A little background process - "The Cat and the Kokedama" ❤️

My books have arrived, wahoo! So I thought I'd make a little blog post about it. If you've pre-ordered already thank you so very much! All of those pre-orders will come with a couple of extra bits to say thank you including these vinyl stickers that are just too cute!!

It's a simple tale, and I realised in completing it just how much it touched on themes I always seem to come back to - home and what that actually is.

I journal most days, it's my little break, an unload, a deep breath, a moment to let the chattering and misshapen mumblings pour out of my brain. I never know what will appear until it's there, it's my saviour as someone who lives with so many bouncing burblers trampolining around inside my head. The older I get the more the burblers try to analyse anything and everything, to work out the riddle of who we are and why we are. I am still that 7 year old child baffled by the world.. reacting by creating a little web to live inside I guess. Spinning dreams inspired by the magic that I'm sure is still out there. Hopefully in sharing what occurs I can uplift the souls of those who pop in!

Anyway, I digress. I guess that's just a bit of background onto where my work comes from.

I was sitting in my back room at the table journaling one morning in the Spring of this year. On the window ledge sat Tiger with one of my Kokedamas perched next to her. It struck me how much they fitted together even though they were so opposing conceptually. The free roaming cat and the kokedama bound with string to stay in it's small but cosy space. Two soft round bundles looking out onto a new day. I sat and drew them and wrote this little story.

It sat in my journal with pages of other doodles and scribbled stories for company. Then off we went on our month long trip around Japan in May/June of this year. It was the most magical trip (another blog post I need to write!). We went to places off the beaten track following in the paths of pilgrims. There are a lot of pictures of beautiful twisting paths on my phone! What is it about a mossy forest path that is so enchanting? Is it the promise of actual magic at the end? Fairytale innocence... bread crumbs and tardy talking bunnies? Enlightenment? An all knowing elf that will show you the way? A magical tree... well there were plenty of those!

So when we were back from Japan I decided I would like to make this tale into an illustrated book, hence you will find some of the scenes are very much Japan inspired. I couldn't stop thinking about the cat on the feline ferry ( pictured below ...get your magnifying glass out :D), endlessly having to move forwards, putting one paw in front of the other, to get to that place of contentment, never quite working out where,what or who it is.

Oh there wasn't a cat ferry on our trip, I made that up, but there really was a turtle ferry which is in the book too! :)

There are plenty of whimsical scenes in the book. I wanted the book to feel like one of those well loved old stories from innocent childhood days, comforting vintage nostalgia. The ones where they aren't only about the message, but just have quirky memorable details along the way that bring delight.  I used to love the dolls house food in Two Bad Mice by Beatrix Potter and the Tiger sleeping under the cosy patchwork eiderdown in Tyger Voyage illustrated by Nicola Bayley.

Cosy beds, big cats, dolls houses, food. There we have all of my favourite things in a nutshell. I guess those things are all about safety .. houses, food, cats, cosy beds, feeling so safe that you can sleep soundly. We are such jigsaws of our childhoods!

There are canoeing raccoons and sewing squirrels, treetop circus acts and of course...a wise kokedama. I have read that Kokedamas are said to get rid of negative energy but I think I love them for many reasons. That shape, the sphere is always a comforting shape, round solid, ongoing, zen. I love the idea that they have everything they need but they still continue to grow ❤️.

It's a small book (15x15cm), printed on lovely eggshell paper which suited the hand drawn feel. A softback book with a matt laminate cover, so it's not shiny but remains protected.

A perfect letterbox sized gift too!

You can pre-order here and it will be out on the 2nd of November so all pre-orders (with stickers) will go out that weekend! (There are a limited amount for now as I am keeping some back for my exhibition in November too. )