Meet Mouse on behalf of Nicola Bailey
Nicola Bailey is a multi-media interdisciplinary South African artist, whose artwork reflects the empathic, reciprocal and inter-connective relationships between humans and animals. Her dogs Teddy, Mouse, and Sumo are her models and muses, and through them her artwork questions our own emotional intelligence, and explores what it means to be and to dream.
Find out more through Mouse's interview.
What’s your wake up ritual?
Mouse: I like to wake up slowly in meditation, it is my favourite part of the day. On the velvet couch in the bedroom, with the morning sun steaming in and warming my body. Mom always opens the curtains slightly for me...I take my time for breakfast.
Where is your favourite spot in the house?
Mouse: have several, it is all strategic to be near Mom. To be comfortable, it's usually in my dream cloud … Mom has placed them where I like to be. This includes outside under the umbrella on the summer weekends.
Do you go to an office or work from home?
Mouse: It is exhausting to be an artist, muse and model. We work every day from home as Mom has her sculpture and painting studios there. It is a walk between each space…. back and forth throughout the day. I take my job very seriously, and I am totally committed. Thus, by the end of the day I am utterly finished.
What do you do for fun? What do you do to relax?
Mouse: I am most relaxed asleep and, in the sun, in the company of my dog brothers Teddy and Sumo, or otherwise a quick walk on the beach.
Do you follow any kind of diet?
Mouse: My favourite meal is one shared. Roast chicken and gravy, otherwise Happy Hounds which I love.
Do you like to cook or prefer going out?
Mouse: I liked to be cooked for.
What are your favourite restaurants?
Mouse: Anywhere that accepts dogs. In Paternoster I have a favourite table at the Noisy Oyster. In Cape Town the Mount Nelson Hotel is a treat.
What’s your view on treats and indulgences?
Mouse: Everyday should have a little treat or two, but in moderation as I am watching my waistline. Dry peanut butter biscuits are my favourite or a little piece of Sunday roast lamb.
Do you like to celebrate your birthday?
Mouse: I don’t know when I was born.
Do you believe in Astrology? What star signs are you?
Mouse: Yes, I do believe… I imagine I could be a Cancerian. I am a true homebody and I like to sleep a lot.
What do you most like about each other?
Mouse: Mom's unconditional love and cuddles, and her fashion sense.
Are you more of a city, beach or mountain dog?
Mouse: If I am not at home… a trot on the beach, my paws love the soft sand.
Do you like to holiday together?
Mouse: I do love a good road trip with the window down and breeze blowing through my ears, preferably arriving at a beach holiday in Paternoster or Plettenberg Bay.
What rules do you think are made to be broken?
Mouse: No piece of furniture and no bed should be dog free. Especially for us whippets, we are very boney and life is hard enough.
Do you like to sleep together?
Mouse: Yes, especially in my youth but as I get older I prefer my own spaces, and Mom understands
What's one of the naughtiest things you've ever done?
Mouse: Sometimes I have shoved my nose into something or someone I shouldn't have...
What’s one of the most adventurous things you have done in your life?
Mouse: The life of a creative like me is full of adventure… and I am immortalised forever in my Mom’s artworks.
Mike Hall Photography
Do you have a favourite smell?
Mouse: A braai or another dog.
What are three things you can’t live without?
Mouse: My mom, sunshine and sleep.
What’s on your bucket list?
Mouse: I have always fancied visiting Paris and walking along the Seine. I hear French dogs are very elegant, so my brother Teddy and I will fit right in.
To shop Mouse and Teddy's look see our Sighthound range.
