See more studio pets in the Spring 2008 issue of Studios.
Chris Young-Pour, St. Louis, MO Here are my three studio pet mascots, Pan, Kali, and Frankie. Although they all like to hang out with me in my art studio, Pan (the orange tabby) loves to climb into my blue craft bag and watch me from there. |
Mavis Leahy via email I have been rescuing large breeds (mostly Great Danes) for more than 30 years, and right now I have three girls. I usually have a strict “no sitting on the furniture” policy, but relax the rule in my studio, especially with Betty. She is my most recent rescue, she was raised in a studio apartment, so she is used to fitting into very small spaces—which is kind of funny, as she is a big girl! |
Martha Szescila, Destin, CA My Bichon Frise, Maddie, spends most of her time wrapped around the base of my sewing/computer chair. When I jump up to press something I have to be super careful not to roll over her. She even spent time on the foot pedal of my sewing machine when she was a little puppy. I guess she feels more connected to me when she is underfoot. Her brother, a schnoodle named Harley, spends all of his time in the middle of the studio, wherever the sun happens to be shining. They both love when I’m hand quilting; they park themselves on the excess quilt. I can’t seem to get out to the studio without them and they provide me with entertainment while I’m quilting. I couldn’t work without them! |
Pamela McKenzie, Bloomingdale, IL I have two studio mascots and two furry “art students,” Mr. Blue the Chocolate Point Siamese and Buffy the Siamese Slayer. There is not a day or time when I can work without them, except once in while when the little tykes go for their afternoon nap—that’s when I paint the canvases! |
Jood Osborn, Felton, CA Here are my Sheltie mascots, Spencer and Tammy—in different stages of “support.” |
Ann Alexander Leggett, Louisville, CO Khufu is almost 15 years old and is by my side day and night. He has stuck with me through thick and thin, through good times and bad. He always thinks everything I create is wonderful. He is a dear, dear soul and a true friend. |
Linda Richter, Kingwood, TX Charly is my 6-year-old Golden Retriever and I cannot go upstairs to the art room without him coming with me. Sometimes it’s a real balancing act to get up from my chair and try to step over him and all the other “supplies” I have at the ready! |
Christine Sauer, New Orleans, LA Here are two of my mascots who are always attentive to the goings on in my studio. Both are rescued kitties. Grey kitty is Luke, he enjoys sitting under my Ott lite and tries to grab the thread as I am working on my sewing machine. The black kitty is Tobey. He is rather mischievous and enjoys eating silk organza and other odds and ends which unfortunately required a vet visit last summer. Thank goodness he recovered! |
Linda Kramer, Oxford, Ohio This is Jaxson. I adopted him as an adult cat from a local no-kill animal foundation just a few weeks prior to this photo. He assumed the role of studio assistant within days of coming to his new home. |
Laura and Linda Kemshall, U.K. Toby, a Bengal, is one of our studio cats. He has radar for a pile of quilts. We caught him here fast asleep after making himself a nest in a pile of quilts waiting to be photographed. |
Felecia Davenport, Heidelberg, Germany The tilting drawing table is a real hit for my mascots, mainly due to the direct mid-day sun and the fact I am trying to do something without them. |
Timaree Cheney, Kingman, AZ I’ve got pets in my studio! One is my Kitty, Pandora who just can’t stay off my projects. She gets jealous when I am paying attention to them instead of her. The other pet (I have more but they don’t get in my way) is Brandy, the dog I got from a shelter who was so afraid they wondered if they’d find a home for her. I fell in love with her immediately and insisted on taking her home. It must have been one artist’s spirit finding another as she loves to see what I am doing as I work on my projects too. |
Angie Platten via email This is me and my cat, Minya. Minya has been my constant companion for the past 19 years and her passing away last month has left a gaping hole in my life and my studio. I miss her presence and love so much. She has always been an interactive part everything in my life. I’m still finding cat hair in my studio, and it brings mixed emotions with a smile and tears. I hope I never stop finding it. |
Carol Hodsdon, Durban, South Africa This is my cat Wrex (with a silent W). He has a fetish for resting his chin on things—preferably preferably a human or one of our other five cats. He is happiest when I’m sewing and spends many hours with me in my studio. |
Janis Salcfas, Elizabeth Lake, CA Here is my studio mascot, Yoda. He likes to sit on my lap when I sew so he can watch the needle go up and down. He participates in just about every project I make, whether it be testing the fabric, or making sure my stitches are even, to finally laying on the quilt to make sure it passes the softness test. So far I haven’t made one he didn’t like. He is the best critic a quilter can have! |
Tristan Robin Blakeman, New Haven, CT Dusty spends the days in my studio on his special corner of mini-pillows. While I’m making art, it is his mission to let me know, by feverish barking, if a leaf has blown by the window or a squirrel has breathed somewhere on the property. He is especially alert to the sounds of an approaching postman or delivery person intruding on our creative space. When not on high orange alert, he is as infatuated with old black-and-white movies on TV as I am. |
Karen Tanner via email Aggie is our 13-year-old art Basset. She has made pawprint tiles—she embedded her paw print onto clay tiles. We love her! She is always in my studio with me. |
Bobbie Badovick, Medina, OH My cat is Cinnamon Marmalade, Cinny for short. Cinny LOVES to be where the action is in my sewing/quilting studio. She sits on my sewing machine AS I am sewing. I’m not sure if it’s the vibration of the machine, or the warmth between the machine and the lamp that she is so attracted to. |
Lisa Peters, Closter, NJ Buddee the domestic shorthair and LuLu the Calico are constantly keeping me company in the studio. |
Rita Bellanca via email Here’s my dog Disco in my “studio” (which is basically my basement). She is my muse and has been for 14 years! She will be 15 in April and my husband and I have had her since she was 1; we rescued her as she was being taken to the pound. She is my muse because she not only makes my heart happy, but she is so incredibly beautiful and photogenic that when I need a burst of creativity, I just spend time photographing her. She turns into a HAM the minute I whip my camera out…she totally knows how to work it. |
Wendee Deal, Cedar Rapids, IA This is Dude. My granddaughter and I were going through my beads, picking out ones we wanted to use for earrings we were going to make that afternoon. In this photo you can see that Dude had his own idea about what beads we should use and was pointing out his favorites. |
Tomme Fent, Sioux City, IA Max has decreed that all quilts must receive her approval before they are allowed to be shown to others or leave the house. She even demanded that she be the subject of my January 2003 Journal Quilt, “Mad Max.” |
Bonnie in Durham, NC My two geriatric cats, Fox (gray and white, 14 years old) and Tony (orange tabby, 15 years old) join me at the dining room table/work space for some mixed-media play. |
Ann Craig, Altadena, CA My two quilting buddies are two of my Chihuahuas. The mother, Shakita, likes to get up on my work table and lay in the sun. She is very careful not to step on my templates, fabric or scissors! She can sleep for several hours as I work. I just have to reach around her so I don’t bother HER. |
Donna Joy, N. Richland Hills, TX This is Nala. Usually she’ll sit on the couch when i’m in my art room, however, if I leave for a minute, this is usually where I will find her: at my table trying to get something to chew on. |
Cathy Johnson, Irving, TX This is a picture of Zoe after a long day of creating art. Naptime! The inset picture on the bottom right is Zoe with her sister, Libby. They love to help but their favorite thing is “shopping” in the bags of goodies I bring home from the craft stores. |
Joan Eaglesham Clarke, Saanichton, BC, CA This is Maizie the wonder schnoodle, our 18-month-old puppy, who spends most of her day with me in my office/studio at her window-side perch. She’s not a big help when it comes to quilting, but she does let me know when the UPS truck arrives and she’s pretty good as a paperweight. |
Christina Wilson, Lakewood, OH This is Raul, my Resident Red Rodent and Muse. My apartment doesn’t permit live pets so I needle felted my own mascot. Raul is thoughtful, insightful, loving, unusual and always encouraging. Though, I admit, he sneaks off in the early evening, makes lattes and stays up into the wee hours playing with our Janome Xpression. No doubt he is trying to make a friend. |
Judy Wood, Saskatoon, SK, Canada My most constant studio companion is Scout, the small orange cat. She (named after the little girl in To Kill a Mockingbird, which I was re-reading at the time she came to us) was a foundling from a busy city street when she came to live with us in 1991. She has always claimed the studio as her space, in an unspoken division of territory with Bud, the other young cat in residence (and still with us) when Scout moved in. Neither of the girls particularly cares for the other, but for the most part they will live and let live. Both co-exist nicely with the resident Boxer dogs (two eighty pound males), and one of the particularly amusing sights of my studio is seeing Scout ensconced in comfort in the middle of the very large dog basket, being hovered over anxiously by Oscar, whose bed it usually is, and who is too intimidated to move all six pounds of Scout out so he can come to rest. Always a small cat, Scout is diminishing in size as she reaches her late teens, but not in spirit. |
Jane LaFazio, San Diego, California Here’s my kitty Buddy. He’s 2 years old, and loves to be part of the action! |