Off to the playa!

with Meghan at Burning Man, 2012

Turns out, I've got a real knack for plumbing

Justin Lane, NY, 2013

Just one of the things I've been learning over this summer, while building Skyler's Escapade [i.e., a hugely ambitious five-man--or, well, four-man-one-woman--pyrotechnics project for Burning Man].

Flowing

Bob Freund, MA, 2013

I no longer have the bracelet in that photo, so I'm glad it's been well-documented. It was woven onto my wrist at last year's Burning Man [my first].

It's amazing how much that one unexpected event has rerouted my life. I never had any interest in going to Burning Man, and then, when offered the chance to go completely for free [and with all amenities and food provided], I told myself I wasn't going to become one of those who "go to Burning Man".

Granted, I think I've done a good job keeping the rest of the year full of aspiration and movement, rather than dwelling in nostalgia or anticipation. However, much of my adventures in the last year have been a direct result of my experience at Burning Man and the friends I made while there.

For example, guess where I am now?

In a part of Northern California I'd never before ventured to go.

Why?

Because I'm learning pyrotechnics and building huge fire effects that will sit sixty-five feet in the air and shoot flames an additional twenty feet higher. I've been reacquainting myself with old skills [some basic metalworking] and acquiring new ones [like plumbing], and keeping company with some hilarious characters. Plus some other side adventures: today, a precocious nine-year-old girl taught me all about the herbs in the community garden across the street, and we picked some and brewed a huge vat of tea for everyone.

I've been sleeping in the warehouse/studio [alternately on a mattress in a loft, and in a gorgeous handmade teardrop camper made by one of the guys here], waking late, then working late into the night. It's been six days, and eight days ago, I was helping to coordinate a beautiful desert event in Nevada and had no idea that I was going to be coming here.

Back to modeling, though:

In the last few days I've gotten some really encouraging correspondence and am realizing that I miss it. More than I expected to, I mean. Modeling's been the one constant element in my ever-changing adult life--my primary anchor since I first endeavored to leave the place I grew up calling home. While I'm fully committed to other projects this year...you bet your asses I'll be back.

And the living is easy...

LD Out of Focus, CA, 2013

It's a shame I can't discuss a lot of how I've been spending my summer on this blog, as I've been pretty excited about it.

A lot of it is very personal stuff. Of course, I've never been deterred from rambling about my personal life to an extent, but I've got to draw my own lines, too.

A relatively PC overview of a few ways I've been spending my time:
--Hanging out at an incredible artists' and builders' space out west [a huge warehouse-turned-psychedelic-industrial-arts-workshop...and a lot more] donated by a wealthy benefactor, so that people with ideas and drive can use the space and resources for free to make large-scale art projects, generally for Burning Man. Here, I've been learning/practicing a multitude of skills. For instance: forging metal, spinning fire staff, and laser-etching.
--Cooling off at the river--doing everything from jumping off 40-foot bridges to learning how to fish for the first time.
--Infusing my own herbal cordials and other witchy homebody-esque things.
--Working several festivals and immersing myself into that scene for the first time. It's been an interesting experiment.
--Seeing my sister off as she heads to study abroad for a year in Shanghai by going trapezing together.

Through it all, I've still managed to do a few photo shoots--there isn't much of a model/photographer scene in this part of the country, but I've stumbled into a few gigs here nonetheless, all positive experiences. 8]

Reemerging

 

Andrew Kaiser, OR, 2013

Lately it's tough to write about anything pertinent to modeling, seeing as I'm mostly on hiatus. I've had a couple local shoots with photographers who've solicited me--but active self-promotion's pretty much on a standstill until my tour in the fall, which, I suppose, isn't so far away now...

Pretty soon I'm going to have to come out of the woodwork. Looking forward to it. Going to be hitting some never-before-visited cities. 8]