The Studio Tour Approacheth

The Art Harvest Studio Tour begins in less than a week and I'm busy as a bee framing and hanging artwork in my home studio in anticipation of visitors starting Friday, October 5th.  Can't make it to Yamhill County this weekend or next? Don't despair. I'll be giving you a sneak peek and a virtual tour of my home studio over the next two weeks.
Here are a few of the paintings that I began hanging today...All are available for pre-sale; just drop me a line if you have any questions or would like to purchase one. [Prices do not include shipping].

Patio Cat" image: 10.5" x 13.5", ivory-colored matting 16" x 20";  $250 matted only

"Let It Snow" image: 11" x 15", matting 16" x 20"; $350 framed; $275 matted only

"Nature Girls" image: 10" x 14", matting 16" x 20"; $350 framed; $275 matted only

"Tiger Cat" image: 4.5" x 6.5", matting 11" x 14"; $150 framed; $100 matted only

"White Cat Lover" image: 4.5" x 6.5", matting 11" x 14"; $100 matted

"White Cat Lover" image: 4.5" x 6.5", matting 11" x 14"; $100 matted

For more information about the studio tour, click here:

 Art Harvest Studio Tour 

Thanks for visiting!

From Mother Earth to Dear Old Mom

Need a last-minute gift for your mom or other favorite nurturer?  Here's an option that will benefit TWO moms: your own maternal mom-figure and Mother Earth.

The Nature Conservancy has a long list of ways to honor of your mom:

Adopt a Coral Reef

Adopt Trees in Brazil

Protect Habitats for Hummingbirds

Adopt An Acre of Rainforest

OR make a donation of any amount and send a beautiful Tribute E-Card

Click here for more information:  

Mother's Day Gifts from the Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy's strong performance is recognized by Charity Navigator as exceeding or meeting industry standards. Here is their track record:

• We've protected more than 119 million acres of land and 5,000 miles of rivers worldwide — and we operate more than 100 marine conservation projects globally.
• We work in all 50 states and more than 30 countries — protecting habitats from grasslands to coral reefs, from Australia to Alaska to Zambia. See where we work.
• We address threats to conservation involving climate change, fresh water, oceans, and conservation lands. Learn how we're responding.

What's Old Is New Again...Finding Buried Treasure

As some of you may already know, I operated a ceramic arts studio for 15-16 years before turning to watercolor painting.

My mainstay during those many years was designing porcelain jewelry. I hand-crafted each piece from a rolled-out slab of porcelain clay, sometimes creating my own press-molds from plaster so that I could make multiple "blanks" of any particular design.
Once the porcelain pieces were dry, I hand-painted each one with various colorful underglazes, sealed them with a clear glaze, then trimmed each with 22K gold overglaze using a special fine line tool. This process required 3 separate firings in my electric kiln.

Toward the end of my ceramic arts career I created a line of cat lady brooches like those pictured here and sold them in galleries, boutiques and at art festivals. When I drew up these designs for the first time, I had no idea that I'd still be making "Cat Lady" art eight years later, selling it on the internet, and sending it off to exotic and faraway places around the world! Back then I didn't even know what a blog was and Etsy.com was but a gleam in Rob Kalin's eye. I've learned that it's a good thing for an old dog to learn some new tricks!!!

And guess what?

While packing for our recent move, I discovered close to 40 of these pins that have been stashed away since my last move six years ago. I've decided to offer them for sale in my Etsy shop.

Each is one-of-a kind and once they're gone, they're gone!

I am offering them for $22.00 each. They are artist-signed on the back, with a high quality safety-clasp pinback. The brooches measures approx. 2" x 1-1/2". Click on any image for more information, or click here to see the whole collection: Cat Lady Brooches.

Enjoy!

A Very Blessed Event

It's that time of year when we celebrate many blessed events: the miracle of gratitude and abundance at Thanksgiving, the Festival of Lights at Hanukkah, the promise and hope of a brand new year, and the birth of baby Jesus, who grew up to teach us beautiful lessons about compassion, tolerance, and love.

I'd like to share a story about another blessed event that I recently learned about.

Two and a half years ago I was contacted by a young woman still in high school. She wanted to commission a Mother's Day portrait of her two "moms" with two of their cats, Squishy Carson and Xyla. She wondered if she might also be included in the painting. Here is the portrait of Camilla, Danielle and Shannon:

At that point in time, Camilla and Shannon were Danielle's legal guardians. It seems that back in Danielle's freshman year in high school, life at home with her birth mother and her mother's boyfriend had become unbearable and Danielle and her older sister needed to find new living situations.

Danielle tells us, "Shannon and Camilla, family of our neighbor, offered me a home. (my sister who is two years older than me went to live with Shannon's brother and his wife). They had legal guardianship of me all throughout high school and technically into college." Shannon and Camilla have been together in a domestic partnership since May of 2001, became Danielle's legal guardians in May of 2005, and were legally married in October of 2008.

Camilla and Shannon are animal lovers, and share their lives with a large menagerie of pets that includes both felines and canines in a wide range of sizes and ages. You can see the whole kit and caboodle here in their pet family album. Camilla is responsible for the fun and creative names; Shannon is responsible for the photography (she is a professional photographer AND dog trainer!). You can see her work at these links:

PawsitivePortraits.net
PetDegreeTraining.com

A few weeks ago Danielle, now a college student, contacted me and wanted to surprise her moms at Christmas with a special portrait that would commemorate a very special blessed event. Danielle explains that this past year "We started talking and decided before I turned 21 (on November 11, 2011) they should adopt me."

So they did--on October 21, 2011.

Congratulation to this "modern family" and thank you Danielle, Camilla, and Shannon for a great holiday story that so beautifully teaches us about compassion, tolerance, and most of all -- love!

Today's Featured Cat Lady ACEO... Cat Mom No. 9

Cat Mom No 9 was first featured on 365 Cat Ladies on February 24, 2009. She introduced us to Spay Day, an annual campaign of The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International to inspire people to save animal lives by spaying or neutering pets and feral cats.

Spay Day takes place on the last Tuesday of February each year, however, Cat Mom No. 9 encourages you to make EVERY day "Spay Day."

Four million cats and dogs—about one every eight seconds—are euthanized in U.S. shelters each year. Spaying or neutering is the only permanent, 100-percent effective method of birth control for dogs and cats and a proven way to reduce the vast numbers of animals who are born each year, only to die prematurely and without a family who loves them. Learn more here: Pet Overpopulation and what you can do.

Thanks for visiting!

My original ACEO art of Cat Mom No. 9 (pictured above) is now available for purchase in my Etsy shop! This mini watercolor painting is in ACEO (Art Card Editions and Originals) format, which means that the artwork size is 2.5" x 3.5", the same as a baseball card.

It is hand-painted on super-heavy Arches 300-lb. acid-free cold-press watercolor paper with professional quality watercolor paints. Click here for more details.

A Leap Year Cometh

Did you know that the year 2012 will be a leap year, with February 29 being added to the calendar?

According to www.timeanddate.com: "A leap year in the Gregorian calendar includes an extra day at the end of February. A leap year consists of 366 days, whereas other years, called common years, have 365 days. The extra day, February 29 is the 60th day of a leap year in the Gregorian calendar."

Did you know that a leap year is also called an intercalary or bissextile year?

Did you know that the actual time it takes for the earth to make one complete journey around the sun is about 365.2422 days long,which is why we need to adjust the Gregorian calendar every four years or so?

Did you know that 2012 is less than 14 weeks away? If you are like me, I've already had to look at a 2012 calendar several times to check on dates for next year. Which is why I FINALLY finished up a calendar for Nature Lovers (see first photo) and also a CAT LADY Mini Calendar for 2012!

***Ta-da!***

I have been meaning to design a calendar since 2009, with the idea of giving it to family and friends as a Christmas gift. Every autumn, sometime around mid-October, I've started working on one. Then *BAM* the holiday frenzy starts and I run out of time and mental prowess to finish up the calendar.

This year my brain kicked in a month early, and I was able to complete the calendar! I used images from my 365 Cat Ladies series of ACEO watercolor artwork... I print 4 calendar pages on each 8.5 x 11 sheet of card stock, then cut it into fourths, making each page 4-1/4" x 5-1/2".

There are 13 loose leaf pages-- January through December, plus a cover. On the back of the cover are important dates to remember, plus room to write in your own special dates (you know, like Kitty Dearest's birthday!).


The calendar is printed on white card stock. The pages are 4-1/4" x 5-1/2" and held at the top with a shiny gold clip. You can hang the calender on a wall using the clip. To use as a desk calendar, remove the clip and display the calendar on a small easel .

THE GIVEAWAY

[Giveaway is now closed. Winners have been chosen and notified...Thanks for participating!]
To celebrate the completion of this monumental task -- three years in the making -- I am giving away a calendar to THREE different winners (a $14.00 value each, plus shipping worldwide is included).

To enter, just leave a comment at the end of the post, telling me what your favorite day of the year is. Giveaway ends on Sunday, October 2, when I will draw three names at random.

Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you are the winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address . You may send info directly to my email if you don't want to make your contact info public. If you visit www.susanfaye.net , you will find an email link. Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, you may send your entry directly to my email.

Did You Forget Any Mothers Today?

The brunches are winding down, cards have been opened and bouquets are beautifully arranged in their vases. Thousands of Moms throughout the land have been honored, delighted and made misty-eyed. But did you forget someone?

I'm talking about Mother Nature-- you know, that other mom that we owe our life to. The one that provides us with nutritious food and clean water, air to breathe, and beauty to enjoy-- not to mention the ingredients to make CHOCOLATE! Here are just a few ways to enjoy your time with Mom Earth on this Mother's Day:

1. Enjoy a special slide show of animal moms and their babies, courtesy of the Nature Conservancy: Mom and Baby Smile for the Camera

2. Watch in real time as an eagle mom (and dad) on Santa Cruz Island in California care for their eaglet chick, born just a few weeks ago: Eagle Cam

Sometimes the camera is down, so keep trying. Here is one of the highlights for you to enjoy:


3. Adopt a coral reef in honor of Mom. You probably know that coral reefs are a very important part of our oceans' ecosystems. But did you know that medicines made from coral reefs help treat leukemia, lymphoma and other types of cancers? It's not too late to honor Mother Nature AND Mom with a gift that could help keep both of them healthy: Adopt a Coral Reef

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

Mothers Day Mom Cat Giveaway...Enter Today!

Just in time for Mothers Day!

Ten brand new mini dioramas which double as refrigerator magnets have just been added to my Etsy shop. Each features a proud mom cat and her kitten, enjoying the beauty of nature.


To qualify for the giveaway, just leave a one-word description about your mom, grandma, or other favorite mom figure in the Comments section below.

Giveaway ends at 7 p.m. PST on Sunday, May 1, when I will select ONE name at random; winner will receive TWO magnets of their choice (an $18.00 value)-- one for you and one for mom (or daughter)! I will ship to anywhere in the world. Comments will also be accepted at an identical post on The Hive.

Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you are a winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address (you may send info directly to my email if you don't want to make your contact info public).
If you visit http://www.susanfaye.net , you will find an email link.

Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, you may send your entry directly to my email ...

[Note: As cute as kittens are, I would be remiss not to remind everyone that pet overpopulation is a serious problem. Don't delay, neuter or spay the cats in your care. There are plenty of kittens and mom cats waiting in shelters across the country, hoping to find a forever home. Petfinder.com is a great place to start if you are looking for a pet in your area.]

Thanks for participating!

Cat Compassion

Last week I heard a televangelist declare that "humans are the only ones of God's creatures that worry."

I beg to differ.

Anyone who has ever seen a dog or cat waiting at the window for their master or mistress to return has witnessed one of God's other creatures in a state of anxiety, concern, uneasiness, disquiet, discomfort, apprehension, nervousness--dare I say worried?

I can say with great confidence that I have also witnessed joy, anger, envy, a sense of humor, loyalty, and compassion in my pets over the years. And I can also say with great confidence that it is not my imagination or a matter of anthropomorphism: Attribution of human motivation, characteristics, or behavior to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena.

When a cat exhibits compassion or concern, it is clearly a feline characteristic. Take tabby cat Mia for example. Cat Lady Taffy writes about her 93-year-old-mother and her furry "guardian":

"My mom had a stroke when Mia was 3 years old and now we are in charge of taking care of Mama. Being a caregiver is quite frustrating, especially when the person cannot communicate and is hard of hearing. Well, sometimes I have to say things more than once and with each repeat of directions or information, I tend to get louder and louder and when I get too loud for Mia--she comes very close to me and will begin to nip at my ankle or shoulder, depending on where she is at. She protects my mom from loud outbursts. A friend of mine told me that Mia is telling me to calm down and that I can do this job.

"Mia doesn't like when I sing either, especially something that smacks of opera. She slowly comes into my space to give her opinion. Mia likes little fuzzy mice as her favorite toy. She will whip them up in the air and sometimes they will land very close
to me so I can throw them for her. Mia IS very much loved by Mama and me."

And dare I say, Cat Lady Taffy and Mama are very much LOVED by Mia!

Cat Lady Taffy enjoys participating in these "click-a-day" websites. Your click will generate donations from the pet-related sponsors who advertise on these sites. Check them out:

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces

http://www.care2.com/click-to-donate/pets

http://www.freekibblekat.com/

Make EVERY Day Spay Day USA

Don't delay--neuter or spay! Don't wind up like this Cat Lady who delayed having her she-kitty spayed. These kittens will be adorable for a few weeks until it's time to find homes for them. And, if they in turn are not neutered or spayed, the problem becomes exponential .

Yesterday was Spay Day USA sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States ; a day to raise awareness about pet overpopulation and to help you become a part of the solution. Spay Day may be over, but there is still time (2 days) to enter your pet's photo in their photo contest. And there are still 364 days to take action!

Four million cats and dogs—about one every eight seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year. Spay/neuter is the only permanent, 100-percent effective method of birth control for dogs and cats and a proven way to reduce the vast numbers of animals who are born only to die prematurely and without a family who loves them. Learn more about why you should spay or neuter your pet.

Visit the Humane Society website today to learn about local events, low-cost spay clinics, trap-neuter-release programs for feral cats, and other great information.

Thanks for visiting!

Cat Ladies In The News

Customer appreciation photo: Junior Feline-Fella-In-Training Jonas helps to arrange Grandma Carm's 'fridge art-- "The magnets are great for small muscle coordination!" says Carm. The magnets feature the custom portraits of Carm's 8GR8Cats and her sister's cat family. You can see lots more of Jonas and his favorite kitties on Grandma's blog.
CCL Carm also received great news last week: I Can Has Cheezburger just wrapped up their first ever lolcat daily calendar for 2012 and Carm's kitten photo of Pride from The Itteh Bitteh Book of Kittehs was included! It's scheduled for a July 15th, 2011 release. Congratulations Carm!!
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The Terrific Two Turn Two! Many Happy Returns to birthday girrrrrls Keely and Fiona. Look closely and you'll see a candle in the shape of a 2 on their birthday treat, courtesy of Cat Mom Alison (CCL #333).

One of the honored guests in attendance at the birthday bash was Feline Fella Colin (brother to Cat Lady Alison).

Alison reports: "Keely simply has to be in Colin's arms- she is totally in love with him... They have a morning ritual and a coming home from work one. She is all over him and sits in his lap and nips at him and spins around and rubs against his face and repeat, repeat."

Thanks for visiting!

Valentines...Yours, Mine and Ours

Talk about a blended family! Canine cutie Katy may be outnumbered by Marilyne's four feline friends and Tommy's two black cats, but she still considers herself the luckiest dog on the block!

Marilyne's daughter Heather explains that Katy dog spent the first two years of her life "neglected and abused, confined to a cage barely big enough for her to turn around in and located in a hot and dark garage in Florida. When Mom learned of her existence from someone that lived next door to Katy, Mom insisted she get Katy or she would report the family to Animal Services. (From what we've pieced together, we think that the husband had a violent temper, and that the wife probably put the dog in the garage 'for her own protection'. Katy is frightened of large men, and even growled at a big guy with a broom in his hands once.) Katy now lives the best life any dog could ask for, and she is the sweetest and most well-behaved dog I've ever known. Very smart. I consider her 'my little sister'. She and my dog Zook are best friends!

"The black and white cat playing guitar is Mittens. She is an old girl now, but she and her brother Georges were both found at my Mom's shortly after Hurricane Georges in 1998. Georges went to a different home, but polydactal Mittens became my Mom's first cat. Mittens doesn't like other cats, but loves dogs, and loves music! She always jumps up with Tommy when he plays guitar.

"On Mom's shoulders is Smudge (I named him). We trapped Smudge in a squirrel humane trap when he was just a little baby. He'd been crying under Mom's house, but wouldn't come out where we could grab him. After Mom caught him, we found Smudge had a bacterial infection that needed treatment and Mom was worried about Mittens being exposed to him. So I fostered Smudge for his first few weeks, as I was already treating a couple of kittens that I had taken in. Smudge's bacterial infection caused him to have a little "gassy" issue that led my boyfriend and I to nickname him 'Gaseous Clay'.

"In Mom's lap on the right is Mee-chan (aka Junior). He was another rescued kitten. A few years ago, Mee-chan sneaked through a door just as Mom closed it, and his tail was cut off (*cringe*). So the poor guy has a 3/4 tail now. He's a lover. He loves everyone, cats, dogs, people- whatever.

"On the left is the latest addition, Bobbi. I think he was probably about a year old when he was found, and was an unneutered male. So he has a big, masculine head. He was born without a tail. He can be a little standoff-ish with strangers, but loves Mom!

"Tommy's two cats were also rescues. The one behind his shoulder is Muff, and she was his neighbor's cat. When his neighbor died, her son put Muff outside and Tommy began to care for her. The other cat is Midnight. She is very sweet with people, but very aggressive with other animals. She is an absolute nut! Hyper, always on the go. She showed up one day with one of the strays at Tommy's work."

As you might be able to tell, daughter Heather is a devoted animal lover too! You can read all about her own "Zoo Crew" at her delightful blog Heather's Eden.

Happy Valentines Day!

Cat's Cats

It's probably inevitable that if you grow up with a nickname like "Cat", you will some day oversee a small kingdom of kitties.


Meet Cat Lady Catrina, pictured here with (left to right) Sir Benjamin, Molly the Dowager Queen, Prince Casper, and Young Master Archie.

Catrina tells how her kingdom was formed:

"All of my kitties were rescued. I got Molly from the OSPCA when she was about a year old. She had already birthed a litter of kittens (why don’t people spay and neuter?) and was found with them in a box; someone had just thrown her away.

"My friend Pauline told me about Casper (previously named Yeti), a deaf darling who needed a home. He was born under the porch of her neighbour. Pauline had already found homes for the snow white boy and his identical sister Fluffy, however the people who had taken him when he was a kitten decided he was too rambunctious at nine months so they gave him back. I fell in love with his blue eyes the moment I saw him and we took him home immediately.

"We adopted nine month old Max [not pictured] from the Toronto Cat Rescue as a companion for Casper. They were such immediate and inseparable friends it was simply tragic when he died [of FIP]... After Max, I did not want to get another cat but Casper was so upset and lonely, and Robert convinced me a new buddy for him was essential…enter Benjamin, five months old from Toronto Animal Services. I was firmly against adopting a youngster, since the disease that killed Max usually hits kittens less than one year or older cats more than ten years. But Ben was insistent that we notice him, working hard at the front of his cage, standing on his hind legs and sticking his paws through the bars trying to grab at us. When we picked him up he purred and did swimmy paws in the air. Who could resist, I certainly couldn’t!

"The last to join our family is a cheeky little ginger snap called Archie, six months old also from TAS. He is the bravest and skinniest kitten I have ever seen. No slinking on his tummy or cowering under a bed for this little guy-- he is so bold it seems somewhat unnatural."

It was with a very heavy heart several weeks ago that Catrina had to say goodbye to beautiful Molly (just shy of Molly's 19th birthday). "When I rescued Molly all those years ago I gave her a safe and loving home, good food and a warm bed, today my heart is broken because she gave me so much more in return!"

But there will soon be another royal subject in Cat's kingdom; one from a very distant land who is also in need of a safe and loving home, good food and a warm bed...read all about his story in Catrina's delightful blog: Cat's Cats: BIG NEWS

Thanks for visiting!

A Tribute to (Cat) Moms!

Introducing a trio of "Cat Moms" to warm your heart:

Daughter Karen tells us about Cat Lady Brenda and her reading assistant, Ebbe:

"I never imagined that my Mom, at age sixty-something and with two thirty-something daughters, would become a mother yet again at this point in her life.

"But she has, to a furry little boy named Ebbe.

"I had never considered my mother an 'animal person.' (The last time a pet lived in our home was during the first Reagan administration.) So my sister and I were pretty surprised to learn that she had agreed to adopt, sight-unseen, a kitten abandoned on a friend's doorstep.

"Little did I know that this kitten, now a full-grown cat, would so completely capture my mother's heart, providing her with an endless supply of affection, entertainment, and what we refer to as 'Ebbe stories.'

"So on this Mother's Day, I am giving her this portrait because I want to honor the nurturing and generous Mom that she is, to her children both human and feline." Be sure to visit Karen's pottery studio at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/karenrobertspottery/



Daughter Calli commissioned this portrait of her mom, Cat Lady Dona and kitty Kahn: ""My mom adopted Kahn from the SPCA last year. Before she went to look at the cats she told me 'I don't want a boy cat and I don't want a black cat'.

"But Kahn, a little black boy kitty, captured her heart and my Mom knew immediately that he was the one. He has ruled her house ever since! Kahn has a lot of spunk - he likes to play, explore, and most importantly, cuddle. He has been a great companion for my Mom."

Son Eric tells us about his Mom and her feline friends Smoochie and Molly:

"She IS the cat lady...She takes the 'Big Lug' (her 17-lb, 16-year-old cat; his real name is Smoochie) to the county home at every holiday, in costume, so that the folks can pet and admire him!...Smoochie is overwhelmingly friendly, loves attention, and is a die-hard groveler for table scraps...

"The smaller, darker one is Molly. She's 13, very standoffish, and is famous for her 'scream' meow when anyone but my Mom approaches her. She and Smoochie used to get along, but she always swats at him now...It doesn't seem to bother him though, and he rarely swats back or gets angry at her. When they sleep, they still curl up together in a basket or on a big pillow.

"I could write for hours about all the crazy episodes with her and the cats over the years!"

So here is a big heart-y ♥♥♥ thank you to all of the maternal types out in the world...with love, from your children, both furry and otherwise...

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!!

Crazy For Calicoes...Art Auction on Ebay

Did you know that the state cat of Maryland is the calico cat? According to the state website:"Effective October 1, 2001, the calico cat became the official cat of Maryland (Chapter 194, Acts of 2001; Code State Government Article, sec. 13-317). Its colors of orange, black, and white are shared with the Baltimore oriole (State bird) and the Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly (State insect).

"Calico is not a breed of cat, but an unusual coloring occurring across many breeds, including Domestic Short-hair, Persian, and Manx. Virtually all calico cats are female."

Pictured here are 10 miniature watercolor paintings of calico cat ladies that were a part of the 365 Cat Ladies featured in this blog during 2009. All are being auctioned off this week on Ebay...here is your chance to collect original artwork without breaking the bank, plus you will own a little piece of 365 Cat Lady history!

Place your bid today at:

http://myworld.ebay.com/whimsysu

Auction ends the morning of Tuesday Feb 16. Thanks for visiting!