Welz shoe fest! Plus a few random shoe photos...

Could not resist doing a group shot of my Welz shoes. There's seven now, & I'm open to welcoming some more in different decors if they happen to come my way.
Keeping on the shoe theme, the second photo is one I took as an art student nearly 30 years ago. We were given a photography assignment with the self portrait as a theme. I was keen to avoid doing a literal self portrait for a couple of reasons - too obvious for one thing, & I couldn't bear to do a selfie anyway until 2017. So I did a series using objects that represented me in an oblique way. I'd been wearing these Doc Martens basically every day since 1990, so by 1992 they were pretty much a part of me. On a whim I filled them with some azaleas which were growing on the side of the path where the shoes are posed. So it was kind of like I disappeared & left only some flowers behind in my shoes (as a kid I was obsessed with morbid phenomena such as spontaneous human combustion, stories of which usually told of nothing remaining but the unfortunate victim's shoes). Pleased to report that my photography lecturer was impressed & I got a good mark. I think I should have majored in photography instead of painting, but the darkroom chemicals gave me headaches. If digital had been an option, though...oh well! I threw out most of my old art school work years ago but somehow this photo survived the purge. It turned up when I was packing to move in 2018.
Photo three also holds a lot of memories for me. This small Burmese cat wasn't mine, but I enjoyed her excellent company for several years at a former residence. She belonged to a neighbour, & would visit regularly. The first time I met her she went straight for my shoes, & here she is, staying true to form. I'd just walked out the door to get into a busy day, & she turned up, wanting to hang out...sadly I had to keep moving but still celebrated the moment. I really miss this cat!