The first time I met Nell, I couldn't stop staring at her— everything she was wearing, from head to toe, had a cat on it. A cat parade t-shirt, a hippie cat pin attached to an embroidered cat purse, hand made glass cat earrings, and rainbow cat socks. You name it, it had a cat on it. From that moment on I knew we were destined to be friends.

Nell has been a regular customer for a few years now, painting religiously every Thursday accompanied by Anita, who occasionally works at Mimosa. Not only does Nell love cats and wear cats and have cats, she paints ONLY cats. Every week she brings in a random cat picture and proceeds to draw the picture perfectly on her very thought out piece of pottery. After the drawing is complete, she struggles with the colors for awhile... they need to be perfect after all. Most of her pieces take 3-4 weeks to finish and are well worth the wait.

I quickly discovered that Nell and I share a special bond/obsession: an interest in music—mostly music from the late 70's to 80's. Every song has a story or memory tied to it and no matter what song it is, she always knows who sings it. If you’re ever in the studio while Nell and I are there, you will no doubt hear us singing our hearts out...it's quite an earful!

It didn't take long for Nell and I to collaborate. I paint only the Eiffel Tower, under the name French Kitty, and she paints only cats— even little French cats with berets on. It has been my pleasure meeting, painting, laughing, remembering, and singing with Nell. If you ever come into the studio on a Thursday afternoon, make sure you say hello to Nell and you too will be amazed.