I’m home from Burning Man and getting ready to jump back into work.
It was a good week. I looked at and played with lots of art, made some new friends, spent a lot of time getting to know old friends better, and had some interesting, frequently surreal adventures. With no project to work on, this was my most relaxed Burning Man ever, which was a worthwhile experience but not one I expect to repeat.
I have redesigned my life over the past few years to include more of what makes Burning Man compelling, and one unexpected consequence is that Burning Man itself no longer feels like such a radical experience. My life is already built around creative expression and relationships with friends. This thought needs more processing.
Michael T. and I spent a lot of time talking about a project for next year which would involve metal work. We are going to look into taking a welding class this fall.
Watching my projects in action taught me some interesting new lessons about their designs. I am going to make some radical changes, particularly to the backpacks. I think that I will expand the workshop program and introduce some simpler projects as well, for people who want to develop basic skills. Maybe I will also start holding regular open-house sessions at the Rocket Factory for people who want to make things but don’t have tools or space of their own.
Thank you for our morning of serendipitous meetings and trampoline-ejected canisters. I found myself wondering at the void of interactive art, but much like you instead of lamenting its loss it steeled my resolve to create something huge that involves propane and will probably have the word “toy” in its modifiers. This is at odds with my enthusiasm with what the BM homepage reports as the theme for 2008, which is The American Dream.
http://www.burningman.com/art_of_burningman/bm08_theme.html
So I guess I’ll have to play with my toy somewhere else.
Comment by j like juliet e like echo november november alpha — September 4, 2007 @ 2:52 pm
I can’t wait to hear all about your trip!! Sometime I should fly up there just for one of these workshops; I am really interested!
Comment by Joanna — September 5, 2007 @ 8:50 pm
Wait, what? The American Dream? That’s got to be a joke, they never release the theme this early. I’m confused.
Comment by Amare — September 5, 2007 @ 11:18 pm