New Project

Celebrating my birthday, photo by Kimberly Sikora

Well, I was right, no Burning Man for me this year because I'm too immersed in a new project, making a baby girl! I'm in San Francisco for my birthday but there's no metal work for me in the meantime. It's just fun and games this visit.

It has been strange not being able to work in the shop. I've found some projects around the house to occupy my time and I'm taking a drawing class so I do have some form of a creative outlet, but I look forward to getting dirty with some metal again in the future. Until then, it's baby time.

Zoa at Burning Man

Zoa crew, photo by Kimberly Sikora

No surprise here, Burning Man was fantastic yet again. I had the privilege to help build Zoa during the build week. It was a hard week, lots of late nights, hot days, and some epic dust storms near the end. I found myself at one point spray painting during the brief lulls of a storm, which was a slightly futile endeavor, but it somehow worked out in the end. Zoa is a beautiful piece in all her stages and I'm so honored to be part of her crew.

And I know I said this last year, but I'm guessing I won't be making it out to next years burn. I'll miss it for sure, but we'll be back.

Back in San Francisco

Serpent Fire

I'm back at it in San Francisco, helping out with two projects. Most of my time is spent working with the Flux Foundation on their piece Zoa. I love Flux. I love their work and I love working with them. I am so excited about Zoa, she is going to be beautiful. A piece in three stages: wooden seed pods, flaming seed pods, and then the graceful metal creature that will emerge from the flames.

I'm also working on the Serpent Twins, forging some flames and otherwise enjoying my time back in the shop.

Propolis at Orlando Mini Maker Faire

Propolis at the Orlando Mini Maker Faire 2012

The Orlando Mini Maker Faire was quite the success! It was much larger and better attended than I could have hoped for and many people, kids especially, seemed to enjoy Propolis. We were placed in the dark room next to the R2 Builders and I had a blast meeting and talking to other makers and makers in the making.

Orlando Mini Maker Faire

The first ever Orlando Mini Maker Faire is coming up May 26th at the Central Florida Fairgrounds. I am really excited to be a Featured Maker and to have the opportunity to show Propolis again. I am also looking forward to meeting other Makers in the area – the Faire has been more popular than expected and they have had to move to a larger venue. Orlando is certainly not known for it’s art/maker community but it is there and much more vibrant than I expected. Come check it out if you are in the area!

Despite my previous assertion that David and would not be attending Burning Man this year, we are of course going. I am going back to the Bay area for a week to help out the Flux Foundation with their piece, Zoa. I’m excited to get back in the shop and get dirty again and I can’t wait for the crappy San Francisco summer weather – I need a break from this heat! I will also be attending the Bay Area Maker Faire and I am looking forward to a weekend of amazing people and inspiration.

And We Have Moved

David and I moved to Orlando, FL back in October of 2011. We have spent the last 4 months renovating our house and planning our wedding (are we nuts? yes. yes we are.). I have not had much time to explore the art scene in Orlando yet, though I have learned enough to know that yes, there is an art scene in Orlando. It’s just a little spread out.

First off I found Burnt Oranges, the local Burning Man non-profit. They put on 2 local burns a year and provide grants for local artists. I also found the local Maker Space, FamiLab right around the time they were moving in to a new and larger space and starting to build a metal studio. While it’s still in the works, it is super exciting to see it coming together. They are also hosting the first ever Orlando Mini Maker Faire May 26, 2012 in which I am a featured maker with Propolis. I have also been told about but have not yet visited the Crealde School of Art, a community organization that provides classes and studio space for local artists.

Now that I have some more free time I need to explore and get involved with the scene here. I will also be making in out to San Francisco in May for Maker Faire and hopefully later in the summer to help out with some Burning Man projects. David and I are not planning on attending the Burn this year, and while I do feel  a little sad I am excited for what comes next. And no worries, we’ll be back on the playa soon enough!

Burning Man Projects

Grinding the Serpent's fins, photo by Kyrsten Mate

Grinding the Serpent's fins, photo by Kyrsten Mate

Since May of this year I’ve been spending much of my time down in San Francisco/Oakland helping out with a couple of Burning Man projects. After having brought my own piece last year I wanted to just help out someone else and not have to worry about the logistics, funding, etc. Also, having mostly worked on my own I wanted to see what goes into a large scale art piece. The first one I am helping out with is the Serpent Twins by Jon Sarriugarte and Kyrsten Mate. They make beautifully crafted and whimsical art cars, and these ones are no exception. I’m learning a lot about what it takes to make a well-made and detail-oriented piece. Check out some photos from the studio.

I am also helping out the Flaming Lotus Girls with their piece, Tympani Lambada. The FLG are one of the main reasons I ever started working with metal in the first place so I am quite excited to have come full circle and be working with them. They are a fully volunteer group and in fact, anyone can come help out whether or not they have any metal working experience. Their pieces are a small miracle, and a testament to the hard work that they put into their pieces. It has been an incredible experience seeing what goes into a large scale fire, LED, and sound sculpture built in the desert. So much love and dedication.

Beyond Wonderland

Setting up Propolis at Beyond Wonderland

Setting up Propolis at Beyond Wonderland

Back in April, USC Events here in Seattle contacted me to see if I wanted to show Propolis at Beyond Wonderland, a rave in downtown Seattle. While it was admittedly a pain in the patootie for a one night event, I had a lot of fun. There was a lot of good music and people were excited to see art, apparently a new thing at these events in Seattle.

Critical Massive

Propolis at Crtical Massive 2011

Propolis at Crtical Massive 2011

This summer I received a Refurbish Grant from Ignition Northwest to make a platform for Propolis and to show it at Critical Massive July 18-24 in Mt. Vernon, WA. Propolis was originally built with the Burning Man playa in mind, meaning I buried much of the wiring underground. I clearly can not hide the wiring in the same way in other circumstances so I built a platform to hide it.

This was my first year at Critical Massive and I had a blast – while it was certainly smaller than Burning Man there was a lot of fantastic art, great people, and a nice community feel. I enjoyed meeting a lot of other local artists. It rained for the first couple of days and I was a little nervous about short-circuits, so for the first two days Propolis was sequestered under a canopy. While that clearly is not what I had in mind, I ended up kind of liking it as the canopy created a nice cozy and intimate environment. The only problem is people did not know they were welcome to enter the space and most people just peeked in from the outside. Thankfully the rain cleared up and Propolis was freed from its canopy for the last two days of the event.

Upcoming Events

A lot has been going on recently, both professionally and personally. In April I finished up a class at Pratt called Sculpture in Motion. I worked in wood for the first time and made a piece that explores a variety of motions and in which the mechanism is part of the art. Though currently unfinished, it will be shown in the Pratt lobby with other works from the class in July 2011.

The Alley Art Project has mostly wrapped up. We installed the panels and sculpture in the alley last week and they are ready and waiting for our opening on Thursday, May 5th. Each of the interns will be displaying a work for the evening (or longer). It should be a fun party with music, food, and of course good company.

I was also recently contacted by Beyond Wonderland asking if I wanted to show Propolis for their event. Luckily I just obtained replacement circuit boards and have finished up soldering all the lights back together so we’re good to go. So, Propolis will be back up and running on May 14th for what looks like an amazing party.

This summer is shaping up to be completely insane. I’ll be traveling for much of it, going to Maker Faire for the first time as well as Burning Man (of course!), and also hopefully working with the Flaming Lotus Girls down in San Francisco.

Alley Art

So for the past few months I’ve been headed in a slightly different direction. After doing the lighting for Propolis with the help of some very talented friends I realized that I wanted to learn more about electronics. So while I’ve been fixing up Propolis’ lights (soldering, cleaning, organizing, etc.), I’ve also been teaching myself about electronics. Still a lot to learn, but it has been a lot of fun and will likely lead to lots of fun projects in the future.

Though I can never seem to get too far from metal work. I’ve got a new class coming up at Pratt, Sculpture in Motion, led by a friend of mind. Super excited to incorporate more interactivity into my art. I was also awarded an Alley Art Project Internship through Pratt. Over the next couple of months I get to work with a group of upcoming and established artists on a public art project down in Pioneer Square, Seattle. The grant money comes from Alley Art and the project is lead by an artist I greatly admire, Patrick Mahar. We meet this Friday for the first time and I’m excited to see the space as well as learn more about the project.

It's Alive!

Photo by Neil Girling

Photo by Neil Girling

I’m back from the Burn and it was everything I envisioned and more. Bringing a piece of art enhanced the experience in so many ways and I felt a lot more connected to everything. It was, not surprisingly, more work than I had expected  (the rain on Monday night DID NOT help me out in any way), but it was completely worth it. We frantically installed the lighting in the two days prior to leaving and only saw it complete for the first time on Tuesday night. That moment was such a relief and an overflow of excitement. It was more beautiful than I had imagined. Throughout the week I got a lot of great feedback from people and enjoyed hearing different interpretations of the piece and its meaning.

I was determined to take a break and decompress but I’m already finding myself taking note of the lessons I learned from this and brainstorming ideas for next year. Creating is addicting.

Almost Done

Installing Covers

Installing Covers

We leave for Burning Man in five days and it looks like this is all going to come together. The frame is done, the plastic is all cut out, I’ve drilled the million and three holes, and while the lighting will be done a little last minute I have a feeling it will all work out just fine. Speaking of which, I should really thank my friends Rachel and Brian for helping me out so much with the lighting. They are both professional lighting designers in New York City and they volunteered to help me out (as in do all the work) with the lighting. It has been a bit of a logistical pain in the butt to collaborate long-distance, and I have to admit to a few hysterical freak-outs, but I think it will all come together.

I just have a couple of small things to complete before we leave – shellac one one of the pieces, drill a couple more holes (drilling seems like  a never-ending task), and finish up the stakes – but thankfully I’m no longer in ‘oh holy crap I have to work 16 hour days or this will never  get finished’ mode. I’ve got some time to think about packing and I have even already brainstormed about ideas for next year (but then and realize that that is completely insane and make myself stop).

Propolis

Propolis Frame Completed

Propolis Frame Completed

I’m officially done with the first stage of my piece. The frame is complete and now I’ve just got a million other things to get done. The next step is to make plastic coverings for the hexagons that will have lights in them. I’m anticipating that this step will somewhat short and sweet but the next step, installing them, will be quite time consuming. Thank goodness I’ve got a lot of time (in theory at least – it’s amazing how time flies when you’re immersed so completely in something).

I finished my forge building class last week but I’ve still got some work to do on it. We worked on the gas and air supply but now I’ve got to install some ceramic insulation and put it all together. It shouldn’t be too much work, I just need to take time away from Propolis to complete the forge and I have a hard time doing that. I’ll happen.

I also need to submit my piece to Burning Man this weekend so that it’s placed on the map and in all the literature. At that point I’ll be all official and really have to complete this thing (though I’m sure there are quite a few projects that never quite make it to the playa despite the best of intentions).

Pratt

Pratt Fine Arts Center is the non-profit studio where I not only learned everything I know about metal work, it’s also the studio I rent out for my personal use. It’s an incredible resource and one of the main reasons I moved to Seattle. Anyone who lives in the area and is interested in art should check it out. They offer classes in:

  • Welding
  • Forging
  • Bronze Casting
  • Stone Carving
  • Jewlery
  • Metalsmithing
  • Hot Glass
  • Warm Glass
  • Drawing
  • Painting, and
  • Printmaking

as well as numerous classes and workshops in a variety of diverse disciplines, including:

  • Bookmaking
  • Collage
  • Felt, and
  • Visiting Master Artist workshops.

The only thing they don’t have is ceramics, but that’s because there are other amazing resources in Seattle that already offer ceramics classes including Pottery Northwest.

At Pratt I have taken classes in welding, forging, and drawing and have been impressed with all of my teachers as well as the facility and tools available. Eight-week classes meet once a week and seem to cost around $300 (drawing classes being cheaper and bronze classes more expensive) but they offer both merit and need-based scholarships as well as work-study opportunities. Also, when you are in a class they offer Free Fridays where you can come in on Fridays and use the studio to your hearts content from 9am to 10pm. It’s amazing.

Having come from a classically-trained music background (which, while I love, admit that it has its snobby elements*) I was a little apprehensive about entering into another world where opinions and snobbery could run high. I was more than pleased to find that Pratt welcomes everyone with open arms. The classes are informative and challenging, but they accept everyone at their own level. There are no expectations beyond those that you place on yourself.

Once you are familiar with the studio Pratt offers a studio rental program. After passing a test to make sure you know what you’re doing you can rent the studio by the day, week, or month. It’s an incredible resource for those of us who don’t have the space or money for our own place and for those who are just getting started.

Pratt pretty much just rocks.

*Don’t get me wrong, I love me some good snobbery as you’re likely to find out should you ever ask me about cheese, chocolate, or outdoor gear.

Forge Building

I don’t take many classes at Pratt anymore, but I do keep my eye out for new class listings and workshops. One such class that caught my eye recently was a forge building class, something I could not pass up. Today was the first of two days and I’m stoked. We’re building simple 16” long tube forges. It’s a simple but useful design. The inside area has a circumference of 8” and it opens up on both ends (meaning I can heat up the middle sections of long pieces of material). Today we built a mold and cast the insulating material. These will be dried in a kiln in the next couple of days and next week we will be adding the gas hookup and fan. The only bummer about this whole thing is I don’t currently have a place to use my new forge, though I’ll make that happens someday in hopefully the not too distant future.

Burning Man's Fault

This whole thing started with Burning Man (like so many other things I’m sure). It’s Burning Man’s fault that I’ve got burns up and down my arms and hands (and oddly enough, boobs) from welding and forging. It’s Burning Man’s fault I’ve organized my life and my job so I can spend my days in the studio. And it’s Burning Man’s fault that I couldn’t be happier.

It first attended in 2006, and for those who haven’t been, simply put: it’s inspiring. The amount of time, love, hard work, dedication, and resources that people put in this event is mind-blowing. People share because they care. Or something less cheesy sounding than that.

Every year that I’ve gone I’ve been most drawn to the art. Massive, interactive, fire and LED lit sculptures dot the playa and create quite the surreal landscape. I love it, and I’ve wanted to contribute since I first saw it.

It took me awhile to get to a place where I could start – a move to a new state, a new job, and other personal whatnot got in they way for awhile. But come 2008 I was able to take my first welding class at Pratt Fine Arts Center and I loved it. I made a box, not the most exciting thing in the world, but it still sits on my shelf holding my poi. I continued to take welding and forging classes over the next couple of years. Now I primarily rent out their sculpture studio for my own personal use. I spend my days making art and answering to no one but me – it pretty much rocks.

Every year at Burning Man it seems like the Flaming Lotus Girls bring one of the most beautiful and creative pieces of the year. After last year’s piece, Soma, I decided I wanted to work with them and hopefully learn something about fire installations and the logistics of making a larger scale piece in the process. I got in contact with them and it looked like it was all going to work out until they sadly did not receive a grant from Burning Man for their piece (apparently they asked for too much money – this makes me wonder how awesomely huge and fiery their idea was). I looked into helping out some other groups both in the Bay are and here in Seattle but nothing intrigued me quite like the FLG – I like their aesthetic, the fact that it’s mostly women, and their come one, come all approach.

So, what’s a girl to do? DIY of course, as that’s sort of the whole point of Burning Man. So do it myself I did. And am doing. And still have a lot of hard work doing ahead – which is all Burning Man’s fault.