Burning Man 2014: Tagging on a skate ramp, Ice cream from the Reverse Cowgirl Creamery

Earlier in the week, I had seen this camp on the Esplanade that had a large skate park, and it was quite the spectacle, seeing guys roll around on skateboards on a fairly extensive skate park in the desert.  

Later on, someone from that camp came to my theme camp, Cartoon Commune.  Seeing as we were a camp with a cartoon theme, he enquired as to who the artists were. When I was identified, he invited me to do a piece of artwork on the surface of the skate park.  I always love to spontaneously contribute my art at burning man.

I eventually got to it, I think on Friday.  I wandered over and made contact with the guy, whose name I don't recall.  He told me to just pick a spot and go for it, and the skaters would just skate around me.

I'd planned to create a major manifesto, wrapping over the top of the ramp and incorporating many different cartoon elements and characters, but logistically, it wasn't meant to be, for it was right around noon and I'd neglected to bring an umbrella or any provision against the burning sun.  So, my piece ended up being smaller than originally planned.  Regardless, I laid it down and had fun doing it.  It was a little manic-looking character I found in my sketchbook and more or less copied onto the ramp.

My piece.

Wider shot.

The playa viewed from the skate park, the Man in distance.

As I worked, the skating continued around me and would occasionally distract me with a particularly clutch rail grind or ollie.

Someone else's tag

Some days, our neighborhood would get a visit from the Reverse Cowgirl Creamery, which hosted something of an ice cream social on the open playa, just off the 7:30 keyhole.  In the late afternoon, from our camp, we'd hear someone on a bullhorn hawking ice cream.

free radical poses with his ice cream bar and phone case.

Drawn to this, we'd join several dozen people on bikes and on foot, converging on the mobile ice cream parlor.  This time, I think it was Friday, I was joined by my brother and campmate, Fango, aka Daniel Ari.  Friendly burners at the counter would serve delicious individually-wrapped frozen confections.  Naturally, the ice cream is given freely; nothing is expected in return from the recipient except their presence.

Happy Times!!!

The art-car also pumped out the typical electronic dance music, which put the crowd in a party mood.  It was a vibrant social scene, and I was compelled to stay and dance for awhile after finishing my ice cream.

Our gracious hosts, the Reverse Cowgirl Creamery

A beautiful and friendly crowd enjoys ice cream in the afternoon on the playa.

But there's more!  Much, much more! ...