Zooplankton: The Lifecycle of Art, and A Few Tears

It’s been a long almost-year for the Zooplankton project. There were so many times we thought we’d have to give up, times when we were blindsided by obstacles and betrayals, times we were so tired and defeated. Why do we go through all of this for a silly piece of art? It’s hard to explain. I can say now, today, as I sit here in my house as the Zooplanktyon crew is off in the desert (A former friend betrayed us, it’s a long story, but their slimy actions are the reason I could not go to Burning Man this year after working so hard on our project) that I feel that it was all worthwhile.

Even though it’s in the middle of godawful nowhere, Burning Man has cell reception, and every so often I’ve been getting updates from Becca, my friend and the creator of Zooplankton. She managed to text me a photo of the structure as soon as it was all assembled (we had to cut it into multiple peices to fit it on the trailer for transport), and as luck would have it, build day also happened to be the day of some of the worst dust storms anyone has seen out there. Hi Becca! Don’t forget your dust mask!! Heheh.

And a few nights ago, at long last, I got a message and finally got to see our big spiky baby all lit up. it’s so beautiful. The tall pointed spire on top was supposed to light up as well, but apparently something was damaged in transit. But it’s alright, what matters is a whole team of people came together, busted their butts, and made something strange and wonderful to share with thousands of strangers in a dead, empty desert. From what I hear people are loving our little beast, and that’s what it’s all about.

And tonight, Thursday, at midnight, our Electronics Lead Tony will remove all the spikes and wires and control boards, and Zooplankton will burn. I’m sad that I will miss that part. The burning of your art is such a moving and cleansing ritual. Saying goodbye to all the stress and worry, goodbye to the heartache and frustration, and reminding ourselves that nothing, no matter how much you love it, can live forever. Reminding ourselves that it’s okay to say goodbye, and move on.

Zooplankton: An Adventure In Frustration and Friendship

It’s been a while since I’ve updated you all on Zooplankton, and so much has happened in the last few months! We only have a month until Burning Man and we’re still trying to raise the last bit of funding we need, but we’re so close to being done. We’ve dealt with loads of stress, money being stolen, and the frustration of my stupid broken body that won’t let me do all the things I want to do, but there have also been wonderful friendships built and strengthened, people who have come out of the woodwork to rescue us when things looked hopeless, the joy of creating (even if the creation isn’t quite what we’d planned at the outset), knowing that we made a thing, a real THING, even though we had so little money and, honestly, no idea what we were doing or what we were getting ourselves into. Becca and I are exhausted and broke and generally worse for wear, but we are SO glad we did this project, and I’m so grateful to all of my burner friends who have helped us again and again. We would never have come this far without them. Them and a whole boatload of stubborn determination 😉

Without further ado, the pics!

It took a few months but we finally found a home to build in: Ctrl-H, a hacker space/creator’s lab in North Portland. It has a full woodshop, electronics room, CNC, laser etcher, 3D printers, all kinds of goodies.

Becca and Heather work on the bottom rim of the roof

The framing for the roof and middle tier are slowly coming together

Becca and Tony, our Electronics Lead, go over the plans for the framing that our former Build Lead, Landon, drew up for us before he had to move away to pursue his degree

Some days working was a slow and painful process, especially when it was at or near 100 degrees with very little shade. Dehydration was a big problem.

The supports that will hold up (we hope) the dome and spire that go on the top of the structure

Becca and I had fun with the Panorama setting on my phone

As the team was starting to build the middle section we suddenly got word from Burning Man that all structures that are meant to be burned HAVE to be covered with plywood that is no less than 5/8″ thick. This was almost a disaster for us. We’d planned on using 1/8″ or 1/4″ plywood since it’s light and easy to bend and we needed to make a lot of curves, but they wouldn’t allow it, and so we had to figure out how on earth to bend 5/8″ plywood.
I honestly didn’t think we were going to be able to do it, but after over a week of work we made it happen: Soak the wood in warm water, secure one end to the frame with screws, bend a little, wet it again (In the heat we had to wet the wood every 15-30 minutes all throughout the day), bend a bit more, repeat for about 10 hours straight every day.

Once we got some ratchet straps the bending was a lot easier, relatively. Wet the wood, crank the ratchet, secure with a few screws, repeat, repeat, repeat.

At least we got to work next to a really nice little vegetable garden 🙂 We ended up putting braces inside the structure because the frame had been designed to hold weight coming from above, but it was NOT designed to take pressure from the sides, and we were worried that the ratchet straps could potentially collapse the walls.

Once we finally got all 5 plywood sheets bent and attached it was time to cut the holes

Yay holes! These are an integral part of the design. We weren’t able to make nearly as many holes as appear in the Ernst Haeckel illustration that Becca based the idea on, it just wouldn’t work with the materials we had, or the skills we lacked, but we still love how it came out

HOLES! 😀

A few times we had to put the call out for help lifting various parts of the structure, and every time we had a crew of burners show up for us. It’s always so wonderful to see people coming to help you, not for pay or fame, but just because they want to help make art happen, and many of them have built their own art and know how hard it is and how none of it can happen without teamwork

Tony and his girlfriend Nasim were working on the lighting on the spire. Tony is currently finishing up the custom-designed, programmable lighting and electronics that will go into the structure when it reaches Burning Man. We haven’t even seen the final results yet, but I know it’ll be beautiful. He’s even gotten a heat-sensitive camera so that the more people are inside, the more active the light display will become. Squeeee!

Safety Child has become our unofficial mascot

After we got all of the framing covered it was time to call in reinforcements again and do a practice run so we could see how it all fit together.
At this point we had signed up to take the structure to a regional Burning Man event up in Washington, called Critical NW. We had a deadline, so the work schedule was pretty rough at this point, but we got it done.

As you can see it was NOT light. It took that many people just to lift it, and the fact that it was top-heavy made it even more challenging, but we had a great crew and they made it work

We ended up doing some semi-scientific experimenting and managed to estimate the weight of the entire structure: Somewhere in the vicinity of 1700 pounds. It would have been much lighter if we’d been able to use 1/4″ ply, but we made it work and that’s all that matters.
Being heavier it will be harder to put together and harder to transport to Nevada, but there is always a way, and burners are nothing if not resourceful

The LED strips on the spire. Tony is finishing up the programming now, and I hope to have some video to show you before it leaves for the burn

In order to fit it all into the truck to take it to Critical NW, we had to cut the middle tier and the roof in half. it was a little scary, but it worked, and it all fits back together just fine

Loading up to go to Critical NW. I wasn’t able to go, but Becca and one crew member went and it was challenging, they had trouble finding help unloading the truck and getting it all put back together, but they did it and everyone who saw it loved it. A couple of event staff even asked to put their hammocks inside 🙂

Yep, it’s heavy. Maybe not as heavy as it would be if it were metal, but heavy enough. Fortunately they have heavy machinery at Burning Man to help with issues like this.

And a little peek at what’s in store once all of the lights and rods are installed.
If you check out our Indiegogo (there’s a highlighted link in my opening paragraph at the top of the post) you can see a few glimpses of the installation at Critical NW with lights and rods, and if I can’t get any pictures before the burn, there will definitely be pics galore after

On a less-happy note, I recently decided that I simply cannot go to Burning Man with the crew this year. Partly because of money issues, it’s just not a cheap event to go to, but mostly because of how drastically my health has declined. I’m sad and disappointed that I can’t be there to see our creation on the playa, or talk to people about it, or sit with my friends and watch it finally burn. It makes me sad, but this is how things go, and I’m so happy I was able to be a part of this project. It’s not the biggest or fanciest or shiniest art, but it’s ours, and considering that we are a first-time crew who had very little money and very little clue and a whole lot of challenges, we didn’t do half bad 🙂

See you soon, friends.

Zooplankton: The Adventure Begins

So every year for the last five years I’ve joined a Burning Man building project to help with. Often as not, all I’m able to do is document and take photos, because my back and various health issues won’t allow me to do much more, but it’s still so rewarding. If you go to this link (<< click the words) you can learn about my friend Becca and who she is and how she came up with the idea, as well as watch the video and see the design and what our dream is going to look like when it’s done. Every build project is full of frustration and unexpected issues and long days and grumpiness and fantastic people who volunteer their time and skills and love to make something wonderful, not for pay or fame, but for the love of art.

For the last few weeks Becca and the crew have been building the top third of Zooplankton to take to our local Regional burner event, SOAK, and here are some shots of the work so far. Designing, engineering, and actually building a structure like this out of nothing but plywood and 2x4s is a challenge to say the least, but it’s been so much fun. Becca is a first-time build project leader and so far she’s doing an amazing job. Landon, the handsome young man you see in several of the photos, spent countless hours working with Google Sketchup to figure out how to engineer the structure, and has spent even more hours sawing and drilling and being an absolute gift to us, and we’re so sad he’s moving away to pursue his Masters at the end of the month, but when you’re a burner builder, you learn to appreciate dedicated people like Landon and Becca.

I just got home from the last work party before they leave for SOAK and I couldn’t be happier. In the coming months I’ll definitely have more photos to share as the team really gets going on the structure. YAY ART!

Becca ate so much sawdust that day. Heehee.

End of Day 1, the frame is done!

The spire goes on top of the structure and is going to be covered with programmed LED strips.

That’s Tony in the background, he’s doing all the LEDs and programming for the top spire.

 

Inside Zooplankton. It’s like an awesome spaceship fort in here!

Acrylic rods for the spikes, and they’ll be lit from the inside with colored LEDs.

Just a Peek

We’re officially not sharing any more pics of the heart, so here’s one last little peek. If you want to see her in her full glory you’ll either have to come to Burning Man or wait until I get home, and then there will be pics galore! 😉

The Joy of Creating

Tomorrow will be the last work party before the heart leaves for the desert. More pics to come! 🙂

She’s Coming Along

Almost done with the welding on the heart. Next week is when we finally get to start installing the lights and all the shiny bits that will start making the real magic 🙂

The Heart Progresses

The Heart

Someone asked what those last pics I posted were about, so here’s where the welding images come from: Some friends of mine (You may recall a steampunk pirate ship I talked about helping build in my Burning Man posts) are building one of two giant hearts that are going to be installed in a massive art piece out at Burning Man this year, and I’ve been documenting the process (Because that’s what I do)

First Andy (One of my engineer friends) designed the huge plywood template and that had to be covered with wire….

So we could cover it with paper mache’…..

And then begin welding on the steel framework….

And then start hot-gluing and welding on the steel designs…..

And once that was done we cut off the panels in sections….

And then scrape off all that hot glue by hand (SO LAME), and then burn off the residue with a blowtorch….

And that’s where we left off last night. It’s taken a couple of weeks to get to this point and there’s MUCH more welding and shaping and wonderfulness to add. In the end it’ll have lights and all kinds of goodies, I’ll keep you posted as we progress 😉

 

ZIZA!!!

Some friends of mine have just begun working on the art car they want to bring to Burning Man this year: Ziza, The Roving Tea Truck. Here’s their description of what they want to bring to the playa this summer:
“Ziza is our gift for Burning Man 2014. Built off of an F-350 pick-up truck, Ziza is an oasis of pillows, billowing curtains, world music, and all different types of tea. The bottom floor of Ziza will be a fluffy lounge and the top deck will have both a seating area as well as a small dance platform. Our roof deck will have a shade structure which will mimic the arches of caravansaries.

Every morning, Ziza will be parked at Burn After Reading Magazine Cafe, where we serve hundreds of cups of hand-roasted coffee each day. Following that, she will roam the Playa gifting iced tea and shade. At night, we will tour different art installations creating impromptu tea parties. Our hot tea and cozy space will provide a place to warm up on cold Playa nights. ”

They invited me to be a part of the build crew, and take as many pictures as my little heart desires, so here are some of the moments I’ve captured so far.

Yes, trying to build during an Oregon spring can be kind of a wet experience. We just carry on as best we can 🙂

First they need to weld on the main structural frame for the teahouse. It’s going to need to support a LOT of weight.

This was the day that we got a rainstorm AND a hailstorm. Fun!

We’re making progress almost every day of the week, so there will be more photos to come. They also have a Facebook page if you’re interested in seeing the tea truck come together there.

Thoroughly Burned

Yes, I’m back from Burning Man. I’ve been back for a while, but it often takes days, even weeks, to recover from such a whirlwind of emotion and stress and craziness and magic.

I did not end up taking nearly as many pictures as I had planned to, in part because my electric bike broke mid-week so for the last part of the week I was pretty much trapped in camp.

Here is a selection of the shots I did manage to capture, mainly of my friends. It was a strange, wonderful, painful, unexpected week, and that is how Burning Man is sometimes 🙂

(Be warned, there is one shot of exposed breasts, just in case you are offended or bothered by such images)

We found Andy and the ship! We all spent several years helping to build it (me mostly just taking photos), and it was wonderful to see it out on the playa. My friend Andy is the designer who created it and did much of the welding work. His blog is here if you’d like to know more about him and his projects.

A view of one of the little fire pits near Center Camp, looking out into the open playa.

The view from the top of the small tower in our camp. Being able to get up high and look out over the city, especially around sunrise or sunset, is a wonderful thing.

The amazing El Pulpo Mecanico, one of the most fantastic art cars at Burning Man. Here the creator, Duane Flatmo, is lighting the propane-powered tentacles in preparation for a night of glorious poofing 🙂

My dear friend A. brought his big kite-thingy (I forget what the official name for these things is) so he pedalled us (with me on the back of his bike) out to the middle of the playa, in a dust storm, and had a good half hour of fun (Until the sunburn drove us back to camp).

Each year I like to take a shot looking down the street near sundown. There are always people coming and going, highlighted by the clouds of dust and the waning sunlight, casting magical shadows over the city.

Two of my best friends. The heat of midday tends to suck the energy right out of you. Playa siestas are just part of life there.

My good friend B. taking pics of the Believe installation. Every year this artist builds a new word to bring to the playa, and it always becomes a playground and photo-hound favorite.

I love this shot of B. reclining in the Believe

And yes, Burning Man has a roller rink 🙂 . Every year a group of intrepid souls gathers the materials and roller skates and hauls it all out to this horrid desert so complete strangers can roller skate to awesome disco and 80’s music. I can’t skate anymore, too risky for my back, but i love watching others have fun and occasionally bite the dust (literally!)

With B. on the tower. This was her first year and I think she had a blast ❤

Another shot of El Pulpo. Oh how I love this thing. How can you not??

So, there is a bit of a story behind this photo: I have been the Priestess of the White Dress, with my friend Steve Doberstein, over on the El Pulpo worship page for a couple of years now (A group of dorks who like to play dress-up and adore great works of Burning Man art). Its one of the most epic art cars ever created and we absolutely love it. One night at the burn I saw that El Pulpo was just down the street, less than a block away, so I ambled over and there was Steve, who I hadn’t actually ever met in person, and we met and hugged and it was awesome and then he introduced me to Duane Flatmo, the Almighty Maker, and Jerry his loyal assistant, and they both knew the Priestess of the White dress from Facebook and were pleased to meet me (Squeeee!), and Steve took this wonderful picture on a digital camera that spits out prints (Man, Polaroids have evolved) and it was pretty damn glorious.

So I go off back to camp, all happy and drunk and glowy, and I’d carefully tucked the precious photo into my pocket belt, oh so very carefully, and I kept checking that pocket like a nervous hen, and yet when I got back to camp the pocket was completely empty. I was absolutely devastated. I’d already been having an emotionally difficult burn and It took until the next day for me to convince myself that I wasn’t going to let the loss ruin my whole week. But even after I got hope I couldn’t stop pouting about it. It really cast a shadow over my burn.

And then, one day, Steve looks through his camera and realizes the picture is still there 🙂

Two of my favorite people. I love this shot, and I can’t fully explain why. Yes, semi and full nudity are quite common there, and it’s a nice thing because no one freaks out about it, it’s not necessarily sexual, it’s just humans being human, in whatever way makes them most comfortable.

That was my week. There were so many other moments that i could not capture on my camera, but the memories will always be there. If you’d like to see some wonderful professional photos of all kinds of people and things at this year’s burn, check out my friend Andrew’s album on Facebook 🙂

Off To The Burn

Tomorrow I’ll be packing up and heading to Burning Man 2013 with three of my best friends. This will only be my second burn and I’m nervous about the journey. It’s a long drive, and a week at the burn can be a crazy, intense, stressful experience. But it can also be magical, wonderfully insane, eye-opening, and introduce you to wonderful people and amazing experiences you could never find any other place.

Rest assured that I will be coming home with many pictures, and I’ll share them as soon as I can. For now, here are just a few shots from my first burn in 2011. See you in a few weeks!!! 😀

There is always a sign to greet you when you reach the entrance to the playa. There’s such a feeling of relief and joy when you see that you’ve finally made it.

Peter Hudson’s “Charon”. He’s an amazing designer and artist, and his zoetropes must be seen to be believed. This one was operated by people pulling massive ropes, and as the wheel spins a strobe begins to flash and turns the statues into an animated rowing skeleton, paddling into eternity.

The Lamplighters procession to the Temple. They are a group of volunteers who spend hours each day and night lighting the gas-powered street lights in the city.

Every year artist Laura Kimpton erects a massive metal sculpture comprised of a single word. Love, Ego, Mom……..this year her word is Believe. Apparently the sculpture was damaged during recent storms, but I hear that all has been put back together and is in fine shape now.

El Pulpo Mecanico, by the mad genius Duane Flatmo. I can’t wait to run into him again this year!

A spire of the Temple of Transition in 2011. This unbelievably beautiful temple was built by a crew of people from over 20 countries who dedicated months of their lives to creating and building this piece out in the desert. It was a wonder to behold.

A wider view of the temple.

The Trojan Horse. It was HUGE. And watching it burn was, and remains, one of the most memorable moments of my life (Yes, it was burned on purpose. That’s part of what makes Burning Man so surreal and life-altering).