(bright music) - When my mom was pregnant with me, she lived with my grandparents and they had just gotten a kitten and he was in love with her belly, and then once I was born, he was in love with me, and we've been in love ever since until he passed away.

He was my best friend my whole life.

Growing up with a cat was amazing.

I think it really taught me true love in a sense.

I've always known that love and that connection since I was born, so I think it's really special.

(bright music) On this day there is 11 cats in my house.

My mom has three cats, I have three cats, and then there's five foster kittens running around, chewing on the things they shouldn't.

(playful upbeat music) This is Willow, Clawthorne, Guss, Eda, King.

Okay, this is Lily.

(Lily hissing) Nevermind.

This is Leon Kennedy Miracle.

(laughing) This is Lui.

(laughing) I swear he loves me.

You're not looking good for the interview.

(Lui whining) (playful upbeat music continues) That's all the ones down here.

This is Dharma.

This is Munchkin.

This is Sneakers.

He's our old man cat.

He's about 13.

(playful upbeat music continues) I'm not just a cat enthusiast, I also like other animals.

This is Gizmo, trying to get her face.

She doesn't like being awake early.

She's a night creature.

She's so cute.

Yeah, this is Biggie.

He's insane, but he's so cute.

Sometimes he thinks he's a cat.

(playful upbeat music continues) So I've always kind of painted my whole life.

Like my grandmas both paint with me.

My mom and I have always done art together, but I had a really hard few years right after Covid, during Covid kind of.

I moved out of my house and into my mom's.

I had went through a breakup and there was a lot of stuff, so I started painting in my free time and it really helped me get out my emotions and calm myself and like figure out what I wanted to do.

It was a lot of thinking time and also I was painting things that I enjoy, so I painted like a big board of me and my cats and Biggie, my dog, in like "Adventure Time" style.

And it was just kinda like a silly thing that I wanted to do for myself, but I loved it so much.

I was like, all right, I like doing this.

I'll just keep painting little silly cartoon cats.

So I hang them up everywhere and I paint more for myself just 'cause it's what I enjoy, but it's cool to know that other people enjoy it too.

So this one I did last night.

It's all the cats in this house as little cowboys.

So it's Sneakers, Lui, and Dharma and they're like the sheriff cats and these are the little scary deputies.

Those three are like shy cats and these three are insane like big tough boy cats.

It's Munchkin, Leon and Lily.

And then this whole wall is like all of our cats and it goes in like age order.

So these are the upstairs cats and then those are my three.

And then it has like a little thing that kind of goes with them.

But two of these ones have passed away now so we don't have them anymore, but it's kind of nice to have something to like remember them by.

And then these are all of their paw prints, including my hedgehogs.

She has little footprints on there.

They're just little blobs but.

And I even got our cat Max's paw prints before he passed away, and then I added our new kitten recently, so it's really cool 'cause I have almost all of them on there.

(upbeat music) My artist residency was two weeks at the Yes!

House, so I got to really just like sit and paint and I don't really get to do that 'cause I have to get up and feed my dog or I have to do something with my cats or I have to work and there's always something that I need to do, especially with all the animals, so it was nice to be able to just like sit and paint.

I got a lot of paintings done and I did some that were different than how I usually do.

I tried to do a little more realistic and less like cartoon, and at first it was really frustrating because it was harder, but once I got them done, they're probably my favorite ones I've ever done and I plan on doing more 'cause I love them so much.

They're so cool.

(guests chattering) - So without further ado, I would love to welcome Janel.

(audience applauding) - [Janel] I had an artist salon, we had cat treats, live cat music, all my cat art, and then we had a Paint Cats with Me where everyone could paint their own version of a cat.

(singer vocalizing) ♪ He doesnt have much to say ♪ ♪ He just loves to play all day ♪ - [Janel] The whole thing, it was just amazing.

It was exactly how I wanted it to go, like the treats, the music, everything like I just wanted it to be all about cats and it was and so it was really awesome.

And like everyone that came was so cool and it was so fun to like talk about cats with so many people.

Sometimes, you know, people aren't a fan of cats and they, I'm a crazy cat lady and you know, so it's really cool when you meet people that also like cats and then you can just talk about it.

(playful music) So I really want to work on opening either a cat shelter or a cat cafe in town.

They're really popular so I think it'd be cool to have a little place to hang out, meet some cats, maybe adopt 'em.

It's a lot of work though and it's a lot of money 'cause I have to be able to find like a vet and food and all the stuff you need for cats.

(cat meowing) (Janel laughing) (gentle music) I do wanna do more art shows.

When I did mine at the Yes!

House, I didn't really focus on selling it, I just wanted to show it and share my love of cats.

But I do think I wanna sell more.

I think it's really cool like somewhere in someone's house there's my cat painting, like that's just a really cool idea.

But some of them are just hard for me to sell 'cause it's my cats.

I feel like I'd prefer more to do commission pieces where like it's painting someone's cat for them so that it's easier to part with it.

(chuckling) (gentle music) I love taking care of cats.

It just, it wakes me up in the morning, you know?

And I used to work at the shelter and I really miss waking up early and just cleaning after cats and feeding them and cuddling them.

It sounds like it wouldn't be that fun, but it was the best part of my day every day working there.

(gentle music continues) I wouldn't say I'm like shy, but I'm not as out there sometimes, you know.

It takes me a while to warm up and be able to think of things to say and stuff like that.

So I think, yeah, I probably do see myself in cats.

I definitely think cats teach me a lot about myself and about not being like a selfish person too.

You can't really be selfish and give your all to a living creature.

You really do have to be patient and able to let them come to you.

You can't just like, "Hey, I love you," you know?

You have to let them be like, "Oh, you're okay."

(gentle music continues) Yeah (dramatic music) (upbeat music) - [Announcer] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by Margaret A Cargill Philanthropies.

Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen, on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Wyndham, Minnesota.

On the web at ShalomHillFarm.org.

Alexandria, Minnesota, a year-round destination with hundreds of lakes, trails, and attractions for memorable vacations and events.

More information at ExploreAlex.com.

A better future starts now.

West Central Initiative empowers communities with resources, funding, and support for a thriving region.

More at WCIF.org.

(upbeat music)