I’ve been flush with creative projects lately and it feels good. I created the logo for Timescale, a mile long art installation with columns marking the time since the Earth was formed — sounds awesome huh? Too bad it won’t be going to the playa due to Burning Man Org’s withdraw of their art grant. Tis’ sad but oh well on to better things!
Just last night, I put the finishing touches on the SF Tweed website and created the initial post! Big thanks to Rubin Starset for taking the initiative, buying the domain, setting up the wordpress install, and overall motivating me to work on it! We’ll be meeting this weekend to plan the next SF Tweed Ride and I have plans for more posts about all things Tweed including getting some guest bloggers. You can also follow @sftweed on twitter!
Lastly, Balsa Man 2009 “Big Dreams Writ Small” is brewing! I’ve designed iron-on patches for this year’s Balsa Man — they’re awesome, you all will want one! I’ll be releasing more info about the patches and other details about soon on a new Balsa Man website that is also in the works. At least it’s in the works in my head. I haven’t taken mouse to photoshop yet, but I have a good idea of where I want to take it.
And with that I’m off to get a little invigorating Nature!
That’s right folks! There will be a Balsa Man Decompression for all of you who didn’t get enough tiny art at our inaugural Balsa Man event this past August. Even better Balsa Man Decompression will be held in the middle of Burning Man SF Decompression this Sunday, Oct 12th from noon till 10pm.
We will be decompressing by hosting the Balsa Man Tiny Art Station complete with blasa wood, blades, and glue. If you have your own supplies and tools please bring them too! Due to fire restrictions, there will be no tiny art burn at SF Decompression, but participants are encouraged to have to bring their tiny art home for their own personal burn parties.
The Tiny Art Station is also a skills training workshop for people interested in making their own diminutive masterpiece for next year’s Balsa Man 2009 “Big Dreams Writ Small!”
Balsa Man and Burning Man are over for 2008. I’ve traded numerous stories with friends who were on the playa, shared videos and photos telling each other of our various experiences. They lavishly described the best playa moments of 2008 and I recounted the inspiring fun of Balsa Man.
Many I’ve talked to have asked me how I conceived of Balsa Man, why I choose to pour so much effort into the project, and whether I’m trying to make a statement about Burning Man. Like most things that motivate people, the answer to this is not a simple one that can be told in a single sentence. So for those that wonder, I offer the following as an averment of the driving force behind the phenomenon that is Balsa Man.
For various personal reasons, I decided to stay here in San Francisco rather than make my usual trip to Burning Man this year. I watched everyone around me hectically plan for the Playa and relaxed with the thought of all the free time I had. However, upon hearing of the numerous art projects, my creative energies refused to stand still; and as a result, the idea of Balsa Man was born.
Last year, The Burning Man was burned down early in the week. Faced with this calamity, the team of artists responsible for building The Man got together and decided to build it again. I volunteered and was fortunate to be part of the tireless and talented crew who assisted in the rebuild process. It was a truly memorable event for me, reshaping my perspective of The Man from an impersonal central structure to a detailed sculpture created by individual artists and craftspersons.
What I am missing most about not going to Burning Man this year is the amazing collaborative energy and talent it inspires. I view Balsa Man as a tribute to all the amazing artists out there on the Playa working together and making art happen. At the same time, it is also a tribute to all the artists who also chose to remain here in the city.
In many ways, Balsa Man is actually a Burning Man art project that just happens to exist off of the Playa. By holding Balsa Man on Baker Beach, where Burning Man first started, it remains symbolically connected to Burning Man, it’s community, and it’s creative spirit. The choice of location is as one may say a return to it’s roots, but I am using these roots as a source of inspiration rather than a form of protest.
Many people came to Balsa Man 2008 dressed in their burner finest and several were inspired to create their own miniature art projects. The mood of those who attended was joyful and it sparked numerous conversations and connections.
If there is anything I hoped to achieve through Balsa Man, it is to inspire artists in this city to keep making things no matter where they happen to be Labor Day weekend.
Till next year, Balsa Man 2009 “Big Dreams Writ Large”
More pictures and video are starting to surface on the internet from Balsa Man 2008. I’ve created a Balsa Man 2008 Flickr group to collect all the best shots from the event.
Links to Photos & Video (this list will be continuously updated as I receive links):
If you have more photos or video to share please add a comment below with links and I will add it to this list. If you are a Flickr member please tag your photos “BalsaMan2008″ and add your favorites to the Balsa Man Flickr Group pool.
p.s. Also check out EdRabbit’s own blog post wrap up of the event on Geeked Info.
Video of the glorious burn:
Note, yes I failed to raise the arms. Torch in hand, I was too eager to light it. Well the majesty of the burn made up for it and at least now I have at least one way it will be better next year. How else will The Balsa Man be better next year?
We have a theme for 2009 “Big Dreams Writ Small” — build a small maquette of the huge art project you always dreamed of building.
We’ll have more time set aside for viewing the fabulous art.
I’ll be conducting more burn tests, so it can burn even more grand! This burn was pretty amazing but we can make it better.
I’ll be designing a more impressive platform for next year’s Balsa man that relates to the theme.
Oh and I’m thinking lasers, cause lasers make everything better.
And of course the Balsa Man will improve most due to the creativity and spirit of the Balsa Man community!
See you all next year — keep the tiny Balsa Man community spirit alive!
Balsa Man 2008 was a roaring success thanks to all the fabulous people who came and participated!
Big tiny thanks to:
The main Balsa Man KCrew team, namely Nifer who helped me tremendously in the build process and MotoMike who helped prepare The Balsa Man for his firey doom!
Criollo for transporting the Balsa Man to the location, setting up signs, and doing anything that needed doing!
Jordan, for his great little Balsa Phoenix, which seemed to have a problem rising from the ashes. Also he gets our thanks for digging the post hole for Balsa Man with a little u-dig-it shovel!
J-Rad for the beautiful Temple of Reduced Expectations, which gets the award for the longest burning art project at Balsa Man — paper or not, it burned slow and long, turning into wonderful plant-like tendrils of crumbing ash.
MissySB for making the awesome Balsa Shave signs! And for making the first Balsa Man fire effects artwork — powered off of a DeWalt battery no less!
ApeGirl & Dusty, for setting up the deliciously mini-orange trash fence!
EdRabbit for hauling out DDI to the Balsa Man burn — really that has to be the fastest DDI setup I ever saw! Pity about the software glitch that burned down the entire thing contestants and all!
And a thanks to everyone else who showed and made it a great burn!
Balsa Man will be back next year! And better than ever — though knowing him, he probably won’t be bigger than ever. So start fiddling away now with your balsa wood, as I hope to see your mini masterpiece at next year’s burn! Next year’s Balsa Man will have more time set aside for art as already there was so much art this year that you couldn’t see it all.
I’ve scouted out the Balsa Man location and it’s looks fabulous!
Placement
We will be on the far north end of Baker Beach were it ends at the rocky cliff (see map). It’s a beautiful and inspiring location! If the winds are too strong, we will fall back to Plan B which is a small cove north on the same beach over some some rocks (see map).
Access & Parking
The fastest access point to Balsa Man — and the most interesting trail — is the Sand Ladder, there is no parking at the top of the Sand Ladder, but you can park on nearby Pershing Drive. It is also possible to walk along the beach from the main parking lot off of Bowley (this lot may close at 10pm — check signs).
All the amazing mini-art will be on display from 7:30 till it’s time to burn so get there early to see it all! The Balsa Man will burn when night has fallen (around 8:30-845pm-ish), then the Temple of Reduced Expectations and all mini-art will burn!
Once it’s all burnt, we welcome everyone to hang around and brainstorm about what you will bring to next year’s Balsa Man!
We also ask your help for picking up moop. Remember, it’s a new moon so bring a flashlights for getting back to your car!
Official Unofficial Balsa Man After Party!
Awesome news! The Space Cowboys are throwing the Official Unofficial After Party for Balsa Man over at Ocean Beach (near Great Hwy & Lincoln Way) — they are even burning their own man called Spurning Man at 10pm! Note, the Ocean Beach parking lots close at 10pm.
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Legal stuff
The opinions expressed in this blog are solely the views of my sometimes fevered brain. While I currently work for UCSF, the views expressed here do not represent the views of UCSF, nor is the content reviewed or sanctioned prior to posting by UCSF or any other organization that I am affiliated with.
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