Bottle Cap Bench Update

UPDATE!

The whereabouts of my Bottle Cap Bench have been confirmed. I am happy to report that within 24 hours of my noticing it was not in my possession I learned not only what happened to the bench but also to the little side table that I had originally thought was taken.

Turns out I left both behind at the Center Camp Cafe. The kind souls that run the Cafe were perplexed by the abandoned items and thought perhaps they were left as a "donation" of furniture to the Cafe. They were then carefully packed up and removed from the playa.

The little table is currently living at Burning Man Headquarters here in San Francisco. And that is where, with my blessing, it is going to permanently live. I am very happy to know it has a safe and happy home.

The bench is safely being stored in one of the shipping containers that is kept on the Ranch in Gerlach with a bunch of other Cafe furniture and is out of reach until next year. I have agreed to let it be used in the Cafe next year and will retrieve it after the event is over. This is assuming, of course, that I don't forget it again!

Boy, I really do feel like a doofus. I've never forgotten my art before! Nice to know nothing was stolen, though. My faith in humanity is still intact.

Music Recommendation of the Day:

French Miami

Eric discovered this San Francisco band when he was in Durango, Colorado for the Single Speed World Championships. They are playing this Thursday (October 1st) at Amnesia in San Francisco. Check 'em out!

Stolen Art or How Sleep Deprivation and Playa Dust Can Make You Forget Stuff

Well, I've been home from Burning Man for over two weeks now and I just realized that my Bottle Cap Bench never made it off the playa with me. I cannot believe it. I either forgot to load it up when I was dismantling Bottle Cap Fun Zone or it was stolen.

I am leaning towards me forgetting it because I remember at one point seeing that it had been moved to an area within eye site of the installation but, still, far enough away that it could have been missed. I had three people helping me load everything up the last day of the event and unless I said to them, "hey, don't forget that bench over there" they would have just focused on what was in the general vicinity. Also, I was pretty sleep deprived at that point having been on the playa for ten days. What can I say? It's Burning Man.

Anyway, I have contacted the right folks who may be able to find it for me which would be really cool 'cause I am actually pretty bummed out about it all. I really love that bench. It was super fun to make. And I was planning on putting it in my backyard and actually using it. Humph!

So, if you see it somewhere, let me know. Maybe I'll make up some "Have you seen me?" posters and put them up in the post office or something. One thing I just can't get over is how long it took me to realize this. I mean - Really! It almost makes me feel weird about being so bummed out. Silly Kitty.

Well, that's all the news for now. Enjoy the weekend!

Phish Festival Non-Update of the Day:

Still haven't heard if they want me to make a sculpture for the festival.

My gut says it's "no" but what is it they say? It's an honor to just be nominated. Blah, blah, blah. Rejection - it comes with the job.

Getting Organized

So, my work is kind of in limbo right now. I am at a great place to move on to a new project but until I get some information from outside parties I don't quite now which way to proceed. I've got all of my Burning Man stuff cleaned up and put away. The summer is behind me. Officially, even, since September 22nd. I am ready to move forward. But I wait.

I spent a good portion of last week putting together a proposal for a sculpture to be part of Phish Festival 8 down in Indio, CA over Halloween weekend. It's kind of exciting because I was approached and asked to submit my work for consideration. I finally was able to come up with an idea that the person who contacted me liked and wanted to present to the band. That was last Thursday. I haven't heard a thing since. I hate waiting; not knowing. It makes it so I can't really commit myself to new projects unless I know whether or not I have to jump on making this sculpture immediately. I really do hope something comes of this; it would be a great opportunity for me.

To bide the time I dove back into my bottle cap sorting and organizing project. It has been soooo long since I have sorted bottle caps and they have continued to come in. I would guess that I have a least 10,000 bottle caps to deal with still. I even got a lot of contributions at Burning Man year. I've gotten really far behind.

Today I began by creating a new storage and database system that's a little different then the way they were organized before but will take up less space in my garage. The space issue is the big one so I am pleased with that change. I also began sorting and putting away some of the bottle caps I've received since the last time I sorted which was probably sometime last May. Yikes! I began with some easy batches but it'll get harder.

Especially time consuming, because there is such a large variety, will be the couple thousand I picked up last Sunday from the Tourist Club in Muir Woods, a German beer hall-style place that has a membership but also for limited hours is open to the public. There will be lots and lots of German and Belgium and who knows what else kinds of bottle caps to go through. I hate a wide variety sometimes.

Well, at least it's productive and something that does need to be done. Especially if I get started right away on one of my latest bottle cap sculpture ideas. It'll be nice to have all of my bottle caps organized.

Guess that's all for now. I hope I hear about the Phish Fest before the end of the week. I hate waiting!

Record Recommendation of the Day:

Monsters of Folk.

I just picked up this album from the Best Buy yesterday for $7.99. Despite the totally cheesy band and album name, I'm really liking it!

Hi Again!

Okay. So, it's been awhile since I last posted but I have come to understand and, more importantly, accept that I'm just not a very consistent person when it comes to keeping a journal, blog, etc. But I am back. And lots has happened since back in May. And I will endeavor to write about it if for no other reason then it's a good way for me to process it all.

I will first whet your appetite with images of "Bottle Cap Fun Zone", which was a great success, at Burning Man. I just got home last Thursday and I am still catching up on sleep, unpacking, and trying to eliminate the majority of the playa dust I brought back with me so I'm just going to ease back into this whole blogging thing. I'll write more about my experience at Burning Man this year but I will let you know that I had a lot of fun and I even learned a thing or two about a thing or two.

And now, here are the photos. Enjoy!

 

  

  

 

Teaser of the Day:

Upcoming posts to include:

My Adventures in Marble! My Adventures at Burning Man! My Latest Bottle Cap Project! How Being A Gemini Makes Me Not Post To My Blog Regularly!**

**Yes, I will blame my birth date on my tendency to procrastinate. Why Not? Until the next time (soon, I promise).