Erica Prince & Boofy

 “I grew up with cats- our somewhat socially inept cat named Camouflage chose me to be her human when I was 5 years old- she lived in my room exclusively and I fell asleep with her on top of me every night throughout my childhood. As a young woman, I was always waiting until my life was “together” enough to get a cat. I had a long-term boyfriend who was a hoarder and we had planned to get a cat together. We talked about it for years but the environment just didn't feel right, and this was one of the warning signs that eventually led to us splitting. As a reaction to that messy breakup I decided I was ready to be a single cat mom.There were so many cats at the shelter but Boofy stood out- he commanded space with his wide stance, big head and cartoon eyes. He was incorrectly marked as a girl and he had a really horrible name which I shall never speak aloud, but I held him and he just melted into my arms. I knew my life was forever changed. Apparently, he had been dumped on a farm in NJ that had a lot of outdoor cats. He would climb a tree next to the kitchen window and cry until they let him in the house. He knew he wasn't cut out for the outdoorsy lifestyle and so they put him up for adoption because he made it very clear that he was seeking that cushy indoor life.When I first adopted Boofy he was about 4 years old and really really fat. I actually named him Buford because I thought he was big and dignified, but it quickly evolved to Boofy because it turns out he’s a bit clumsier and more baby-ish than I’d originally thought.Boofy loves to be carried around the house like a baby, or used as a pillow while reading or watching TV. He is very malleable and generally puts up with anything as long as you are paying attention to him. I tend to pee with the door open when it's just my husband and I in the house and the subtle sound of my butt hitting the toilet seat wakes Boofy out of a dead sleep and he comes running into the bathroom because he knows I'll pick him up and pet him. We used to put him in this little hoodie when we would have parties and he didn't think he could move when he was wearing it, so he’d just sit there like a prop on the couch the whole night letting people fawn over him. His best friend (or boyfriend?) is a Muppet-like puppet named Poofy that looks exactly like him. He’s not very interested in playing unless you are throwing treats or ham, or he's playing with a half-dead mouse, which he likes to gift to us in bed in the middle of the night. Boofy’s personality is legendary amongst our friends, and we often have people tell us that they’ve always wanted a cat just like him. I work from home in my studio in Bushwick, and I am so lucky to have Boofy as my assistant, checking in on me throughout the day, sitting in my lap as I work at my desk, sitting on top of all my in-progress drawings and lying in the middle of the floor in all the sunny spots.”Erica Prince is a Brooklyn based artist and designer whose work explores conscious lifestyle design, striving to highlight the here and now through a consideration of variables and potentialities. She makes drawings, functional ceramics, sculptural installations, and has an ongoing relational project, The Transformational Makeover Salon, where she transforms participant’s physicality in an effort to help them gain perspective on their everyday selves. Her works have been featured in T: New York Times Style Magazine, Vice, Artsy, NPR, Wallpaper and Canadian Art. Recent exhibitions include “things you can’t unthink” at The Banff Centre in Alberta, Canada, and “The Transformational Makeover Salon” at Otherwild NY, PULSE Miami Beach and In Limbo in Williamsburg. Check out her work at www.erica-prince.com.