January is always a strange time, making-wise, for me. I just want to curl up in the warm, like a cat.

The month of December, up until Christmas, is so busy and frantic… I’m like a dog with a whole bagful of bones and I love it, but I’m always really glad to stop for the festivities and kick back and relax with the family for a bit.

And then, when that’s all over, it’s time to find some motivation and get on with things again.

The problem is, I find it quite difficult to summon up motivation when there are no deadlines, no fairs on the horizon, no commissions… in fact no external motivating factors at all, apart from the requirement to try to earn some dosh and the desire to continue the cycle of creating into and throughout another year.

Other people seem to find the new year galvanising, or they already have stuff lined up to do in January, but I never seem to. My vision seems to only stretch as far as Christmas, and beyond new year it’s pretty much just a void…

Apart from one thing.

This January, I’m going to be looking after this little chap, hopefully for a couple of days each week…You may remember I mentioned that I was hoping to make some new doggy friends via Borrow My Doggy? Well, a change in the arrangements at home means that Brian the dachshund is in need of company during the daytimes.

He came to visit for the first time last week and seemed to enjoy himself – and we very much enjoyed having him, so he’s going to be coming back for more visits.

I’ll have to see how his presence affects my motivation and ability to get on with stuff.

Lad is back to school this week, so that’s my cue to get properly back to work…

I am full of good intentions. Experimentation is my main focus, seeing what I can come up with that might bear fruit later on.

My first experiment of the year is this fancy fellow…He’s a courtier cat. I thought about making him the King of Cats, given how long he took me to finish, but his slightly snooty expression seemed instead to suggest to me the sort of fellow who might be hanging out in the salons at Versailles; a vaguely bored and grumpy courtier, rather than a truly regal character.

I’m thinking that he will be the first in a series of cat characters, both male and female.

I’ve had a little look around and thankfully I can’t see anyone else making similar, so hopefully there will be no argument as to their origins. A cat can look at a king, as they say…

So now it just remains for me to actually get on with making them – Brian-willing.

At least Brian will get me moving – he’s an energetic little fellow who needs a good long walk each day.

And thankfully, I don’t think he’ll be much worried by the presence of my experimental cats. ♥