Women’s History Month + Cats on Wednesday = Women Painting Cats

Artists have included cats in their paintings since the ancient Egyptians. These influential 17th-20th century women artists all found inspiration in the elegant, mysterious and elusive cats who served as their muses and their models.

Judith Leyster - Dutch, 1609-1660

She was a leading 17th century painter who was successful and famous in her lifetime. She belonged to a group of courageous women who tried to break into the male-dominated art world. In 1633 she was allowed to join the previously male-only painters’ guild.








Sophie Gengembre Anderson - French, 1823-1903

Married to an English painter, she gained fame as a pre-Raphaelite painter and had a talent for painting children and animals.

Berthe Morisot - French, 1841-1895

As a woman, Morisot was not allowed to join art institutions, but was noticed and respected for her talent. She joined the Impressionists and exhibited with them. She continued to paint all her life but was never a commercial success.

Mary Cassatt - American, 1844-1926

Discouraged by society and her father from pursuing a career as a painter, she moved to France where she found success in the Impressionist movement.

Suzanne Valadon - French, 1865-1938

Daughter of a laundress, Valadon worked as a waitress, circus acrobat and model (posing for Toulouse-Lautrec and Renoir). Learning to paint by watching the Impressionists, she became a well-known, respected painter in her own right.





Paula Modersohn-Becker - German, 1876-1907

At the turn of the 20th century she was an influential avant-garde artist and an early German Expressionist. She was more interested in art than domesticity despite pressure from all sides to marry. She did marry, and died giving birth to her first child at age 31.

Cats on Wednesday -- Cat Burglar Cat

A real cat burglar is much in the news lately. The now-notorious Dusty has been dubbed by his neighbors ‘Klepto’ because of his constant thieving of a variety of items from their yards and back gardens. He has now been ‘outed’ by television reports which exposed his theft(s) of some 600 items in the last three years.


Animal Planet Network installed a camera to document his nightly forays. Eleven thefts in one night is his record so far. Bathing suits are Klepto’s Dusty’s favorite item but he has collected an amazing collection of loot, including shoes (both of them) and towels (as large as bath towels) which he drags home with difficulty. Luckily neighbors have taken the crimes in stride and now know just to go to Dusty’s house to retrieve their lost belongings. Any item not claimed will be auctioned to help humane society charities.

So famed is the handsome six year old part-Siamese that he has been flown from California to New York to be on television. Dusty’s story has been told on TV and radio around the world. He is scheduled to be guest of honor and grand marshal at a fund-raising pet parade for a local humane society.

Dusty now wears a bell on his collar to warn possible victims he’s at large. It hasn’t worked yet.

Cats on Wednesday -- Alexis O'Neill and Friends

I believe cats are particularly good at being muses to writers and illustrators, and I would like to document some of these mysteriously symbiotic, creative relationships.

Definitions of ‘muse’:
• A state of deep thought, or dreamy abstraction

• Any of the nine sister goddesses in Greek mythology, presiding over song, poetry and the arts and sciences



left to right:  Ebony, Cookie and Fudge
"plotting a bit of mischief"


Alexis O’Neill has been a generous friend and mentor to me. Her books (Loud Emily, Estella’s Swap, The Recess Queen and The Worst Best Friend) all explore the many aspects of friendship.
 
I wanted to find out about a trio of close friends in her life – her cats.

What are your cats’ names, and how did each one find you?

 

Fudge, Cookie and Ebony. Fudge took refuge in our garage after she had been severely bitten by either a dog or coyote. After all the vet bills were paid and the neighborhood scoured for a possible owner, this sweet cat became ours. We rescued Cookie and Ebony on their way to the pound. Energetic Cookie is actually my husband’s muse, sitting on his lap as he solves computer problems in the garage. And Ebony likes to stir up a bit of trouble, whacking the other cats on the noggin when they become too complacent about life.

Which of the above definitions of ‘muse’ best describes each of your cats?

Our “Three Sisters” preside over dreams. Some might say they hog the bed at night, but actually, Fudge, Cookie and Ebony are Dream Guards, chasing bad ones away so the good dreams have room to play.

In what way do your cats help you write? What is the most memorable contribution they have made to your work?

Exercise. That’s their contribution to my writing. Fudge is my “fetcher.” She knows when I’ve spent too long at my desk and calls me for a game of “Toss the Mousie Down the Stairs.” So I hop out of my chair, pull one of her glittery pink mousies from the basket that is overflowing with them. She crouches at the top stair and leaps for it when I toss it over her head. I go back to my desk. She scrambles up the stairs, mousie in her mouth and drops it for me. And so it goes for a good portion of the evening. Cookie and Ebony help with lifting exercises – they jump onto my desk to lick photos, tape and plastic bits, I lift them down. All this exercise keeps me tuned up for writing.

Do your cats have favorite napping or sitting places, and are they perhaps anywhere near your work space?

In the morning, the cats stretch out on the stairs in the sun, one, two, three, Cookie, Fudge, Ebony. Fudge then follows the sun around the house of the rest of the day, Cookie takes over the couch and Ebony sits as high as she can reigning over all.

Do you have a writing project your cats are currently helping with?

I wish! They are so lazy! They won’t even pick up a pen. They say they don’t want to ruin their nails, but I think they just like to see me struggle a bit. However, I will say that they are marvelous listeners. They are attentive when they hear my drafts, though pretty useless when it comes to helpful feedback since they say they pretty much love everything I write.

Questions for your cats (those willing to participate):

What are your real names, the names you feel reflect your true selves?

Cookie:  I’m a smart cookie, so my name is perfect.
Ebony:  My name is elegant – just like me.
Fudge:  I’m soft, sweet and comforting. What’s not to like about Fudge?

What led you to believe that your humans would make good hosts? Are they?

Cookie:  Warm laps.
Ebony:  Brushing my luxurious fur every morning.
Fudge:  Can you spell c-a-t  c-r-a-z-y?

Does your writer-person listen to your critiques of her writing, or does she pretend not to understand?

Cookie:  I’m okay with the first draft, but how many times does she have to read that thing to me?
Ebony:  Critique?  I’m supposed to do what?
Fudge:  She gets me. Here’s our code: Closed eyes = nice. Squinty eyes = huh? Big eyes = yes!

I notice your writer-person has never written a book about you. How do you feel about that?

Cookie:  Oh, but she has! She’s done lots of books about cats. But she tells me that “none of them are working.” Does that mean the cats don’t have jobs?
Ebony:  How does one capture my essence of elegance on the printed page? Impossible.
Fudge:  I like her story about the old cat, Skeeter, trying to get used to the new kitten, Patch. Someday, I’ll give her the Big Eyes code on it. But until then she has some work to do.

In addition to being the author of four books and numerous stories and articles, Alexis is the SCBWI Regional Advisor for the California counties of Ventura/Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo/Kern.  She is considered by many to be THE expert on the subject of school visits!  Find out more about her at alexisoneill.com and SchoolVisitExperts.com.
 

Cats on Wednesday -- (Actually Saturday) at ALA Mid-Winter Conference

I'm always happy to see cats -- anywhere -- whether real or otherwise.

At the ALA Conference in San Diego Saturday I came across these delightful cat characters brought to 'life' -- Splat, Pete and Skippyjon.

I couldn't resist taking their pictures!

Splat the Cat (Rob Scotton, author); Pete the Cat (Eric Litwin, author; James Dean, illustrator);  Skippyjon Jones (written/illustrated by Judy Schachner).

Cats on Wednesday -- Style: The Many Visions of Puss in Boots

I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite books is Fred Marcellino’s Puss in Boots, whose cover graces my computer screen. I recently came across one of the most famous portrayals of the iconic cat character. Gustave Doré’s wonderful engravings were done for an 1883 edition of Charles Perrault’s 17th century classic. (Interesting fact: Perrault was the brother of the designer of the façade of the Louvre!) Apparently the story of the courageous, crafty and clever cat who defeats a horrible ogre was written by Perrault as a parody of the musketeer stories of his time. Illustrators have long enjoyed creating new versions of the brave cat, but still stay rather close to the Doré version – the tall cavalier boots, the plumed hat, the insouciant look.

An illustrator faces a great challenge when re-envisioning a familiar, much-loved, classic literary character. The excellent interpretations of Fred Marcellino, and the delightful animated version in Shrek 2, are distinctive in their own way while still bringing Doré’s early version to mind.

On tomorrow’s post I’ll show several sketches I recently finished as an exercise, showing my attempts to address the problem faced by the Puss in Boots illustrators. As I sketched I attempted to depict another iconic figure – the heroine of Johanna Spyri’s Heidi.

Cats on Wednesday -- Happy New Year of Cats

Happy New Year, World! from Cats on Wednesday (and me).

Next year I plan to interview cats who share their homes with some writers and illustrators!  Hmmm.... I wonder what secrets they'll be able to tell us about their people and their people's work....

Hope we will all have a successful, prosperous, healthy and happy new year!

Cats on Wednesday -- Lost and Found

The end of the year is the time in the children’s literature world for the announcements to start coming in of awards and ‘best of the lists’.  On Monday Booklist announced their Top of the Lists Editors Choices.  The selection for Youth Picture Books is a delightful book about a cat, Nini Lost and Found, by one of my favorite illustrators, Anita Lobel.  Nini has appeared before in One Lighthouse, One Moon and Nini Here and There.  Happily she’s back for another adventure, daring to explore the world outside her snug, comfortable home.  I love the watercolor and gouache illustrations of the serious little cat and her inviting world.

Nini’s return home and her loving reception are reassuring and satisfying.  The theme reminds me of a much-loved cat of mine whose main ambition in life seemed to be to go exploring even though she was actually terrified of the world outside.  I had more than one fright when she scooted through an open door looking for adventure.  Fortunately she, too, really preferred her snug and comfortable home, and always came back.  I hope there will be more Nini books and think the editors chose a good book to top their list!

Cats on Wednesday -- A Trio of Cat Books

Children’s books about cats are always popular. Many of us cat lovers enjoy them, and their intended audience (children) certainly love them. At the Chemers Gallery illustrators’ event I attended last weekend there were three examples of lovely, but very diverse, cat books illustrated by two of the featured illustrators.


Cat Dreams

One of them was Cat Dreams, by Ursula K. Le Guin – a charming book about a napping cat. The model for illustrator S.D. Schindler was his cat, Furball (a very attractive calico with green eyes). Schindler is also the illustrator of Le Guin’s marvelous Catwings books as well as more than 50 other children’s books.

Fat Cat

Where is Catkin?

Also representing cats in the gallery was another favorite illustrator’s books – Julie Paschkis’ Fat Cat and Where is Catkin?



I hope to get back to the gallery to study the original illustrations more closely before the exhibit ends.

Cats on Wednesday -- Therapy Abroad

I find cats therapeutic – definitely mood-lifting, which of course enhances their value to harried deadline-plagued illustrators or plot-blocked writers. The longest periods of time I’ve been without a cat have been the extended times I’ve spent in Europe. In London I was staying in a comfortable little B&B in Bloomsbury. Only one other family (English, but recently forced by circumstances to leave their home in the Middle East) were staying in the hotel over Christmas. The hotel owner had a sweet-tempered, placid black and white cat named Tibby – a bit overweight from being spoiled by too many years of guests who, like us and our neighbors down the hall who had tried every day to lure the cat into our rooms with treats. We took turns – a rivalry of sorts – trying to get Tibby to spend time with each of us. Comfort companionship, entertainment. Every day the long-suffering landlord’s son would climb the stairs and knock on each of our doors. “Do you have Tibby?” he would ask. One or the other of us probably did.

Another cat, a grey cat, was encountered for only one day, when cheering was needed. She had bounded across a meadow in Switzerland, very purposefully and joyfully and with what looked like recognition, to cheer up three Americans going for a dejected walk in the countryside. She appeared to understand English perfectly and communicated cheerfulness so thoroughly that recovery was very quick and life’s problems soon solved.

So to tie in with my coffee shop theme this week, there are cat café’s in Japan. For about six years they have been very popular little establishments. Tea, coffee and smoothies are available, but the big draw is the cats, which provide a different kind of pick-me-up. Merchants there have come up with a solution for pet-starved over-crowded, can’t-keep-cats-in-your-apartment citizens of Tokyo who need the comforting, cheering and charming company of cats. There are quite a few of these cafés, where there’s a nominal fee for spending quality time with the cats. The cafés look very pleasant and clean in the pictures I’ve seen and very few actual refreshments are in evidence. The patrons have to take off their shoes and wash their hands before entering the cats’ presence and can’t disturb sleeping cats, pull tails or be uncivilized in any way! Sounds good to me.

I am without a cat for the time being – I’d love to visit a cat café right now!

Congratulations – with a Nod to Cats on Wednesday

Today I am happy to announce the winner of our drawing for a copy of Mara Price’s new book, Grandma’s Chocolate. I decided to use a cat pitcher instead of a hat, in honor of my usual Cats on Wednesday post.

Thanks to all the visitors and commenters who stopped by on Mara's Virtual Book Tour.

And congratulations to Sarah Wones Tomp. Sarah, please send your mailing address and your book will be sent to you!

Cats on Wednesday - A Heaven For All Our Cats

I’ve been a fan of Newbery winner Cynthia Rylant’s books for a long time. Perhaps my favorites of her books are Cat Heaven and Dog Heaven, two books which deserve to be forever-more classics. Cat Heaven was published a dozen years ago by Scholastic, and although it is a children’s book it can be just as consoling for adults who have lost a beloved cat. I have found comfort more than once reading its bright and joyful pages.

I have lost many cats over the years, including little outdoor strays I remember living in our garage when I was very, very young and the pedigreed Siamese my sisters and I won for our paintings when I was seven. Then there were much-loved Danny, kind Sylvester, talkative Ming Tu, saint Kitty, most-favorite Scout, faithful Lucy, stern and motherly Emily and her adopted daughter Orly, devoted-to-each-other Morgen and Thea, shy Mousie, wise Alyosha, moody Minka and, most recently, sassy Sophie. Sophie, so tiny as a kitten she looked like a little rat, grew up to be large and lovely and lived to be 17. Each one a distinctive being – I miss them all.

For anyone who has had a cat that died, Rylant has written a sweet description of the heaven one hopes, and perhaps believes, is awaiting our cats. It is beautifully written, in rhyme. Rylant is a self-taught artist. While her charming illustrations have reportedly been greatly influenced by the folk-style paintings of Grandma Moses, clearly they express the joyful message of her story in her own colorful and energetic style.

I am glad this book was created. It’s special.

Cats on Wednesday - Puss in Plumes

My computer desktop is adorned with cat.

He’s not a cartoon cat, not a photo-realistic cat, not a real cat (he’s wearing a plumed hat and a pleated ruff!)

What he is, is all-seeing, all-knowing, soulful-eyed, serious-for-the-moment essence-of-cat. And just looking at him soothes my stress, calms my nerves, makes me smile.

He’s the cover of a picture book. Don’t you just love him?

He's Fred Marcellino's Puss in Boots.  I was fortunate to see him (Puss) in the original in the Downtown Library's extensive and breathtaking exhibit, The Art of Fred Marcellino, in 2007.  It was the first book cover I remember seeing with no text -- it was, and is, very powerful.  It compelled me to look inside and see what the title was, who the cat was.  Marcellino once said that the cat grew and grew until there was no room left for anything else......  He must have had a cat. 

Wish he were still here, painting cats.

.

Cats on Wednesday - Creative Cats

Ten Speed Press published a fantastic book called Why Cats Paint several years ago. The Cleveland Plain Dealer said it “took the art world and animal world by storm with its unprecedented record of cat creativity.” In fact, it is a hilarious spoof of modern art and what I’ve always considered to be the often pretentious world of fine art. Even knowing the book is an elaborate joke, one can’t help believing bits of it and toying with the idea of what your cat might do with a canvas or wall or floor or couch -- and some paint.

From my experience as an artist, actual cats are more likely to show their feelings about your work by sitting on it or walking across it than they are to create their own art. Several years ago I heard the wonderful illustrator Trina Schart Hyman speak about her work and her cats. She was a devoted cat lover. Apparently one of them spilled ink, or paint, onto a finished illustration just before she was to send it off to the publisher. I’m sure every cat-loving artist can relate to and sympathize with this horrifying prospect and has their own tales to tell.

But how about our cats ….. Are they critics? Do they sometimes feel compelled to prevent us from finishing what they think is less-than-perfect work? Or by ‘contributing’ to it have they fulfilled their own overwhelming urge to create……

Cats on Wednesday – Animal Remembrance Month

September is both Self-Awareness and Strategic Thinking Month.  Throughout the year there are many commemorative possibilities to choose from.  For today's Cats on Wednesday post I'm celebrating Animal Remembrance Month, which is a world-wide observance.  I still remember and miss every pet I've ever had.  My sister and I bought George and Ringo, a pair of strawberry finches, in Chinatown when we were living in San Francisco.  They were wonderful companions.  Our cats, however, are especially missed and I don't need a special month to bring them to mind.


Extra-toed, Fruit-fearing Sophie

Cats on Wednesday is primarily about cat muses, and they were certainly muses to me. My sister and I have come up with countless cat-inspired book ideas which we usually found hilarious at the time. Unfortunately we usually failed to write them down, or having written them down couldn’t later decipher our notes. I do have lists of book titles inspired by one cat or another. I have an unsold picture book manuscript and illustrations about my nature-loving indoor-only cat Scout, and another idea about fraidy-cat Sophie who always ran at the sight of a certain tropical fruit. At one time, when my home was apparently known far and wide among the cat population as the refuge of choice, I came up with yet another cat-related manuscript.

There were Morgan and Thea (feline versions of Romeo and Juliet - devoted to one another); motherly Emily and her adopted daughter Orly; and Alyosha (the battle-scarred and wise alley cat, loved by all the rest). This month is for them, and more – yes, there were more. They were good cats, all.

Random Acts of Publicity 2010 – Gretchen Woelfle’s Katje the Windmill Cat

It’s Day 2 of Darcy Pattison's Random Acts of Publicity.  It's Cats on Wednesday, too, so I have chosen to promote/review a lovely book featuring a brave cat as the heroine.

I met Gretchen Woelfle a few months ago at an author/teacher event and fell in love with her book Katje the Windmill Cat. It didn’t hurt that the illustrator, Nicola Bayley, is a long-time favorite of mine.



The story is based on a true tale of a 15th century flood which Woelfle first heard about while travelling in Holland. Originally appearing in a different format in Spider magazine, it involves a heroic cat, a miller and his wife and baby. Woelfle has filled in the unknown details with a delightful plot. And she and illustrator Bayley have captured the essence of the feline personality.

After being the only companion of a miller, Katje is repeatedly shooed aside by the miller’s new wife. To keep her cat dignity intact, Katje moves from the house to the miller’s windmill, but continues to secretly return and play with the family’s new baby. When the dike near their home bursts and the baby is swept away in the ensuing flood, Katje shows heroism and the ending is satisfying and enjoyable.



According to Woelfle’s web site, she has three cats – one of which looks a lot like Katje. English illustrator Bayley, as evidenced by all the gorgeous cat books she has illustrated, is a cat owner as well. Her watercolor pencil illustrations are detailed and exquisite. The added decorations of small delft tiles, in their traditional blue and white, feature mini-details pulled from the story – the baby, the cradle, mice, etc. Children love such small elements, which catch the eye and continue to entertain with each reading. Katje, the Windmill Cat, first published in 2001, is a continuing delight.

Cats on Wednesday - Bebe the Book Store Cat

McCabe & Company, Booksellers (founded in 1979) is much appreciated in the San Bernardino mountain community of Crestline by locals and visitors alike. Besides being a great little book store, McCabe’s is popular due to their official greeter, Bebe.

Owner Carol McCabe told me Bebe has “always been a working cat.” Two years ago her previous position at an antique store up the block was terminated when the store closed. Bebe was then known as Baby, but that name was judged to not suit her strong personality. Not able to retire to her previous employer’s home due to her outspoken negative opinions of animals already in residence, Bebe (née Baby) was carried in state up the block to her new home, the cozy and charming McCabe’s Book Store.

At McCabe’s Bebe oversees merchandise stocking, sales, book signings, inventory, and customer relations. She likes everyone, but owner Carol describes her as a ‘flirt’, who definitely prefers gentlemen customers.

Marie Collins, weekend manager and former school teacher in the La Cañada school system, told me Bebe “reads all night.” (She catches up on lost sleep during the day between shop duties.)

Marie Collins and Bebe share a book

Recently Bebe has shown a growing interest in helping ring up sales. Marie told me Bebe, who likes her mouse (the computer mouse, that is) wreaks havoc on the cash register computer in order to reach it. There’s one particular button she manages to step on -- it controls the dispensing of customers’ receipts.

She’s an educated cat. Saving paper? Going green?

Cats like quiet places. And quiet activities. Their presence is wonderfully calming, and they can be extremely charming when they choose to be.

They are perfect book store companions.

Cats on Wednesday – I Research Migrating Piebald Polydactyls

All my life I have collected odd bits and pieces of information, for literary or artistic inspiration and/or research. Who knows when these tidbits might be useful?

I recently came across an old article I had saved from a 1986 Natural History magazine. The author, Andrew T. Lloyd, was, I believe, a geneticist, studying cat genes, tracing where cat ancestors come from. Why could this possibly be of any interest to a writer/illustrator/blogger? Who knows? Because obscure and fascinating snippets of information can be very intriguing and potentially useful.

This is a bit of what I learned:

• There weren’t any domestic cats in the New World until they were brought from Europe by sailors and immigrants to New England and the Canadian Maritimes.
• Even today, the cats of New York City have a similar genetic profile to the cats in Amsterdam. Many NYC cats have short hair, and piebald (many-colored) spots. There aren’t many orange cats there, and you rarely see polydactyl (many toed!) cats.
• Cats in New England bear similarities to their British ancestors, and many-toed cats are quite common. (I had a charming one with extra toes….I had no idea she probably had New England roots!) Turns out, they are extremely rare in most parts of the world. There’s an especially large number in and around Boston. They also have them in Yarmouth and Halifax, Nova Scotia, because of visits by Boston traders, fishermen and immigrants -- with their cat companions, apparently.
• This article was written over 20 years ago, but as Mr. Lloyd claimed that cats migrate very slowly – under a mile a (cat?) generation – “a Boston cat might now be approaching New York, having passed through 200-300 generations on the way.” I love that quote!

So if I ever write a book with cat characters from Boston, New York or Halifax, I intend to remember Mr. Lloyd and his migrating cats…….

Cats on Wednesday – ‘Atelier’ Cats

My mother was a freelance fashion illustrator, and she worked long hours in her home studio. There was usually at least one cat who chose to keep her company as she worked at her art table.

From time to time she would take time out from her work to draw her companion (or companions) asleep – usually in a pose of wild abandon or cuddled up blissfully.

I would find the wonderful little sketches all over her studio for years, and was always delighted to see them.

Cats on Wednesday – Cats in the Stacks

Personally I’d be happy to see cats everywhere I go. I’ve seen them greeting customers in shops and businesses. At one time my church had a resident cat who liked to attend services until a complaint resulted in his banishment (from services, not the church). He was missed by many of us. (Cats, of course, love to meditate.) Cats often happily settle down in public places. There were cats “employed” by the Hermitage Museum in Russia for hundreds of years, working rodent control. And there were cats in ancient Egyptian libraries.

I haven’t had the pleasure of encountering a library cat, but according to Iron Frog Productions’ Library Cat Map, last updated in May 2009, there are (or were) 808 known library cats in the entire world. The U.S. led, with the most -- 235. However those numbers included visitors to the libraries, statues, stuffed toy cats, virtual cats and at least one ghost. The more accurate number of live resident cats in the U.S. was 35. Apparently Iceland and all of Asia were tied with only one cat each (real cats). There were none listed for South America. The Cat in Residence job at a library in Washington was created after 98% of patrons expressed a desire for a feline member of the staff.

Dewey Readmore Books is probably the most famous library cat of all. He was put in the book return of the Spencer, Iowa library in 1988. The staff and patrons all fell in love with him and he had just turned 19 when he died in 2006, having served as public relations for the library all those years. He was the subject of newspaper and magazine articles, videos and TV, postcards and books. He has been the subject of several books by Vicki Myron, the Spencer librarian who first befriended Dewey.

If you are lucky enough to be welcomed by a library cat in your local library, you should consider yourself very fortunate.

Cats on Wednesday - Tuxedo Cats and Artists

My blog banner shows Abiah Rose’s black and white cat sitting expectantly beside her paintbox.

So why black and white? I have always had cats, showing interest in what I paint and write, sympathizing when things don’t go well and being generally good company while I work. I have a special fondness for Siamese. But none of the various and sundry cats I’ve had have been black and white.

My family used to babysit a wonderful example of black and white: Orly. She frequently visited her surrogate mother, our tabby cat Emily, while her ‘father’ traveled on business. Hence the connection with Paris’ Orly airport, due to her frequent bursts of urgent running through the house (I’m late for my plane!?).






Other tuxedo-clad visitors who spent time at our house were mother and daughter, Baby and Alley (yes, Baby was the mother). They were the sweet and super-photogenic cats of our dear late friend, artist Donna Finkbiner.

So why did I give Abiah a black and white cat? It was a book design decision. I thought black and white went best with my color palette and besides, Siamese cats didn’t come to America until after Abiah’s time. Truth is, other than period inaccuracy I couldn’t have made a wrong choice – all cats are works of art!

© D. Finkbiner