If You Come to Visit...WE Promise Not to Sniff You...Nana, On the Other Hand is a Different Story

This week we have a lodger....Mister Gulliver DerPainteezkrackin. He is fascinating to the furries. Thanks be to Regis that he only requires a new coat of paint and does NOT require fresh linens and towels. SHE is on her 389th load of laundry. I refuse to listen to her sad stories of woe about being a poor, sad washerwoman. I am forbidden to go near said laundry hamper as stated in previous blog posts. I'm not lyeing.

Images: "Mrs. Peddle Washed Her Sunday Dress on Saturday Morning"

Cara Kansala/Pam Dorey

Nana and BooBoo Take a Whiff of

Mister G. Derpainteezkrackin

Work AND Play....A Perfect Day!!!!!!!

Work is coming along splendidly......we are well ahead of the game with our upcoming gallery show and I have been working on some fascinating projects. Two are still Top Secret, so I can't show photos yet! SHE is working on the design for a new mummer.

I had some interesting visitors in the studio today.....a lot of people were in the mood to ask questions (I DO love good questions!) and I must have answered a squillion!

Why is there paint all over your jeans? (Hmmm......)

Why did you paint a goat on your closet? (I love goats)

Do you like goats? (No, I LOVE goats)

What is a goat supper? (The eating of a goat. Supper happens.)

If I buy a fish, do I get to take the fish nets too? (No, they are the display.)

Do the easels come with the paintings?(Ahhh, no. Again, display.)

Is the candy in the jar for everyone? (Yes)

Are they sweet or sours? (Ahhh....sweets)...and on it went........!

Mama Mia, Mio Dio! So many darlinghearts!

Speaking of sweeties, Darling Cali came to visit today (with her mumsy Ee-Dee). It was Cali's 12th birthday on Thursday (84 in human years). I sure hope that I get to drive around in a cute red bug when I am that age.....I wonder if SHE will dress ME in a green, plaid neckerchief? I hope so....with matching tights, bright pink lipstick and a tam to boot! I'll be the cutest 84 year old in town!

Happy Birthday Cali!

Images: Mummers "The Originals" Hand-Carved/Painted by Cara and Pam

Sweet Cali at Crabby Cat Cottage

Mirror Mirror on the Wall, Who Has the Whitest Blouse of All?

Today was the opening of the Annual Members Exhibit at the Craft Council of Newfoundland and Labrador gallery on Duckworth Street. It is a fabulous show full of excellent work (I am on the gallery committee so I am a bit biased!!!) We are very proud of the two works that were accepted into the show and SHE took some lovely photos. Thanks to our friends who stopped by! SHE was very impressed with me today, as I didn't have any spills or disasters in my new white blouse. Today was its' third time out. SHE has a bet going as to how long I can last without causing carnal damage.....not really fair because white linen blouses are magnets for wine, grass stains, cat hair and paint... yes paint......I went into the studio to varnish a picture when I got home, so it would be dry tomorrow, and I rubbed my arm against a wet picture...blue. Whitey is hiding/soaking in a tub under the sink. I used the TIDE pen. Town clothes get me every time.

Image: "There Were Five Cats in French's Cove" by Cara Kansala and Pam Dorey Hand-carved wood/mixed media MIRROR

An Outrageous Adventure!

Above: Our Darling in her Change Islands Finery

Above and Below: Change Islands

We arrived home yesterday from the most AMAZING holiday ever! We went with a gang of fabulous friends (there were six of us) for a 4 day adventure on Fogo and Change Islands. The weather was gorgeous, the food terrific (we went to the famous "Nicole's" on Fogo and it was SPECTACULAR....YumYum!) and we saw more wild animals than I could believe! It was such a magical, inspiring trip and I can't wait to get working on some pieces based on the islands. I did a lot of sketching and we are going to do a huge piece of Change Islands to celebrate the Newfoundland folk song Squid Jigging Ground.

I may also do some small paintings to recreate a series of unfortunate events that happened during our trip involving 1 large stallion, a little dog, 1 medium-sized stallion(with a camera), a darling red head, a sweet, pink haired princess, 1 large puddle, a pair of giant sealskin shoes with carpeted soles, 568 loaves of homemade bread, 1 VERY unlikely proposal of marriage and a stack of books left on a staircase. I will have to go for therapy first and try to learn how to live with some of the images that have been burned into my eyes. Hopefully, I will be able to cope with these follies by expressing myself through the medium of paint.

The scariest part of the trip was when we had to back onto the ferry but THAT is another story for another day. Some things should be left unspoken.

Photos Courtesy of The Medium-Sized Stallion!

I Think I look Quite Nice With a Moustache...

Note: To the lovely people from Alberta who visited our studio Saturday and giggled while I wrote out their receipt......my apologies. Usually, I do not have a giant, black handlebar mustache. SHE neglected to mention all morning that I had smeared a great deal of black paint across my upper lip. I asked her why she didn't tell me. SHE said that....

1) I always look like that and

2) they were so amused that it was shame to ruin their fun.

Red. Wine. Please.

Image: "A Fine Day in Mall Bay" by Cara and Pam SPCA Commission

The Days of Our Lives............

We just finished up a massive 6 foot long mirror and another painty/woody piece for the Annual Members Exhibit at the Craft Council Gallery. Both were accepted into the show (hooray!).

Far more pressing today, though, is the fact that Fat Aunt Sylvia is having a sordid affair with Vincenzo the 2nd and has left poor Scratchy out to dry. He couldn't be more depressed. SHE has been giving him extra treats and has fluffed the mattress in his hotel room, hoping he'll be able to impress a new lady love. I have taken 2 Tylenol. If SHE keeps up with the running commentary on the cat soap opera, I MAY switch to wine. RED!!!!

Image: Detail "There Were Five Cats in French's Cove" Mirror by Cara & Pam

A Whale Of A Time!

On Monday, good friends treated us to the most fabulous lobster dinner ever! We had an absolute hoot...it was great fun cooking the poor lobsters (they all looked a bit depressed, melancholy and slightly suicidal so I didn't feel TOO horrible) and even more fun cracking them open. SHE thought she should take a photo of my place setting. I would like to take this opportunity to thank ALL of the darlings who put up with me and my red wine spills. I am a disaster. On the the drive home (a 20 minute lecture), SHE said that I was going to have to switch to white.

HHMMMMM,

I'll have to ponder that over a nice, big glass of Chianti.

Image: A variety of funky fish by Cara Kansala

Before Dinner and After Dinner

Lily is Getting My Goat

A friend stopped by on Sunday with her new baby goat "Oreo". She is a beautiful goat. I could tell by looking at her that she would be very well behaved - unlike my own wicked cat monsters. Somehow, THEY managed to figure out how to open the studio door. I found them there this morning, chewing on the chairs and pulling feathers. I am trading them all in for goats. From now on, free cat with every purchase. Goats it is.

I'm not kid-ding.

I Am Not A-Mewsed!!!

The cats are in lock-down for the day. We have a birthday party tonight at Old Foolishness up the road and tomorrow I am making an Italian lunch for 8!

So much cooking to do and I can't have the cats getting into everything. SHE thinks that if they are in disguise I won't notice them sitting quietly on the window sill. ARGH! I am trying to make anchovy tarts, a massive stuffed Tuscan Pork Loin, Limoncello Tirimisu...the list goes on....and SHE is busy in the Tickle Trunk, dressing up the cats. I knew this day would come. We have reversed roles. Now I am going to have to be the serious one, take out the garbage and learn to do the accounting. If you are one of our 8 friends coming for the lunch tomorrow, I'll apologize now for the cat hair in the pasta fritta. Fur happens.

Image: Cat's Pajamas

Coco Incognito

Yes, We Actually Live Here!

It feels like we have the teensiest house in the world! Yesterday, we had a lot of visitors to the gallery...a group of 9 (the Fabulous Atlantic Canada Craft Alliance!!!) and before that, a few lovely tourists, who kept exclaiming...you actually LIVE here? This is your HOME? How do you live here with the animals? Where do you work?

I must admit, we ARE very cramped. Our gallery is also our living room and we both share a 10 x 10 work space. Somehow, we manage but I don't know how we are going to complete an upcoming project that is 10 feet tall.......SHE is thinking it's a good reason to add a storey to the house. I can only roll my eyes and sigh. Unfortunately, SHE is only 3 feet away (as we have the teeniest house in the world) and saw me roll my eyes and heard me sigh. Now I am in trouble and have to make the lunch AND do the dishes. I sigh. Again.

Let Sleeping Cats Lie

Fact: The cats are not allowed in the studio. Ever. Doors have been installed to keep them out. No cats allowed.

Fact: The cats love to be in the studio. They love to sleep on the studio sofa.

They love to get their fur on everything.

Fact: When SHE is not home, I open the doors and let the cats sleep in the studio on the sofa. They get their fur on everything. I lint roll.

Fact: Yesterday, she asked me if I had let the cats into the studio while she had been out. I said no. She asked again. She even asked if I was SURE I hadn't let them in. I said I had not.

Fact: She had taken a sneaky photo and had evidence to prove that I had, indeed, let the cats into the studio.

Fact: The cats sold me down the river. They didn't try to hide or look busy.

Fact: Their days of studio sofa surfing are through.

Image: Socks Waits For Poppy to Come Home

Image: Sneaky Photo of Studio Cats

WISHBERGS!!

Icebergs are my favourite things. The first time I saw one in front of our house, I got so excited, I flung out my arms and broke the camera. We don't have any this year, but I keep spotting "wishbergs". SHE says I am going to give her a heart attack. If I yell "ICEBERG!!!" and point out to the ocean one more time, she is going to take away my ipod. I can't help it....I see my "wishbergs" every day. But I will stop. I don't want her to have a heart attack.

"ICEBERG!" ..."ICEBERG!" ... "iceberg!"

Image: "Icebergs in the Tickle" by Cara & Pam Hand-Carved wood/Mixed Media

"Castnets for Sale" by Cara & Pam

"Bergy Bits in Blueberry Cove" by Cara Kansala

Visit The Alexis Templeton Studio for "Icebergs in June" See Below

Icebergs in June
June is often when icebergs arrive on our shores - if they're going to come at all, of course. To celebrate a phenomenon that never fails to take our breath away, I've invited local artists to help fill the studio with their interpretations of these majestic ice castles. I'll include some of my crystalline iceberg plates, as well!
Featured artists include:

Cara and Pam of the Grumpy Goat Studio Janet Davis' print Spring IceKing's Point Photography by David HayashidaJudy Cooper textile designsChristine Koch's prints Iceberg with Aurora I and IIDiana Dabinett's silk paintingand alsoGLACE Rare Iceberg water
Please drop by in June to view (or buy) - or simply to catch the icy fever. HOURSWeek-days ( and evenings) by chance or appointment

Saturdays 10 am to 5 pm Closed Sundays
75 Quidi Vidi Road St. John's, NL

The Tide is high.............

I am in trouble. Again. I am forbidden to do the laundry. Ever. SHE has had a super-sonic, high-tech, astronaut fabric, white shirt that was her favourite. I accidentally washed it with my crusty paint clothes and used the powdered Tide and bleach. ....NOT the special liquid soap you use for the high-tech, astronaut fabric shirts. SHE was the one who found it. I wrote a eulogy and tried to have a service for it over the garbage bin. SHE was not amused. I'll have to find a new shirt. I can do this in my spare time. When I am NOT doing the laundry!

Image: Aunt Beulah Washed Her Sunday Dress by Cara and Pam

Nan's Lupins by Cara Kansala - Oil on Canvas