Back from the Burn

Flaming Lotus Girls, Tympani Lambada crew, photo by Joe Dacanay

I had the most amazing Burning Man to date (though it seems that happens every year). I had the distinct pleasure of helping build Tympani Lambada with the Flaming Lotus Girls over the past summer and then installing it on playa during build week. It was hot. Really hot. It was a lot of hard work. A lot of late nights. But oh-so-very worth it. I remember last year when I brought Propolis I felt so much more connected to the event as a whole. Well, working with a large crew on a collaborative piece only developed an even deeper connection to the event and the community.

That would have been amazing if that's all I had done, but I also helped build the Serpent Twins, two amazing serpent cars by Jon Sarriugarte. Seeing these two cars roam around the playa is just fantastically wonderfully delightful, not to mention that my heart melted when I got to drive one.

Burning Man Projects

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.

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.

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.