I had dinner with my friend Brad last night and he asked if I had a Blog for The Life Cube project, and then he asked are you posting daily? Obviously, I have a Blog, but as any reader knows, I have failed miserably at updating it and posting. I do want to share — and it has been a roller coaster of ups and downs and challenges and wins since January. Here’s were we are as of today:
- We did not get funded by Burning Man to bring our art to the playa.
- We did not get free tickets this year. Securing tickets to purchase was a challenge, but with the help of Maria, the Art Advocate, we did manage to make sure we had tickets for our team.
- We thought about down-sizing the project from what I envisioned, but decided to stick with the plan. The Life Cube V2 will be 8 times as big as last year.
- Madeleine has been so supportive of my “crazy project” I can not begin to share how I feel. She is amazing!
- We have obtained permission to burn TLC V2 at midnight right after the Man burns. This is a terrific slot. Several fire dancers and entertainment folks are planning on doing a pre-burn show.
- Getting approval for the burn required a very comprehensive and detailed plan to Dave X and his team. This was not an easy approval to get!
- Many many people have donated materials, work space, time, labor, tools. Gordy has been the power driving the pre-playa construction (and Gordy will tell you he is not sure why he is doing all this work).
- Mark is a master carpenter that came out of the woodwork and is not only helping to build in S. lake Tahoe, but has agreed to come to Burning Man with us this year.
- Julio in North Dakota has pulled together some terrific designs incorporating various quotes I selected this year. To say it exceeds expectations is an understatement. I am tempted to post the pics of his drawings, but have decided to keep it a secret and wait to unveil on the playa. Pics will be posted post BM for those not going.
- Trevor is bringing a huge light show to the playa that should result in TLC being a beacon on the playa at night. Dominique is checking on availability of some fantastic bells made out of old oxygen tanks. If these are available, we will have solved what to do with sound this year.
- I spoke with several printing companies. There was a large difference in price and it was a lot of negotiations and re-figuring. We are going to use vinyl for the sides and carpet for the top. Did I mention the design is very very cool?
- We did get The Life Cube V2 art project at Burning Man up on kickstarter over the July 4 holiday weekend.
- Printer in Ohio will have the files before Monday AM.
- Printing will happen Aug 30-Aug 10
- Shipping of vinyl and carpet on or before Aug 10
- Delivery of printed stuff by Aug 17
- The printing should arrive in S. Lake Tahoe no later than Aug 17.
- I head to Reno on Aug 19, and have plans to help with the pre-playa construction and provision.
- On Aug 23, I will be on the playa — with 3 266 foot trucks moving over 10 tons of wood!
- On Aug 24, with all the luck in the world, we will have a crew on the playa to help with the build on Aug 24.
So there you have it. There are lots of back stories and tales, but I have to get back to making this all happen. If you have not viewed the project on kickstarter – http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thelifecube/the-life-cube-v2-at-burning-man?ref=live
you can also see the video on you tube at
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0UN6O2I7IY&w=560&h=315]
Thanks again to all for your support.
skeeter