Mouse number 1 #50forfifty

The first mouse was listed today to help fund places on Court Confidence and I think he’s found an admirer already! He’s made from a short faux fur and fills the hand nicely. 

Tomorrow there will be another listed on all my social media, so do keep an eye out. 

This mouse is a compete one off. Some may appear in short series, and I’ll be aiming for mice of different shapes, colours and sizes, just like us! If you see a mouse you love, just get in touch to make an offer. 

#50forfifty - 50 mouse countdown!

My entry for #50PreciousWords made me want to make some more mice. Mice are quite nice. 

Now add on the fact that on May 12 this year, I hit 50. Eeek. So I have decided to make some mice, and count down to the big day and help fund some free places here, on the Court Confidence course,  for those that really need it. I have done this course and attended court without representation.

So back to the mice, I’ll start making and sharing one mouse a day in a little over a weeks time. Both here in the blog and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You just need to get in touch if you would like to adopt one of them. #50forfifty ...

#50preciouswords entry ...

I have entered a couple of competitions for the Ford this time this year. One is #50PreciousWords and the other #PBParty. 

I will share a link if the latter makes it to the final showcase, as I’ve submitted a sample of both my manuscript and illustrations. Interestingly enough, there are 50 finalists! 

More about the number 50 on my next post, here is my entry for #50PreciousWords below, hope over to twitter and take this hashtag with you ! 

Mouse is Scared 

Catherine L Owen 

Mouse woke up, scared 

Darkness 

Her heart beat loudly 

Darkness  

Mouse struck a match 

The match flared 

Darkness shrank back 

Mouse lit her tiny candle stub 

Blew out the match 

The candle flame stretched upwards 

Flickering 

The warm glow filled the tiny room 

Darkness fled 

Mouse took up her book 

New Year, New Room

 

I’ve been blogging for so long. My babies have become little women. Which is very topical as I just lent Daisy my copy of Little Women, a wonderful hard-backed book given to me by my step grandmother in my 14th year. I only read it because one of the colour-plates was labled ‘she loved to enjoy the quiet and society of a pet rat’ and as you can see from the before and after room photos, so do my lovely girls. 

I might tell you about my first rat. If I do, I will be sure to find a picture of him.  

Safari Monkey puppet

Remember this good news? 

We have a publication date! This definitely makes it feel more real. 

Covid-Lockdown-House ...

Just before I decided it really was time to clear the windows I nipped out with my camera to show you the lockdown art as December dawned. The two front bedroom windows have underpants gnomes, a rat, the Child, and the two ferrets we were waiting to get. 

Mary’s front window we filled with cows, can you spot the different artists? Now though, Daisy loves cows just as much! 

The bathroom became an aquarium of sorts, the odd one out being one of Mary’s ‘Adopt Me’ pets in a ‘rocket stroller. This lot had just begun to take on condensation. Probably apt! 

We still have our flock of six chickens and we love them so the porch became a chicken homage during one of our Friday-home-educating-enrichment-hour sessions. The glorious South Park styled chicks and hen were created by Daisy. 

The living room did have a huge sun before we did all the insects. But it fell down early on and it looked like a huge pizza anyway! 

Of course the first thing we put on the window was a big rainbow. We group painted it with all the correct colours and we saw a few people cheered by it in the early days. Once I had to peal it back to rescue a trapped insect, and it fell down and somehow got put back wonky. The orange seems to have been hit the most by the full sun shining on all those glorious days. 

Probably time to clean the windows and get festive? 

Illustrator Me

Here are four sample illustrations from a book I’ve been working on ....

The pictures have been those of friends and their children, or indeed people who became friends when I asked them about drawing and why I was doing it. 

These first two are just photographs from my phone’s camera. 

And these second two are scanned and cleaned up, but low res just for the internet. 

The most cocoa-pops I’ve even seen on the floor. I think I would have yelled something not take a photo like my friend, but I’m very glad she did. This is a rather good ‘naughty’ picture. 

I have other manuscripts, and illustrations swimming round my head and so perhaps I should get on... lockdown isn’t over yet. Covid19 isn’t beaten.