An Artist in Kansas (and the Reality of Muse)

A photographer
who also dabbles in painting, ceramics, collage,
 carpentry, and Design,
Ms. B. Rutherford's work is veiwable here and there online and in shows.
Some of her photos that are show winners are  HERE.*
 But
I
I happen to have an early  piece or two of her work.
I also have a COPY
of an original piece-the original was buried with a treasured companion.
And today i photographed that copy and intend to share it with you.
If i am freaking out her lawyers
i am sure i will be contacted, but i run the risk to show her hand.
The original was a collage of photography, painting, and added objects.

I have a small copy, which i photographed with a nice big Canon.

It has been over a desk in my house but it's time to
 Shift the Art.

The first pic is unaltered. (although there was a lace curtain diffusing the light.)

Then, i could not help myself.
click pics to enlarge

B. Rutherford's My Main Man Mozart (photo of original art)

B. Rutherford's My Main Man Mozart (detail)

Detail, altered

My Main Man Mozart by B Rutherford

(altered photo )

A valentine

BeautyCat

Thanks for all the good art, Ms Rutherford. (*will post link shortly)

She has described the piece, which was buried with Mozart: “This painting was a tribute in death to him- (the tragic way he was taken was an unkind act by another human): he was attacked one night by a woman from a group therapy class i had once been in; she was stalker and a person who was threatening my life - for an "Imaginary" reason only she knew...

Mozart went out

 on the front lawn to walk about for just a few minutes one night -

(as he was actually an inside cat) and she apparently drop kicked him in his chest-

I kept taking him to the vet for 5 full days- they (the Vet) DID NOT tell me he was MORTALLY WOUNDED - until the day i brought him in to be put to Rest....

He was a friendly and trusting soul;

             he was a sweet spirit that nurtured his sister,

nurtured his offspring (and myself) that also became a 'family unit’ of kitties.

I have learned much from his dynamics and the love he gave;

and

that a house with several cats can be a family without the strife humans create.

His passing spotlighted the power of loss...
repeated so many times as one dies and other lives on- giving so much of their souls to us humans..

As shown in this tiny painting done the night before I was to bury him,  he so often would sit on my Art table and "help' me with a project: he was not the only one who "Blessed" my art pieces like this, His son who lived to be well over 19 years; came to be a muse and inspiration for my work also 'blessing' projects that he came up to and walked across...

The story

of how I brought him home one night from what was left of a litter was also a powerful moment for me: I had known I was to get him and had been waiting for him to reach that age; I went and picked him up one evening and brought him home in a little box and -- well he began to cry and cry so loudly- within an hour I realized he missed his sister, the last of only 3 kittens born. I was back at my friend’s house getting his sister and the world changed that night. I saw that sometimes (or MANY TIMES) you can not just snatch a kitten from a litter and make it live a solitary life; it may be vital to have a litter mate adopted at the same time-- and the emotional health of your new life partner will be so much better.

I have maintained this practice that Mozart taught me in his first hours and years with me.

I would say it changed my life and outlook on how we humans interact with our pets.” --B.R.

a portrait of the artist in college