Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Vintage Photo: Sophie Keeps an Eye on Things

"Sophie Keeps an Eye on Things", from back when I first took the photo!
“Sophie Keeps an Eye on Things”, from back when I first took the photo!

The forget-me-nots are beginning to bloom as they grow taller more quickly, an inch or two each day, in the pots in the windowbox under my dining room window. Each year when I transplant them from the yard and put the pots in place I remember Sophie and this particular beautiful moment in 2005—May 4, 2005 to be exact, though I had actually thought it was May 9. It was Sophie’s year to pose in forget-me-nots and I have so many from the first two weeks of May, but of all of them, this is my favorite.

And it’s not just a favorite of that series of Sophie in the forget-me-nots, but of all my photos to date, and a treasured memory.

Sophie always watched me leave the house, and in the evenings I closed my curtains before I left. She also like to play around with the curtain—often I had to inspect the lace to see her white fur through the mesh, or she dramatically appeared from between the panels, around the edge or underneath, but she was always there with her big round eyes.

On this day, in the late afternoon, the warm spring sun angled into the window imparting a creamy tone to the lace, and the forget-me-nots I’d planted in pots in the windowbox were in full flower. Before I left I closed the curtains because I’d be gone after dark, and Sophie began her little game while I was still indoors, so I stopped and captured a few images of her silhouetted and peering through the curtain at me.


Sophie peeking around the curtain #1
Sophie peeking around the curtain #1
Sophie peeking around the curtain #2
Sophie peeking around the curtain #2
Sophie peeking around the curtain #3
Sophie peeking around the curtain #3

I posted the center of these photos with a little more of the story in March entitled Sophie and Lace.

Then I finally went out the door and, as I always did, stopped to look back at both my front windows and the door to see which kitties were bidding me goodbye. I don’t remember who was at the other window or the door, but Sophie managed to find an open spot to peer through at me through the lace in several different ways. I had my bike and my hands full of things, and only my little 2MP digital with no zoom, and wished I had my Pentax film camera at least, knowing the shot would be difficult with the tiny digital. I considered stepping back in to get the film camera, but knew she’d move and I’d never see this particular shot again. So I put everything down, kicked out the kickstand on my bike, pulled the digital out of its little wallet, pointed and clicked, several times, and hoped for the best.


The first try—really cute!
The first try—really cute!
The second try, a little too far away...
The second try, a little too far away…
A few steps closer, there it is.
A few steps closer, there it is.

So in photographing your cats, let that be a lesson to you! Do your best with what you have, and don’t hesitate, just take the photo. If you don’t capture the shot you wanted you may get something else entirely, and you may come up with something fantastic.

. . . . . . .

Where to find “Sophie Keeps an Eye on Things”

cat and flowers
“Sophie Keeps an Eye on Things” as a wood-mounted photo.

I have offered this design as a greeting card for years, and I’ve just made it into several handmade and other goods.

Wood-mounted image

This 5″ x 7″ block, originally intended for painting, is a 1/8″ birch wood panel “cradled” with a 1″ canvas stretcher added to the back for strength and stability and, incidentally, ease of hanging. I’ve painted the sides cobalt blue and mounted the print edge to edge on the top surface, then covered it with acrylic finish. It’s ready to hang—the wood bars “cradling” the back are a natural hanger to use with a picture hanger, nail, screw or bar—and it can also sit on an easel or on a shelf.

Right now I only offer these wood-mounted photos in 5″ x 7″, but I’m also trying this one out on 8″ x 10″ panels. You can find this wood-mounted photo in my Etsy shop.

~ The following products will be ready by the end of May. ~

Keepsake Boxes

This photo is a natural for a keepsake box! I’ve used the same cobalt blue on the sides with the photo covering the lid, ad I liked the image so much I experimented with rectangular, square and round boxes, ranging in price from $10 to $20. I’ll be posting these very soon on Etsy—I have most of them finished, but haven’t had a chance to photograph the finished boxes yet, but bookmark this post and check back for when I add the link, or send me an e-mail with your interest. Click here to read more about the keepsake boxes I make.

Garden Flag

Read all about this garden flag in today’s Marketplace post.

Notebooks

I’ve pictured this for years as the cover of a little 5″ x 7″ spiral-bound notebook with blue paper, but hesitated because of cost. I finally decided to go ahead with them and a few other designs, each with unlined colored paper and black or white spiral binding, though not all will be 5″ x 7″—some will be tall and narrow and some will be square! I really had a ball designing these, but because “Sophie Keeps an Eye on Things” was the inspiration, she will be first. Notebooks will cost $10.00 each. As I’ve mentioned above, bookmark this post and check back for when I add the link, or send me an e-mail with your interest.


Browse some rescued cats and kittens!

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All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


Inspired by felines you know! Visit Portraits of Animals on Etsy.

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© 2015 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

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