Art Times

Greetings all. Do you have that friend you really like and enjoy hanging out with, but sometimes she wants to do something you really don't want to do? Yea, I'm going to tell you about a couple of those times.

Now my human is great. At least most of the time. But our interests aren't a complete match. For example, she likes art. Really likes it. Me? I don't quite get it. It doesn't move, so it isn't fun to chase. I can't climb it like a tree, or hide in it like tall grass. Insects don't live in it, so I can't flush them out. Birds don't hang out in it. And it doesn't taste good, so I can't eat it. Not like salmon, now that's something I DO like. So to summarize, art does nothing for me. So why would she think I would want to participate in it? Why?

Well on two different occasions she forced me to do just that. Not just look at art, but create it. This is worse than having to sit outside a dressing room while your companion tries on dresses. Far worse!

First she took me to The Pottery Company in Coos Bay, Oregon.

Here you paint pottery, and then they fire it for you.

What need do I have for pottery? Unless it's a food dish, nothing. Now she has taken me to a few places I wasn't particularly interested in, but nothing bad happened. So I was pretty relaxed going in. I figured I would just lay low, wait patiently, and we would leave soon.
I did not know what awaited me. Did. Not. Know. 

She selected a small plate and some paint,

did a little abstract stuff,

then the unthinkable happened! She picked me up, grabbed one of my paws, dipped it in paint and made me step on the plate.

And if that wasn't bad enough, she then proceeded to wipe my paw off for me. I mean really. Does she think I'm some tiny kitten who can't bath himself?? And she used some sort of wipe that, ugg, smelled good. That was like a 10 year old boy whose mother spits on her hand to wipe his face. AND IN PUBLIC!!!  It was humiliating. Really. As soon as she let me go, I hid under a chair.

Luckily, she did not make me endure this a second time. At least not on that day. But my nightmare did return. It did return.

A few weeks later, she blindsided me again. This time she took me to Maxtivity Arts and Crafts Creative Space in Corvallis, Oregon.

Now this is a place humans of all ages can go to create all kinds of art. Painting, fabric art, just about anything. I'm sure humans really enjoy this. But cats? Not so much. This time she picked out a canvas and painted on it.

She tried to use salmon to bribe me and get me to walk across the canvas on my own. But I have dignity. That and the smell of the paint ruined the smell of the salmon. Do you know how hard it is to ruin the smell of salmon? Really? 

Needless to say, she proceeded to pick me up, dip my paw in paint, then press it down on the canvas.

After which she wiped my paw off with a wipe.    Again! I went and hid under a chair.          Again.

My human and the owner of the place hit it off and spent some time talking. During that time, I was able to calm down. After about 15 minutes, my human gave me the salmon. I was able to enjoy it this time, so this art trip, at least, had one perk.

After eating my salmon, I felt good enough to explore this place. It had a lot of cool spaces. Check it out. There were couches to lounge on,

a sewing area,

a painting area,

you could bead, paint pottery, all kinds of art. There was also some unique pieces of art around the place.

A great place for a human. And if my human had just let me lounge on a couch, it would have been OK by me. BUT NOOO. 

She had to go and manipulate me! So humiliating. So humiliating. 

Now that it is over and in the past, I can look at the finished products and appreciate them.

I'm a pretty good artist! Of course, that shouldn't surprise you. I am a very talented cat. But I must remain humble, so I have no intentions of doing ANY more art. We'll just see if my human cooperates. 

Till next time my friends. It's OK to be creative, but do something you love. And never stop wandering.