Farm Sanctuary needs your help!

** Double Your Gift
& a Member will Match your Donations until July 1st **

As most people know, one of my favorite animal sanctuaries is "Farm Sanctuary".
I have much love, respect, support and admiration for them - for their endless dedication in helping our precious and beautiful farm animals friends by rescuing them and providing them with a care-free, happy, loving and safe home!

I received the following info from Farm Sanctuary, and wanted to add it to my blog in hopes of bringing more attention to the help that they need!

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"Farm Sanctuary’s New York Shelter is in need of urgent repairs and infrastructure upgrades to ensure the safety of the animals who call it home. For several years, we have done everything possible to get by with minor repairs and maintenance—even as the number of rescued animals has continued to climb.

But we cannot go another season without significant repairs. To keep the animals safe we must address these maintenance issues and protect these sweet beings in need of our care. We have received estimates that it will cost upwards of $200,000 to complete these urgent projects. So, on behalf of the sanctuary residents, we ask for your help.

Thankfully, a dedicated, longtime Farm Sanctuary supporter has generously agreed to MATCH all contributions made by July 1 up to $25,000. That means you have a unique opportunity to make your gift go twice as far for the animals who call the sanctuary home! For every $1 you donate online, Farm Sanctuary receives $2.

For more info please visit our blog or click here:
http: / / action. farmsanctuary. org/ site/ MessageViewer? em_id=10761.0

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While my money is really tight right now due to the poor economy, I will be donating what I can to this cause. And for those of you who may be in a similar financial situation, yet still want to help, if you can't donate a lot of money (as cliche' as it sounds) I truly believe that every little bit counts! And with your donations being doubled by a Farm Sanctuary member, that will be even more helpful to the repairs and maintenance needed there, and in turn, to the animals that reside there too!!

For more info about Farm Sanctuary, go to:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/

I hope you can help me help Farm Sanctuary in any way you are able to!

And ...
look for my upcoming posts here regarding updates about my Etsy shop, precious little lambs, view some new fun fotos, and much more...

Til later...

Cheers from Catland,

- Jane

Video of the Week - She Sells Sanctuary

Lots of catching up to do here at my blog, with new updates about my Etsy shop and my art in general, but I'm tired tonight and have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow, so I thought I'd post my video pick of the week -
"She Sells Sanctuary" by The Cult
off their album, "Love".

I'm choosing this because I've been listening it to more frequently these days, and it's one of my favorite songs to hula-hoop to as well.
"the world turns around"...

I also have fond memories of this song from back in the 80's when this first came out. There were two clubs that I hung out at back then, "McGreevy's" and "Medusa's", that had teen nights which catered to punk rock and new wave kids. Both clubs played this song a lot, it was a big hit with the kids in the underground music scene at the time. And I remember my friends and I (and everyone else for that matter) hitting the dance floor whenever they played this song. So it still has that nice warm nostalgic feeling for me when I play it. This song just never gets old to me. I still have it on vinyl when it first came out, and now in 2009 I have it on my iPod too!

Enjoy.....

Til later...

Cheers from Catland,

- Jane

Cat Tats

Even to my own surprise - after all the years of being a huge cat lover (since I was a young girl) and all the years I've had tattoos (since I was 19 years old) it still surprises me that I don't have a tattoo of a cat!

I've always wanted one of course, but with all the beautiful cat designs out there, it's hard to know where to start and which design to pick.

Lately, I've been itching to get another tattoo - and obviously I want one of a cat. A cat tat is looooong over-due.

Some people get tattoos on a whim, but I think about mine for a long time before getting them. And I'm glad that I've always done it that way, since in retrospect, I can recall tattoos that I wanted in the past, that I'm really glad I don't have now.

Anyway, I've been looking for some designs of cats that appeal to me and wanted everyone's opinions on which one(s) you like, and which one(s) you think would look best on me. Keeping in mind though that the tattoos I already have are black and grey. Personally, I'm just not into colored tattoos, so keep in mind which one(s) do you feel would look best in black and grey.

I have narrowed my choices down to three cat designs, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and opinions - thanks everyone!!!

3.) If I were to get the Louis Wain design pictured above, I would not have the text in it - just the cat, vases with flowers, and mice.

NUMBER 3 WON :) I STILL HAVE TO GET IT THOUGH

Til later...

Cheers from Catland,

- Jane

Video of the Week - Pride (in the name of love)

This is my pick for the video of the week -"Pride (in the name of love)" by u2

I've always loved this song and it's also meant a lot to me since it's about one of my biggest heros, Martin Luther King Jr.

He has been a hero of mine since I was about 12 years old, and has remained one of my biggest heros to this day!

Plus I thought it fitting as my video for the week since this past monday (the 19th) was Martin Luther King Jr. day.

Til later...

Cheers from Catland!

- Jane

Delayed Update.....

I wanted to update my blog real quick to let all my friends know why I haven't been as active here, or the many other sites I frequent.

As some of you know, my dad was very sick for quite awhile and was in hospital - it was very serious, and also a scary and stressful time for my family, and for my dad too, obviously. But he's out of the hospital now, and is doing much better - thank goodness!

But then my precious 19 year old cat, Ms. Abbey, got very sick too and I had to take her to the ER. Since then, Abbey is also doing better, but still recovering - so I've been staying at home a lot, taking care of my sweet 'golden girl' ;)

And then my bi-polar computer started spazzing on out me - it didn't work half the time, and when it did - it would boot me off at random times - until it finally died. so annoying! So I've been without my computer for awhile now, adding to yet another reason why I haven't been on-line much (I'm currently writing this from a computer cafe) but I should get my computer fixed and back at home early next week. xx. So, thanks everyone for your understanding and patience regarding my current circumstances :)

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However, with all the stress over the past few months - not all was lost. I had a fuckin' fabulous, amazing, and crazy fun time at the ohGr show late last month!

In the future, I really want to make a separate post all about it, accompanied by the photos and videos I shot that night, cause it really was soooo amazinG - seriously. that show blew my freakin' mind!

But suffice to say for now, it was truly one of the best shows I've ever seen (which says a lot considering just how many shows I've seen in my life) and I was sooo happy that night that my face actually hurt from smiling so much. I also took tons of photos and videos before, during and after the show which I'm still hoping to post soon here and my Flickr page. But in the meantime, here's a photo that my friend Miche took of me with my Dlovely friend Ogre after the show.

<3>

Ogre + I - huGsville - 2008

Til later....
Cheers from Catland!

- Jane

Hello everyone! It's been quite awhile since I last wrote here in my blog. Mostly due to personal reasons and being so busy in many aspects of my life.

But now that things are starting to feel a little less overwhelming, I wanted to post my thoughts about animal rights relating to Thanksgiving....

 

 With Thanksgiving approaching, I find myself thinking about what I am thankful and grateful for. And I'm looking forward to a home cooked meal and being with my family and friends.

However, I can't help but also think of the millions of turkeys that will be tortured, abused and eventually slaughtered at the hands of cold hearted "humans". I think of it every year. And sadly, the slaughter of turkeys does not just happen at Thanksgiving, it happens everyday, all around the world. Suffice to say I am thankful that I am a vegan and do not support the horrific and inhumane treatment that turkeys go through to ultimately become part of the traditional feast for Thanksgiving.

I recently came across this undercover video which documents the harsh realities of what goes on to turkeys behind the closed doors of factory farms (the video is posted below) Farms are often depicted as places where animals roam free in the sunshine and live happy carefree lives. Well, this couldn't be further from the truth! The video below shows "The Truth". The truth of what these factory farms do not want you to know about and do not want you to see!

This video is from PETA, an animal rights organization which some people do not support. However, if you watch any other footage similar to this one, from any other animal rights organizations, sadly - you won't see anything different. The same type of abuse and slaughter happens at factory farms, regardless of what organization is documenting it.

I want to warn you that this footage is very hard to watch. It is highly disturbing and truly heartbreaking. But "The Truth" needs to be seen and heard. Without it, you'd never see the struggles these birds have no choice but to put up with - no matter how hard they struggle - the brutal and horrific treatment they have to endure everyday - and you'd never hear their screams of pain, confusion and fright these animals go through as they are slaughtered without watching the video.

While I am adamant regarding my beliefs and support of animal rights, I am not a vegan who tries to convert other people into vegetarians or vegans. I don't force my personal beliefs and life style choices onto other people, but I am very open to talking about it if other people want to talk about it and/or have questions about it. And I'm also very open about it here since this is my personal blog that I use to express my feelings, thoughts and more, about a variety of things in my life...which is in part of why I'm writing about this here.

I do realize and respect that everyone has their own life, have their own feelings about animal rights, and have their own personal choices regarding what they eat. I also realize that even some people who love animals, eat meat or dairy due to medical or religious reasons.

But, I hope that whatever your stance is about animal rights, that you will watch this video, take it into consideration and give thought about what you see in this footage. Because I think it's safe to assume that whether you're vegan or not, most of us would agree that NO animals should be treated like this - ever!

I want to wish everyone a blessed and very Happy upcoming Thanksgiving!

And to my friends who are fellow vegans or vegetarians, keep up the fight for the love of our precious animal friends!

Til later...

Cheers from Catland!

- Jane

Video of the Week - Testure

My video for the week is a concert clip and music video for the song "Testure" by Skinny Puppy.

It's a very poignant and amazing anti-vivisection song - the lyrics are intense, raw and moving. And I personally find this song inspiring to me since I'm very against vivisection and all other forms of animal abuse.

This song had a strong impact on my life, prior to becoming a vegetarian (and now a vegan) when I saw this song performed live in 1989, it opened by eyes to the harsh realities of the abuse animals endure by the hands of "humans". During the performance of the song, Skinny Puppy used backing footage of various clips of animal abuse. I was shocked - it was very hard to watch, yet I couldn't turn away from it - cause I felt by watching the abuse that happens behind closed doors - in turn, a door opened in my heart for these animals, and it changed something deep down inside of me.

After that show, I became a strict vegetarian, immersed myself in education about animal rights, joined a local animal rights group and became very pro-active for the cause. And I never looked back, it changed my life to this very day, and I continue doing whatever I can to help end the inhumane and horrifying abuse our animals friends go through everyday!

Below the videos of "Testure", I included the lyrics to the song - very powerful, raw and moving, and I highly suggest to read them. I also added a photo that have the lyrics on it, and a picture of cEvin key and Nivek Ogre of Skinny Puppy!

"Testure" music video by Skinny Puppy




"Testure" concert footage - great quality!

*** Testure Lyrics ***

in nervous convulsion
crouches infant ape, trembling in mothers shit

cage eyes tear less, filled with contempt
clinic mask experiment with life and death

smell lingering noxious, mixed scent anxiety

omnipotent doctor grinds the cage door revealing

loves primal instinct taken away

the tiny face terrified

rant and rave, smash your head against the cage

vacuum clicks on high

conscious of the pain, pass off as humane

white coat seems so clean

most dirt bleached out of greed

force the point of habit, eyes burn in a rabbit

push the pain test button

spines cut!

trip mucous inflection, more die. pills each day

what goes around, comes back stronger

tap into the brain, break the skull again

smash price research rat, lab rent paid in flesh

more ill drug store sales sharpen the knife

emphasis on money, new disease everyday

end is seen and coming, research turns it's back to gain

crush the spine, genocide kitten drags its dead limb

continuing all suffering, it will come back and win

shock paralyse, turn trauma burns

out the will to live the lying

message 5 year genocide

1945 suicide vivisect VI

Skinny Puppy makes me smile :)
even while drenched in mud and fake blood

Til later...

Cheers from Catland!

- Jane

Viva La Vegan and other updates...

It's been awhile since I've posted here at my blog. My computer monitor was dying a slow death. It would take me about 3 to 4 hours just to get on-line...if I was lucky - really annoying! But fortunately I got a new monitor, and all is working as it should. Now I'm busy trying to catch up on all my e-mails, convos, and my work that I do on-line.

So I've been behind in my updates and posts that I had mentioned here before. But still keep an eye out for my new "Cool Cat Customer of the Month" feature. The first feature will be about Katie (aka "Mishkat" at Etsy) and her beautiful cats that have lots of purrrrsonality and are also very cute photogenic kitties!

I've also been in the middle of working on some new items for my Etsy shop - some I have already posted, so be sure to check out the new catnip toys I have available now for your feline friends at:

http://www.janediamond.etsy.com

And I have more new items coming also coming to my shop soon - such a magnets, sachets, and Halloween themed items. Halloween has always been my favorite holiday and time of the year, so I feel very inspired by the upcoming autumn spooky season!

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In the meantime, I lucked out by getting a treasury at Etsy that I did for the Vegan Etsy team. Below is a direct link of the treasury I did, which I named "Viva La Vegan"!
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=4243

If the link doesn't work, below is a screen-shot of the treasury I did

I was really happy to get that treasury to help promote a team I'm so proud to be a member of, and pleased with how the actual treasury turned out - I liked all the variety of items I chose and the color scheme too, I thought it looked pretty :)

Til later...

Cheers from Catland!

- Jane

Video of the Week - Viva la Revolution

"Viva la Revolution" by the Adicts is my pick for the video of the week cause I've been playing this song *a lot* lately.

The Adicts

And I'm sure it's been done, but if I was in a band, I'd love to do a cover of this song.

VIVA!!!

Til later...

Cheers from Catland,

- Jane

Artist Feature on Heidi Shaulis

Recently in my Flickr group, "Etsy Cat Crafts and Art", I held a contest called "Spring Time Cats". Members submitted photos of various cat arts and crafts with a spring time look and feel. There were many cute and creative entries! The prize for the winner was a feature of their winning photo and a direct link to their Etsy shop here in my blog.

And the winner of the "Spring Time Cats" contest was Heidi Shaulis. Many congrats to Heidi! Below is the photo she entered for the contest

"Follow the Leader" by Heidi Shaulis

In addition to featuring the photo of Heidi's winning creation and a link to her Etsy shop - I interviewed Heidi, asking her about her arts and crafts, her life, her pets, and what inspires her artistically. Heidi is a lovely and very talented artist. Please read below about this very interesting, fun and informative interview I did with Heidi to get to know more about her, and her artwork, her pets, and her very own new "Catland"......

"Puss 'n Boots"

Jane: How long have you been an artist, and who and/or what inspires you?

Heidi: I have been painting since I was 22...that was 22 years ago. Wow, I just realized that is half my life! When I started painting I was an archaeologist and art was my hobby. Gradually it became my focus and I went full-time 9 years ago. From the very beginning I painted my cats, as they are one of the loves of my life and I think they are beautiful. Among my favorite artists from the past are Franz Marc, Alice Neel and Marc Chagall, but I am head over heels for the Catland art, especially Louis Wain.

"How to Train your Human"

Jane: What mediums do you use, and are there any particular colors you like to work with the most for your paintings?

Heidi: I almost always use Winsor & Newton alkyd oils because I like the glazing qualities of oils, but like that they dry quickly. I am looking into walnut oil paints though, as they are "green" and free of toxic solvents. I hope to eventually move to those but am not sure if I'll have the patience for them to dry. My palette is ultramarine blue, pthalo blue, titanium white, cadmium red, cadmium yellow, raw sienna, alizaran crimson, lamp black, ivory black, sap green and geranium pink.

Jane: And what are your favorite subjects to paint?

Heidi: Cats, of course! I like to do them in both realistic poses and also in an anthropomorphic fashion; I call these New Catland. My big soft tuxedo cat Charlie is my favorite subject in both styles. I also paint other animals from time to time; usually animals that I see around us here in VT.

Charlie - one of Heidi's cats and artistic inspirations

Jane: I know you enjoy painting cats, and as a fellow cat artist and cat lover myself, I'm interested in learning more about your cat art. How long have you been painting cats?

Heidi: Since I started painting at 22...I painted my best cat Oliver (he passed away 6 years ago at the age of 19) over and over. My paintings weren't too great then, but I loved painting and you have to start somewhere!

"Chagall on Chagall"

Jane: How would you describe your own cat art?

Heidi: I am self-taught, so I call my paintings folk art. This lets me not worry about rules and just do whatever I feel like doing! Some of my cat paintings are whimsical, and with some I like to convey a feeling of peace and contentment; cats seem to master these things that we humans have such a hard time with.

"Paws"

Jane: Which cats inspire your cat art? And do you have any favorite cat artists that you like and/or inspire your own cat artwork?

Heidi: Right now my favorite subject is my chubby tuxedo cat Charlie, but I'm also working on a series with my 3 boys, Charlie, Harry and Will having adventures together (as in the Rescue...my next will be The Treasure). I also do quite a few commissions of other people's cats. My favorite of all time is Louis Wain, but I also admire the paintings of Henriette Ronner-Knip and also vintage postcards with the fun cat scenes from Catland.

"Thrifty Charlie"

(I own a print of this - it's soooo cute, colorful and charming! - Jane)

Jane: And do you have a particular favorite cat painting of you own creation that is your personal favorite?

Heidi: I think The Rescue is my best cat painting so far.

"The Rescue"

Jane: How many pets do you have? If you like, please share their names, ages, and also any interesting stories about them

Heidi: Currently I have 6 cats and my best friend, my Norwegian elkhound/chow mix dog Bea. My cats are Hattie (age 18), Matilda (15), Thistle (8), Charlie(7), Harry (3) and Willy (2; he's the baby). They all either just showed up at the door (Hattie), were "free kittens" (Matilda, Harry and Willy) or were from an animal shelter (Thistle and Charlie). I'm not a pure-bred kind of girl. Bea was a rescue too; she was raised by the cats so she has a lot of respect for them!

Some of Heidi's cats - from left to right - Willy, Charlie and Harry

Jane: Aside from your art, what other interests do you have, what hobbies do you enjoy, and what do you like to do in your spare time?

Heidi: Since we live off of our artwork, it is our life and takes up most of our time, but we also have 2 sons (10 and 14) who need us quite a bit. I also like to work with Isaac gardening. I am also a thrift store addict and can't pass up vintage housewares and linens from the 1920's through the 1960's, cashmere sweaters and anything else that I find charming. Our house had been lived in by the same family since 1945, so it has been difficult to make it feel like our place, but slowly I've been incorporating bright colors, vintage finds and artwork to make the place ours. Hopefully we'll be here as long as the last family.

Our big project this summer is building my painting studio. I currently work in a tiny room in our tiny vintage farmhouse, so it's going to be such a pleasure to have a real workspace. We are trying to build it as "green" as possible; the stones for the foundation and the logs for the timber frame were pulled from the woods by our draft pony Noki a few years ago (sadly he passed away last year from Cushing's disease). We're also going to be using recycled materials and local wood for the construction, and placing windows to maximize passive solar heat. It doesn't look like much yet in the photo, but it should be mostly complete by the end of summer! You can see though, that the setting is peaceful and pastoral.

Heidi's Studio Timber Frame

Jane: Where can we find your Etsy shop?

Heidi: My husband Isaac (he's a woodworker) and I share our Etsy shop; it is http://westcorinthstudio.etsy.com/

Jane: Last but not least, aside from Etsy, do you have any other sites you belong to that also showcases your arts and crafts?

Heidi: We also share a website: http://www.westcorinthstudio.com/

My old website shows a lot of my paintings from 2003 to 2007 (I was selling mostly on ebay during this period); that web address is http://www.heidishaulis.com/

My seller name on ebay is heidi_shaulis, (I have over 1300 feedback there!) but I'm selling very little there now, ever since I discovered Etsy! I love Etsy and felt at home the minute we signed up.

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Thank you very much to Heidi for this wonderful interview and insight to your art, life, pets, and more! It has been great getting to know you better, and I appreciate you taking the time to answer all my questions for this interview. And again, congrats on winning the "Spring Time Cats" contest! :)

Til later...

Cheers from Catland,

- Jane