The Cardboard Queen

I'm sometimes known as the Puppet Lady around these parts, but these days perhaps a better name for me would be the Cardboard Queen. I love everything about creating with cardboard: its versatility, its low-art panache, its total free-ness and, of course, repurposing what is essentially garbage into something magical. 

June once again found me building Boxtopia - a creative cardboard kingdom for kids - with my dream team of artist friends at Skeleton Park Arts Festival in Kingston. I’ve been doing these installations for a number of years and it has become a real staple of the festival. This year our theme was "Rock ‘n’ Roll Arcade." Leave it to my awesome crew of cardboard collaborators to come up with such a rad idea. 

Boxtopia was a pretty happening place! There was a jam space...

A sweet DJ booth...

Plenty of games...

A Bowie-inspired hair salon...

And, of course, a place to get a tasty cardboard snack.

Most of our creations were made during Small Pond’s inaugural Cardboard Camp in the spring. I really enjoy working with other creators in the same medium, because we all have our own style, and I always learn a ton from collaborating with these folks. Plus, they are just so much fun to be around!

L to R: Krista Dalby, Chrissy Poitras, Kevin Merritt, Holly Gilmour, Nella Casson

As much as I love working large-scale, much can be said for working small. Last winter I had a hankering for a some artistic experimentation, and wound up creating this boxboard sculpture of Canadian poet Al Purdy. 

A few months later I decided that I should try entering it in a juried art show, Art in the County, which was a first for me. I was really happy when it was accepted into the show, and somewhat incredulous when I received a juror's award. Then I learned that the sculpture sold - another first. I don't know if I'll do any more work like this, but I'm feeling the gentle nudge of the universe reminding me that as an artist I should always be experimenting and reaching beyond my comfort zone. Good things happen there!

Most recently, I worked with Fixt Point Theatre this summer, designing their set for the theatre production of Tale of a Town – Prince Edward County, a play that I co-created with director Katie Swift and the artistic team. 

The Tale of a Town - Prince Edward County, featuring Chelsea Riesz, Kelsey Dann, and Nick Di Gaetano.
Photo by Johnny C. Lam

Naturally, I decided to make the set and many props out of my favourite material – cardboard! I was nursing an injured shoulder at the time of building the set, but thankfully my super-talented sister Caitlin was visiting at the time with her wife Helena, and the two of them helped make it happen. I don't know how I would have done it without them!

Me looking quite at home amongst scads of cardboard.
Photo by Johnny C. Lam

My goal with the set was to make the cardboard look as cardboardy as possible, ripping it and distressing it to show off its beautiful textures. I was really pleased with the result. I loved working in such a large scale, and doing something longer-lasting than my usual installations. I’m now nurturing some big dreams for large-scale projects… stay tuned!

Thanks for reading,

Krista Dalby, Cardboard Queen

Cardboardia Rises Again

(Note: if you are looking for the *amazing* "Made in Cardboardia" from Russia, click HERE.)

This past Saturday I found myself headed to Kingston shortly after dawn with my husband Milé and a van full of cardboard. I had a mission:  to build a creative kingdom for kids, namely Cardboardia at Skeleton Park Arts Festival.

I've done Cardboardia a bunch of times: at Clay & Paper Theatre's Day of Delight, in our Art Barn for a very cool toddler's birthday, and at Skeleton Park last year. You can tell that I've got a cardboard project coming up when I start skulking around back alleys on recycling day.

The key to a successful Cardboardia, for me, is prepping lots of stuff in advance, and having some spectacular volunteers willing to show up early in the morning to help set it all up.

Cecilia and Elaine conjuring the very popular bat cave

Rogier and Rachael building the city

Although I got a bit fancy putting googly eyes on bats and bees, much of my advance painting used simple black outlines. I brought along tons of art supplies, and the whole cardboard village turned into one giant 3D colouring book.

Inside the bat cave

New this year, I also created an art gallery, so kids could sit and make whatever they wanted and hang it up.

This group of boys hung out for hours, building boats which became cars which became trains. They even built themselves a train station and made themselves drivers' licenses.

But the quote of the day goes to some anonymous little boy who asked Milé in all sincerity, "Do you know where the Queen of Cardboardia is?"

Here I am... with a cute little creeper behind me!

Speaking of Milé, he was doing some entertaining of his own as a "short order cook" on stilts.

I was really touched that Cardboardia was immortalized on this year's festival merch (illustration by Kevin Merritt).

Now for the challenge of re-training my brain to stop ogling piles of recycling... it's hard to resist a good pile of cardboard when all you see are the possibilities!

A Space to Create - Resident Artist Georga Ryan

Today we bid farewell to Georga Ryan, our most recent resident artist, who came to us from Melbourne, Australia. Georga has spent the last five weeks here, and it’s been nothing short of wonderful watching her interact with our space at Small Pond Arts.

Her first projects here were a series of wind-powered drawing machines. Each had a pencil or piece of charcoal attached to a string... left outdoors for a period of time, the wind did the drawing!

Georga set up a couple of installations in our Big Field, like this dreamy bedroom scene, which included a solar-powered reading lamp:

Her next project involved constructing a series of three wooden triangles woven with coloured thread, which she hung in the barn and lit with overhead projectors, to dramatic effect:

Detail

Two of these triangles can now be viewed as an installation on our Artists’ Trail. The third one she is taking with her to Burning Man in August... as she transformed it into this:

I can't wait to see pictures of this piece as she and her cohorts transform it into an installation! 

Georga says of her work: People's artistic practice and process of making is largely reflective of their environment. My spatial surroundings changed from city to countryside living and this is reflective in my recent works. I was drawn to work with different materials and received an altered connection with objects that I was familiar working with.

Georga also helped out with some collaborative projects, such as our yarn-bombing project on the Artists’ Trail…

… painting moss graffiti in the silo…

… and helping me build pieces of Cardboardia, an installation I’ll be doing at Skeleton Park Music Festival later this month.

She also got to celebrate with us as we held our fourth annual Banner-Raising Party!

When Georga booked her residency several months back, I warned her that the normally peaceful Small Pond would become a bit of a madhouse over the May long weekend, as my sister Meagan was getting married at the farm. Ever one to roll with the punches, Georga pitched in as our bartender!

We wish Georga well on her continuing adventures!

If you’d like to find out more about our artist residency program, check out our website.