Hello and welcome to Miranda's projects page.

Here you'll find what I've been up to in the past, and what art pieces I'm currently working on.

• 2009 Burning Man Project: Flight •
• 2008 Burning Man Mutant Vehicle: ze Flying Steampunk Kar! •
• 2008 Dancing Lantern Tea House •
• 2007 Burning Man Mutant Vehicle: Funkadelic Nectar Mutant Vehicle •
• 2006 Burning Man Project: Project X Artpiece (Man buried up to his nose) •
• 2005 Burning Man Project: Pagoda of Infinite Reflection •
• Miscellaneous Projects •

Flight from the Hearts and Minds of Miranda, Sacred Flame, sCary and V Flight Is… comprised of five interpretations of Wings that stands ready to be tried and tested – by those who dare. Four artists have come together to collectively craft an installation that allow it’s participants to fulfill the centuries old desire of Man… to Fly. Each artist is producing their own interpretation of Wings. Some come from the Insect & Bird world, others from the realm of fantasy and Myth, and one from the incredible mind of Man. Each set of wings will be mounted at a height that allows the participants to effortlessly “try on” their chosen set of wings. The placement of the five Wings is such that everyone can view each other and appreciate their individuality and beauty. The positioning of the Wings also lends itself to being photographed. Allowing the camera to capture the magic that happens when Bodies (Earth) are united with Wings (Heaven). Flight Installation The five sculptural elements that comprise ‘Flight’ are positioned at the tips of a five-pointed star. The wings all face inward so that participants can view and marvel with each other over their newly found wings. The central viewing area is a negative space (void of matter) that allows each sculpture to be viewed individually. Our wish is that many will enjoy trying on new wings, thus transforming themselves from mere humans into immortal, fanciful creatures of the air! INSECTion by Miranda A larger-than-life-size interpretation of the microscopic world of the Insect. An attempt to capture the geometric beauty of Nature in an Insect’s fragile wing. Media: Metal, stained glass/plastics, findings, bee’s wax & pollen. PHOENIX by Sacred Flame A manifestation of symbolic death and rebirth. Wings up stretched, in metal, with the feathers individually welded on. The feathers will be painted the colors of the phoenix (blue, green, violet, red, orange and yellow).  The tips of the outermost feathers will have flame effects pointed outward.  The center will have a back (also painted) and the head will be pointed upwards.  I also envision flame coming off the Phoenix's head like feather plumes. The Phoenix is one of the winged sculptures that will make up Flight. This particular piece will be outfitted with flame effects for night time viewing. Once in production, we will post more pictures of it so you can see the progress. FAIRYest by Miranda The wing is the vehicle that transports mere mortals to the realm of the Imagination where fantastical creatures of myth rule the Earth and Air. Media: Just as a Fairy cannot be captured, the Media is “to be determined” as this is an ethereal process that cannot be foreseen. Otherwing by V Wings, wings everywhere beating, sweeping, lifting air allowing spirit flight anywhere Wings wings everywhere. This set of wings is yet undefined. It seems to be leaning toward a nocturnal element of something resembling a bat’s wing. Media: fabric, rubber, wood, bone, claws STEAMPUNKeration by sCary A sturdy set of man-made wings that embraces the fine craftsmanship of the Victorian era, and embodies the lifelong desire of man to fly. Media: Leather, brass, wood, metal, cotton linen & thread. (this image is not the actual interpretation of the piece) a better sketch is coming. Burning Man 2008 ze Fabulous Flying Kar! (was: Steampunk Funk Zeppelin) We bought a used go kart and am giving it a makeover "SteamPunk" sytle. Rather than interpreting the theme "American Dream" literally, we're dialing back time to the moment when the first flights took place... the universal dream of man- to fly.
This is what the go kart looked like when it was new (quite a few years ago). This is the raw base vehicle that will be used. Of course, we will be customizing it with a new coat of copper paint, faux rivets& other Victorian touches to give it a "turn of the century" look... (last century that is!).
	This is what a vintage cockpit looked like, we are using this as our inspiration to craft our cockpit after.
Once the go kart is faux painted, the frame will undergo a transformation by adding panels of gauges and welding on an armature to which the huge wings will attach to. The front will also be completely reworked so that it has a "hood".
Plan A: Using Inflatable Blimp Balloon
	Sketch of Plan A: Inflatable Blimp Design
Putting the balloon on top of the vehicle was quite a feat
	Seeing how the blimp dwarf's the vehicle was confirmation that this approach would never work given the high wind conditions on the playa. It would be difficult to maneuver, and would be unsafe... onto Plan B!
Plan B: Using wooden ribs & Propellers
Sketch of Plan B. We'll build an open framework out of wooden "ribs" to create the Zeppelin's balloon portion of the Art Kar. The open frame will allow air/wind to pass through the balloon section freely without fear of tipping. The look of the open frame will also lend itself to a more Victorian aesthetic by allowing the viewer to see and appreciate how it is built.
	Here is a detail of the inner section of the "ribs". Each rib will house a propeller* that will turn in the wind. When the Kar is moving, the propellers will appear to propel the Zepplelin forward. This hypnotic effect will lend a kinetic aspect to the craft. *For added safety, the propellers are enclosed within the framework. The projected size of the balloon portion is around ten feet long and 3 feet high. We estimate that this would be a very safe and manageable size whilst in motion.
~~~~~ Plan C: ze Fabulous Flying Kar! ~~~~~ July 7th, Here's where we are at the moment: The Gondola part of the Kar is coming together beautifully... too beautifully, as now the zeppelin part will have to "live up" to the gondola section. This presents a problem. Here's why; We raided a bunch of salvage places to find all the bits and bobs and got some amazing stuff! An old brass lamp base will be the "boiler", two electrified oil lamps will be mounted "lantern" style on each side (normally where your side mirrors live) of the Kar. A couple of old fireplace screens are being torn to bits and will be the hood embellishment and provide lavish details. The floors now boast a lovely Persian styled rug as floor mats. The steering wheel will be covered in brown leather and an antique brass hand-pull will adorn the center of the steering wheel. Antique gauges from ebay are being set into a custom solid wood w/ cherry stain dashboard. There's also the fifty feet of old tin ceiling trim that will be used to embellish whatever needs it. So the base Kar "gondola" part is GOLDEN. The Zeppelin part of the vehicle is not developing as nicely. I have collected the various fans, but the armature is not anywhere as elegant as the gondola Kar part, and therefore will being the entire vision down quite a few notches. They simply do not match in detail and sophistication. I'm working hard at finding more bits and bobs to bring the Zeppelin blimp up to snuff, but in case I can't find these before BM, I fear we must come up with a "Plan C". The Plan C is to go the way of a Steampunk "Flying Kar" see the sketch below to get an idea of the concept. (was Steampunk Funk Zeppelin) now ze Fabulous Flying Kar! (otherwise known as Plan C)
	The frame of the gokart has been covered with canvas in order to emulate the original flying machines of the era which had canvas stretched over their wooden armatures. The canvas covers the frame of the go kart and also acts as a base on which we have augmented it with the decorative antique brass pieces we've been collecting all year.
Notice the Brass oil lamps on either side of the dash area. There is also a large brass boiler in the rear. All visible aspects of the machine will be detailed to appear Victorian in style.
	Close up of rear "Flying Fin" detail.
Close up of "Beastie" headlamp detail.
	Close up of hood detail.
Close up of cockpit and side detail (before installation of lights)
	Close up of inside dash area (missing dash, but you get the idea).
Lights! We have lights!
	Here you can see that how the rope lights have been incoporated into the overall design.
Close up of the rear Fin lighting scheme.
	The lighted "curly-cue's" give the kar a whimsical feeling. Very topsy turvy!
Close up of Front wheel fender. The combination of illumination and ornamented brass is working well. These shots were taken at dusk, but when there is full darkness, the light detail really comes though.	Close up of brass rivet detail which can be found all along the bottom edges of the hood, front fenders, running boards, and various other places.
	The front hood's entire character changed with the addition of lights. The lights have smoothed out the harsh angles and added a element of whimsy to the car... if you look closely, you can see what now resembles a frog face... see it there? Kind've of like Mr. Toad's wild ride... only Victorian'esque.
The addition of wire mesh "hurricanes" to the carriage lights give the lamps an otherworldly feel.
	Ze "headlights" are lit. We have also incoporated a real functioning headlight into the car, but have placed it low to the ground (under the hood ornament) so as not to interfere with the Steampunkish vintage aesthetic.
Ze completed hood, ya, ya.... it LIVES!
ze Wing The Wing is hand sewn and is made of canvas edged with a dark brown trim. The terminating back edges of the wing have a "bat-like" feel which lends a Victorian Gothic vibe to them. As for the armature/frame that will support the wing; Fiberglass "spring rods" line the ribs and give the wing "structure". We used electrical conduit down the center rib for stability. Rope lights outline and help define the wing shape for fabulous night time viewing. For safety in high winds; The whole wing section is retractable and fastens down with vintage brown leather straps with brass buckles. Keeping it Green Most of what we are using on ze kar is used. The antique brass bits & bobs that we've been collecting over the years (wondering all the while, geez- these are cool, but what are we gonna do with them??) ... guess we finally have our answer! The three brass lamps were found at thrift stores. The rag rugs were in the clearance bin. The fake Persian rug was at the second hand store. We got the dashboard gauges used on ebay, so they're green as well. Basically we tried to use what we had on hand, and things that would have otherwise been destined for the landfill.

 

How ze Fabulous Flying Kar! will serve the community

Last year, we took our previous mutant vehicle "Funkadelic Nectar" to the privies to provide entertainment and 'random acts of Funk' to those waiting in line for the privies (and provide lovely music for those actually using the privies). The music and dancing was so well received that we want to continue the tradition this year.

"All lit up and everywhere to go!"

What we do

When the ze Flying Kar arrives at a new bank of privies, we deboard. With our Steampunked-out megaphone we start interacting with the crowd... providing "on the spot" interviews with the folks waiting in line, asking folks to tell their best "potty" joke, etc...

After everyone is laughing and in a good mood, we declare that there is noticible absence of FUNK, and we hit the play button on our boombox and play some "old skool" funk music which get's people dancing.

After a song or two (depending on how much the folks are enjoying it), we thereby declare that "the Funk has been restored to the area!" and set off for the next bank of privies to repeat the process once again.

We know that there are "nobler" causes out there that art cars tend to, but we've found that this is a little niche that has somehow been overlooked.

We are "ze Fabulous Flying Kar!", and we're here to serve up the funk with a Steampunk edge!

[in an "Elvis" voice] Thank-you, thank-you very much... we'll be here all week. Remember to tip your waiters and waitress' and try the veggie burger. Thank you.

Thanks for looking!

Miranda

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Dancing Lantern Tea House

	The Dancing Lantern Tea House is a mobile tea house that travels where the winds lead. Its purpose is to share the gift of Tea with all who visit.
The tea house embraces burning man principals with its main focus being on the principal of Gifting. Gifting means giving for the sake of giving, expecting nothing in return. It also embraces the principles of peace, kindness, beauty, nurturing and healing by creating meaningful experiences with kindred spirits.
The Dancing Lantern will be at the Southbay Burner weekend on the weekend of April 5-6th 2008. It will be open for Tea on Saturday April 5th from 11:00am until 2:00pm. Barring rain, it will be located in "Central Park". Just look for the many colorful hanging lanterns. Seating is traditionally on mats, but you are welcome to bring your chair if that is more comfortable to you. All are welcome to come for tea.
	The Dancing Lantern Tea House will present a workshop on the Art of Green Tea on Sunday at 11:00am. The one hour workshop will include the history of green tea, demonstrations, and instruction in both the Gaiwan and Kung Fu Cha preparation methods. We will be mainly focusing on the magnificent Oolong Teas. The last half of the workshop will include Oolong green tea tastings where you will be able to sample some of the finer Oolong Tea's available. This workshop is a gift to the beautiful people of the Southbay Burner's community. Limited floor seating, please bring your chair.
An example of teapots.
Here is a picture of the tea house at night. We used over 100 candles to illuminate the tea house as well as the path leading to it.
A broken garden fountain was given new life as fire replaced water.

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Just for fun, I thought I would leave last year's art Kar project up on the web.
Congratulations to Amy and Alissa, the new owners of "Funkadelic Nectar!"

Burning Man Art Kar 2007
"Funkadelic Nectar"

Basic design begins to take shape	Hood and trunk areas looking more complete
3/4 view	Funkadelic Nectar coming your way- driver's side
Head on shot	Passenger's side
Here is the Nectar at it's home on the playa	All lit up and EVERYWHERE to go!
Zion (Miranda), Karin & Funkadelic Nectar~

Resources

I could not have done this without the AWESOME guys at Cambrian Go-Karts. Even when they had a chance to make a double sale, they steered me away from what could have been a potential disaster on the playa. And steered me in the right direction in order to have an art Kar that could handle the extreme environment of Black Rock City.

They rock and I highly recommend them!

Cambrian Go-Karts
2049 Woodard Road (at Union)
San Jose, CA
(408) 377-5278
www.cambriangokarts.com

Tell Billy "Miranda sent you."

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Burning Man 2006
Project X

In 2006 the Southbay burner community came together once again under
the leadership of Wizzard to produce another large scale art piece for the playa.

Inspired by "Planet of the Apes ", the movie that showed
a doomsday picture of the statue of Liberty buried up to her nose in sand,
the team decided to play off this classic movie image.

Wizzard's CAD rendering of the completed project.

The mans "head" being framed out.

Searing heat, moisture-sucking winds, dust... good times!
Here's a shot of me putting the "skin" on the face of the man.

Liv and Miranda

Arm going up

The measurements of the "Man" were scaled up to 5X,
to make the particpants experience more dramatic.

Close up of the arm detail

A picture of the build team.

Want more of Project X? Visit Wizzard's site

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Burning Man 2005
Pagoda of Infinite Reflection

The Southbay burner community banded together to create a large scale piece of art
for the playa. This was the third largest art structure to burn (with the Man
being the tallest, followed by the Temple, then the Pagoda).

Feeling more like a builder and less like an artist I drill endless screws into wood, it's all good.

Hey, you think anyone will want to climb this?

As we finish each leg, we then must turn it over
(and balance it on it's tiny footprint, without killing anyone).
Quite the feat.

When we needed a crane, the playa provides! (I love when that happens)

Voila! We have all the pieces in place now.

This piece is about light & dark, chaos & order... it's Escher-esque like form seems to change perspectives depending on where you stand, and where the light source is coming from.

A photo of the team. Under the leadership of Wizzard,
this group of local southbay artists came together and conceptualized the piece,
developed the structure, raised funds, tested/burned, tested/burned, and tested some more...
purchased, precut, transported, built, celebrated, burned, and
de-mooped the piece we know as The Pagoda of Infinite Reflection.

What a blast that was!

Our beautiful Pagoda stood until Thursday night...

until it burned bright with fire light. Ahhhh memories!

Want more of the Pagoda? http://www.wizzard.com/bm2004/us.html

Get yer red-hot Pagoda cards heeeere! http://www.wizzard.com/bm2004/index_us.html

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Miscellaneous Projects

 

Thanks to the gifting spirit of burners (and to sCary for opening his home-based welding "shop") we were able to learn how to weld and cut. Out of this came some of the most beautiful burn barrels I've ever seen. Here's a photo of me handling a torch for the first time... took to it like a duck to water. I'm thinking that there's more welding in my future! Thanks again sCary for introducing me to the wonders of fire~

The future is not some place we are going, but one we are creating. The paths are not to be found, but made. And the activity of making them changes both the maker and their destination.
— John Schaar

Thanks for visiting, 222 folks have visited us since July, 2008

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