting a Hound About, you can learn more here!
Doug and I have been going and going for quite some time. This year, we have vowed to schedule and make more down time to do nothing and to just be. What I am learning is that since we have prioritized rejuvenation, the more effective we are when we are working. The other thing that I have noticed is the more easily creative ideas come, which is a really good!
So, we have carved out down time, and it has been really helpful. The deliberate pauses are so refreshing as we have more energy. So, I am still working hard, but having and creating breaks has proved very helpful! We also have more white space in the calendar, more unplanned days. There are times when your nose needs to be right on that grindstone. And there are times when you need to lean back!
“Invent your world. Surround yourself with people, color, sounds, and work that nourishes you.” ~SARK (Susan Ariel Rainbow Kennedy)
A while back, my friend recommended the book, Make Your Creative Dreams Real, by SARK. I really enjoyed this book! SARK provides a step-by-step guide that gives you micro-movements to work towards your goals over the course of a year. These are very tiny steps that get you moving in the right direction, which does not require a lot of time or energy but they help you keep moving, the operative word! Once you have completed several steps, big changes can happen. Getting started and continuing to move is often the most difficult part. This is a book that helps you not only with specific goals but in your whole overall approach and outlook to life. I found this book to be very helpful!
Interview with Moira McLaughlin, Art Entrepreneur and Blogger
Photo Credit: Sheila Cameron.
Recently, I had the great pleasure of interviewing Moira McLaughlin, an artist and blogger living in California. A selection of Moira McLaughlin’s work is displayed below. Please visit Moira McLaughlin’s website and Etsy shop to view more of her work!
KATHERINE CARVER: What were your beginnings as an artist and when did you realize it would become your chosen form of expression?
MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN: Before she became a wife and mother, my mom was an art teacher. She encouraged my three sisters and me to be artistic right from the start. We were raised in Cleveland, Ohio with frequent visits to the world-renowned Cleveland Institute of Art. And our extended family lived in New York, so yearly visits to the Met, MoMA,and the Guggenheim were common. At Christmas, we always got fresh boxes of crayons, sketchbooks, and magic markers. I never chose to be an artist. I just was always surrounded by art. I thought that was normal.
KATHERINE CARVER: Did you study art formally?
MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN: I don’t have a fine art degree. I have a BA in history with a film studies minor from Boston College. But, since the age of five I’ve taken art classes. And during college, I spent year in Italy studying art history, photography, and Italian cinema. While abroad, I visited many museums in Europe and viewed many of the masterpieces of the western world first hand. It’s been unconventional and awesome.
KATHERINE CARVER: How do you describe your style?
MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN: Evolving.
KATHERINE CARVER: Can you describe the time when you first realized that making art was absolutely something that you had to do?
MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN: I don’t think I ever felt that way. In fact, I’ve always wanted to invent something more than I’ve wanted to be an artist. I consider myself more of an “art entrepreneur” than an artist.
Part of this resistance stems from not liking to have a lot of things. I’m a minimalist. I like paring down. So making things, even making art, stresses me out.
And, this resistance to things coupled with an anti-consumerism bent has intensified since 2009 when I moved from Los Angeles, where I worked in the film business for 15 years, to the rural Northern California town of Grass Valley. Now, I’m submerged in nature in a way I’ve never been before. There’s a part of me that asks “Why bother making something, when nature is so brilliant?”
That’s sparked my interest in looking at art not as something artificial, separate from nature, but something organic, created in collaboration with nature. I’ve become interested in environmental art and biodegradable houses. I find the beauty of a perfectly stacked woodpile really exciting, and I’ve become obsessed with collecting sticks and building teepees. And, to be totally honest, when I watch documentaries of artists working in sterile, white studios, with store-bought paints and canvases, it looks depressing to me, not something to aspire to. I feel very conflicted about much of the “art world” today and my relationship to it. The industry is not sustainable.
KATHERINE CARVER: What was the impetus that inspired you to begin painting and making art of dogs?
MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN: In 1999, I became very sick after working in a building that I later found out was built on a toxic landfill. I was diagnosed (and still struggle) with chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, multiple-chemical sensitivity, low thyroid, and an autoimmune disorder that affects my eyes. By 2005, I had no job and very little money, so I decided to make handmade gifts for Christmas. Everyone in my family owned a dog, so I made custom collages of each pet and framed them with $5 Ikea frames. They were a big hit. I made some more and posted them on ebay. They sold. And I became a dog artist.
KATHERINE CARVER: What was the inspiration to begin your blog, Dog Art Today?
MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN: By 2007, I spent most of my time in bed, very sick and in chronic pain. It was very isolating. I started Dog Art Today as a way to connect to other people when I rarely left my house.
KATHERINE CARVER: How have your own dogs influenced your work?
MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN: Darby, my Longhaired Dachshund who died at age 17, was a beautiful, soulful, and clever creature who constantly outwitted me. Tyler Foote, my mixed-breed Terrier, is a graphic, macho, survivalist. They both inspire my work. But even more so, their companionship allows me to enjoy solitude, which for me is necessary for creativity (and my health). Most important are the walks; my best ideas happen when I’m walking my dog.
Darby pictured above on the left; and Tyler Foote pictured above on the right.
KATHERINE CARVER: Can you talk about your new work entitled, “dox-ZENs”? How did this body of work come about?
MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN: After Darby died I was devastated by grief and creatively blocked. I made a few artworks, but soon got frustrated, angry that they weren’t good, like I wasn’t doing him justice. And I would just sob. So I shut my studio door a quit trying.
A few months later, I discovered erasure poems on a wonderful blog that I think your readers would love called Gwarlingo. The poems are created by erasing texts of a book. I became fascinated with this subtractive, messy, experimental art form and started exploring my grief on the pages of an early 20th century spelling primer.
Years ago, I had created a “dox-ZEN” collage, a generic image not related to Darby. So, later, when I spotted a book on my shelf entitled Buddhism and Zen, it sparked the idea of combining my new interest in erasure poems with a tribute to my own beloved dox-ZEN.
One of the first concepts discussed in the Buddhism and Zen book, which I read as I deconstructed it, is that the mind is an endless process of three series: craving, acting and discontentment. It was the discontentment that was paralyzing me. So I decided to paint Darby in the exact same manner on every page. The art was the discipline, the meditation, not the outcome. I also looked to one of my favorite works, painted in 16th century Korea, for inspiration, Mother Dog and Puppiesby Lee Am, 1507-1566.
Around the same time, Jane O’Hara, a fellow dog artist whom I greatly admire, was putting together a group art exhibition entitled “Beasts of Burden.” She asked if I had something in addition to my “Dogs in Art” video (which was already included) to contribute. When I explained the “dox-ZENs” series she said yes. Having a deadline forced me to actually do it. It’s been extremely cathartic.
KATHERINE CARVER: Where do you show/exhibit your work?
MOIRA MCLAUGHLIN: My “Twelve dox-ZENs” and my video “Dogs in Art,” a three minute tribute to 5,000 years of canine art, will be in the upcoming exhibition, “Beasts of Burden” at the Harvard Allston Educational Portal in Allston, Massachusetts. March 13 – May 4, 2014.
“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.” ~Anatole France
I have recently begun a weekly photography project with my muse, Victory! I will continue to share this project on the blog! I have also been documenting Victory’s milestones so to speak each month — you can read these here! I think that it is fun to document all of Victory’s changes, while preserving fleeting moments and memories.
For Valentine’s Day, we gave Victory a BarkBox, shown below! Due to BarkBox’s monthly shipping schedule, we received Victory’s BarkBox shortly after Valentine’s Day! She especially loves the Cheese Please treats and her new chew toy, shown below! We still have more treats inside the BarkBox for Victory to try! So far, the BarkBox has been a hit with little Victory!
As photographers and artists, it is very important to update your portfolio. Below are some tips to help curate a strong portfolio.
1. Limit the number of images. The best way to make your portfolio stronger is to limit the number of images in your portfolio to your ‘strongest images.’ This can be difficult. If you are having trouble, it is a good idea really reflect on your work, and if need be, to seek critiques from those you trust. In the book, Annie Leibovitz At Work,Annie Leibovitz indicated that the greatest and most difficult work we do as a photographer is being the editor and curator of our own work. I think that this is true. This is why I believe it truly helps to obtain feedback from those you trust and from those whose work you respect.
2. Highlight what you want to shoot. Only highlight in your portfolio what you want to photography because this is what you will attract. Go over each image in your portfolio closely, and eliminate what you do not want to photograph in order to highlight what you do want to photograph.
3. Avoid mixing different genres in one portfolio. In addition to limiting your images to your strongest images, concentrating your work into individual portfolios by genre will also make the work appear stronger.
4. Update your portfolio often with strong, new work. It is important to consistently update your portfolio with strong, new work. You want people who visit your website/portfolio to see your current work. Your website and blog are your primary tools to showcase your work, so it is important that your work is current.
I am a fan of Four&Sons! Four&Sons is based in Australia and this print and online publication documents the relationship of man and his best friend. Four&Sons covers art, design, fashion, music, and lifestyle. Four&Sons brings together an eclectic mix of inspiring ‘dog-centric’ content to dog-lovers passionate about culture and creativity.
I ordered my issue! You can pre-order the upcoming premiere print issue before its general release. If you order by February 28, 2014, you will also have a chance to win a luxury pet travel carrier courtesy of Cloud7 and TUMI — see video here!
Happy Friday!
The above images are courtesy of Marta Roca, Editor, Four&Sons.
biscuit's space | The blog of photographer Katherine Carver 