Krazy Kat: the oddest love story in comics, part 2
Krazy Kat was off and running, and it began to be noticed by reviewers and other artists. The public remained lukewarm, preferring more conventional strips and animation. Magazine editor and cultural critic Gilbert Seldes was among the first to call Krazy Kat art. In his…
Krazy Kat: the oddest love story in comics, part 1
One of the oddest relationships in comics has to be Krazy Kat and Ignatz. Illustrator George Herriman’s tragic and long-running tale of unrequited love between a black cat and a white mouse began in 1910 and lasted for almost three and a half decades, not…
Cat People: the feline answer to the werewolf genre
In the various cinematic monster universes, cats are a bit of a footnote, barely scratching their way onto the list. Werewolves, vampire bats, mummies, dinosaurs and various sorts of ghosts get all the love, going way back into the silent era. Cats didn’t saunter onto…
The Two of Wands: happy dreams of a wider world
The traditional Rider Waite Smith Tarot (RWS) Two and Three of Wands are somewhat odd cards. In our new cat tarot, we have given the imagery a romantic, and dreamy atmosphere. This is a cat who longs for something larger in her life.
A feline journey: From little gods to “evil” cats
Cats initially were regarded as little household gods and goddesses, something to be revered and respected. Ancient Egypt had feline gods, while in Ancient Rome, cats were sacred to Diana and highly regarded for keeping pests at bay. But by the Middle Ages the idea…
Our new Strength card – drama, conflict and confidence
The design of our Strength card was quite a challenge. Appropriately enough, fortitude and patience were needed. Embarking on the design for the Strength card for The Bohemian Cats’ Theatre Tarot was no small challenge. The quest for the perfect solution led us through trials…
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain: a film review
A film shines light on the life of an overlooked and troubled artist. In the modern era, amusing pictures of dressed up cats engaging in typical human activities had their start with Victorian artist Louis Wain. His rather troubled life is outlined in The Electrical…
A sparkling Queen of Wands goes to the ball
The Queen of Wands is arguably the most seductive and immediately attractive of the Tarot Queens. She represents a mature female who is energetic, warm, quick to throw herself into new activities – and sometimes new relationships – and who radiates an irresistible charm. She…
The Fool – how to depict a free and feckless feline?
The Fool is one of those cards that everyone has an opinion about. In the Rider Waite Smith (RWS) Tarot, he is shown as someone smiling blithely as he steps off a cliff. He (or indeed, she) is reckless, in some ways thoughtless, and yet…
Black cats for great luck? Some people think so.
Black cats have an undeserved bad reputation and have the hardest time of any color of cat in getting adopted from shelters. Yet almost two dozen cat breeds come in an all-black variety, with the Bombay cat coming only in black, so it seems some…
A remarkable animal illustrator, now sadly forgotten
As with almost all genres of art, the contributions of women have usually been overshadowed by their male colleagues. One woman who produced wonderfully stylish dressed-up cats – and other animals – in humorous scenes is Austrian writer and animal illustrator Käthe Olshausen-Schönberger. She is…
The amazing history of Puss in Boots, beloved for centuries.
When it comes to cats donning costumes, one feline–the splendid Puss in Boots –stands head and front paws above the rest. The birth of printing in the mid 15th century meant that illustrated stories became easily available to the average person, and fairytales very soon…
Slow but sure on his hobbyhorse. The cautious Knight.
Some people find the Knight of Pentacles (or Knight of Coins as he was known prior to the Rider Waite Smith “RWS” system of Tarot) slightly boring. Compared to the dynamic Knights of the other three tarot suits, he can certainly seem less exciting. However, we…
Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess in a dancing dress.
Cats are little gods and goddesses, and humans are lucky to be allowed to live with them — regardless of the fact that cats are quite remiss in making house payments. While others had already used lions as divine symbols, the Egyptians were the first…
How to make inspiring Hermit card? Shine a light in the forest.
For The Hermit card in the new Bohemian Cats’ Theatre Tarot, we wanted quite a spectacular look. Sometimes this card can be, in visual terms, a bit predictable so we wanted to add richness and also enhance the meaning for our rather distinctive cat tarot.…
Aiming for an amazing Two of Pentacles – a hopeful harlequin juggler.
The Two of Pentacles is is a tarot card that we always enjoy designing because there are so many possibilities for conveying the broad idea of juggling a lot of things at once! We knew almost immediately that we wanted to show a cat in…
Cats predictably make a startling mark in Japanese prints.
It would be surprising if Japan didn’t have a tradition of dressed up cats doing human things. The island nation does not disappoint, especially when it comes to Japanese prints. Cats seem to have first come on trading ships from China about a thousand years…
Mainzer dressed cats began as whimsical but odd postcards
Cats dressed up and behaving like people have long been on the fringes of pop culture. In the 1940s and ’50s, Mainzer Dressed Cat postcards hit the scene, showing felines in then-contemporary costumes riotously pursuing leisure activities from sports to watching movies, or simply having…
The Bohemian Cats’ Theatre project – new beginnings
The original Baroque Bohemian Cats’ Tarot and the Bohemian Cats picture book date all the way back to 2003/4 and has been through several versions since. We’ve always loved living with cats and it came naturally to us to build to make an entire fantasy…
