✸ Wyrdcat Press ✸

from the zine: 'The keepers of an extensive library relevant to the duties of the CAT Unit, containing – amongst other things – many bestiaries, histories and manuals. The volumes are regularly inspected and will be sent to human bookbinders for repair if needed, and it is common for new archivists to be tasked with the less-than-glamorous task of controlling pests in the archive, hunting rats and mice which might gnaw the pages and hanging up folk remedies and tablets inscribed with runes to ward off bookworms and other threats to the collection. They are also the scribes of new tomes, writing and illustrating by dipping their claws into ink and making delicate marks on the page, and the keepers of the artefacts to which arcane beings have been bound. They work closely with the binders in this task to ensure that the archive has no unexpected guests; should the runic inscription on an artefact abrade with time, or should the artefact be broken and the inscription thus fractured, the creature trapped within would be released. Metal artefacts are preferred for this reason; they are less likely to be broken. The archivists are also responsible for keeping the books and organising the Unit’s trade with humans, making sure they receive the food and materials they need in order to function.'

little winter landscape from a year or two back! i think this was inspired by the style of song of the sea.

this guy was my character for an arpg which i have since left due to time constraints and wanting for focus on my own stories. as a result he’s sort of abandoned right now, but i would love to write more about him sometime. cough cough his mother was maybe not being as literal as he thinks.

sketchbook drawings of bronze age artefacts in the british museum collection (mostly)! these were part of my process for the manifesto piece, hence why the iconography there is similar.

rotwood. my weird little guy. sort of abandoned

from the zine: 'Not every arcane being can be slain – some can only be neutralised through the use of runic, through long and complicated inscriptions and processes which bind them to a vessel known as an artefact, trapping them within where they can do no harm. Preparing for a binding takes time and is highly collaborative; each species of arcane creature requires its own unique spell, a string of complex runes first inscribed into the vessel which will be used to contain them, and then gouged or painted into the earth, a rune circle, a kind of trap. It can take many binders working together and communicating closely to create the rune circle, especially to capture the most powerful arcane beings, and as many to activate the circle when the time comes. The binders work closely with the hunters in the field to neutralise their target; the hunters will first weaken it, then lure it into the rune circle for the binders to ensnare and bind to the artefact. Many rune circles include runes of slowing, immobilisation or pain to buy the binders time to complete the process. Given that much of their work takes place in the field, binders are taught basic self-defence and wear light-weight leather armour when on a mission, just in case they become caught up in the fray.'

an ancient pet portrait, dug out of the archives!

final outcome for a uni project about my creativity!

assorted felines i associate with my being.

some roughly coloured drawings from my sketchbook when i was first thinking about these sphinxes. you'll see these pop up more from now on.

a little sketchbook drawing of skediceth from hannah kaner's "fallen gods" trilogy! love this little guy.

a landscape study, also from my foundation course! this was from a photo i took in powys or ceredigion.