Meet the Mascots

They say "behind every great man. . ." Well, with no disrespect to my wife, in this instance, behind every artist is a strong support system. Part of mine happens to be cats. Several. One belongs to us and three have adopted us. They view the studio with great interest--particularly when it's time for food--and have served as inspiration for art, as well.

First, meet Salvador. Yes, despite a mustache and a boy's name, Salvador is a girl. I found her almost five years ago at the pottery studio in Atlanta where I used to work. I'll be blunt: She's a temperamental bully who bites and smacks, withholds affection until it suits her agenda and runs the back yard and studio on a leash. (Yes, a leash.) In short, she is absolutely horrible! And we adore her! She also inspired a recent new work. My wife thought it looked like an urn and didn't want it in the house, until a friend suggested that we use the "vessel" for cat treats so now I get to bring her in!

Now for the rest of our little family. Over the past year and a half, we started taking care of a sweet little mother cat who was all on her own and expecting her second litter in under a year. We feed her and two of the kittens who decided they had a good gig and stayed. With the fabulous help of the Mission Orange program of the Tampa Human Society--we managed to catch them and have them spayed and neutered. Mission Orange is a fantastic program dedicated to helping feral cats throughout the Tampa area. I've included their web link at right so check them out.

 

Meet Momma Cat (the elegant little gray tabby. The name isn't original but is highly descriptive); Cotton (shock, I know, she's the white cat, a grumpy, highly vocal girl); and A.J. (a little tuxedo boy who is our adventurous spirit). Just to look at them, would you ever guess they are a little family!? We've lost our hearts to these three and hope we've given them a better quality of life than they would have had. They've certainly added so much joy to ours.