'Seeing Ghosts'

Mixed media and collage artist Tim Olson wasn’t looking for a pet. But when he saw a small, mottled kitten run out of a storm drain at a rest stop on the Texas-Oklahoma border, he did what most of us would do: rescue her. He didn’t give her a name, because he was just going to keep her until he could find her a suitable home. “Yet,” he says, “here she still is.” After posting a series of fictionalized conversations with the “nameless kitten” on Facebook — in which the tortoiseshell feline sneeringly criticizes Olson’s less-than-lucrative artistic pursuits and pointedly declares, “That Schrodinger was a complete bastard” — Mockingbird Handprints’ Jane Bishop’s interest was piqued. She asked Olson to put on a show, and “Seeing Ghosts” was born. Olson is displaying a bevy of collages and illustrations featuring the kitten as well as a selection of his other output, a series of deftly shaded bird sketches and minimalistic portraits that often integrate collage and wordplay. The best part? Nameless kitten, who is leash-trained, will be the guest of honor at Thursday’s opening reception.