Cat, stares
Cat, stairs.
Black and white kittens
With white mittens,
Golden eyes
Glint in the light.
Bouncing about,
Jumping with energy,
Playing tail chase,
Pouncing on legs.
Cats on stares
Cat stares
Golden eyed
Then yawn.
Cat stairs
Tag: Play
Mad half hour
Where do cats get there energy? Running, jumping, chasing, getting his claws stuck in the throw over the settee.
Pouncing on his toys, chasing his sister. Being chased by her. Upstairs and downstairs. Into the bathroom and kitchen. Jumping up on windowsills and the cat tree…
Then a wash…. Back, sides, face. Suddenly calm.
And, relax! 
Photos of Warhorse
I wrote about going to see Warhorse last week, but I did a drawing because we were not allowed to take photos.
Then I found these photos on line. I think they are publicity shots which are allowed to be shared. If they suddenly disappear you will know why.
They just show the beauty and also horror of the play. Such strong sculptural images.
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War horse
I don’t have any photos but I did a quick sketch from my memory of the horse in Warhorse that I went to see tonight.
The play starts with a puppet foal which is quite small. The story shows him being bought and then brought up on a farm in England in 1914. Suddenly the foal becomes a fully grown horse. He is sent along with thousands or possibly millions of horses across to be part of the cavalry in the First World War.
The story charts what happened to him and also his owner who enlists so he can find him.
The horses in the play are depicted by puppets which contain two puppeteers inside them and one moving the head and neck. In scenes where he is galloping extra puppeteers move the four feet. The horses move in realistic ways, flicking it’s ears, moving it’s tail. Rearing and bucking.
There are sections of horrific violence but through it all there is a strong streak of humanity. There are good and bad on both sides. I found myself enthralled The play seemed to fly by.
I need to mention the other puppets, the goose, swallows flying on the wing, and a first World War tank that were so well used to depict reality. You forgot there were puppeteers, you just saw the things they were meant to represent. If you get a chance to see it, its worth it.
Ow my legs
Ow my legs! Our female cat loves sharpening her claws on my legs, she sticks her claws in my trousers and then arches her back and pulls down. Sometimes she gets flesh too. I found blood trickling down my leg earlier on today. I love her to pieces but as soon as I realise she’s doing it I have to brush her away.
She rushes round and plays all the time. She fights with our boy cat but only in play, she puts a paw on his head or he puts a paw on hers and then she pushes him away with her back legs. One thing neither if them do is the strong fast kicking movement so neither of them get hurt. And they only nip each other, there is no going for the scruff of their necks. Basically it’s like slow motion wrestling followed by fast chasing.
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Silhouette
Sometimes it’s nice just to take a close up abstract shot of something. Shapes become more important than detail. Tiny pink petals almost look like butterflies and the straggly money plant, which is cast in shadow, raised its bulbous leaves up to the sky. The thin pale leaves of the spider plant are almost translucent in the light.
Then again you can play about with silhouettes in nature or draw dark doodles to make a pleasing composition.
Always explore, always enjoy, always create if you can.
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Cats play
Our female cat loves playing in the bath, chasing drips or drinking water out of the tap. She can be really silly and pounce on anything, including my feet! She doesn’t seem to mind if water drips on her head.
Both my cats love chasing each other. I’ve seen them hiding down behind a shoe then a swift pounce and they are off chasing. They also stand on their back legs and sort of box with each other. Sometimes they start washing each other then one decides it’s all too much and it results in a squabble.
But I would not be without them. I’m sure my blood pressure has improved since we got them.
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