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

World Farm Animals Day & other random updates

 

October 2nd is
WORLD FARM ANIMALS DAY
 

A time dedicated to exposing, mourning, and memorializing the needless suffering and slaughter of the more than 55 billion cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and other sentient land animals in the world's factory farms and slaughterhouses. It is a time for all to speak out against the atrocities and brutalization of animals raised for meat, eggs, and dairy.
The annual occasion is observed with activities in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries. The date marks the birthday of ethical vegetarian Mahatma Gandhi.

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So with "World Farm Animals Day" coming up soon, me and many of the other talented, creative and compassionate members of the "Vegan Etsy" team will be supporting this day through our own Etsy shops!

Since I'm a huge animal lover, vegan and long-time supporter of animal rights, especially with a soft spot for farm animals (I love goats and llamas the most :) I really wanted to help out. So I will be having a special promotion at my Etsy shop.

"Cash" - a cute little lamb at Farm Sanctuary
Between October 1st and October 7th, I will be donating 20% from sales from all of my items (save for the commissioned items that I did exclusively for "Harmony House Cat Shelter") to Farm Sanctuary, my favorite farm animal organization. You can learn more about them at:
www.farmsancturay.org

I've been so busy working on new items for my shop lately, especially with Halloween coming up, but I'm going to try to squeeze in some other items that will feature the animals that are saved by, and are now living in happiness and freedom, at Farm Sanctuary. And from the items I make featuring the Farm Sanctuary animals, I will be donating 40% of those proceeds to Farm Sanctuary as well.

"Missy Elliott" - a very happy and hip (hop;) looking goat at Farm Sanctuary

So I will continue to be very busy with work, but it is well worth it to help the animals in need through the process!I hope you will stop by my shop, "Jane Diamond Designs", to help the farm animals of the world in need, and also to shop for cool cat handmade items that I created for you and your feline friends at:
www.janediamond.etsy.com

And to learn more about and/or join the "Vegan Etsy" team, founded by my sweet friend Molly, please go to:
http://www.veganetsy.etsy.com

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Also, I've been putting the finishing touches on my first "Cool Cat Customer of the Month" feature, and it will be posted within the first week of October. So for that month, the feature will be about my good friend Katie (aka "mishkat" at Etsy) and her cute kitties, so definitely keep an eye out for that! It's going to be a very fun and frisky feline feature :)

Well, gotta go back to work now to finish my items for my Etsy shop (I *finally* found my battery charger for my camera - YAY! - I had been looking for it for over 2 weeks now and was starting to think I had just lost it) so I'll be very busy not only finishing my new items, but also taking lots of pics to uploaded to my shop sooooon! So be sure to check out my shop at:
www.janediamond.etsy.com
in the next couple days to see all my new and cool items, thanks!

Til later...

Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

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

Etsy Shop & Abbey Updates

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been working on some Halloween themed items and other kitty crafts for my Etsy shop - but I lost the battery charger for my camera, and even if I find it or buy a new one, now my photo shop program isn't working! Grrr. So I can't crop, resize and adjust colors to the photos even when I do get my camera working, so it may take me longer to list all my new items. I hope to get that resolved soon, cause I'm so frustrated right now about that, and am anxious to list my new items soon!

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Before my camera died, I took come very cute pictures of my cat, Ms. Abbey, that I thought I'd share here. My cat Abbey is 18 years old (she will be 19 next month!) and is my 'mews' (muse ;) for most of my cat paintings. We've been together for a long time and I feel so blessed to have her in my life for so long. She is the sweetest cat ever, I know everyone says that about their cats, but she really is a fur angel. Abbey has even turned friends of mine who didn't like cats, into cat lovers who now have cats of their own. Abbey is so special and sweet, and I love her so very much!

Abbey sitting on my art desk

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Action shots - Abbey jumping from my art desk (right) to the couch

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

I made the front page of Etsy!

While taking time off of work, several of my close friends at Etsy...Cyn, Katie, and Michele, informed me that my "October" cat ACEO made it to the front page of Etsy! This was the first time an item of mine was featured on the front page, so I was really excited about it. Unfortunately since I was taking time off, I didn't get to actually see it when it was up, but my friends took some screen shots of it, so I was happy to finally see it for myself, and it made for a nice early birthday surprise too. Check it out below...

Vegan Etsy theme front page!

My "October" cat ACEO is in the bottom right hand corner

Close up of my "October" cat ACEO

The theme of the front page featured items from members of the "Vegan Etsy" team, which I'm a proud member of! And along with the front page, was an article in the Etsy Storque, where Vegan Etsy was chosen as a featured team! You can learn more about this amazing and compassionate team by reading the article here: http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/spotlight/article/featured-etsy-team-vegan-etsy/2264/

And special thanks to Molly of "Emma's K9 Kitchen" for starting the Vegan Etsy team and bringing all the vegan artists and crafters of Etsy together! :)

Til later...

Cheers from Catland,

- Jane

An overdue update

So, as some of you may know, I took a vacation from my Etsy shop for awhile. I've had a lot of things going on here. I typically don't like to talk too much about my personal life in my blog, so I'll just say that the past couple of months have been really hard and challenging, mostly in emotional and physical aspects.

But the good news is I have re-opened my Etsy shop, and will be listing some new items soon I had been working on during my time off. I was planning on listing them earlier this month, but then I started having lots of problem with my computer, and then I was out of power for awhile due to the crazy storms and tornado activity that happened just a couple days ago in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. So that's why I haven't been on-line as much these days.

The storms have now passed, and I'm hoping the same applies to the personal problems I've been having too.

In the meantime, look for some great kitty goodies coming soon to my Etsy shop, including more catnip toys for your feline friends and cat themed sachets for yourself!

Below are two samples of new items to come...

El Pajaro - Mexican Bingo Card - Handmade Catnip Toy

Savory Sushi - Handmade Catnip Toy

Also coming here soon will be a new feature in my blog called "Cool Cat Customer of the Month"! I wanted to feature the cats that own my handmade catnip toys from my shop. My friend Katie (aka 'Mishkat' at Etsy) will be the first to be featured, including stories and photos of her beautiful cats, along with the toys I made that they now enjoy playing with! Also in the feature will be information about Katie and the wonderful and hard work she does for Etsy For Animals!

If you would like your cat(s) to be featured in the future for the "Cool Cat Customer of the Month", contact me at Etsy at: http://www.janediamond.etsy.com Thanks!

Til later...

Cheers from Catland,

- Jane

My "Frankenstein" Foto Featured!

Earlier this year, I was approached by schmap.com (an on-line tour guide website) about my "Frankenstein" photo that I took at the Jewish section of Graceland Cemetery in Chicago. Schmap.com wanted to use my photo for their website, and I was flattered and happy that they asked and were interested in using my photo. I gave them permission to use it and it was published on their website!

"Frankenstein Grave" - photo © Jane Diamond

I've always loved this grave since I'm such a huge fan of the early black and white horror films of the 1920's and 30's, like "Frankenstein" (obviously) "Bride of Frankenstein", "Dracula" and other original horror films of those eras. Plus this particular graveyard is very interesting in itself. It's very old and very run down - but also quite historical, with some rather intriguing and spooky stories behind it too. Not to mention, one of my all time favorite groups, Skinny Puppy, did a photo-shoot in front of this exact grave back in the early 90's, which of course, makes it that much more cooler!

Skinny Puppy (from left to right) Cevin Key, Dwayne Goettel (RIP) and Nivek Ogre

... Anyway, today I received a message from one of the Schmap one-line editors, saying their guides have now been released for iPhone and iPod touch. And that my photo of the Frankenstein grave is on the iPhone version! Very cool news! :) You can check it out here if you like to see what it looks like on the phone: at: www.schmap.com/?m=iphone#uid=chicago&sid=sights_attractions&p=10850&i=10850_21

*** My photo can be found via that link on the upper left hand side of the phone ***

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And speaking of "spooky" related things - one of my closest friend and I are bummed out that the "Alien Sex Fiend" and "Specimen" show was cancelled. I don't really listen to much 'goth' and 'batcave' type music anymore, but I still really love Specimen. I saw Alien Sex Fiend at Medusa's nightclub in Chicago in 1989, which was a lot of fun, but I never saw Specimen, so I'm disappointed I won't be able to see them live. But we're still definitely looking very forward to seeing "Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds" this September! I'm sure it will be an amazing show! And add to the fact that Nick Cave is also a fellow fan of Louis Wain! Nick even owns some original Wain paintings! Gah - *envvvvy*
Anyway, check out this short video clip, and music video, for the new Nick Cave album
"DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!!!".

I think this is such a brilliant, funny and very clever concept to promote a new album.

And below is the official video for their new hit single, "DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!!!"
I think it's such a great and fun song! Catchy too - enjoy!...

Til later...

I hope you all have a great weekend!

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