Cat in window

The cat was staring out at the street as we arrived home, he’s nosy, likes to know whats going on. He likes watching cars but will jump down if he sees a dog. I think he’s been sitting in the window more recently because the outside cat has been coming in and he’s out of the way there. He seems content. He almost knocked the TV off its stand last night when he got tangled in the curtains. Now he’s lying on the floor, sat in front of the heater, washing. He’ll be back on the windowledge later. X

Asleep, dreaming

After reading the cycling magazine the cat fell into a deep sleep. As I watched him his back legs started to kick and wheel, like he was pushing pedals, hard. In his dreams he was riding a small bike, resting his forepaws on softly covered handle bars. Cycling up and down the rooves, down into guttering, splashing along, kicking leaves down to the ground. Now he’s going for a wheelie, front wheel pulled up. Leaping the gap between two houses, tail flying like a flag. Eventually, after half an hour of chasing his tail on the bike, round and round in rattling circles, he falls gently into a quiet sleep but remembering his ‘mad cat’ adventures.

Cat fish?

My friend gave me this. A hand painted ceramic cat with fish on it. One fish seems to be biting the tail of the other one, both they and the cat seem to be happy and smiling. There seems to be a sea shell below the head of one of the fish. Perhaps this is a fishing cat? It’s a flat back ornament with no decoration on the back. I think it’s sweet, naive, simple, a bit rough round the edges. But fun.

Nail varnish cat

Late last night I decided to colour in a drawing with nail varnish. I did a picture of ‘the cat sat on the mat’, then I coloured in the background with marker pens.

I had difficulty taking a photo I wanted to include the sheen of the varnish but could only get it with the page tipped up. When you look at it straight on the image is a lot flatter. It’s just a design based on the old cat sat on the mat idea. I can imagine it being used as a children’s book illustration.

Outdoor cat eating Inside!

It’s starting, the transformation. Our outdoor cat is coming in for meals, sniffing noses with the other cats. He then yowls to be let out. But at least he can get warm if he wants. The others, indoor cats, are tolerating him. I think they need to start going out but I’m worried they will get lost. It all takes time.

In fact the outdoor cat has started rubbing round my legs and accepting a head scratch. He’s off again now, put into the night, but he had a shed he can sleep in. A cat bed, and an old jacket for warmth.

X

Batik yin yang cats

I went to a Batik workshop about three years ago when I first got my studio at Spode. I’d never done it before, but basically we used hot liquid wax as a resist to dyes. When you paint coloured dyes over the pattern you make, the colours are not absorbed into the cloth or canvas where the wax had been painted. Then you have to het a hot iron and paper and iron the wax out with the paper between the cloth and the iron so the wax gets absorbed into the paper. There is probably a clearer way of explaining, but as I say I only went to one workshop. My friend made this heavy frame for the yin yang cats. There is glass in it to protect the fabric. I was rather pleased with the result.