neighbour cats - red - 2023 10 17

 

I like how this cat is looking a little frayed around the edges. It is definitely reflective of my inner state and the existential fraying that is going on as I navigate these mysterious days.

This is the synchrony of drawing practice. Drawing is a way to bring to life a sense or experience that has not been given words. It is often a feeling that I'm not aware I am experiencing until I make a drawing and then step back and look at what it is telling me.

My world is very small these days. I do not see many people, I do not travel far from my back door. I walk the same routes day after day. My inspiration comes from noticing the small changes going on around me, the creatures who share my world, nature and life in my urban neighbourhood.

It isn't that I feel lonely, per se. I am living with my frail elderly mother. I see and talk to various family members everyday. My neighbourhood is full of friendly, interesting people and I am excited to get to know all the creative women on my block. I share my life with my husband, my partner in all these modest adventures.

My world is small, it is constrained, as much by choice as by circumstance. The meaning of my life is easily available in the quotidian details of running a household, managing family life, and exploring creative expression at my art desk.

The fraying reflects the changing circumstances of age, work, career, education, ambition, and understanding. Perhaps fraying is necessary right now. That is what red cat is telling me.

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