The challenge for January is Ice & Snow.

By Susan Latreille When I saw the theme for December I knew immediately what photo I would be attempting; I would just need a cooperative model.

Lucky me, my Muffin was quite content to pose for a grand series of photos in one of her favourite boxes (she usually has several on the go at any time!) She actually modeled two separate boxes for me. This one is my fave of the lot. Behold! my Boxed Muffin!

By Susan Irving Trying to sleep with two or more 12 lb cats (15 lbs in Freddie’s case) on either side and  attempting to get up or roll over during the night, can leave one feeling very much “boxed in”.  This was created with Fresh Paint “pencil” illustration.

by Alison Hall As it happened, I had done this piece earlier this fall and titled it as Boxed In on my blog post.
Incongruent objects, gathered in a plain wooden box of sentimental significance. This is a still life, held in a rectangle, and further held on the rectangle of the paper.

By Laura Peck, written on the train from Toronto to Alexandria, December 2022

Voiture cinq, la dernière, je me tiens debout, solidement

Près de sa porte vitrée. La voie défile rapidement.

Enfin pas vraiment. 

Elle zigzague et serpente.

Et le paysage se découvre patiemment :

Sur le lac Ontario, ses berges, les pins et les champs.

I’ve never been boxed in like that

French trains are packed, oblivious and fast

Here, the whistle, the motion and the glass door

Of the last car by which I stand and watch Canadian tracks

Unveiling places where I could moor. 

By Milo Smith Well, this challenge struck me as a difficult one to make interesting.  I didn’t have any creative ideas.  I went back to my archives and searched around.  For a while I found nothing.  Then I hit bunch of possible images from which I chose three.

#1 is Michelangelo’s tomb in Florence.  He is well boxed-in after his corpse was stolen from Rome by a relative.

#2 is the baldachin in Mary Queen of the World in Montreal which boxes-in the altar.

#3 is one of the silos decorated to celebrate Canada’s 150^th anniversary and it certainly contains the silage.  This one is in Vankleek Hill.

By Isabelle Utovac With this drawing, I explored the jumble of boxes with coloured pencil and construction paper. I have done this before with oil pastel. It seems to represent light and softness despite the angles of rectangular prisms.

Escape from boxed in

Reckless love with impunity

Another lost opportunity

Veiled immunity

Jokes and lies

A sad disguise

of silent cries

Emotions revealed

Lips sealed

Tears concealed

A restlessness suffocated

Thirst unsatiated

Light unradiated

Secrets left to rot

Understanding sought

Joy caught

I was boxed in, now I am not

By Jessica MacLeod   I originally wanted some basic line drawings (I do love contour drawing), but couldn’t resist adding colour and shading. I used pencil for a quick sketch, and a handful of Faber-Castell Pitt and Tombow brush pens for line, shading, and colour.  I recently bought a really light cold grey Pitt artist pen, and it worked well for the delicate shading on the tissues.

They’re simple little drawings, but I liked that I could do them in a sitting.  

Happy New Year!

BY Kerry Herwynen McIntosh Here is my lame submission for the challenge. 

I could have sworn that December was a much longer month!

I did try to get Rothko to sit nicely,  look over the box edge and smile cutely but he loves the taste of cardboard.  Had to abort the photo session. 

Happy New Year everyone! Bright blessings to all for a happy and creative 2023! (and lots of money🥳)