Hiding a tiny cat within her artwork is a specialty of Marjorie Lair, who likes to turn her ideas into physical objects.

Lair, a senior art major, said she has learned new ideas and improved with her artwork throughout her four years at Eastern.

There are cats in almost every one of her artwork pieces.

Lair said the cat painting, which is called, “Catapation: The Comfy Caterpillar,” started off with a narrative in her head.

Her painting was showcased at the Booth Library.

“This was during a period where I was trying to figure out what direction I’m going in with my art,” she said.

Lair said she thought how caterpillars make cocoons to turn into butterflies.

“I was thinking about how humans, we are always concerned about our own comfort rather then survival,” Lair said.

“We have heating and all these comfort things. When you think about animals, what they do is more of survival instinct, like spinning a cocoon,” she said.

Lair said she has always liked art but she never appreciated a specific artist.

“I’ve just always made things and I’ve always seen art as a form of entertainment, so I never looked at it like I have to look up to an artist,” Lair said.

She added that she has always made something based off of what was going on in her head at the moment and turned it into a physical object.

One of her paintings, which is of a beetle with jewels and gems coming out of its behind, it does not seem to have any cats in it at first glance.

However there is a cat on top of one of the falling jewels.

She said she was inspired to paint a beetle from a memory of her childhood, when she owned a live beetle.

“I was trying to go back to my childhood because when I was in sixth grade, I went outside on my porch and there was this big stag beetle. I used to (catch) a lot of bugs when I was a kid,” Lair said. “It kind of just came to me and I named it Pinchy and I actually painted a little ‘P’ on his back for Pinchy, “ Lair said.

Lair painted the beetle as she remembered it from her childhood.

“I was just a weird thing because I have never seen a beetle like that before, it looked like (pointing to the beetle in the painting) this with the deep red. It was really significant to me and I’ve always remembered it,” she said.

Lair said her beetle hung around for a few days and then one day just flew away.

She called the piece “Natural Treasure” because she always looked at plants and animals as little treasures that where given to humans.

“They can actually teach us something in a moment that you might not expect,” Lair said. “Like I did not expect this beetle to come to me. It was a rare occurrence that happened, and it always has stuck with me.”

This painting was displayed in Booth Library during the 1960s Revolutionary Decade showcase in the fall, along with another painting with a cat knitting a sock.

She said she has done different projects, such as textiles with cats in different colors and forms.

While she works on a project, Lair said she tries to figure out how to make her art more fun as she attempts to tell a story or get something off her chest.

Lair said she enjoys creating her pieces more then she does finishing them.

“Honestly, after I’ve made something and it’s done…it’s out there, I kind of forget about it in a sense,” she said. “You also learn a lot about what you are working with, with every piece that you make, so I think it is a valuable experience,” Lair said.

Lair said she is currently working on making a giant dream catcher out of a hula-hoop, with a big fur heart in the middle that people can touch.

Lair said her plans after graduation are to move to Colorado in the summer because she has family there.

She said when she moves she is going to attempt to sell her paintings.

“I’m always thinking ‘where can I go next after this’ because I don’t see a reason in holding on to the past work,” Lair said.

Stephanie White can be reached at 581-2812 or at sewhite2@eiu.edu.