“Raspberry Tabby” is a stone sculpture homage to my little kitten, Chai, and to all tabbies, be they orange, gray, brown, or calico.  Though comparatively small in size, they are big tigers at heart.

Inspiration

I had a great time carving the first homage to my kitten, a sculpture titled “Drape”.  When I make a sculpture I dwell in the presence of my subject, and I so enjoy Chai’s company.  The small boulder of raspberry red alabaster was perfect for my delightful purpose.

Raspberry Red Alabaster

My kitten is cute, (and I do happen to have some pictures).  I acquired this small chunk of raspberry red alabaster from a fellow sculptor’s stash when he liquidated his stone inventory.  The raw boulder was adorable, and yes, stone can be cute.  Cute kitten, cute stone, colorful tiger stripes, the sculpture just had to be made.

The Meatloaf Position

Cartoonist B. Kliban defined a cat as a small furry creature resembling a meatloaf.  One of his famous cartoons showed two horizontal lumps, figure 1 is a plain lump and figure 2 is a lump with tiny, pointed ears and a big tail.  I have owned cats since I was seven years old, and the meatloaf concept is part of my foundation for understanding cats.

All cats assume the meatloaf position as a daily activity.  I do not know if wild tigers do this, it may be a domestic custom.

Cat Culture

Our 11-year-old cat, Kittywinks, promoted herself to top cat when we adopted Chai the Kitten.  Winkies enjoys having a minion but does not wish to play all the time, mostly she wishes to nap. 

Chai invents activities that can be enjoyed without the participation of Kittywinks and has a daily (and nightly) to-do list.  These include Bug Patrol (indoor cats love this), monitoring all dark places, rearranging the furniture through leaping and bounding, and tracking down the bouncey balls with some play left in them.

A new, and perhaps more quiet activity, is cat calligraphy.  Here Chai demonstrates the letter “P”.  She is working on other letters, and I am interested to see what her first word will be.

Her Specialty

I leave you with Chai’s favorite gesture, the drape.  As she grows up, I believe she will continue to refine this classic expression of cathood.