Steven Strang
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alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Steven Strang
@alchemicalrat.bsky.social
1.8K followers 640 following 1.2K posts
Artist, researcher. Anthropology, experimental archaeology, painting, sculpture, visual communication. Slowed but not entirely stopped by ME/CFS. Ottawa, Canada.
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alchemicalrat.bsky.social
It’s the gotcha day anniversary for our rescue cat Mr Socks!
Photo of a tabby cat sitting on a piece of furniture from December 2019. His body language is a bit nervous, and he’s judging me from a safe distance. Photo of the same tabby cat from last night. He is curled up asleep while pressed against my leg.
December 14, 2025 at 5:58 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day 14 of #ArtAdventCalendar
Painting from within a pine forest on a ridge at night at night. A dead tree lies across a path in the foreground, and a stooped figure in a long coat and a hat is silhouetted against a moonlit sky. He walking away from you leaning on his cane.
December 14, 2025 at 3:12 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day 13 of #ArtAdventCalendar
Fragile
Painting of a paper aeroplane flying through space. Europa, one of Jupiter’s moons, is in the background.
December 13, 2025 at 3:54 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day 12 of #ArtAdventCalendar
St Christina the Astonishing
Oil on panel, painted about 25 years ago.
Painting in the style of Hieronymus Bosch of a female saint standing in a landscape with a hurdle just behind her. She is holding lilies in one hand and a fetter attached by a chain to a marble pillar in her other hand. A heron headed grotesque sits at her feet holding an incense burner. A swine-headed guard or soldier with a polearm lurks behind her. There is a water mill in the distance. All of these relate to incidents in her hagiography.
December 12, 2025 at 2:14 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day 11 of #ArtAdventCalendar
Painting in shades of green of a deep sea diver walking towards you on a forest path. Their air hose reaches skywards between the branches, and a pair of birds are flying out of the undergrowth across the path.
December 11, 2025 at 2:30 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day 10 of #ArtAdventCalendar
The Hunters
Painting of a woman and a fox in a forest. The woman is wearing a long red dress and is drawing a bow, aiming at something further off into the woods. The fox sits at her feet and is looking over its shoulder towards the archer’s target.
December 10, 2025 at 2:28 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
You will be visited by three spirits
Photo of three plush mice wearing dark eclipse-viewing glasses and warm clothing. They have a little abacus for their calculations and a brass telescope on a stand.
December 9, 2025 at 5:42 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day 9 of #ArtAdventCalendar
Bejewelled Hare
Painting of a hare in an ornate silver frame. The hare is posed as if sitting for a portrait before a blue background. It is wearing several gold renaissance-style necklaces and a pearl drop earring.
December 9, 2025 at 2:21 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day seven of #ArtAdventCalendar and #OwlishMonday
Looking Through the Owl’s Eyes
Pen and ink wash picture of a young person in a long dress holding up an owl in front of their face. The owl is perched with its wings spread open and its eyes directly in front of the person’s as if it were a mask.
December 8, 2025 at 2:14 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day seven of #ArtAdventCalendar
Her Constant Companion
Painting of a woman in a blue silk Victorian gown. An enigmatic shadowy creature looms behind her, staring at you with yellow eyes. The woman holds a red leash loosely in one hand, the other end appears to be attached to the creature.
December 7, 2025 at 2:37 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day six of #ArtAdventCalendar
The Lads Had Dressed Fo Dinner
Painting of two people with animal heads standing in front of a green background. The raccoon is wearing a baggy blue jacket and leaning on a walking stick. The bear is wearing a long overcoat and carrying a salmon. Both are wearing bowler hats.
December 6, 2025 at 2:58 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day five of #ArtAdventCalendar.
Painting of a raven perched on a branch of a pine tree. The raven is holding an old key on a string in its beak. The background is a forested valley with lakes and some cleared fields.
December 5, 2025 at 2:35 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Krampmouse has made an appearance! So it’s time to start setting up our Christmas diorama in the window…
Photo of a plush toy mouse dressed like Krampus. It is wearing a horned mask with bright red eyes, it has a whip in one hand, a chain around its waist, and a basket on its back holding a smaller felt mouse.
December 5, 2025 at 2:10 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day 4 of #ArtAdventCalendar
The Treasure Hunter
Painting of a solemn-looking girl in 19th century clothing standing in a pine forest and holding a shovel. The ground falls away immediately in front of her, opening into an abyss scattered with stars. She is looking to her side at an owl perched on a nearby tree branch.
December 4, 2025 at 2:59 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Cat-napped!
Photo of an old tabby cat curled into a ball on the coverlet while pressed against my leg. He’s multitasking by getting a heat transfusion from me in his sleep.
December 3, 2025 at 10:44 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Day 3 of #ArtAdventCalendar
Painting of a person with a raven’s head, wearing an intensely red long dress is walking along a road. In the landscape behind them is a dead tree with three ravens perched in the branches.
December 3, 2025 at 3:09 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Another horizontal day, but I can’t complain about the company.
Photo of a cat on my lap while I recline on the sofa under a blue blanket. A soft brown toy mouse wearing a silk shawl leans on the cat.
December 2, 2025 at 3:46 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
#ArtAdventCalendar day 2
A cabin with a view.
Painting of a red frame cabin on a very small but heavily treed island which is floating mysteriously over the surface of a lake.
December 2, 2025 at 2:13 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
#ArtAdventCalendar
From my Universal Anxiety Protection Suit series.
Painting of a person wearing an open long blue coat and a protective helmet with a circular faceplate. They are standing in a ray of light in a dark enigmatic space.
December 1, 2025 at 1:30 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
This painting had been sitting unfinished for over five years.
Fixed it. Ready to start over…
Photo of a piece of Masonite, a knife, and a pile of paint chips.
November 30, 2025 at 7:50 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Proof of Cat, and How I Spent My Weekend, all in one photograph.
Photo of a tabby cat asleep with his head on my lap while I’m laying on the sofa. Some days sitting up uses too many spoons.
November 30, 2025 at 4:50 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Describe your cat’s personality with one photo:
A dramatically backlit photo of a cat sitting on a folded blanket on a sofa. He is staring at you.
November 29, 2025 at 10:28 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Not exactly what you had in mind perhaps, but here’s a photo of my moose antler wedding ring.
Close up photograph of a plain wedding ring on a wooden table. The ring is a warm ivory colour. I carved it from antler from a moose my father hunted in northern Ontario. We ate the moose (the meat lasted us most of a year, they are very large) and we made things from the antlers so that as little as possible would go to waste.
November 28, 2025 at 9:25 PM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
If you see this post a monster.

From a series I called “Reasons Not To Put A Tillinghast Camera Trap Under Your Bed”
Black and white painting in the style of night photos taken with wildlife camera traps. It shows a multi-tentacled swimming monster with possible multiple eyestalks and a very large circular mouth with a lot of teeth.
November 27, 2025 at 2:50 AM
alchemicalrat.bsky.social
Current bookbinding experiment, based on Renaissance era notebooks with flexible parchment bindings. Using material from a broken drumhead for the bands and cover on this one.
Photo of a small book partially assembled. Next to it on a cutting board are a piece of parchment for the cover, an awl, a bone tool for creasing and folding paper, and a large spool of linen thread. The pages have been sewn to three parchment strips, but the cover hasn’t been attached yet.
November 24, 2025 at 3:11 PM