Cheryl Shurtleff: A Collection of Cat Hair and Real Fur Postcards

Cheryl Shurtleff: "I have collected cat hair for years. The hair comes from my own pets and from cats owned by my friends. The texture of cat hair varies from one animal to another, but overall the hair's fineness and softness is attractive to me as an art medium. I use specific brushes to collect the hair so that it can be hand shaped into interesting forms that when combined with other found elements, produce anthropomorphic structures such as the ones seen here. As an advocate for the humane treatment of animals, I have proposed a project which will involve brushing (and petting) cats at a local animal shelter. The result of this project will be an archive of cat hair structures lovingly harvested from incarcerated cats, together with additional documentation explaining the eventual fate of each animal."



Cat Hair Doll, 2011 from the series Cat Hair


Twist


Cat Hair Pendant, 2011



Also on Cheryl's blog, check out this link to "real fur postcards" from her collection. It includes the above image of "Bear Going to Church."