Rat Crafters and Artists: Part 1

Owning rats, or as some say, being owned by rats, is a journey. For me it began with being intensely rat-phobic to where I am now, rat-obsessed (ok, i admit it).

Rat Crafters and Artists: Part 1

Published Monday, May 08, 2006 by eileen2000 | E-mail this post

In my constant pursuit of all things RAT, I came across several artists and crafsters doing exciting stuff with a rat theme. In fact, I found so many that I am making this a two-part post.

Kim Parkhurst does amazing realistic dollwork, including this fabulous hairless rat, Puddin. Also, check out her rat prints at her Ebay store Toad Briar and her photos of her other dolls and paintings (and her own pet rats!) on her Flickr site.

This next piece was found on crafster.org. I find the idea particularly endearing and the patch itself is very beautifully and sensitively crafted. It is a personal tribute from Miz Persnicket (aka Athanasia).

"I did this large patch last week on a whim instead of studying for a midterm. My camera was out of batteries, so I had to scan it! It is a homage to my Mister Mayo."

You can check out Miz Persnicket's craft blog, crafty olive, to see her other work.

I love the diversity of styles and mediums I found. These next pieces are just a few of a large collection of stained and fused glass rats done by artist and ratlover, Elizabeth Rupert. Her glass studio is called Mischief Glassworks. I especially like the rat with wings and am fascinated by how the pieces glow.

Ultraviolet, another ratlover and craftster.org member, made Pirate Rat from a pattern in Debbie Bliss' book Toy Knits, and then this cute little female rat based on a Fairy Mouse pattern from the same book. I like the fact that it really looks like a rat and not a mouse (altho I have nothing against mieces...I'm just tired of people thinking mice are cute, but rats are ugly)! You can see photos of some of Ultraviolet's former rats and other knitting projects at her www.threegoodrats.com website.

piebirdjosie (aka Josie), another craftster.org member, had this to say about her cool rat hat:

"I just added some ears and ribbon to a basic hat. Now hopefully my rats will let me into their exclusive club."

She also created the wonderful Dear Birthday Rat Bag for the friend who inspired her to adopt her rats. You can find out more about Josie, her creations and her furry friends at her website, piebirdjosie.squarespace.com

Tara's angel rat, another craftster.org find, has such a soulful expression. I love the unusual colors and bead accessories she used.

The first time I saw this cake made by Rach of the Jungle, for her rat-obsessed roomate's birthday, I thought it was a picture of real rats eating a cake. It is a truly inspired idea and the marzipan rats are amazingly realistic. Someone posted the link to the ratlist which is what inspired me to search craftster.org for more rat-related stuff, so I guess Rach is responsible for this post!