Sunshine also works in the "office" his love of details makes him a great secretary. Pictured here with Greig- Sunshine helps with the daily routine of paperwork.
If there are papers to "organize" Sunshine is your cat. Back in the summer of 2003, Sunshine had the honor of assisting Derk C. of Berlin, Germany. He was in the States to work on a new play. Every morning Dirk would write and read the paper AND so did Sunshine. Dirk was amazed with Sunshine's dedication to the work he never missed a day. And Sunshine's support and understanding of the process helped Dirk to meet his deadlines.

Point of View

Sunshine's point of view as an artist comes from years of hard work and searching for the right tools. To share what he as an art kitty sees- before pipe cleaners- Sunshine went through a process totally based on holiday decorations. Finding objects with a holiday theme and bringing them downstairs to us. He never used any of the other thousands of objects at his claw nails. His process was sometimes violent which lead to a lock placed on the attic's holiday closet. And then Sunshine turned to felt which he will use sometimes even today. But, once Sunshine found the drawer where the pipe cleaners are stored-- the rest is history. I would like to point out that Sunshine has never been presented a pipe cleaner or felt or a holiday decoration. Sunshine's artwork is completely his own process. From the heart of a cat who understands the pipe cleaner is more than a pipe cleaner.

SUNSHINE THE ART KITTY

Sunshine loves his pipe cleaner. His work started in the Fall of 2008. He brings the pipe cleaner into our bedroom when he is completed his "pipe cleaner process'. At first we thought- oh, this is a phase. But, then we realized that Sunshine was a cat who had something share with his fellow creatures. We are a family of artists. Why Sunshine works in pipe cleaner is any art critic's guess. But, we is family felt the time has come to share his art work with the world. Some may not understand- pipe cleaner- but the choice of using pipe cleaner to his family- is so Sunshine!
I started preparing this blog last Fall. But, today is truly the first day of, "Sunshinetheartkitty.blogspot.com". We have many other pieces of pipe cleaner art and many other Sunshine stories. But, if you take the time to read the other entries- this blog will show you who and why Sunshine is an artist. And wy we love him and all his furry friedns.

Angus teaches Sunshine How to bathe

Angus the "Teacup Newfee", understood that if Sunshine was to lead a success life as a cat he must master the art of bathing. To learn more about Angus and Sunshine read the other blog entrees.

Tiny Sunshine

Angus, Sunshine's Mommy

Most kittens are raised by cats. Not Sunshine. Kerrigan(you will learn more about him later) was on a date and as they were walking around on their date- they heard a tiny "meow" coming from a trash can. They started digging in the trash and there he was- a tiny, tiny kitten- and they did looked for other kittens and found none- just this tiny thing. They went straight to the ER vet. The vet said that IF they fed and rubbed his tiny tummy every three hours he might live. So...Kerrigan brought him home to me. And Angus- Austin's (you will learn more about him later) teacup Newfoundlander.
Angus fell in love with his baby kitten. Now, Sunshine was so tiny his eyes were barely opened and his ears were flat. But, me and Angus "rubbed" that baby kitten to life! I still have his baby kitty bottle- we used kitten formula from the pet store- Petsmart-The odds were against us- but with all that "rubbing" - the ten pound kitty-artist lives to create everyday.

Sunshine and friends

Sunshine has a great support system both human and feline and canine. Here is Kendensky, Sunshine's friend. Kendensky is often found hanging out with Sunshine while he arranges flowers.
Who is Kendensky? The back story of Mr. Kitty aka Kendensky. In the late spring of 2000, Greig(we will learn who he is later)was driving home around 10 pm and something caught his eye- it was sitting in the middle of the road?? Is that a cat?? Why is a cat...oh dear. He stops the car, and goes the cat- yes he had been hit and it was bad. Thinking quickly he grabs a magazine out the car scoops up the cat and drives to the all night ER for animals.
Greig explained that it was not his cat but...the ER vet said that they would stabilize the cat and if he was alive in the morning they would call. They called.
We found ourselves at our vet wondering what should we do- our vet said that they would test for feline HIV and leukemia and if those tests were negative then we will decide from there- this is not our cat. Greig goes across the street to get coffee and he is crossing back to the vet, he looks up and sees the vet's sign- which is a huge painting of household pets- cat, dog, rabbit, you get the picture. Well, it was is serious need of re-paint. So, an idea was forming IF the tests are negative...I scratch your sign and you fix this cat. Well, that is exactly what happens. They performed the surgery on the eye that was out(it was hanging on by a thread as they say- but it was stablized at the ER and vets did an amazing jb in saving the eye-it does not dilate properly and you can tell he doesn't see very well but it works) and wired the jaw, neutered, and so on. Two weeks later, this kitty cat is well on the way to recovery. Our vet tells us that this cat is farrel. What? Wild. "You need to find a farm and release him there and then feed him and catch in six weeks so we can remove the stitches to his jaw. WOW- this cat- who we started to call Mr. Kitty. Because we kept thinking we would find this farm...well we released Mr. Kitty into our studio and we don't see him for 4 months. Oh, he eats the food and water finds the litter box but we never saw him. Then, one day we heard him- "Meow." And then, the reveal began- first his voice, then the ears, the eyes, the head and then he would sit in the corner and look at you. And then, he would hang out with the dogs and then he would let us pet him IF we were petting the dogs and then...he jumped into Greig's lap. And Mr. Kitty became Kendensky. We carried him into the vet's office not in a box but in our arms and they could not believe their eyes....this is the cat that ran down the hall with the IV hanging from his arm and freaked out if he was touched. Puurrr.