Burning Man 2017: Photos and Stories, Part 1 (of 2)

I'm back from Burning Man!

I know, but like, no duh, right? I mean, wasn't that like three weeks ago?
Ok, yes it was. But I am now recovered enough to want to talk about it and shove my hands right back into my alkali-dust-filled gear!

Standing next to the Dave Dome, in my shower-curtain baggy pants, and my cape. Perfect desert wear, to keep the sun off me, and keep my moisture in. I got this playa living down!
Want to try it? Come with me, I can show you how!

My camp was amazing this year!  Thirty-camper strong Pepperland with its posh dining facility, gourmet meals, private shower with platform, drainage and evap pond. Just all the luxuries of dry lake bed living! Within reason, of course! I mean we're not oil tycoons! The biggest and best camp I've ever been part of, where I never wanted for food, water, shelter, comfort, nor the company of trusted friends. My camp mates are like family to me, and some are literally my family members. Over the week of Burning Man, we form a tight bond. Pepperland, I love you.

Photos and stories follow. Enjoy.

the free radical
Pepperland in the background, with its posh dining area.

Pepperland's back alley, Dave dome in center left.

Pepperland frontage, with the Yellow Submarine plus Octopus' Garden, not quite in the shade.

Our main road, 6:30, with the tower of the AEZ, Alternative Energy Zone

Our corner, a short walk to the blue rooms.

The Dave Dome: Cavelike, comfortable, commodious. Extra layers of cloth block out the sun, and vents on the sides allow for a cooling cross-breeze. I can siesta in here in the heat of the day.
Those thin nylon tents don't hold up to the noonday sunlight; they're unlivable without another layer of shade.

Our eventual neighbors, Tour Bus Company, Green Tortoise, more or less a plug-and-play style camp, for the busier and wealthier burners, that I remember seeing on my second or third burn.

Our local portal to the open playa at, 6:30 and Esplanade, held down by theme camp Sextant with their shade dome, elevated pub, "Wunderbar," and observation tower, all in one structure.

Double Tesla Coil that guests could play music on, using an electronic keyboard, across from Sextant. In the background, the tall dome of Automatic Subconscious, and the Pier leading off to the right.

Freestyle Palace is somewhere I have played music a few times in past years, and had some great impromptu jams with perfect strangers. This year they had some trouble getting off the ground, and their offering was mostly a dusty drum set. Some other instruments lay nearby but were having problems with dust in their electronic circuits.

The open playa draws you. Which distant point of interest will you pursue? Your decision will have tremendous impact on your eventual experience. You have only one week to see it all. You can never see it all, and even if you could, seeing any one part is not experiencing it in depth, with all its layers of interactivity and connection.

Photo along the Esplanade, with the boxy shade structure of Everywhere and the Artery.

The Pier, with its bait shop. Cool sacred geometry art on the right. The lighthouse at the end of the Pier is an art car. Typically, nautically-themed art cars would convene on the Pier, like pirate ships and fishes.

The other way along the Esplanade. Big villages, and Sound Camps.

The Pier from the other side.

Riding up to this one, you think, "Oh cool, some colorful art, out on the deep playa. What are those, cloth blankets? They look textured like cloth." Then you look closer, and you see, every pixel of color you see is actually a gummy bear. All different colors of gummy bears are arranged in a mosaic to make this art piece. And you just wouldn't know that unless you brought your eyes to within a foot of the piece.  If you just rode by it, in your quest to see it all, you would just say, "Yeah, I saw some nice art, big whup."

Just another little complex of artistic interactive structures. I don't recall what surprises all these little pieces held, but suffice to say, they all had something. It was like an unexpected little playground of wacky adult-sized toys and games.

Cropped from the larger photo below, a perfect playa post card.

"Golden Hour" on the playa, the time right before sunset. With its dramatic side-lighting, it's perfect for photography.

This one really gives the feeling of that lazy playa sunset. Biking back to camp with your group to chow down and get ready for a long night of partying.  That unmistakable Black Rock City skyline, with its staggered domes, tipis, PVC arches, boxy structures and of course the rolling mountains of Black Rock Canyon.

The dust captures everyone's tracks, a tapestry of,... ok you get the idea.

When the sun sets, the citizens of Black Rock City howl like wolves. Not everyone is aware of the tradition, but once it starts, it spreads across the city like a virus.

These wooden sculptures would animate when you turned a crank on the front.

This little church had a confessional booth inside.

The big pink flamingo was a great landmark to site off of at night.

This is Red Lightning. In case anyone is wondering, they are not appropriating First Nations styles. They are the real deal. Red Lightning showed up to protest and lend a hand at Standing Rock, against the oil pipeline. Their public shade space is a great haven of calm and comfort, with many smaller meditation and rest spaces. Across the Esplanade, their sacred fire was warm and welcoming.

More to come!
Update: More right here!

New Palm Frond Masks: Red Stone, Long Face. Updated!

Update: Finished this one.

Red Stone Face

Acrylic on Palm Frond

Feb 2017

Original Post:

I've been working on my palm frond masks lately.

Red Stone Face
Acrylic on Palm Frond
Feb 2017

I've cleaned up a new batch of downed frond bases. That involves trimming off the excess fringes, messy and breakable edges of the fronds, with saw, razor and shears. Then sanding the remaining rough edge as smooth as possible-- this part is tricky because the wood is porous with thick fibers, so sanding the edge more and more just ends up revealing more and more rough fiber ends.

I left them, concave side up outside in the pouring once-in-a-lifetime torrential California rain, and they got pretty clean, like being power-washed. Some sanding remains to be done on the surfaces, which often shed a wispy filmy skin which kind hinders the painting process.

Then the design goes on. I have a plan to do more quicker ones, say under an hour of painting, as well as a few more intricately designed ones taking much longer.

Long Face
Acrylic on Palm Frond
Jan 2017

Here pictured are an example of each type. The red mask was inspired by a vision, of a red stone face, not surprisingly. I have a bit more work to do on that one.

The wood textured mask was more or less doodled onto the frond in black acrylic paint, diluted with water. It has eye holes which I had drilled previously.  Painting the face on it took me considerably less than an hour. More like 5-10 minutes.

You need a mask! I have your mask! Hit me up! Let's make a deal, I will work with your budget. What kind of mask do you want? I'm your man for palm frond masks. I can draw or paint Your Face on a palm frond, and it will actually look like you! Or your loved one, your pet, or your favorite person or animal or image!

BFF!  Best Fronds Forever!

Support the Arts!

New Palm Frond Masks: Boston Terrier, Three Monkeys

My two latest palm frond masks are gifts to my brother's family.

The Boston Terrier pictured below is Bella, the Ari family dog. At age 16, blind and feeble, she is on her last leg. Here she is in healthier times, immortalized on the frond of a Queen Palm.
I searched in my collection of blank fronds (about 100 of them) for the one that had the closest shape to the characteristic stubby snout of the Boston Terrier. The fronds usually have bends and curves in them, suggesting noses, jowls, etc. This one was pretty close. Just a little upturn I could use for the dog's muzzle.  The angled shots below better show the shape of the frond.

Bella the Boston Terrier
Acrylic on queen palm frond
November 2016
a gift to the Ari's 

 And the mask below I made as a gift for one set of my brother's in-laws, who have hosted my folks and I for the last few thanksgivings. They are big collectors of art, and one recurring theme in their collection is the three monkeys of folk art: hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. This was my interpretation of the classic meme, which I call Hear, See, Speak ALL.

Three Monkeys, or Hear, See, Speak ALL
Acrylic on queen palm frond
November 2016
A gift for the Vorzimers.

Three Monkeys
Detail 

Three Monkeys
Detail

This video gives a feel for the 3D structure of the frond. Unfortunately, it's turned sideways, and I can't seem to fix that.
You'll just have to turn your head or your monitor slightly.
Thankyou.

Burning Man 2016: Photos and Stories, Part 3 (of 3) The Best of them ALL!!!

The temple was fairly glorious this year, in the style of a pagoda, designed by master temple builder, David Best, who always infuses his creations with a mix of eastern and western symbols and architecture, but always leaning towards the East. This year's was no exception, with its central spire hanging down, nearly grazing the spire jutting up from the stupa, the central altar, table or platform. As usual, Burning Man's participants fill the walls with writings, drawings, art, photos, small to large shrines, and every manner of mishmosh to signify their deep feelings to be released. All of it that's made to burn, is burned up in the final Temple fire on Sunday night.

I made it out to the Temple on Friday, after spending some time at the Man and surrounding Guilds.  I'd heard that the Temple this year was made from mostly (like 80%?) recycled wood, mostly from shipping palettes. The use of repurposed wood was a condition of the temple builder's son contributing to the construction.

Inside, I found my spot, which called to me with its offer of space and comfort. Sitting, I meditated for awhile, eyes open, just taking in the breathtaking beauty around me. The structure was amazing, and all around me were the beautiful members of my community of souls, all deep in their rituals: meditating, crying, leaving their remembrances. Without having any particular focus for my feelings, I just let the tears pour out me as they naturally would, my mind more or less a blank, just reacting to what I was seeing and experiencing. The deep and dramatic emotions released in this place just resonate around the cathedral ceiling, swirling around all occupants, a palpable force. It's hard to be in here and not be affected by it, not be swept along in the current of outpouring emotional energy.

After a time, having gotten my release, I was ready to move on.

As I wander outside, checking out the other structures on the temple's "grounds", a mighty vortex is whipped up in the distance.

The Lighthouse.
Of all the large art installations on playa this year, this was the grand-daddy, the big prize-winner, if there were such a thing. Massive, extensive, gorgeous, and no doubt one of the happenin' spots on the playa this year. I didn't go up inside it, as I eschew lines at Burning Man (unless it's for food). But, I got some good shots of the outside, and some of the art inside the towers. I also missed the burning of this structure, but I hear it was spectacular.

But speaking of burns, I did manage to catch the tail-end of the Temple Burn, and the subsequent swarming around the bonfire which is annual tradition. It's always a scene at the Man and Temple burns, with everyone doing their thing around, and in relation to, this absolutely huge and intensely hot fire.  One guy was using a space blanket over his face to get close enough to the fire to roast marshmallows, which went into s'mores which he was passing out.  Drummers and other musicians practiced their art. Dancers danced. All, pretty much, were wearing their finest playa outfits, except the many who had shucked theirs off, to cavort nude around the fire.

I became one of these, feeling as free and safe as I have ever felt with no clothes on. The raging fire was cleansing; I could use it to get as hot as I could possibly stand to get, and then cool myself off by stepping out of the circle, into the desert wind.  I knew the trick of keeping low to avoid the most intense heat of the fire. I laid down and scooted as close as I could get. This was a spectacle for some people. Those who did not know better must have thought I was broiling in the intense heat which they could hardly approach. But near the ground, it was cool, and the heat rose off the fire, for the most part missing my prone body.

I also did my manic dance around a smaller portion of the fire, building up from a slow interpretive dance, to my Happy Dance of Ultimate Joy(TM), and of course, as always, and without fail, my chicken dance, or "cock dance", if you will: flapping the wings, bobbing the head, and perhaps a crow or two.  A little while after my dance, a friendly gent approached me and told me that his lady had experienced emotional release from watching me dance. She had come to the temple burn with a recent tragedy to mourn and try to get release from.  As it was, she didn't get it, and was not feeling any better, even somewhat worse, until her boyfriend pointed out to her my carefree happy-dance. This made her laugh, broke the tension, and picked up her mood.  She seemed light-hearted in talking to me. They were both gushing with gratitude for my expression, giving me the endearing title of "chicken-man". I told them that's why I do it: primarily to express my own joy, but also to connect with the joy of others, which may be buried deep within.

My picture of the nudity is fairly discrete, I believe.

And then it was over. When the party ends, it really ends. Everyone gets the heck out of town.

The Teepee and tower to the left in the picture are the Tuna Guys, where I enjoyed a bite of undercooked tuna and a swig of Whiskey, Monday night, post-burn. One of the hold-out camps. 

My kinfolk getting the gear up on the roof for the trip home. Uncle Mike holding up Gerflash, while Nostrildamus facilitates.

 

At least it's now a straight path to the restrooms.

Inside the Porto, an exhortation taken from the bible, to not throw trash and other detritus in there.

Sticker of the Tuna Guys theme camp.

Zendo is a great organization, spearheading much needed harm-reduction efforts based on common sense, at Burning Man and other festivals.

Home, unloaded, and looking a bit weathered. Mostly dusty, but omigod, was I glad to be home!

After the first round of cleanup. Still much recovering to do, but feeling pretty slick.