Hi, Friends.....
I am sharing very sad news today. As many of you have already heard, our dear friend Ike (Suzy Eisenhauer) of Ike's Art, Ike's World Challenges, and Show Us Your Pussycats Challenges lost her battle with cancer and passed away early Thursday during the night. Since then.....blog posts, FB posts, and emails have been showing up expressing what we all feel: grief and loss, but also a huge amount of gratitude for the privilege of knowing Ike, even if it was only on-line.
Ike had the beautiful gift of making everyone feel special and valued. I do not use digital images very much (rather, hardly at all!). But anytime I used her artwork in a card or project she made me feel like a million dollars with her words of appreciation.....(even though my cards were never all that great!)
She was a loyal supporter of the Cat Lovers Hops here on my blog. She sponsored our Hops from the very beginning in 2015 and graciously designed special sets of images especially for the Hop each year until she was too ill to do it. I featured those images each year and designated Ike's Art as the official sponsor for the Daily Games feature on the Hop. She was a dearly loved member of our Cat Lovers Hop family and it won't be the same without her!
She was a cat lover through and through and that's probably how she and I first got to know each other. I recruited her to help me launch the first Cat Lovers Hop by submitting a project.....and then I couldn't get rid of her!! Ha. She stuck around and became part of the backbone of the Hops. (What in the world are we going to do now???)
Ike was always positive and cheery in her outlook. She spread joy and humor wherever she went. Her emails and FB posts were often sprinkled with funny memes and wry humor. Most times you would never guess she was suffering so intensely.
She only mentioned occasionally that she was ill, but one could tell things were not good at all. She courageously dealt with all life threw at her, including the nasty effects of chemo. So it was a huge surprise to receive a package from her several weeks ago. It was a birthday present.....this wonderful crocheted kitty lap afghan. Sooooooooo fun and cute!!
How she managed to make this when she had been ill for so long, I
don't know...but it is something I will always treasure and remember her
by. How very like Ike to generously give of herself with a special
handmade gift. I know that many others have similar tales of the unique and
creative gifts Ike sent "just because".....even with high
postage costs and "donkey mail" clear from Greece!
Ike will live on in the hearts of her family and her many friends around the world. She made a tremendous impact on the papercrafting community and her art will continue to be loved...and used to bring joy to others!
My prayers are with her family and to all those who will miss her dearly. We will always love and remember you, Ike. We are so blessed to have been privileged to know you! 💖💖💖
❤
Janis
