So, last April, my friend Meredith ran a wonderful “Poetry Out of Nothing” contest in honor of National Poetry Month, and I promised to make a blank book for one of the winners. The winner in question happens to be another friend of mine, and as her poem concerned the mischievous adventures of a cat (pouncing on stink bugs, running through cilantro), I wanted to reflect the poem in the book somehow.

Sadly, I’m terrible at drawing, so a literal interpretation was out of the question. Happily, the idea of a cat book inspired me in another direction…

I was rooting about in my supplies for some book board when I came across a piece I had used as a blotter, of sorts, for some of my son’s paintings. When I looked at it more closely, it made me think more of the author’s cats, and how the badges of her play were evident on her coat, in the scents she wore. I imagined how these badges might look without the cat, and the used board felt “right” for the project.

When the author and I looked at the cover more closely, we decided we saw her cat in there. We’re very imaginative people…