Poise

As you may have noticed, cats are kind of a big deal for me. >^..^<

This year I'm submitting multiple Letters of Intent in the Black Rock City Honoraria Grant cycle for 2026, including a few cat-themed pieces. Surprise!

I miss building for the playa. Some of the LOIs are from previous years but I really like the ideas and want to submit them again.

One of the mew ideas is Poise.

Poise demonstrates the chaotic beauty of cats in motion using aforementioned felines purrforming a balancing act on a tower of animated balls.

Poise

Description:

Two giant metal cats, approximately six to eight feet long, each balancing on its own stack of large yarn-looking and circus-style balls.

One cat is in mid-launch, body outstretched, with one or two rear paws pushing off from the top-tiered ball. The other cat is just landing, rear legs and tail in the air, one or two of the front paws look like they’re just touching down onto the ball on top of its stack.

The largest balls, on which the cats are poised, double as zoetropes of cats in motion. 

A colorful cat tower supports the solar panels and houses the electronics while providing shelter during the day. 

The cats and their balls are illuminated at night. The cat tower, covered with uv-reactive rope and paint, is illuminated with black lights.

Interactivity:

Each stack of balls will be approximately 4 to 5 feet tall. The largest ball sits on top of the smaller balls which create a base for stability. Inside that larger top ball, on which a cat is poised, is a zoetrope of cat animations that purrticipants can spin and activate, much like a cat enrichment toy.

The cat tower is a great spot to relax and watch the kitties and their play(a)mates engaging with each other. It will have painted images of cats and inspurrational facts about TNR and rescue.

Philosophy:

Watching cats defy gravity as they leap and jump at toys and bugs and shadows and ghosts is sooooo satisfying! Their twisting and turning in midair and landing safely back on earth is nothing short of miraculous.

Compassionate treatment of stray and feral cats means the world to me. I find homes for strays when I can and I have eight rescue cats of my own.

Trapping, neutering (and spaying) and releasing (TNR) cats is the most humane way to control populations and improves the lives of the existing cats in colonies.

When you see a cat with a tipped ear, that indicates the cat has been fixed and is part of a community colony that is being cared for by kind volunteers.

I’d like people to learn more about this and see it as a community endeavor.

The sculptures will have tipped ears, an indicator of a community cat that has undergone surgery. I hope to spark some curiosity and exploration with information hand-painted in the back and side panels of the cat tower.

Timeline:

If the LOI is approved, I move on to the full proposal page. I hope to find out mid-December.

Paws crossed!