Talent and skill aren’t enough—an artist also needs ongoing motivation.
That’s what led Cheryl Kugler to the #100DayProject, an annual endeavor that promotes daily steps—even if small—toward creativity.
In 2020, the cat-loving, Carlisle-based artist and illustrator incorporated felines into her project. Then, in 2021, she decided to devote the entire #100DayProject to them.
Kugler has created drawings of 100 rescued Loving Care Cat Rescue cats and kittens still needing homes. It was from LCCR that the artist adopted two of her four cats.
In return, in recognition of International Cat Rescue Day—held this year on March 2—Loving Care Cat Rescue will sponsor an art show and sale featuring Cheryl Kugler’s #100DayProject drawings, taking place three days later.
Kugler is donating all proceeds from the show, entitled “Art Is in the Heart,” to LCCR and the Nobody’s Cat Foundation, another nonprofit that serves felines.
“Cheryl’s work has appeared on Loving Care’s social media pages to encourage adoption,” said Danielle Wadsworth, fundraising director at LCCR.
Lisa Snyder founded the Lemoyne-based Loving Care Cat Rescue in 2013, and it acquired nonprofit status three years later. LCCR’s mission is to provide loving care to every cat that comes through, regardless of its circumstances or medical condition, and to actively seek a permanent home for each rescued cat or kitten.
“Unless serious illness would warrant it, euthanasia is not an option for cats in the care of Loving Care Cat Rescue,” Wadsworth said. “The number of requests for us to take in kittens and cats grows every year.”
As of November 2022, the organization had saved 3,341 local cats and kittens, Wadsworth added.
An all-volunteer, foster-based organization without a brick-and-mortar facility, LCCR brings in an average of 900 kitties each year and places an average of 820. Foster parents are spread throughout the Harrisburg area.
The Nobody’s Cat Foundation promotes the use of “trap neuter return” as the preferred strategy for humanely stabilizing and reducing free-roaming feline populations in 15 southcentral Pennsylvania counties. This approach aims to reduce suffering among the cats and stress on wildlife, protect public health, and redirect desperately needed resources elsewhere.
Kugler took photos from Loving Care Cat Rescue as the basis of her drawings.
“Drawing was my way of creating 100 perfectly imperfect kitties,” explained Kugler. “I used the photos as a reference for the drawings and included brief stories provided by the organization to show how special each individual cat is.”
The artist varied each cat’s position and expression—also using different fur patterns, such as striped vs. calico—so the show would not be repetitive. Each drawing in the art show includes a little story provided by LCCR to demonstrate its temperament.
Kugler used mostly LYRA graphite, along with Prismacolor Art Stix, to create her drawings. Although she is actually a pastel artist and oil painter, these mediums would have been “too involved” for her to create so many pieces of art for the #100daysproject,” she pointed out.
In the end, Wadsworth hopes the show and sale will help encourage greater cat adoption, as the need is tremendous.
“The need for cat rescue is never-ending,” she said. “There will never be enough rescues to save them all.”
Creative Spark Arts is located at 335 Bridge St., New Cumberland. For more information, visit www.creativesparkarts.com. For more information on Loving Care Cat Rescue, visit www.alovingcarecatrescue.org or their Facebook page.
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