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| Sunny and my mom at the thesis show - the very first blog entry. |
For the last 12 years - Sunny was my constant companion and helper in the studio. She was there assisting from the very first blog entry to the launch of the most recent project.
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| Sunny assisting with the Swallows project which opened last week |
She took her role as Feline Assistant, Sr. seriously. She was there with me from my first explorations into printmaking. She was there while I gradually acquired the tools of the trade and practiced, practiced, practiced, relief carving skills.
She sat next to me or sphinx-like on my back while I worked.
She could frequently be found keeping the carving pillow warm,
or guarding the blocks.
She was always ready to print - day or night...
...and then help keep the prints and collage parts in place
She was happy to pose with artwork to help provide a sense of scale.
...and was never caught napping on the job (ok, she was often found napping on the job - after all, she was a kitty.) Sleeping many hours a day and keeping the human company for many hours at a time in the studio seemed to be enjoyably compatible activities for her.
Looking back at the photo of Sunny and Junior 2 weeks ago - now I wonder if my Princess allowing Junior to take the middle of the carving pillow (not typical) while she sat beside her, and Junior, ever-doting, gave Sunny a kiss on the head was Sunny's way of passing the studio assistant torch.
She was my cuddly companion outside the studio too, and I want to end with these, because "kitty-toy-tree season" was her favorite time of year - from first Christmas to last and all the days in between, Sunny brought great joy to her human. She was a loving, loyal, and fabulous feline assistant and very, very loved by her human, little sister, and pup. Artlandia won't be the same without Sunny - she will be greatly missed.
