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| (1) SHEILA. This is my beloved Sheila, my inspiration for the ash pendants. I got her from the Santa Monica, CA, animal shelter in 1989. Sheila was with me through thick and thin, through some really rough times in my life, in and out of several different homes and situations. She was a real trooper. She was the first cat I'd ever owned and really bonded with, and we were together for five years before I got another kitten, which would be Sally. Watching Sheila become sick with cancer and having to decide when it was time to put her out of her misery was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do in my life. Designing and creating my first ash pendant around a bit of her cremains so I could wear a part of her next to my heart went a long way toward my healing process. |  |
| (2) SALLY. On Christmas Day 2005, I gave my beautiful Sally a new scratch pad, which she immediately loved and used constantly. I had picked her up in 1994, in Pendleton, Oregon, from my aunt and uncle's woodshed, where a stray cat had given birth to a litter. When I first went down to visit the kittens, it was love at first sight. This little girl was a lovable chatterbox, chirpy and wide-eyed, and I affectionately named her "Silly Sally." Sally was my little love bug and angel baby (I called her “Bugaboo”). When I brought her home with me, Sheila was 5, and I had the two of them for 11 years, till Sheila died. Unfortunately, I was once again devastated when, within the next year, I lost Sally, too. She was 12. |  |
| (3) ROXY. On Labor Day 2007, I was outside and happened to notice a writhing little black lump in my condo parking lot, right in front of my car. I was shocked to see that it was a newly-born kitten, alive and still attached to its placental sac. Right before I rushed her to the vet, I took a photo of her. The vet cut the cord and informed me that the kitten was okay but had only about a 50/50 chance of survival without its mother. I was given a crash course on how to care for and raise a new kitten. I took her home with me and proceeded to bottle-feed and hand-raise her. It was a wonderful, rewarding experience, and as you can see, much to my relief, she is healthy and thriving. I took this photo of Roxy several months later, while she was looking at the photo of herself that I took the day she was born. She aggressively plays fetch like a dog, is my constant companion in my studio (the only one allowed in there with me), and is the smartest cat I've ever known. |
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| (4) FRANKIE. I got Frankie from the animal shelter in Kent, Washington, the day he had been neutered. He was very tiny and was still groggy and trying to wake up from sedation. I fell in love with him immediately and brought him home. Someone at the shelter had named him “Frankie,” and I loved it and kept the name. Frankie is a very sweet, shy guy who runs under the bed and stays there when anybody comes over. He's my "Frankie Noodle” and my “Little Mittens.” He loves Nicolai and Roxy dearly and, as their self-proclaimed caretaker, grooms them both regularly. |
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(5) NICOLAI. This is Nicolai lying on Sheila's old stool. Nicolai was a birthday present in 2008 from a very dear friend and is a purebred Norwegian Forest Cat. This stool had been Sheila's favorite “claw sharpening” spot, and she had shredded it almost completely by the time she died. I was never able to bring myself to dispose of her old, worn stool, and my other cats still love lying on it. I really love this photo. |
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 (6) I love this picture. A few months ago I just happened to notice Nicolai, Roxy and Frankie lined up in my windowsill. Luckily, my camera was sitting right there, and I was able to grab a quick photo just before Frankie jumped down. |
 (7) I had put beads on Nicolai and Roxy one day last summer before they decided to lie down and take a nap in the slatted sunlight on the rug. I thought they looked beautiful and took several pictures. |
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