Delicate Cycle is the title of a new raspberry-lemonade sour ale from Lithermans Limited Brewery. The title is a nod to a song of the same name by musical artist Aesop Rock and one of his collaboration efforts as half of the musical duo The Uncluded. The inspiration behind the illustration comes from the song’s music video which shows several scenes of animals with disabilities in a laundromat setting, reminding me of an adventure one of my cats had many years ago.
In short, our cat Esme had taken an accidental ride in our laundry drier after sneaking in unnoticed while the load was being transferred. By the time she was discovered, our poor cat was very disoriented and dehydrated. Thankfully, my amazing wife was studying to become a Veterinary Technician and knew what to do until we could get Esme to the hospital where she was treated and brought back to health.
At the time it was an extremely scary and emotional experience and we felt absolutely horrible, but now with it long behind us and knowing Esme is safe and healthy, we can laugh a little about the whole experience. However, there have been two noticeable side-effects from her adventure... the first being she now drools, especially when purring... the second is Esme now has the softest and fluffiest fur of any cat we’ve ever met.
I wanted to create an illustration that reflected the original nod, but also gave a nod to Esme and her adventure. The result is Esme hanging out at the local laundromat and happily drooling away as she watches raspberries and lemon wedges spin around in a Delicate Cycle.
