Dust & Ashes

Last year, about this same time of the year, I was making ceramic dog tags as gifts for Burning Man. Dogs are not allowed in Black Rock City during Burning Man so perhaps the term “dog tag” is a bit misleading. I based the shape and size of my ceramic tags on my USAF dog tags: the military dog tags issued me when I enlisted in the USAF in 1971. Yes, I still have them.

I had serious doubts that my gifts were “cool” or even desirable. Two friends, upon seeing the finished dog tags begged me for one. Their reaction stilled my introverted, self-doubting mind. I made 1,000 ceramic dog tags last year. Yes, I counted them. I’d actually made 1,008 tags and exactly 8 of them broke before I made it to Burning Man.

However, it was the reaction of fellow Burners who reassured me that my gifts were not simple trinkets. It was rather nice to see hundreds of Burners wearing my dog tags out on the Playa. Many stopped me to thank me again for the gift! I was touched. I gave these gifts out with wild abandon during the week of Burning Man and still did not manage to gift them all. I have about 200 left.

On the last morning of Burning Man, I filled an empty bucket with Black Rock City dust. I scooped up about 5 pounds of dust from around my campsite and brought it back to Palm Springs with me. I had this crazy idea that I would incorporate that dust in with some regular clay to make dog tags for Burning Man 2012.

On that same day, I met my Tribe at the burn site of the One Mile Clock, which we had burned the night before. The burning of the One Mile Clock was an emotional experience for me. Artwork I made for the clock was being burned. I brought to Black Rock City a meaningful sculpture I’d made nearly 45 years ago. It had disintegrated significantly over the years. I could not bear parting with it. But I did. I threw it into the roaring fire and through my tears watched as it burst into flame. It was emotional and liberating.

We met the next morning to clean the ashes of foreign materials left over from the burn. We picked up nails, screws, staples and other materials to leave no trace behind – one of the 10 tenants of Burning Man. I scooped up a baggie full of ash: ash from the One Mile Clock that I helped create, build and burn. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it but I collected it none-the-less. Those ashes contained part of me; my artwork.

I stuck the bucket of dust and baggie of ash in a corner of my studio. It sat there quietly while I pondered how to use it.

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Tortuga in the News!

This is a cut & paste of the Palm Springs' Desert Sun Pet of the Week article featuring Tortuga, our African Sulcata Tortoise. I attempted to copy the article from the Palm Springs Desert Sun into this blog but it's just not cooperating. The article ran on Thursday, December 29th.

Les had submitted the article and a iPhone photo of Tortuga for consideration in the weekly feature. The Desert Sun was interested saying they had never featured a tortoise as Pet of the Week and would do so provided we could submit a good quality photograph. I guess iPhones don't provide good enough quality for newspapers.

I got out my camera and began taking photos of Tortuga. I cleaned them up and sent about five of them for the editor's consideration. This is the photograph and the article that ran in the Desert Sun.

THURSDAY, December 29, 2011

Submitted by Jerry L. Hanson

Meet Tortuga. The 17 year-old tortoise lives in Palm Springs with Les Zendle and Jerry Hanson.

Unlike other breeds of tortoises that hibernate, Tortuga is an African Spur Thigh breed who “spends winter days in the sun and winter nights in an underground ‘bunker' with heating bulbs to keep warm,” Zendle said in an email to MyDesert.

And when he's out and about, he is social.

“He is friendly and walks toward people, especially if they are wearing bright colors,” Zendle said.

Tortuga's diet consists of two heads of romaine lettuce and a few carrots a day, and he also enjoys Bermuda and winter rye grass.

Written by: MyDesert

Lost & Found

Burn, baby burn. Uh... no!

I traveled to Black Rock City for the first time in 2011. I’ve been talking for almost a year about Burning Man. I talked your ear off about my participation in Burning Time: the 1MileClock project. We built the largest working timepiece ever built: a clock with a one-mile diameter clock face. It was awesome.

I talked about my art piece for the 1MileClock, a woven newspaper piece; a 4 foot by 6 foot weaving glued and sealed on a ¾ inch thick sheet of plywood. I hauled that heavy artwork about 800 miles up to Northwestern Nevada from Palm Springs.

In October, I wrote about having an early arrival pass to Black Rock City to work with the 1MileClock team to build the number towers for the clock. The lead-in photo for that blog is a photograph of my artwork. Stick with me. There’s a point to all this.

On the Saturday of Burning Man week, the BRC DPW (Black Rock City Dept. of Public Works) moved the 12 clock number towers to a designated burn area. Forty-five minutes after the Burning Man burned, the clock towers were torched. It was an awesome sight. There were fire dancers doing their thing before the burn. There was a large crowd gathered for the burn. I looked for tower #5, where my artwork was. It wasn’t there. There was a blank space where my panel had been.

My art piece, along with 7 other art panels had been stolen between the time the DWP moved the towers and the time of the burn. My art panel was one of those stolen. Someone took the time to unscrew an incredibly heavy 4’ x 6’ panel from the clock tower and carry it nearly a mile off the playa. Not just one panel, but 8 panels.

On one hand, I was very disappointed to have created a piece of artwork specifically for the purpose of being torched at Burning Man. On the other hand, it was somewhat gratifying to know that someone liked my artwork enough to go through all that trouble. On the other hand, (wait, I have three hands?) it bothers me greatly to have my artwork out there not knowing who has it or what’s being done with or to it. Is it proudly displayed in someone’s home? Is it being used to patch a hole in the side of a barn? Where did it go?

Yesterday, I received a FB message from James Bowers, the brain & driving force behind Burning Time: the 1MileClock project. Jim wrote: “Jerry, Merry Christmas my friend! Guess what!? I've recovered your stolen art panel. It's being safely stored at my house (and on proud display). Not sure how to get it back to you.... Ever make it up to NorCal? Hugs – Jim”

What a surprise! I thought they were gone and lost forever. Jim was able to track down the eight stolen panels and have them all delivered to him! I have no idea how he did it. I suspect he’s being discrete about it on FB. I will certainly weasel it out of him in 2012 when we're all home again in BRC.

Jim wanted to know about how to get it back to me & did I have any suggestions? After thinking about it, I wrote: Great recovery job, Jim! I am happy to know their final disposition! It was the "not knowing" that bothered me most. My suggestion is to burn it. Perhaps we can take them to BM 2012 & torch them? That was to be their destiny. Burn it.

I created this artwork with full knowledge it would burn. It didn’t burn. Even though it will be a year late. Burn it.

Thanks for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Chain, Chain, Chain....

In my art, I love to take small bits and work them into a whole. I work with beads. I work with tab tops. I work with any collection of items that can be pulled together into a larger piece: tin can lids, key chains.

My BFA in Education background is in weaving… textiles. You take thread or string and weave it into a larger piece. Take something small and create something big.

Early on, I enjoyed using traditional techniques such as bobbin lace to create my artwork. I would use non-traditional materials such as choir or sisal with bobbin lace techniques. The results were strange yet familiar. Most traditional weavers would look at my work and not believe what they saw. I loved the mind phuque.

The bulk of my work over the years uses newspaper as my media. Woven newspaper. People look at it and can’t get their minds around it. “Did you paint all those little squares?” “Did you cut out all those little squares of paper?” “WHAT is that????”

I love using every-day items in non-traditional ways.

For 30+ years, I’ve been interested in using wire to make “things”. It began with my student teaching days: I taught a class in Beginning Jewelry. I needed to come up with lesson plans to teach jewelry making that required no heating of metal. How do you teach jewelry making and keep the attention of both the boys and girls??? AND not melt metal?

Wire.

I developed a six-week lesson plan that utilized wire. The girls made earrings and pendants from wire. The boys made bracelets and, well, bracelets from wire (turned out they weren't interested in other forms of jewelry). I showed the girls how to make jump rings from copper wire and how to use them to make chains and other items. I showed the guys how to twist different gauges of wire into “wire ropes” and how to hammer them into bands for bracelets.

The students love the class. Everyone one left class with the jewelry they’d made.

Thirty years later, I’m still “playing” with wire. And newspaper…

I taught myself to make chain maille. I wove together links to make fabric. What I didn’t know was that I was making Japanese 4 in 1 chain maille. I knew it worked but it didn’t look like the chain maille I’d seen in medieval armor. I wanted to make THAT chain maille and I never could figure it out.

For years, I searched on line for instructions: they were so obtuse, no one could be expected to follow the instructions. And then… I found them! Thank you Ring Lord!

My 30-year (passive) quest for Chain Maille has come to fruition. I now know how to make the European 4 in 1 Chain Maille….

Now, what am I going to make???? Something totally useless.

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Music Man (Virtual)

I love music. I can’t sing but I love music, most music. There even a few (very few) Rap tunes I like.

I’m slowly going deaf. I stopped listening to the radio, records & cassette tapes. Records and tapes: that pretty much tells you how long ago that was!.

And then I got hearing aids. They changed my life. I could hear again. I rediscovered music and began listening to music on the radio again. We got a CD player in the early 90’s & I began purchasing CD’s I found interesting. Over the next 15 years, I purchased almost as many CDs as I did novels. Amazon.com loved me.

Three years ago, I got a Sony eReader. That changed my life too. I’ve read exactly two paper novels in the past three years. I read over 50 novels a year and no longer have to find space to shelve all those novels. Our bookshelves are no longer over flowing with pulp fiction.

I never thought about how many CDs I have or what kind of music I’ve collected. I hear music on NPR or KROQ & I go to Amazon.com and look for it. Amazon has that insidious “help” function, “People who purchased this music also purchased…..” I would purchase the CD I was looking for in addition to several others. Amazon .com really loves me.

In past years, I uploaded my CDs into iTunes on my PC. However, if you don’t purchase your music through iTunes, it’s not saved if your HD (Hard Drive) crashes and if you purchase a new PC, it’s not easy to transfer those saved CDs to the new PC. I switched to MAC when I retired and I am now able to back up my HD on the Time Capsule.

A week or so ago, iTunes began a new service where you can upload your CDs NOT purchased via iTunes and they will save them for you in the iCloud: costs $24.99 a year but it’s well worth it.

It was time to transition my music collection.

I spent last week uploading CDs into iTunes. I began with about 1 GB of music on iTunes (that was about 5 hours of music). It takes about 3 minutes to transfer a CD. I transferred 75 to 100 CDs a day for over a week. Where did all these CD’s come from? It took over 48 hours to upload the music into the iCloud. I have nearly 1,000 CDs! I think I’m getting my $24.99 worth.

I now have over 90 GB of music saved, which is over 33 days of music. If I put my entire collection on shuffle, I’ll not have a single song repeat for a month. That could make for a very strange mix: Bach followed by Macy Gray followed by Frank Sinatra & The Mutators. Yikes!

I have my entire music collection on my iPod and the entire collection backed up to the iCloud. I can purchase music from iTunes with assurances it will not be lost with a HD or iPod crash. Using Play Lists and Genius, I’m now utilizing my entire music library. There are no more CDs cluttering up the stereo cabinet. The CD player is no longer needed. The CD’s have gone into storage.

I’m not purchasing books anymore. I’m not purchasing CDs anymore. Amazon.com is no longer in love with me.

Thank you for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Dig It!

One of two raised garden planters

I built a garden this past week. Tuesday, the lumber was delivered for building raised planting beds and 64 cubic feet of topsoil. We live in a desert. The ground is either rock, or sand or both. Our property is mostly sand which is not particularly good for raising vegetables. I’m glad it’s not rock: that’s too difficult to dig in.

We also have an unusual pet that has run of the back & sides of the property. Tortuga is a 75-pound African Sulcata Tortoise, which is the third largest tortoise species. He’s a tank that lets nothing get in his way. He will walk through it or over it: walking around it is his last resort.

We used to have lovely plantings in the back & side gardens. Tortuga either tromped through or ate every plant in his way. I’ve experimented with ornamental plants trying to find ones he will ignore and leave alone. I’ve had little success.

For a plant to survive in Tortuga’s realm, it needs to be protected until it’s large enough to NOT be walked over or through. This brings me back to the lumber & topsoil being delivered.

Raised gardening beds are a must with Tortuga on the prowl. They need to be tall enough to discourage his climbing into them. The ones I built are approximately 11 inches tall. Each planting bed is 4 feet by 8 feet, which need 32 cubic feet of soil each. This solves my poor sandy soil issue, too! I’ll mix in a layer of topsoil with the sand to ease the transition between the strata of soils.

On Wednesday, I constructed the two planters. While I was leveling one planter, I noticed Tortuga exploring the other. He managed to pull himself up over one 2 x 6 layer and got hung up mid way. He couldn’t go forward. He couldn’t go backwards. He was stuck. Thankfully I was there to lift him off. He is inquisitive but he has a very small brain. How did these marvelous creatures survive for millions of years? I quickly realized I needed to complete both planters to prevent a repeat performance of Tortuga’s balancing act.

Friday, I turned and dug into the sandy soil, mixing it in with new potting soil. That 64 cubic feet of soil was a lot of work! Damn! My back was all out of whack… thank god for Pilates. I begged my instructor to go easy on me Friday afternoon.

Saturday, my husband & I headed over to Lowe’s Garden Center. I’d been asking him, “What do you want to plant in your new garden?” “Vegetables.” “OK!”

Doc filled a shopping cart with plants then into the trunk they went. We planted 7 tomato plants, 8 lettuce plants, 2 peppers, 4 pimento (why pimento???), dill, 4 zucchini, 4 cucumbers, basil, green onions, & Greek oregano. All were planted in two 4 feet by 8 foot planters.

So many plants in such small planters. Cozy. I am praying for a bountiful crop and wondering how all those plants will co-habitat in such tight quarters! Is that a tomato or a red pepper? Bite it & find out!

Thanks for listening,

Jerry L. Hanson

Art & Friends

For 7 months, I had been focused on creating an art piece for Burning Man. I was invited to participate in a project: Burning Time, the World’s Largest Working Timepiece. Forty artists created over sixty art pieces for the One Mile Clock. I created one panel for the clock – 4 ft by 6 ft.

I then volunteered to bring my artwork and work on the construction of the clock at Black Rock City. I received an early arrival pass which I now know is highly prized. This was my first time going to Burning Man. I have friends who have been going for years and have tried unsuccessfully to score an early entry pass. Perhaps I am blessed, or stupid. I think the latter is closer to the truth.

I arrived on Tuesday morning & spent the day setting up my camp: there was nothing for me to do on the clock. Wednesday; however, there was a lot to do! We dove into the construction project and worked 12-hours every day through that week. We worked our butts off that first week!

I worked primarily with the principle builder of the One Mile Clock clock towers. Arlen is a carpenter, 13 years younger than me yet he seems older and wiser than I ever expect to be. Arlen is a perfectionist who knows when to be a perfectionist and when to “let it go.”

After the first day working together, I began to anticipate his needs. I’d be connecting the nail gun to the power source, winding up the cord and getting ready to hand it up to Arlen about the time he’d say, “Jer! Hand me the nail gun!” Arlen would be rummaging around in his toolbox. I’d spot the screwdriver & hand it to him. “How the f**k did you know I needed that!” I don’t know… I just knew he was looking for that screwdriver. We worked well together.

Arlen is a seasoned Burner. This was my first Burn: I was a Burgin (Burner + Virgin = Burgin). I sensed that Arlen was truly at home in Black Rock City but was still holding back. But, that wasn’t my concern. I was workin’ my own experience processing all this new stimuli.

Arlen and I worked every day building that Clock. He told me much about his life and his girlfriend, Shannon. He brought tears to my eyes, the way he talked about her. I couldn’t wait to meet her.

Sunday evening, the gates to Black Rock City opened and Burners began to pour into Black Rock City. I didn’t see Arlen after Sunday morning and didn’t see him for several more days although I looked for him. I didn’t meet Shannon until near the end of that week. That was OK. They needed their time together. My Palm Springs friends had arrived and there was plenty to occupy my attention.

On the Saturday the Man was to burn, I was out on the Playa taking photographs of artwork installations. I turned around and there was Arlen! He was in his truck, doing maintenance on the One Mile Clock numbers. It was as if I was running into an old friend. We hugged & I asked Arlen about his reunion with Shannon.

Arlen apologized for not being around, that Shannon & he needed their space. He told me that he & Shannon were using their time at Burning Man to re-align their lives. He told me their story of addiction, how they’d hit bottom and how their Burning Man experience is pulling them through detox. I could tell this was difficult for Arlen to talk about. I offered assistance; whatever they needed. He told me I’d already done that by listening and being non-judgmental.

I pulled Arlen into a hug - thinking about yellow tutus and tiny top hats – and thanked him for being honest & including me in his life’s story. I said he & Shannon would be in my thoughts for good karma and, “Get your ass back to Center Camp and be with Shannon!” He smiled and drove off towards camp.

What do you do in situations like this? I took a swig of water, headed for the Temple of Transition and wrote a note on the wall sending Arlen & Shannon good thoughts.

I saw Arlen only once more that week: during the clean up of the Clock burn site, my last full day in Black Rock City. Three weeks later, I received a letter letting me know they were well, “ Burning Time and enjoying life.”

You never know from where friends come. Be well, my friends and welcome home.

Thank you for listening

Jerry L. Hanson