Dear Liza,
I’ve told you that Portland is a city where dogs are very popular, but I still prefer cats. Our cat, Mouse (Miss Mousie Mouskin of the Mouseville Mousekins), is my favorite, of course.
She has the balance of a desire for adventure and a love of relaxation that I find copacetic.
But I’m not the only one here who loves cats. There are cats all over the neighborhood, happy, brave, silly and even weird.
There are cats in art here, as well. The McMenamin brothers’ chain of bars and hotels have a a picture of its “distillery cat”, along with Ruby the brewer witch and Hammerhead guy, who is painted in every one of their establishments.
While we were visiting Edgefield, which is a McMenamin’s location east of Portland, we saw this disgruntled cat on the back window of a car.
Sunnyside Environmental School, in our neighborhood, has one painted on its doors, I guess to keep the free roaming chickens company.
Auntie Bridget puts cats into her art all the time. My birthday card this year, which went all the way down to Salinas, featured her and Grandpa Nelson, as cats!
That’s all I’ve got to say about cats in art, for now. But rest assured, there will be more…later.
Love,
Grandma Judy
