Friday, April 24, 2009

Natural Tendencies

THE SECRET MOUSE
In the 4th grade we had these two white lab rats, we fed them different things, and observed them over a period of several weeks. We loved the rats, and there was a drawing to choose two lucky students to inherit the little creatures. My most vivid memory of the rats involved my teacher who, when weighing the less fortunate one in a yogurt container, nipped off the tip of its tail when putting the lid on. I remember that it made a squeal, and I can still see the scene playing out in my mind. It made quite a lasting impression on me; we were outraged. Harming those rats was a criminal offence, but after the end of the year, it didn’t really matter anymore.
When a classmate did a project on vertebrates and brought in a mouse to prove some points Sarah McCarty, then 17, managed to hold onto the magic a little longer. She took the demonstrative mouse home where it lived in secrecy in her closet. Sarah wrote this poem about it:
I have a secret mouse.
I saved her from a terrible end.
I brought her to my house.
So she could be my friend.

The mouse lived for about a year, it lost all its hair, fell very ill and died.

Two years later Sarah McCarty’s affinity for the natural and slightly bizarre manifests itself less with secret pets (though she has a few, among them a rather charming snake named Claude) and more with her very talented illustrations. Sarah is a natural. Her work reflects her experiences with friends, pets, other artwork, land, and family. This particular piece comes from a collection entitled “Accordions: As Seen On TV!” an homage of sorts to her grandmother Diane Pautzke. The accordion, Mildred, is one which belongs to Diane. Just one part of her collection of beautiful instruments. The two of them share a special bond, and Sarah has related countless tales about their adventures, one of which details the occasion they pierced their noses together at her grandmother’s home with the aid of some sage and a healing crystal.

THROUGH THE GRAPE VINE
When I asked Sarah to make me something with a story behind it for this zine, she related this to me:
When she was younger a huge tree grew in her backyard in Trevor Wisconsin. There was for one summer a grape vine that grew from the top of it yielding the sweetest and best tasting grapes, she contends, she has had to this day. On one unfortunate night the tree was toppled by a severe storm. Distraught, she climbed the tree the next day and passed its entirety in the toppled tree, mourning, and eating all the grapes she could find.



Sarah McCarty lives in Madison Wisconsin and is studying Art History at the University.
Her grandmother visits frequently.
She still eats grapes.

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