Yes, I’m going to Burning Man

The word is out and yes, it is true.  I am going to Burning Man this year.  Since the choice and decision to go seems out of character, both to most people I know as well as to me, I thought I’d chew on it a bit to try to understand and explain why.

The most simple answer which is now only one small part of the reason is that my husband wants to go.  Andy has wanted to go since I met him.  Of the two of us, he is more of an adventure seeker and risk taker and I am more fearful and cautious.   So while my initial response when he posed the possibility of going was “seriously?? – instead of Europe this year??”, the possibility also intrigued me.

Over the past several years, I’ve been learning to explore ideas and experiences that are outside my comfort zone.  Scuba was definitely one of those.  I’ve learned that immediately shutting my mind to things which “Lisa doesn’t do” keeps me from growing and explanding.

Nonetheless, Burning Man falls way outside my comfort zone.  I am not comfortable running around naked.  I don’t use drugs.  I don’t like wearing costumes.  And I don’t have an active fantasy life or alter-ego waiting to be acted out in an alternate world. I'm a 62-year-old wife, mother, CEO, friend, Rock of Gibraltar type.

So why am I going to spend the better part of a week in the hot desert where an alternative world is erected and dismantled, where nothing will be familiar, where I will have no access to the body part known as my Iphone, where I’ll live in an RV and fill every crevice of my body with dust?  I’m going for three powerful reasons.

I’m going for the art.  While I know that sounds like men who say they only read Playboy for the articles, I am extremely interested in seeing the spectacle of the art created for the playa.  Photos of past years amaze me, and I think that anyone interested in current art has to see this.  A dear friend who is sponsoring me at BRC believes this and I trust her implicitly.

I’m going for the opportunity to see exactly what this alternative world is.  I’m not looking to live in another place nor planet, but rather, experiencing, if only for a short while, a world based on barter, gifts, and self-rule is fascinating.  Described as a catalyst for creative culture in the world, it's a place I want to be, or at least try.

My adorable second or third hand bike, already replete with handprinted designs

And I’m interested in seeing what effect all of this has on me.  Just the exercise of trying to figure out what I’ll wear, if there is an alternate-Lisa waiting to burst out in costume, has been an interesting experience.  (So far there is not!)   

Hat #1 for Burning Man 

Wish me luck.  I am very excited, thrilled to be going.  And scared.

Cheesemonger and Queen of Leather

When you raise your children, you have no idea who or how they are going to be as adults.  You hope, you wish, you wonder.  You try to stay present and love them for who they are, worrying about their challenges and weaknesses, praising them for their hard work and achievements.  But really, you just don’t know.

In my case, I sent my kids to great private schools, schools which allowed my bright young things to learn in their own styles but which I also knew were often feeder schools to, ultimately, great universities and careers.  I was a working mom, a hard-working executive who had the means for these great schools and the desire to give my kids the best chance.

My kids definitely marched to their own beats, with one to whom most everything came easily and one for whom obstacles were ever-present.  One thing was constant, though.  They each had passions, and my ex-husband and I were committed to feeding and nurturing their passions, regardless of what those passions were.   At the college level, neither was pursuing anything which looked like it could ever make a decent living, something I worried about – a lot.  But again, they were committed, passionate, and involved in their work.

Now, here I am, with two adult children each having been acclaimed publicly in the news.  My son was just awarded the winner in the 2015 Cheesemonger Invitational and written about in the Wall Street Journal.  My daughter has been proclaimed “the Queen of Mainstream Bondage” by the New York Times.  Cheese and leather, mongering and bondage, neither are exactly what I had in mind every year as I paid those hefty tuition bills. 

And yet I could not be more pleased.  It’s not the public acclaim that has me so happy, though that is certainly wonderful.  What I’m pleased about is that my kids have become adults who continue to pursue their passions and are figuring out every day how to build their lives around what they love.   Bravo Nick and Zana, following your dreams, making this mother proud.    

Today I made an ugly ring

For three days, I was honored to be an attendee of the Craft Think Tank dedicated to discussing the world and future of craft – craft artists, education, collecting, making, and selling.  Brigitte Martin does an outstanding job of leading these annual retreats.  While the entire experience was incredibly thought provoking, I learned a profound lesson during one separate experience.

For 2 ½ hours, we were immersed in making something.  The think tank took place at the amazing Lillstreet Art Center in Chicago, with studios in so many media.  I had chosen jewelry, as the tools and the materials were something I’ve never tried to work in.  My hands have been hungering lately to do something – anything! – as I’ve been in a knitting hiatus and I find that working with my hands feeds a part of my soul like nothing else.  My soul was hungry.

Pam Robinson

Being a complete ignorant novice was humbling.  As I watched the demonstration by PamRobinson, an expert in her field of jewelry and an awesome teacher, I thought, wow, I can do that.  It doesn’t look so hard.

At work

You already know the end of this story.  It WAS hard, so much harder than it looks, with details and technique, familiarity and subtlety all missing on my part.  But at the end of the workshop, I, like all the other participants, had made a ring.  Mine is ugly and bumpy, a little rough at the edges where it should not be, and a slightly different size than intended. 

My ugly ring next to my beautiful ring created by Lynda Bahr

As I got over my embarrassment about my ring’s lack of beauty, I also realized two things.  My exhilaration from having made something was back.  And my respect for jewelry artists only increased.  I have always admired their work and marveled at the intricacy and workmanship, but I have a bit more understanding now and only respect them more.

Proud students showing off our work

Envy

In the business of fashion and home décor marketing, it is commonplace to photograph our wares in beautiful locales and environments, places we all wish we could visit or inhabit, places which are meant to inspire interest and fantasy, places which make our products look the best they possibly can in the hands of talented photographers and stylists

This past week I have been shooting at yet another fantastic home in Chicago, a home which someone with incredible vision built from its roots as a mechanic’s garage, a home which someone else with an over-the-top design sense filled in an Alice-in-Wonderland style.  I was floored, wowed, and filled with envy.

It always amazes me when someone goes all the way with design, taking no prisoners, worrying not at all what others might think or how his vision might translate when it’s time to re-sell the home.  I’ve always been afraid that something I might do to a home will kill its appeal for a future owner and so I am more timid in my choices.  But this homeowner, who is also a designer with vast resources, is not cut from that cloth and so has built a home with exaggerated proportions and filled it with furnishings bordering on the madcap and high and low art.

I’m not proud of my envy on these photoshoots.   I wanted to move into this home immediately, but more than that I found myself really really wanting it, feeling like I should be able to have it, alternately loving and hating the homeowner without ever meeting him, an embarrassing avalanche of feelings all rooted in envy.

And then it was time to put envy in the freezer.   I was able to sit back and just enjoy the days I got to spend in an environment I would never know as my own.  The riches and choices of this homeowner/designer were mine for 48 hours and somehow I knew I was a little richer just for being exposed to this magical place.  Lucky me.

Why Bother to Celebrate American Craft?

This week is American Craft Week, a made-up celebration about craftsmen and craftswomen and their work.  I mention that it is “made up” because several years ago, a group of people decided that it was important to try to get a larger public to notice, appreciate, and hopefully buy work created by American makers.  Although there may have originally been a commercial motive, I find far more important reasons to celebrate American craft.

Today’s society is often looking for ways to increase or stimulate creativity. TED talks focus on this.  The maker of Soylent believes that if we spend less time thinking about food we will spend more time being creative.  Mindfulness, exercise, and education are recommended to stimulate creativity.

Danielle Gori-Montanelli

But I believe that there is another source of creativity, and that it often comes from working with our hands and letting our minds loose.  The act of making requires letting the hands go to work, often letting them act as our minds, taking us to new places as objects form before our fingers and eyes.

David Patchen

Imbued in the pieces we make are our histories as well.  American craft not only reflects the talent and creativity of our culture, but also contains memories of our past in addition to the stories of our present and future.  According to Steve Fenton in Craft in America, “Objects are repositories of cultures; to understand their messages we need only open our eyes to them.”  The young makers of today may act differently from the craft pioneers of the 1970’s, but the work of both respectively reflect their times and cultures.

Meg Little

So why celebrate American Craft Week?  I believe the reason is pretty simple, that craft is a small but important, often overlooked, living and breathing component of our culture.  May the makers and artists, glassblowers and rug-hookers, woodworkers and jewelers, quilters and basketmakers, bookbinders and potters all have their moment in the sun.  Visit a studio.   Make a trip to that gallery you've been meaning to get to. Notice the handmade around you.  Celebrate.