How do cats, history, comics and Sci Fi parodies all fit together here?
My obsession with Ancient Egypt started at an extremely early age with my interest in cats.
Animini cats are sculpted and painted by hand so they each have their own personalities.
Click here to buy my original Animini wearable figurines direct.
I thought Bastet was playing Cat Woman on the Batman reruns. The capes on that show led to a more than minor obsession with Darth Vader, who had a much better cape, which somehow combined with Poe and Hawthorne and a penchant for authentic historical details to create an oddly cheerful, even-tempered goth sometime later. Temporarily.
I wore cat ears made of construction paper to my second grade class. Several times. My brother wore a Superman cape. My mother, a teacher in the school system, supported both of us. This should come as no surprise, as in addition to reading to us constantly she used Doctor Who and Star Trek to explain life lessons and Godzilla movies to explain conservation.
I eventually figured out Bastet wasn't Cat Woman on my own....
My historical research includes over 400 pages of handwritten notes on English-to-Egyptian translation alone.
Click here to buy my original ancient artwork direct.
My dad was one of several art teachers in the same school system. I had all of them for class at one point or another, but he was the only one who taught any art history. In the summer he took us to every museum or historical site within driving distance, and some of my favorite memories are of leafing through the plates of his books and helping to sort and put away art supplies for the coming year.
I constantly do color and chemistry tests. It took paint from 6 companies to get a full palette of ancient colors.
Click here to buy museum-quality prints and greeting cards.
My son, 19 months old at the end of 2012, loves scrolling through the Louvre iPad app and my copies of The Egyptian Book of the Dead when he's not learning life lessons from Babylon 5 and Puss in Boots. He helps me put away supplies in my studio and does quality control by telling me when I've succeeded in making a "Good Lil Cat".
My assistant checks the paint details on a chip- and shatter-resistant Maneki Neko.
Click here to buy my original artwork direct.
Right now he thinks King Tut is a robot, but he'll figure out the truth on his own. Eventually.
