July 7, 2022
"The only constant in life is change." - Heraclitus A big thank mew to Point San Pablo Harbor for hosting my kitties over the last couple of years and to We Are From Dust for getting them there from Burning Man in 2019.
It was bittersweet loading them up for their new year-long installation at the Hesperian Triangle in San Leandro as part of an ongoing city beautification endeavor. I am honored to have been selected by San Leandro's Arts Commission and supported by Local Artists Berkeley (website will be updated soon!). Hopefully, the cats will bring joy to neighbors and visitors for the next year.
And another thank mew to the ameowzing folks who rallied to help me install the cats in their new home. Tom Breen (transport extraordinaire!), Rory, Mark, Michael, Merrilee, and Evo. We did it!!!
We'll have electricity in the coming months and the Purr Pods will purr and light up once again soon! Stay tuned for updates and events!
You can see them at 14901 E. 14th Street in San Leandro, CA.
Purr...
November 7, 2021
It's official! The Purr Pods (Vega and Luna) are a purrmanent installation at Point San Pablo Harbor. I'm so excited! We Are From Dust and the folks at PSPH said the kitties can stay AND can go share their love in other cities (should the opportunity arise) and come back home. Yaaaaaay!!!!
June 25, 2021
The Purr Pods' platforms are finally done! The powder coater's sandblaster broke down midway. Nonetheless, awesome East Bay Burners and friends rallied when they were done and we were able to pick them up on a flatbed rental, get the cats up on sawhorses and get the platforms into place. Thank you, Wes, Scott, Charley and Will!
Didn't get a lot of pictures because we were busy moving the platforms by hand!
After I dropped off the flatbed truck rental - only had it for 4 hours! - I went home to eat, recuperate and take a cat nap. Then I returned to Point San Pablo Harbor and installed the lights and control boxes. I was able to rally Scott and Will to come back to help me finish up with the final details. Will dug the trenches and buried the power cables. We tested the power and everything worked! We enlisted the help from two ladies walking their dogs to lift the cats off the sawhorses and on to the platforms. Scott helped me attach the collars and name tags and fasten the cats to the platforms.
Right when the cats were supposed to light up, well, they didn't. *sad trombone*
We were able to open one of the control boxes without lifting a cat off the platform. Will checked the code and discovered they were still on Salt Lake City time. DOH! But that only meant that rather than the lights coming on 30 minutes before sundown, they come on 5 minutes after sundown. That's fine. And they did!!! We did a little happy dance, packed up and went home. Now the Purr Pods are fully installed again at PSPH. Woo hoo!
May 18, 2021
VEGA AND LUNA HAVE RETURNED!
The Purr Pods have landed back at Point San Pablo Harbor! I really feel it's their home.
Come visit! They spent 6 months in Salt Lake City (hopefully) bringing joy and whimsy to the downtown area during the winter through the scariest part of the pandemic.
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VEGA AND LUNA HAVE MOVED!
I found out at the end of October 2020 that Salt Lake City wanted to host my kitties!
It was a quick turnaround to remove them from their cozy litter box at Point San Pablo Harbor, clean off the cobwebs, install more lights, upgrade some of the electronics AND build platforms for their public life. Follow their next life here.
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COVID-19 UPDATE
Point San Pablo Harbor and Nobilis were temporarily closed to the public during the California's recommended stay at home safety recommendations. They re-opened for social distanced exploration mid-September and introduced a new restaurant, Black Star Pirate BBQ that has a lovely patio for safe dining and certainly offer take-out.
However, ART IS ESSENTIAL!
I was inspired by Dana Albany whose sculpture,Tara Mechani, donned a protective mask and gloves. So, I responsibly ventured out to PSPH and put masks (made with dish towels, paracord leftover from making the Devils Food Cupcake and zip ties!) on Vega and Luna. >^..^<
I wanted to do something uplifting and show support for health care workers and providers, first responders, grocery workers, delivery people, public transportation folks and everyone else who has been deemed essential and is helping us through this crisis.
We see you. We appreciate you. We love you. Be safe. Stay healthy.
Vega, Luna and me practicing COVID-19 safety.
Meowzers!!! Vega and Luna are happily curled up on their new cat box at Point San Pablo Harbor tucked behind the restaurant, Black Star Pirate BBQ (formerly Nobilis).
We Are From Dust is bringing interactive art out into the world and supporting the artists who make it, like me! >^..^< I was at the end of my time at my shop, working on another cat - a Purrsonal Purr Pod! - and finalizing details of moving two of the original Purr Pods. My friend, Wes, and my husband, Will, were instrumental in getting things ready to go.
Wes and I made the call to pull the welded parts of the new cat off the form and transport them to my house until we figured out where we could finish welding the sculpture back together, add supports and send it off to the powder coaters. Not enough time and the cat was easier to move in pieces. Plus we had two other giant cats to move! The weather had been super windy and rainy except for the day we moved Vega and Luna. Yay!!! We had extra hands come and help move the cats which made it go so much faster. Yay again!! Thank you to Kenneth Clemmer, Wolfgang Harland, Wes Skinner, my shop mate, Jeff, Daryl (forklift driver at PSPH) and two visitors who happened to be there and lent a hand for helping out! Hopefully this weekend we'll have the solar installed and the cats powered up! RAWR!
POWER!!
Great big thank you to Dave Abel! We got solar all set up, the lights are working and the Purr Pods are doing what they do best. Purrrrrrrring!