“The Kitten Who Ate the Canary”

“The Kitten Who Ate the Canary”
JOMO of Doublecat Oddities
paper mache
5 X 6 X 4”
$250
“My connection to masks as protection comes directly from losing a very dear loved one who,
just prior to their death, thought he “needed” a Balinese mask he saw but he did not get it and
was stabbed in the heart and died the very next day. Superstition, hyper-vigilance ensued in my
world. Tragedy and loss, especially from violence, forms a person. I cannot change what
tragedies have occurred in my life but they are a part of my life. Masks are found in so many
cultures and are so powerful in story telling and in protection and connection-I feel they are
often a perfect vehicle for expression. And as for the story of the Three Little Kittens, it always
annoyed me as a child. Though my childhood was difficult, I grew up outside all the time and
with cats, among many other animals, as my playmates and the irreverent nature of kittens
seemed so dampened in that story we all knew. Here is the story of three other kittens, free to
live their true nature and offer these three little masks as symbols of protection and forewarning
and to tell their own stories.
They are made of paper mache. My love of nature draws me to use almost entirely recycled
materials. Using any new materials pains me. I want to keep my existence’s impact to a bare
minimum for my childhood best friends: nature, the plants, the animals of all kinds, which are my
favorite part of this world.”