Friday, March 29, 2024
catschristmasDaily Feature

All Things Christmas

“An Old Memory” Christmas Card

Stories, Art and Photos, and Articles

Normally I’d spread these out over the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but since we were otherwise occupied in the house this year I thought I’d collect the links all in one post to give you some reading materials for your holiday, and afterward. All the work I spent time on in the past months will help me to write and create even more, and I’m looking forward to the new year with many ideas. Thank you again for following us and reading when we have the chance to post. We hope you have the best holiday possible in these times, and as I listen to the rain-turned-sleet on my windows I hope you and yours are safe and warm and loved, including all the kitties, inside and out.

Stories

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The Unintended Gift: My first cat, and how cats became my muse

Yes, I really did get a kitten in a box under the Christmas tree when I was a child. The story is not glowingly happy and, in fact, comes with a tissue alert, but led me to the cat who eventually became my “first” kitty, and the rest is history. Because the story kind of begins on Christmas morning 1970 it’s my pleasure to share it just before Christmas, the day it all came together for me, my love of cats, learning to care for them and finding in their grace and beauty the muse that would lead me to painting, writing, photography and my life as an artist.

Bootsie on a ceramic tile from tenth-grade ceramics.
Bootsie on a ceramic tile from tenth-grade ceramics.

A Christmas Eve Rescue

Though dramatized, the basis of this story is true, and it involves cats and people I’ve written about on The Creative Cat.

marker sketch of two black cats at the window
Two black cats at the window.

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Art and Photos

Featured Artwork: Sophie Gets a Look at Herself

Sophie was a little goofy, and spent a good bit of time in obvious contemplation of an object that might be in front of her, or of nothing at all, that I could see, at least. She did at one time look at herself in a glass ornament on the tree…waaaayyy back when I had a tree, once, in this house.

"Sophie Gets a Look at Herself" original sketch.
“Sophie Gets a Look at Herself” original sketch.

Meowy Cat’s Mess

I designed this linoleum block print for my holiday card in 1996. Back in the day, if you were a graphic designer using clip art, the “wood cut” look was really popular, and it also helped to really revive my need to create block prints.


Daily Sketch and Art: Window Kitty, Snowy Night

I designed this linoleum block print for my holiday card in 2001. The design is based on the actual scene that met me many snowy nights when I came home from my day job and seeing one of my kitties in silhouette, Sally for many years, then Sophie, sitting on the windowsill at the big casement window facing north, the light falling across the snow on the ground below.

Window Kitty, Snowy Night

“Peace” on “Earth”

For my holiday card in 1997, I was puzzling out yet another way to say “Peace on Earth”. I saw an illustration that had each hemisphere of a globe on either side of a Christmas tree ornament, and thought the idea of using the globe was clever. Creating portraits of spotted dogs and spotted cats at the time, something in my brain put it all together for me. While I regularly create linoleum block prints, I decided to draw this one out instead of cutting it!

holiday card
“Peace” on “Earth”

A Photo Anniversary, and How They Became a Favorite Design

December is an anniversary—December 5 to be exact! This is how those housepanthers inspire me—ten years ago (2007) I took photos of five-month-old Giuseppe, Mewsette, Mr. Sunshine and Jelly Bean watching birds at the feeder, and this was one of the photos that helped make them permanent members of my household, and it became a design I love and led to yet another. What more could I ask of a bunch of kittens?

"Star of Kittens", and how it came to be.
“Star of Kittens”, and how it came to be.
"Star of Wonder"
“Star of Wonder”

Cookie’s Holiday Cheer, and the Photo Shoot That She Directed

It all started when I set the silver sparkle ball on Cookie’s head, and she gave me the tortie look, but stayed put. Cookie isn’t really wild about modeling for her mom’s stupid pictures. But you don’t see her running away. Too bad for Cookie.

Cookie’s full of holiday cheer.

Vintage Photo: An Old Memory, Perfect in Its Imperfections, 1983

I took the photo in 1983, just a few months after I got my first camera and I was only shooting black and white so I could learn how to use the camera. Some cat’s paw had taken down one of my cut paper snowflakes as he sat to look out the window. That profile. What a memory. Another in that “girl and cat meet camera” era.

“An Old Memory” Christmas Card

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Articles

Adopting Pets as Gifts: An Animal’s Love is the Gift

This year, you’ve decided it’s time your child had a pet. Or perhaps you and your friend, spouse, partner or other family member have been discussing adopting a cat or a dog, bunny or bird. A holiday celebration seems like the most exciting time to present the new kitten under the Christmas tree, the best gift of all, a memory to last a lifetime.

black cat with red bow
“I’m happy to see another Christmas!”

Fire and Ice-icles, Holiday Cautions for Pets

Thanskgiving, Easter and Passover have the same advice for foods and house guests and doors opening to the night as well as plants and flowers, but the December holidays—Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Yule, Solstice—all have decorations and traditions that we want to preserve but which can be very dangerous to our pets.


Thanksgiving Goodies, and baddies

Holiday foods from Thanksgiving and all around the year.

black cat with plate
Bella will eat ANYTHING!

Leave the Lilies Outside: Toxic Plants and Cut Flowers

My cats will eat anything green I bring into the house, whether it’s cut flowers or a house plant. Most cats aren’t terribly particular about what greens they’ll nibble on; generally they’ll try anything green and fresh, and some cats will completely chew down a plant that can’t have tasted very good and wasn’t very easy to chew. They don’t stop with leaves, either, but will eat the petals off of a flower, the stems, it’s all a potential snack.

“Sunday Best”, my neighbor’s Easter lilies.


Copyright

All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals 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.


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© 2022 | 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.

4 thoughts on “All Things Christmas

  • WOW, so many goodies, I love the Star of Wonder and Sophie too! Merry Christmas from all of us at Brian’s Home!

    Reply
    • Thanks so much! It’s been a few years since I’ve taken the time to create some new Christmas art, but it’s on my schedule for the near future. Merry Christmas to all of you from all of us!

      Reply
  • 15andmeowing

    I love all your Christmas art. I hope you have a nice Christmas despite COVID restrictions.

    Reply
    • Thank you! I get to slow down a little and get outdoors, that’s my holiday, and COVID agrees with that, so, yes! We hope you had a wonderful holiday too!

      Reply

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