The project turned out to be a huge success. It was about quadruple the amount of work and stress to get the mantis finished and packed to go to Burning Man on time, and I still can't believe just how many hours I put into it. August was also the busiest month I've ever had at any job ever...many days were 12 hours long, one was nearly 18. Then came all the 12-hour (plus) days of working on the mantis followed by one that was 23 hours long (then an hour's nap and another 6-hour work-work day). It was pure insanity. Friends were concerned for my safety and health. I wasn't even thinking of the excitement of going to one of the largest parties in the world, wasn't making costumes, was barely looking at my packing list. But I did take pictures during the progress because one part would come together and I would squeal and cackle with excitement! Here are a few of those.
When we got on playa the dust storms really got me down (literally - I suffered through a sinus infection much of the week). My shade structure and tent both collapsed in the wind a few times while trying to set up, all the while being tired and hungry and wary from the 20-something-hour journey. The wind wouldn't cooperate with setting up the beast either and I figured out (while 7 or so friends stood by, waiting to help) that I forgot 8 crucial nuts. The nuts that held the ribs to the spine. Crap! Luckily a couple friends knew where to look and in a few hours, just before the sun went down, the mantis went up. Couldn't get the lights working properly for the first few nights, but it did finally come together. My friends Tacky and Panther, who have volunteered for years helping artists get their art to the burn and installed, said my story was actually one of the smoothest projects they've encountered. (WOW!)
And it was amazing and beautiful! My first thoughts, of course, was how small it looked in the vast expanse that is the Black Rock Desert of Nevada. 10 feet tall looks miniature, especially with all the larger art like the nearby temple. Luckily the mantis was placed pretty far from the other art, which afforded great views. From inside the belly, one could lay and watch the sunrise. Every day, I had to go out to the mantis in the morning to turn the lights off and then again at sunset to turn them on for the night. And every time I went, new people were enjoying the piece in different ways. Sometimes it was a couple snuggling up inside, sometimes posing with it for photos, sometimes it was a child crawling around in its belly. One man was meditating in front of it, looking out at the city. That was really cool. One lady was there with her three-year-old son and grew quite emotional talking about her 10-year-old daughter whom she missed and who had hatched baby mantises at home and would have loved to see my sculpture. I gave them some of the mantis dog tags I'd had laser-etched (I was handing them out or leaving them hidden on the mantis for people to find).
Seeing
all those people enjoying the mantis really made all the work
worthwhile. I can't tell you how many breakdowns I had while building
it (or while working at my job and stressing about how to get it all done). Can't say how little sleep I got. And how much my friends showed me they loved
me. I had friends come and put in hours of work on it for no reward at
all. They just knew what it takes to get art out on playa. I had a lovely romantic interest who would rub my shoulders or
feet as I fell asleep, usually well after midnight. One friend even
lent us his truck to drive the thing up to Burning Man. I have such a
great community, how lucky I am!
Super special thanks to Kurt, April, and Ruben, for helping me flesh out my ideas and launch this thing (among many other things), to all my donors for not only making it financially possible, but also for being a huge driving force, to my He-Man boss for graciously letting me use his shop space, tools, and his skills, to my family (blood-related and otherwise) for their support, to Burners all over for the inspiration, to my love, Matthew, for always being there when I needed anything, to Dani for making me dinner so I wouldn't have to cave in and eat McDonald's when I was too exhausted to cook, to everyone who put in hours helping in the shop, including Ruvi and Bee Rad, Panther and Tacky, Jason K and Dr. Bob, and to all my friends for the Facebook likes and other forms of support - I love you all! THANKS!!!
