Kickstarter Cat Poster Project Now Live!

Hello kitty folks, and friends of kitty folks. I've just launched a quick kickstarter project to raise money to make four 11"x17" posters with eighty cats from the Cat Scratchin' book. It will run for 13 days (oh no dear friends, no superstitions here!!) and $500.00 is my goal. I hope I reach it. These posters look great and I'm only going to make as many as the project sells. So limited editon, and only available at kickstarter. Got it? Thanks! Here's  #1

Follow this link to the project. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1547701634/cat-scratchin-limited-edition-posters-for-your-wal

Little Cats On The Scratchboard

I've been scratchin' like crazy on little 2"x2" scratchboards that I will either turn into pinbacks or fridge magnets, or both. These still need some color on them. I'm out of town and away from my inks and such, so scratchin' is all I'm doing for the next two weeks.
The Cat Scratchin' book is in the capable hands of Liz Lester, the designer. I've sent off some final edits and changes and as soon as I see those we will pull the trigger and send the files off to the printer. Everything is on schedule and that makes me happy.
There are over seventy cats and their stories--I have read and re-read each story a ga-gillion times to proof and they are just as engaging, sad, funny, and sweet as they were the first time. This is going to be a great book, and I'm proud of it. I'm also very grateful for all who participated in the project, in whatever way--y'all are appreciated!
The above pins/magnets will be available (or some like them) in my etsy shop and also at the various holiday shows I plan on selling at. Price will be somewhere around $8.00 each. Not a bad price for a little original I think.
Ok, even though I'm on vacation I need to get a little scratchin' in. Later cats!

Cat Book--Down To Details

Just in case you were wondering...the above is my living room workspace today. Stacks of paper, photos and such. This is the Cat Scratchin' book in progress. The stories have been printed, edited, and now I'm making corrections and formatting all in order to upload to the dropbox container. My book designer is on a river trip until the 11th so I have a few days to get all of this together. The artwork is done, the page order is decided, and so this is the last of it. I usually don't like such detail work, I'm more of a 'big-picture' kind of person. With the dog book I found a spot in myself that really, really enjoyed all of this nit-picky stuff. Go figure. I guess I've evolved with age. Everything is right on schedule for the book to be in my hands by October, and then in all y'all's hands soon after. I hope sooner, but no promises on that. I'm working on figuring out a few places to do sales/signings in Fayetteville and Austin.
The other thing going on is my 'experiment' to see if there is interest in posters of the artwork. Right now until July 22nd I have a kickstarter project to create a series of four posters of eighty dogs from the dog book. It's already funded, but I'm open to more folks/funding--check it out by clicking HERE. It's pretty basic, you chose a funding level, I send you posters. I hope to gather at least double of what my goal was. If it closes high, I will most certainly do a similar thing with the Cat Scratchin' artwork.

Cats & Dogs Scratchin'

I know this blog is all about the cats, but some of us are cat & dog folks so I thought I'd pass this info along to y'all. The above are two of the four limited edition posters of the Dog Scratchin' book dogs. I just launched on this project on kickstarter, so please take a look and share with friends and folks who might be interested. If it's successful I will do the same or something similar with the Cat Scratchin' book cats.
Click here to see the project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1547701634/dog-scratchin-limited-edition-posters-for-your-wal
Oh yeah, by the way, I am done scratchin' the 74 cats and am down to FIVE more stories to collect and edit.(herding cats and all) Then, everything gets formatted, the art gets scanned and cleaned up for print, the story page photos are tagged and it goes to the designer around the middle of next month. If things go well, we should be ahead of schedule. I'll keep y'all posted on that. Many of the smaller rewards were shipped this past week...ahead of schedule. I love that. Thanks for looking!

Kickstarter Rewards For Cat Scratchin' Project Are Here!

The above are the hand-colored postcards (Rocky) and greeting card (Maggie) rewards for the kickstarter project. So, if you funded at below $50.00 I will be contacting you for your mailing address soon. I'm pretty excited about these. Well, I'm excited about all of it.
Here's the other news, while sorting through archives of my dear friend and poet/editor, Miller Williams, I found a cat poem he had written, that he forgot about. It was written in the 1960's and it's perfect for the book. He has given me permission to use it, and that's made me very happy. I had been sweating a little about this, okay, maybe a lot. I didn't have a poem, and he thought he didn't have one, and so I was just going to forget about it. Or try and write one myself. Whew, problem solved, I can breathe now. The other problems, which are vexing me; there are still a few stories to round up. At least I have all of the photos I needed to draw from. Come on people, you know who you are. There is no prize for being the last one to get your cats story to me.

Cat Scratchin' Deadline and Such...

This is today's drawing table boards. The rest are stashed away in a plastic tub, already scanned into the laptop, and waiting to join their stories and owner's photos next month, when I turn everything over to the book designer. That being said, I am still wrangling a few cats/stories/photos. But with 74 total cats in the book, I'm only missing two to draw, and 8-9 stories to edit.  The photos that go on the story page are the least of my worries (but I am missing quite a few of these, so send them damn it).  I'm pretty happy today. I've done or am in the middle of doing the last of 72 drawings...since March. Not bad. I'm also about to launch a limited edition poster project on kickstarter using the artwork from the Dog Scratchin' book, and I'm pretty excited about that. If it is successful I will definitely do something like that with the Cat Scratchin' images.
My message to y'all today is; please get the stories to me, and any other photos or information I need. Today is the deadline, but of course I will stretch it...just a bit.
When July 10th rolls around if I have nothing or am lacking info from y'all it'll be too bad, so sad. Really, this is it. I can not hold up the book when so many have been so good at responding quickly. Bad kitty, bad!

I gotcher Cat Magnets Right Here!

Last night I made a bunch of these magnets with Tilly, one of the cats from Cat Scratchin'.  Love them!  Last year I out-sourced the manufacture of the magnets for the Dog Scratchin' book. They were ok, but these are better, heavier, and ta-dah~ hand-made. I actually love the process, I've been making different magnets from my artwork for several years and so I've gotten better/quicker at the assembling. The book is moving right along. Many of you have responded with your stories, and photos, or both. Having the stories and additional photos really helps me in the drawing process. In fact, there will be some new art pieces for some of these kitties because I now know more about them and that informs my interpretation onto scratchboard.
There are still a few that I'm waiting for. If I know cats and people I expect some of you may wait until the last moment before June 15th. That's ok. I understand. It doesn't thrill me, but I understand. This is going to be a really great book, I'm thankful for all y'all's participation. Those who read this blog who are not going to have their cat/s in the book? I do take on commissions and I think I'm very reasonable in price so give me a holler.

Calling Cats/Herding Cats

Well, I hate to do this, but I've been working my scratchin' fingers to the bone and there are still a few cats out there for me to draw so I'm going to start callin' y'all out. I also am lacking many stories for cats that I've drawn (thanks for sending the photos in a timely way).  The above page is a spoof (thanks to Catherine Bass for the idea last night) of what your spot in the book could potentially look like; no story, no owner photo, and a generic outlined cat. Is this what you want? You paid me money, and I aim to please all or most of you...so here's the deal, I will give you until June 15th to send the items I need from you. I hate to be harsh (because I'm not...) but to put it in simple terms, I will have to pull you and your cat from the book if I do not receive the items outstanding from you (and some of you owe me photo, cat name, story, uh, everything) by that date, period. And, sorry, no refunds.  I have drawn over 60 cats, and I'm so happy about that. Those who haven't sent this stuff, (you know who you are) and for one reason or another you keep putting it off, don't worry, I'm not mad, I'm just desperate because I must finish so the book can go to print.
Here are the cats and what I need from each: And please, if you've sent me these things already and I've missed it, or lost it in my email files, please tell me. I would love to be wrong about the following list.
Al-Story and Owner Photo 
Boo-Story and Owner Photo 
Finn-Story and Owner Photo
Fiona-Story and Owner Photo
Frank-Photo to draw from, Story, and Owner Photo 
Hunter-Story and Owner Photo
Itty-Story and Owner Photo 
Knievel-Story and Owner Photo
 Lana-Story and Owner Photo
Lilsagarde-Story and Owner Photo
 Miles-Story and Owner Photo 
Mr. Boots-Story and Owner Photo
 Sam-Story and Owner Photo
Sebastian-Story and Owner Photo
Smokey-Story and Owner Photo 
Sweet Pea-Story and Owner Photo 
Sydney-Story and Owner Photo
Varla-Photo, Story and Owner Photo
Zoe-Story and Owner Photo
+ Aaron who owes me everything including the cat's name.

Gettin' There...Almost!

Just posted a new update at kickstarter--for backers only this time. The above photo has the cat scratchboards so far. I've got three more on the drawing table in progress. Only have those three and about ten others to draw before doing all of the tedious edits, page arranging and then sending it off to the designer.  There have been numerous warnings about the weather today; severe thunderstorms, maybe tornado's and such. I've spent a lot of time today planning for the worst, and thinking of what is most important to me. Guess what that might be? I've scanned all of the above into the computer (and will probably send them off to dropbox for safe storage), I've got a handy dandy plastic tub waiting for all of the finished artwork, my big three ring notebook that has all of the information I've gotten from all y'all so far, and my laptop. So, just for laughs, you can picture me later today, tonight, or tomorrow, hiding out, sitting in the bathtub with Opal Mae the cat,a plastic tub full of art, paper and computer. And oh yeah, maybe a fresca, flashlight, and my smart phone. In case you think I'm being over dramatic, I'm listening to the radio and they're talking about a tornado on the ground in Oklahoma City...just a couple of hops, skips and a jump or two over the border from NW Arkansas. Hoping for the best. Whoo Hoo!

The End Is In Sight For Kickstarter Cat Scratchin Book Project

Here's what I have so far...plus there are 3 in progress on the drawing table. I've graduated to the second tier table. There are about 20+ more cats to draw and I am looking forward to each of them. I'm right on schedule, in fact, ahead of schedule for now. Still looking for a few cats who have not checked in with me...yet. I am hopeful that my pleading will prod those folks to get me the info. A gal can dream, eh?
These are all 5x7 Ampersand Scratchboard drawings. Working on 2-3 drawings at once has made me a scratchboard drawing machine...in a good way.
I'm happy, happy, happy. And oh yeah, since it's all over the place on the webs, Happy Mother's Day all y'all. I'll just say my relationship with my mother was "complicated" and so today is not so much a holiday for me, but a day of remembering how hard it was. Not really a "Hallmark" event for me. Oh well, I know I'm not the only one. And the "good old days are good because they're gone."

Busy Scratchin' Cats...

The above is my current favorite Cat Scratchin' that was just finished yesterday. This is Lex and she enjoys going to the beach, but only in the Winter, as she does not enjoy dogs or strangers. Just one of many of the curious, quirky cats that will be in the book with their stories. I'm loving this project!

What A Week

There is so much going on I've just been keeping my head down and scratchin' away at cats. Here are a few finished or almost finished pieces. (one of them is Socks Clinton, which I did just for fun, from photos on the internet. Sadly, not in the book.) I usually keep 3 going at once and I can say that things are right on schedule. There are a few cats whose info, stories or photos I have not received yet. Rest assured I will be emailing those folks this week and onward until I get what I need.
Without trying to make too much of it and my attachment to it, the events in Boston have really shaken me. I used to live in Central Square Cambridge, on Mass. Ave. I had a favorite 7-11 which was on the way to my work at the YWCA right around the corner. I'm guessing this might be the 7-11 the bombers were photographed in. I spent a lot of time in many of the neighborhoods that were directly affected by the bombing and bombers. Newbury St. is still one of my favorite Sunday strolls, and Copley Sq. my all time favorite downtown area. I never attended the marathon (too many people) But my time living in the Boston area remains a great memory and I try to get back to visit my beloved 'family' there as often as possible. I really hate that this happened to them, but I'm also proud of their response. It is one tough city, with amazingly resilient people. Things have changed because of this, and maybe we will all be a bit more suspicious and scared for a bit.  I believe though, we will just get stronger and will continue doing what we do so well. I know I will keep on making art and loving my life. Thanks for checking in, I hope all is good with all of you.

Cat Scratchin' Book Kickstarter Rewards!

Monday was my birthday! And also the day that the cats who will be the images on the rewards were chosen. At random. From a basket full of names. By the poet Miller Williams, with his wife Jordan looking on as 'judge'. I can't put this in the update at kickstarter because they have rules about raffles, contests and such associated with projects. I guess this picking of the cats might stretch those rules, and lord knows I hate breaking rules. But 'stretching' them? Not so much a problem for me. So, without too much more yakking, here's the cats--
For the image on the Postcard (which will be printed as a black and white line drawing that I will then, hand-color;  ROCKY G!  He's a large tabby boy out of Tennessee (born in Arkansas)

                                                           Rocky G

For the image on the Greeting Card; MAGGIE H!  She's a classic orange kitty with nice white markings.

                                                           Maggie H


For the image on the Fridge Magnet; TILLY B! She started out as Atilla because she was hostile with everyone. She grew into a sweet, loving cat and so she became a Tilly.

Tilly B

 

There you go. These may not be the specific photos I use to draw from, I just wanted to give you an idea what they look like. Now I've got to get to work on them so I can send them out for printing. I am glad and relieved that they are all so different. I must admit, I was worried for a minute that maybe they would all be Orange cats, or all Black cats, or fill in the blank, all the same color/type of cat.  But this worked out perfectly. And Miller and Jordan were lovely to help with the drawing of the names. If your cat was not picked, don't worry, they will still have a special place in the book, and in my head and heart. While working on the dog book I spent so much time with the photos and stories I felt like I knew all of them and their owners personally. I anticipate that happening with the cats as well. What a beautiful gift this is for me to be allowed to draw your beloved cats and tell their stories. Thank you!

If you are a backer and in the book and haven't gotten photos or stories to me, you still have time. I'll be drawing and doing edits for the next two months. Please, don't wait till the last moment though. I'll be pulling my hair out if you do. (and that's NOT pretty)

Fixin' to Draw Cats

The title says it all. I'm a fixin' ta draw cats...everyday. Also, I'm a fixin' ta do a lottery drawing of cats to choose which ones will be the images on the postcard, greeting card, and magnet. (kickstarter rewards y'all)
Tonight at midnight is the deadline to get a photo and cat name to me(only if you are a part of this project...and don't worry if you can't do it right now, I'll be gathering stories and photos for the next month or so--it just means your cat won't be in the lottery drawing tomorrow).
The list below is the cats who will be in the mix. At least for now. It's just about 12 noon here in NW Arkansas so there's time enough to get yours in.

Angel
Arya and Daenerys
Bear&Slinky
Charlie
Clipper
Daisy
Emma and Sophie
Fuzzy Warm
Glacier

Harvey
Henri
Hobbes
Iggy
Itty
Jack B
Kallie Jane
Lewis
Lex
Lyndon
Maggie
Mason
Mischief
Monkey
Mooie
Murranda Jane
Omar and Lucy
Pete
Sage
Sweet Pea
Sydney Van
Sylvie
TC&Red
Tex and June Bug
Tilly
Zazzles
Zerg and Ghost

Working Like A Cat

I know the above photo is not a cat but I just wanted to illustrate the page layout for those folks who will have their cat and story in the Cat Scratchin' book. This page is from the Dog Scratchin' book. Those of you who are not in the book, please be patient, I'll try and entertain you later in this post. This page shows the max number of words, which is around 360. We will do our best to fit your story and photo on the page, but there may be some cropping and edits. If you haven't gotten your story or photos or both to me, please for the love of cat, send them soon. If you are technology challenged, I do have a PO Box you can send them to. Leave a comment here and we'll figure it out, or go to my website and email me from there.Now, for some entertainment: Oh crap, I've got nothing. That was a tease to keep you reading. Oops, sorry. All I can say is, I am working, working, working to pull this book together. It will take about 6 more months, or so before the actual product will be here. I've heard the cliché, 'I've been working like a dog' and I have to say while I know what the intent of that is, I'm not sure I've seen that many dogs work (OK, I know the herding and hunting breeds 'work'). And even fewer cats work, right? Although I guess sleeping, eating, pooping and killing small things after playing with them for a while could be interpreted as 'work'. So I'm working like a cat in the sense that I'm doing everything I can to not break a sweat. I am, however, making art from your photos and gathering your stories daily.
You can follow me on Instagram at blueyemonkey. I've been posting photos of progress on cat drawin' there.  I also tweet at LCSheets, and I'm on facebook (which honestly has gotten so boring I don't post much there anymore, but you can friend me anyway) My Linda Sheets Art facebook page is mostly empty because I just don't see the point and so haven't kept up with it. Go to the other sites if you want to keep up with it, and of course, here where I try to stay current. If you know someone who has a cat and would like to be a part of the book, send them my way. I have room for just a few more cats. It will require an investment, you can look at the kickstarter project for an idea of how much.

Two Special Cats and Their People

I received photos and stories about these two cats today via email. The orange tabby is Zerg, the white, blue-eyed ragdoll is Ghost. I haven't started drawing them yet, I'm still knocked out by their stories, and even more touched by their owner's story. They live in a military family. Sarah and her boyfriend have both served around the world. He is currently in the Middle East and she is back home with PTSD. She had some injuries and surgeries which caused her to be discharged. The most serious injury to her was one that gets talked about now and then, but is brushed away just as quickly. I'm not going to go into it here, it is her story which will be shared in the book. Suffice to say, both of these kitties are very important to her recovery. They have their own compelling stories of their rescue from shelters or the street. I am always so moved by the experiences folks go through in their 'normal' course of living. It's an honor and a privilege to be invited to draw these cats, (well, all the cats from the kickstarter project) and to share the stories. More to come soon, stay tuned. In the meantime, love on those cats that you have, adopt more if you can, support your animal shelters, and thank you!

Looking for cats to draw...felines friends

I'm still gathering cats from the kickstarter project. I have about 15 to draw so far, out of the many who will be in the book. See the previous link for instructions if you are one of those folks who have not responded to my emails and kickstarter updates. I know I told you the end of March, but now I'm nervous that the rest will all arrive all at once on the last day.  If you have friends who didn't get in on the project while it was funding, just have them contact me and we can make arrangements to include them. I have just recently started to create the patterns and transfer them to the boards to begin drawing. I will include a shot of that next posting. Until then, love on those little purr boxes and enjoy your life!

Everything You Need To Know

I thought I'd add this today, for the backers who will be in the book. Mercury is Retrograde and so far it's been a doozy for me. I'm double-crossing my t's and double- dotting my i's. And still, it's hard to make sure communication doesn't get mucked up!
Cheers my sweet cat lovers!

Dear Backers of Cat Scratchin’—the following is what I need from you for the book;

*Several photos, the larger the better. They can be attached to an email, imbedded in an email, or even via smart phone. The most important thing is that it should be clear, focused and a LARGE file. I will work from the photos; if they are only around 2x3 inches when viewed at 100 percent I can’t use them. That being said, I’ve worked with some pretty blurry photos, so don’t get too anxious about this. Email me if you have questions.

*Description of the cat, physical and personality traits, such as eye color unusual markings, behavior, etc. name of cat.

*How the cat came to you (or you to the cat) Name of shelter (this is helpful because I put a directory in the back of the book and I try to share books and a percentage of sales with most of them)

*The story (some of which might be the above) Using around 325-340 words you can describe your life with the cat, what it means to you, how your life is better, (or ‘worse’ and I say that with tongue in cheek, having had a cat who coughed up hairballs on Persian rugs on a regular basis)

*On the story page there is room for a small photo of you, your cat or you and your cat, please send a copy of that with this email.

*Also, how would you like to be identified? First name? Full name? No name? In the dog book, most opted for full name, but it’s up to you.

I am working with two professional book designer/publishers so please don’t worry about making your story a masterpiece, we will edit.

Calling All Cats...People!

This is sweet Iggy--also known as "Spinky" or "Spinkus Minamus". He has been gone for a few years now and belonged to a good friend of mine. He may be in the Cat Scratchin' book. I'm still waiting to hear from his person about which cats she wants me to draw. I am noting today, just how different dog and cat folks are from each other. When doing the dog book I got funded quickly and the stories and photos came in rapid-fire without much prompting from me.  (kind of like a happy tail-wagging enthusiastic dog) The cat book, on the other hand, took longer to fully fund (although it funded well above said dog book) and now two weeks after funding ended and my doing mass emails, I've only gotten 4 responses so far. That's ok, I can work with that. Hint, hint, hint, the end of March will be here before you know it, so get those photos and stories to me soon!  Like cats, I'm realizing that folks don't always do what you want them to.(of course I knew this)  They will participate at their own pace, and I may have to poke, poke, poke them in order to get everything I need to make this happen. Reminds me of every cat I've had. They do what they want, when they want to, in spite of your desires to control them. Consider this, the sooner you get your cat photos and stories to me, the sooner I get this book together and into your hands.
As always, I will keep y'all posted.

Daily Cat Report

Today I spent many hours typing and sending emails to those backers of the kickstarter project whose cats I will draw for the book. Whew! I'm tired of staring at the screen, and my hands are a bit cramped. I'd really rather be staring at photos of cats and scratchin' away on a scratchboard drawing of said cats. Soon...soon. If doing a book projects has taught me anything (and it taught me a lot!) it's that sometimes it's slow, slow, oh.good.golly slow. And then right when I can hardly stand it anymore, it's up and at rocket speed! Needless to say, but I'll say it, I'm at the slow portion of the project right now. But, it could be worse. I'm sitting comfortably in a spacious living room at the house I'm caring for while friends are gone. I've been in this house many times, as I used to live right down the hill and I was a friend to the former owner, and now with the current owners. The big Texas sky is starting to darken with the gloaming time of day. The trees have become silhouettes and all is good and quiet here. It's been a perfect day in Linda-Land. The project funded at kickstarter and while I'm raring to go, I still know enough to keep an even pace. If you thought about getting in on it and didn't, there is still time to have your cat immortalized in the book. You can comment here, or just contact me at lcsheets@blue-eyedponystudio.com and I'll fill you in.