FARE THEE WELL, ARTIE

Recently landed: Fair thee well, Artie

A bright, intense though all too fleeting spark, sadly we have had to say goodbye to our beloved ‘foster fail’, wise soul, dear, dear Arthur. As soon as he met us in the consulting rooms at the RSPCA, Arthur, then named Lee, decided he was moving in with us. He come out of the carrier, and jumped straight up into my arms, resting his head upon my shoulder. “You’ve been picked”, everyone in the room chimed. And how lucky we were! To have been in each other’s orbit and just the right time! To the peach-fuzz street urchin!

Ever one to take the crack on the couch, up, too, he had leapt with Olive, Lenni, and Lottie, and out he would stretch, one small button of a puss, once a warm and impossibly long noodle. A near-constant shadow, always watching, always learning, engaging, he loved to accompany Louise on tasks, and to call time on lengthy computer meetings, such was his cleverness and love. His memory lives on in the Artists’ Books how-to videos they made, a soft tuft of gingerness in the corner of the frame or walking across the book block, on the working table.

Continuing reading on Marginalia.

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12th of June, 2026

Though his bell will now remain forever silent, we are comforted by the knowledge that his little body is no longer in pain, and we hope that he is snuggled up to Olive, after playing with his favourite toy sushi on a string. Artie was such a beautiful, brave, inquisitive boy, and we all miss him terribly.

On the following Wednesday, we deinstalled our work, Specimen 1963, at the Potter Museum of Art, and said goodbye to a wingless wasp and her umwelt.