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Mid March Update

Friday, March 14, 2025 0 Animals, Art Projects, Crochet/Knitting, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Painting, Weather Update, Zines No tags Permalink
mid march update

It’s mid-March, and so it’s time for a Mid March Update. I’ve been working on various projects, and experiencing some bits of joy in between some mental issues most unpleasant. I’ll focus on the former here, and obsess about the later in a destructive manner of my own making.

Art

I’ve been making more Artist Trading Cards, both collage and some small paintings as well. My goal is maybe three painted ones a week, quick studies. Will I improve if I do this type of practice for a year? Probably not. The first three are pictured above. I rather like the one with ink on the right. I’ve used both the neocolor ii and gouache paint for them.

I finished the full-sized Who is Who zine and had 50 of them professionally printed. They are up in my Etsy store, where no one has purchased one. I have sold a couple more of the Cats zines though and might need to consider printing another round. Maybe I should just make zines about cats.

Crochet

I have almost finished the crochet baby blanket for a Board member who is going to be a grandma for the first time. It’s Lion Brand Ice Cream Baby Yarn, waffle stitch using a 5.0mm hook, and has a ripple edge. If I had yarn left and some ambition, I’ll make a hat to match. I also signed up to make eight or so crochet cup cozies for the Whisker Mixer coffee pull May 15. I can just about finish one in an evening.

Substack

I joined Substack. So far, I’m posting “interviews” with some of the shelter cats. I got one of those kiddie cameras that prints thermal black and white images for something new to play with, above. If you are interested in that kind of thing, check out my Substack here.

Misc. Other Stuff

mid march update Fanny

Mom had cataract surgeries the end of February/beginning of March. She did great with the first one and hopefully will heal up with the second with no issues (we’re only a couple of days out). She can’t bend over for a week after each eye, so I’ve been on litterbox duty with Fanny, pictured above.

The weather has been a bit better, though still up and down. In the 70s today, very cold and maybe snow tomorrow. We are less than a week until the spring equinox, so the cold won’t last forever. The maple tree buds have started to pop and the pussy willows are out on the CWBP trails.

February Update

Wednesday, February 5, 2025 0 Art Projects, Etsy, Good Reads, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Zines No tags Permalink
february update michigan weather

Holy cats, all of January has passed. Time for a February update. It has been a busy start to the year. I’ve kicked up my exercise routine, made significant changes to my eating, been reading and working on various projects. The weather has been rough for me. January was mostly below-average temperatures, including some single-digit highs. February is also expected to have mostly below-average temperatures. It is wearing on my soul, as often happens. I have seen flocks of robins here and there, and I suspect they aren’t enjoying it any more than I am.

Zines

february update zines

So far in 2025, I’ve sold three zines on Etsy. I created the 2024 Year in Review zine (Detroit Lions had a great year, zine illustration above). I also made a fast mini-zine, Alternative Things to Celebrate in February Other Than Valentine’s Day that I included in my pen pal letters. I’m working on a mini zine on haikus, and I started the full zine about the World Health Organization. The Year in Review was professionally printed, and I will do the same for the W.H.O. zine.

One of the zine purchases was a lovely person who purchased my Cats mini zine and a sticker for her mom for Valentine’s Day. I wanted to do up a really nice package, so I made a little mini-journal as well:

february update mini journal

If you would like to help me pay for my printing costs and receive a zine in the mail, check out my Etsy store here. All purchases get a few fun bonuses added. Maybe you’ll get some stickers, or a bonus zine, or an original Artist Trading Card!

Artist Trading Cards (ATCs)

february update artist trading cards

You may recall in the past that I used to make and trade Artist Trading Cards, or ATCs. Or you might remember that I often make altered playing cards collage-style as a stress relief tool, and I even made a zine called Collage for Motivation (available on my Etsy store!). I am in an ATC group on Reddit and one on Facebook, and a few folks asked for trades so I sent out a few including these two (of three) from the series called My Blue Heart. The third one went in the Valentine’s Etsy order.

Valentine’s Projects

february update lip balm key chain

Speaking of Valentine’s Day, I always put together small packages of items for my staff members. I had been seeing these keychain charm lip balms on social media and on Etsy, and I decided to make some. It’s really fiddly work that requires good manual dexterity and good eyesight. I don’t have either of those things these days, so there’s a fair amount of frustration and swearing in the creation. I think they are cute, though. I hope the staff members like them.

Reading

february update reading

Finally, the February update for reading. I’ve listened to two of the Murderbot series audio books by Martha Wells. They are sci-fi and really short, like four-hour listens. I love them! They were recommended to me by a pen pal and I recommend them as well. I also picked up Shadows in the Ward by one of my pen pals, Katherine Anderson. It is a super fast and fun spooky read.

Misc. Thoughts

January again was a rough month. We had lots of anticipation as to what would happen after the inauguration, and the results have been even worse than I could have expected. Each day reading the news is a new horror. We are living in some weird timeline, a Star-Trek mirror universe. It is not good. So for the end of this February update, I encourage you to take time to take care of yourself and feed your soul. Just like on Twin Peaks (Twin Peaks Day is February 24), each day give yourself a present. Don’t plan it. Don’t wait for it. Just let it happen.

February Update

Thursday, February 8, 2024 0 Animals, Art Projects, gouache, Misc. Blatherings, Painting, Weather Update No tags Permalink
February Update weather

Today’s high is supposed to be 57 degrees. That’s unusual for the first week of February in Michigan. In fact, today’s normal high/low should be 34/16. It will drop back down and there’s word of a potential winter storm for Valentine’s Day. With 40 days left until the official start of spring, we do have a fair amount of time remaining for cold and snow. Even though it has been a very, very mild winter so far, and we’ve had more sunshine in the first few days of February than in the entire month of January combined, I admit I’m growing weary of winter.

February Update painting

I did complete one painting for January. One of the folks who signed up to do the Humane Society pet portrait punked out, so I painted these two parakeets in gouache. I’m working on a zine now for February also painted with gouache. Hopefully it will turn out well and will be completed this month.

February Update cats

January was a bad month for cats. Cass, above, had a health emergency and spent 48 hours at the vet with IV antibiotics. I really thought we were going to lose him. Bob went with me to take Cass, which really made a big difference to me. I went the next day to visit him at the vet as well, so he knew I didn’t abandon him. Cass is also featured in my Cats zine I created last month. That little cat has my heart, and I don’t know what I’d do without him. We also have ringworm in our kitten population at the shelter, and two different illegal cat drops. The first one included a FIV+ cat which thankfully we were able to transfer to a sanctuary, and the second one involved the police.

2024 Zines Part One

Thursday, February 8, 2024 0 Art Projects, Zines No tags Permalink

One of my goals for this year is to create two zines a month. In January, I did slightly better than two. So here are my 2024 zines part one. In addition to these three, I did a completely hand-drawn piece that will not be circulated but was more of an experiment, and a fun piece for a dear friend that was just copied and sent to her.

2024 zines part one

This is a mini-zine, eight pages including the front and back cover, was made using washi tape, fancy paper, mini sticker photos, printer text, hand text and drawings. I had 50 copies printed at Allegra and have sent some out to pen pals and for zine trades. It is also available on my Etsy and I actually sold one yesterday! That’s right, first ever zine sale to Redondo Beach, CA. Super excited about that one.

2024 zines part one

Next zine up is a slightly larger zine, again eight pages including front and back cover, stapled. This zine was created with washi tape, vintage wrapping paper, vintage wall paper, vintage postage stamps, hand lettering, and the whole thing was typed up on my 1965 Olympia SM9 typewriter. Then I had it printed at Allegra as well. I have also been sending it to pen pals and in trades, but still need to put it up on Etsy.

2024 zines part one

Finally, we have Brood XIX. This is another eight page mini zine including front and back cover. It’s hand drawn and handwritten, and then photocopied on plain paper. However, it does come with it’s own sticker! Again, I need to get this one up on Etsy. I have been sending it in trades and to pen pals.

I’ve got a couple of zine ideas written down, and I am working on painting one right now. It is a slow process though. For whatever reason, February seems to be especially busy and I don’t have much time for projects as of yet. Hoping that will change a little. Keep an eye on the old YouTube channel, as I will be doing flip-throughs on these zines and a review of some excellent zines I’ve purchased or traded for recently. Hope your February is off to a great start!

January Blues

Wednesday, January 25, 2023 0 Art Projects, Crochet/Knitting, Living in Michigan, Misc. Blatherings, Weather Update, Zines No tags Permalink
january blues

My goodness, the January blues are here and they’ve hit hard. We are down to the last week of the month. Yesterday we had a tiny bit of sunshine, and we really haven’t had much sun at all this winter, but today is a dump of snow. The polar vortex is on the way next week, and it will be super cold again. It always seems to correspond that the January blues happen and we have a bunch of sick or stressed cats at work. I am counting down the days until spring, and I know time is passing, but there’s nothing I’d rather do more than curl up in bed. Fortunately for everyone around me, I am somehow able to get up and remain a productive human being.

january blues

I haven’t managed to get my latest scarves up on Etsy. Maybe I can muster the energy this weekend? Since the start of the new year, I’ve finished four scarves or cowls and I’m working on a fifth. My next one after the one on the hook will be Tunisian crochet for sure. Mom got me some hooks for my birthday and I’m anxious to give it a try.

january blues zine making

The sun briefly came out for Mom’s birthday. We had lunch and made some zines. That’s right, I’m back on my zine making and zine collecting. I even forced a bunch of Girl Scouts to make zines.

Yesterday was also the Oscar Nomination ceremony. I’ve seen three of the ten nominees for best picture already, one of the documentary shorts (plus five on the short list that weren’t nominated), one of the animated shorts, and none of the international, feature documentary, or live-action documentary. I’m going to have to get busy.

February Review

Monday, February 28, 2022 0 Art Projects, Misc. Blatherings No tags Permalink

My goodness, February is over and it is the start of meteorological spring. I don’t recall there ever being any other spring than the vernal equinox when I was younger, but this meteorological but started popping up a few years ago. Either that, or maybe I just never paid attention? When was the first time you heard the concept of meteorological spring? Anyhow, there’s still snow on the ground, Bob still had to scrape my car this morning (thank you, honey!), and I don’t suspect we will see crocus until around the vernal equinox or the actual real spring.

I’ve done some artist trading cards here and there, working mostly on a stamp series where I take a vintage unused postage stamp and draw it as the background before affixing it to the card. I’ve sent out ten of them in total. I’ve also been collecting some zines as inspiration for creating my own. That will be the next project, I think.

I finished the Cornell Botanical Illustration class. Here is my final drawing.

I sent out letters for InCoWriMo 2022, which was really just a chance to catch up with my pen pal letters I’m behind on. I suppose overall it has been a fairly creative month, and I’ve even wound up completely caught up at work which seems quite odd. March starts some Fridays off here and there and I would like to get a zine done and available. That’s provided WWIII doesn’t actually start or anything.

How was your February?

January Review

Wednesday, February 2, 2022 0 Art Projects No tags Permalink

As January reaches an end and we look into a February starting with a huge predicted snow storm, it is hard to feel that spring will ever come. I look back through google photos and instagram to see previous February to see signs of spring. There’s not much there. However, we do have Twin Peaks Day, so we have that going for us. Wednesday marks the halfway point between winter and spring.

I’ve continued on with some ATCs. They are a nice break from the Cornell illustration class, which is quite challenging. I just finished an Our Lady of Guadalupe, which didn’t turn out so great, and I am working on a Saint Gertrude, the patron saint of cats. How does one get the eyes of a saint so they don’t look like they are possessed? Or like they are watching the water in a toilet bowl rise to where it might spill all over from a blockage of giant proportions? Saint Gertrude is the patron saint of cats, and her day is also Saint Patrick’s Day. Cats or snakes? It’s easy to choose.

February might bring the return of the robins. That is a fairly normal occurrence. I expect the month may pass quickly, as they often seem to do the older I get. It’s also InCoWriMo, and hopefully I will get a good deal of letters out. As always, I’ll have Valentine’s Day gifts for the staff members, and will send little items out for Twin Peaks Day. Hope your month is off to a great start!

Artist Trading Cards

Thursday, January 20, 2022 0 Art Projects No tags Permalink

While I am taking an online class from Cornell on botanic illustration, I’ve also stumbled across Artist Trading Cards, or ATCs. They are 2.5 x 3.5 and can be mixed media, painted, drawn, or whatever you like. There are groups where people trade them. You post yours, and others ask to trade, and then you exchange them through the mail. You collect them, these tiny pieces of art from all over, and store them like baseball cards or something.

Anyhow, in some spare time (a few minutes every couple days), I’ve been putting some together. Next up I am working on a small series of painted ATCs for Twin Peaks Day February 24th.

I’ve been sleeping terribly. Not falling asleep until after 2:30, and having terrible nightmares when I am sleeping. I’ve had excruciating headaches this week, too. No days with highs above 27 in the ten day forecast. It’s a desperate feeling. I know it’s only January, and we have a long, long way to go until spring.

I’m a bit behind in my letters, but I have nothing to say. Nothing that isn’t complaining about the weather, anyhow.

January 2022 Update

Monday, January 10, 2022 0 Art Projects, Vintage Postcards No tags Permalink
January 2022 update

I haven’t been able to do several things since October, updating catobear.com being one of them. Today I woke up feeling a little better, more able to think of what I need to do and plan for in coming months. Don’t know if it is just a fluke or an actual change. When I look and realize I’m the only one looking at this, I suppose it doesn’t matter much anyway. I have been pulling together my 2022 bullet journal, photo above. I always like a new journal when it’s compact and clean and full of possibilities.

January 2022 update

I cleaned up my art space, as I am starting a botanic illustration course online through Cornell this Wednesday. I have a real fear that I won’t be able to keep up. I haven’t really painted or done much artistically since October. Perhaps you’re thinking the desk is still a mess, but everything I need is within easy access.

I have managed to keep some YouTube videos going up on my channel. Do check it out if you like postcards, vintage calling cards, old Christmas cards, etc.

Anyhow, that’s where we are. Miles away from spring. Treading water, but no longer going under. At least for now.