Iris Grace: How Thula the Cat Saved a Little Girl and Her Family by Arabella Carter-Johnson

Author:Arabella Carter-Johnson [Carter-Johnson, Arabella]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Non-Fiction, Animals, Autobiography, Memoir, Cats
ISBN: 9781510719804
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing
Published: 2017-03-14T04:00:00+00:00

Bluebells, acrylic, March 2013

‘Just press it. I know you really want to.’

I pressed it, the site went live and our story went out into the world. It was a surprisingly good feeling, exciting and liberating. The next stage of our plan was to find a printer who could take professional scans of the paintings and make Giclée prints. I wanted to print on demand, so we didn’t have to hold any stock. I had no idea if we would be able to sell any at all. There happened to be an excellent printer only five minutes down the road from our house and they worked with me to come up with a range of different print sizes. At first they were amused by my request, but as the weeks went on and more and more paintings were brought in they saw Iris’s style develop and they said it was only a matter of time – people would definitely be interested.

One day I had an email from a friend who was involved in a yoga charity in London. They offered special yoga for children on the spectrum and she wanted to know if we would be interested in donating a framed print for a charity auction that was coming up. I thought it was a fantastic idea and jumped at the chance to be involved. We decided on a print of Patience.

I stayed at home with Iris on the big night of the auction while P-J and my brother attended. There was a drinks reception and P-J overheard comments from the crowd as they saw and read about Iris’s painting. They were blown away; there was so much interest and it achieved way beyond what any of us could have imagined. Iris raised eight hundred and thirty pounds for a wonderful charity that evening. We were so proud of her and the excitement made me feel more confident to spread her story further.

Over the next few weeks we sold a few of her original paintings, some to friends and a few to some people who had found her on the internet. I was unsure at first about selling them but I knew how badly Iris needed her therapies, and this would be a way for us to get the help she needed. Some we would never sell; they were too special and Iris’s favourites. But she seemed very happy about the idea of some going to other people’s houses. I explained to her that they would be treasured and loved and looked at every day, and she smiled and giggled. The prints were also starting to sell as her story spread and the interest in her art gained momentum. It all seemed quite surreal. To me her paintings were a way for me to connect with Iris and for her they were a way of expressing herself, an incredible gift in itself. I had grown so used to them; there always seemed to be one on the go in the kitchen,

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