Two months have passed since the Kamp Maykr household was diminished by a third. Although she was physically tiny, Icci more than adequately occupied/filled the space in this threeway domestic situation. She was fourteen years old, and over the course of those years, she became my master, and in the last several years could play me masterly, like an instrument.
She was a malnourished, wheezy five week old South Beach stray. My neighbor found her while walking her dogs and brought her home later suggesting that I consider taking her. The prospect of making such a commitment, one that could easily span ten years, terrified me. She was adorable, but being tied down, even by one as minuscule as she was seemed overwhelmingly monumental. Judging by my reluctance, one might expect I was facing a marriage with a ready made family and all the responsibilities commensurate with that. But somehow I took on that responsibility, and swore that I would do what I could to give her a life better than the one she was otherwise destined for on the street. My friend Cynthia contributed a nebulizer (even took her to the vet and, I believe, took care of the initial vet bills.... (THX CYN)) and we created a vapor tent to treat her lung infection.
All of this was before she was Icci. I think Cynthia gave her some froufy name in the interem. I was planning on naming her Balthus, but that concept was met with derision from many around me. Her proper name, Euridice came from a certain operaphile/phone which appealed to me since I could diminish it to the mispronounced Icci. In recent weeks, I have come to see her diminutive name as a composition a work that has both a symmetry and is unsymmetrical.
The lid of her left eye had this little "v" shaped void (I assume from cut from her life on the street) that resulted in that eye never fully being closed. The white on her muzzle was always distractingly asymmetrical and I sometimes wished I could smudge a little paint on there to even up the effect.
Several works been several works have been directly or indirectly inspired by Icci. Here are a few of them:
Orfeo et Euridice, 1997, oil and collage on canvas
Icci, collage, acrylic on paper, 2004, 9"x12"
Repose, oil on masonite, 2005 48"x48"
Depletion Drawing 18, 2007
Fourteen years of that ten year commitment have passed. I'd gladly sign on for at least another ten - complete with all the half fitful nights of sleep with her her tiny leaden body pinning me down while she slept like a baby. A tiny, furry, lovely smelly little baby.
1 comment:
One hell of a cat. One of the greats.
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