five cats at the door
five cats at the door
so i started making them. not on purpose. i’d be in the studio with a block of clay and all those eyes on me, and at some point my hands just started carving something dark and pointy-eared out of a solid lump. no sketch, no plan. just the feeling of being watched by something that never looks away. the ceramic cats aren't portraits of my own, but they carry a little of that same quiet presence. they're small sculptural forms, shaped slowly by hand in the studio. no two are the same. and that's part of what i love about making them. one develops a longer neck, another a slightly crooked stance, another looks as though it knows something you don't. i don't try to correct those things. they're usually the best bits.
a familiar presence
there's something about cats. the way they watch, the way they move, the way they occupy a room as though it belongs entirely to them. they don't care about the plan, the deadline or the to-do list. they just are.
and somehow, that energy always finds its way into the work.
perhaps that's why i keep making them. they remind me to slow down, to notice, and to leave room for something unexpected. there's a strange comfort in having these little sentries around, whether they're made of fur or clay.
a neck like a question mark
it's halloween this week, which means the internet is about to turn into one big pumpkin. meanwhile i'm over here with a tall, dark cat that came out of a block of clay with a neck like a question mark. i didn't plan the neck. that's kurinuki. you start with one solid block and dig your way in until something looks back at you. mine came out with pointy ears and a long, long neck and an opinion. in the raw clay version, the bottom half stays raw. dark, matte, still clay. the top goes glossy, like it's just come in out of the rain. so it looks like it's rising out of the ground. or being pulled up by something.
the ceramic cats
each one is made to order, so please allow 15–20 days. matte black, or raw clay with a glazed top. 10% of every sale goes to KLAWS animal rescue. if these cats speak to you, if you need a totem guardian of your own, you can order one here.
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