Friday Face OFF -- Ida B. Wells

For this week's Friday Face OFF link party

of art featuring faces, hosted by Nicole of

DVArtist, Art, Food, Gardening blog . . .

This portrait is another one of

my quick freehand sketches

done directly in water soluble ink

and then painted via ink wash.

Ida B. Wells (1862 - 1931) was an American

investigative journalist, sociologist, educator, and

early leader in the civil rights movement.

Her most famous work exposed the

horrors of lynching in the American South

as a tool of racist terrorism.

She was one of the founders of the National Association

for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Cute Aggression

Okay, ordinarily I'm not much of a metal devotee BUT there is one headbanging song I adore -- Cute Aggression by Anthony Vincent. How can you not appreciate this love song from a man to his cat?

He has recorded various versions of this viral hit. His latest 2025 update -- "cuter, heavier, and more aggressive" -- is on YouTube here, if you want to check it out as well. The visuals in this one are all him and Pyretta. And thank gawd he ditched that stupid cape!

Do I really need to say that I bought the latest t-shirt?

In Mockery Veritas

The Joy of Creative Language

And now, an homage to

William Faulkner's writing style

by comedian Jerry Wayne Longmire --

Enjoy!

Whooooooo's There?

Nudists In Our Midst

A couple of months ago, I went to my city's annual Cat Festival again. When I posted about last year's event, I had raved about the hairless sphynx cats -- 

Oodles of cats and kittens too! Including the most adorable

black sphynx kittens (squeeeeeee!) They are so much more

attractive than pink-skinned ones, I think. I petted an adult

sphynx just to see what they feel like -- warm, soft and

ever-so-slightly fuzzy (probably just my imagination?)

Readers said I should have also posted some photos, so this year I had my camera ready! But alas, there were no sphynx kittens this time. And the Alberta Sphynx Rescue volunteers were not allowing anyone to pet the adults. I suspect that too much unwanted petting and fondling is stressful for the cats. Perhaps there's also liability issues to consider if a cat should happen to scratch or bite someone.

There was an adult black sphynx in its own cage, but it was mostly snuggled under a blankie. So I could only get a photo of this pair of sphynxes --

As you can see, the pink one is completely hairless and the other has a sparse, downy layer of grey hair. Apparently some sphynxes can have that much hair. They were both wearing adorable blingy tube tops, probably to help keep them warm.

You could buy those stylish tube tops too, along with other merch for sphynxes such as blankies, dishes, treats, and an assortment of handcrafted signs -- 

You can even get knitted toques to keep their heads and ears warm! Isn't that amazing? But then again, being nude in a Canadian climate can't be easy.

[Image #1 from the internet;

Photos #2 and 3 © Debra She Who Seeks, 2025;

Photo #4 from the FB page of the

Alberta Sphynx Rescue adoption society]

Lord, Give Me a Sign!

When the bell cord/button on the transit bus is broken -- 

Friday Face OFF -- Tasmanian Devil

For this week's Friday Face OFF link party

of art featuring faces, hosted by Nicole of

DVArtist, Art, Food, Gardening blog . . .

I present to you . . . a Tasmanian Devil!

No, NOT THIS ONE who we all know and love

from the old Looney Tunes cartoons --

I mean THIS ONE that I did

in my "Drawing Australia" class!

Apparently, real Tasmanian Devils are

carnivorous marsupials about the size of a small dog.

They have a stocky and muscular build, black fur,

a pungent odour, an extremely loud and disturbing screech,

a keen sense of smell, and ferocious feeding habits.

Our teacher said that this one (from her photo

taken at a zoo) is an older, battle-scarred veteran,

which explains the ragged cauliflower ears.

Nice fangs hanging out of the corners of its mouth, too!

Doesn't it look like it would just chew your arm off?

As usual, this was done freehand

using HB, 2B, 4B and 6B pencils.

[Art and photo of art © Debra She Who Seeks, 2025]

July Full Moon Altar: Great Goddess of Laussel

This month's altar honours the Great Goddess of Laussel who is also known as the Goddess of the 13 Moons. She was carved 25,000 years ago as a bas-relief over the rocky entrance of a sacred cave near what is now Laussel, France.

Dating from the Old Stone Age/Paleolithic Era, this goddess celebrates the lunar year and the mysteries of the female body. In one hand, she holds a bison horn with 13 notches on it, one for each lunar month in a lunar year. In essence, she is displaying the first calendar known to humans. Her other hand rests on her belly/womb to demonstrate the connection between the Moon Above (lunar phases) and the Moon Within (menstrual periods, childbearing power). The original carving still bore traces of red ochre paint reinforcing the blood imagery.

I obtained my copy of the Laussel image about 30 years ago in Toronto, but I believe the store probably obtained it from Sacred Source. The other altar items also allude to lunar phases and red menstrual blood, particularly the nosegay of red carnations.

The backdrop is a page from the Lunar Calendar Dedicated to the Goddess in Her Many Guises. The calendar shows the moon phase for each day of every lunar month. The Luna Press has been publishing these charming lunar calendars (which also include art and poetry dedicated to the Divine Feminine) for nearly 50 years.

[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, 2025]

P.S. -- If you have half an hour to spare and are interested in learning more about the Stone Age Eurasian culture which produced this Goddess, plus the Goddess of Willendorf and the Lascaux Cave Paintings, here's a very good video on the subject. Be forewarned there are a number of ads sprinkled throughout which can, however, be skipped after a few seconds --

Be Afraid, Florida Panthers. BE VERY AFRAID.

I received an unexpected package

in the mail yesterday.

I laughed so hard when I opened it!

SO FREAKIN' HARD!

"Specially Handmade by Shirley"

the attached label says.

Yes, that's right -- a gift from the

Queen of Voodoo Dolls herself,

blogging buddy Shirley

of BootsandBraids!

Thank you, Shirley, for ensuring that next year,

the Edmonton Oilers will be victorious

in their pursuit of the Stanley Cup due to our

SPECIAL SECRET WEAPON!

And now it has pride of place

right here on my computer hutch . . . 

yes, where ALL the magic happens!

[Photos © Debra She Who Seeks, 2025]

Sickening and Horrifying