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Ember

offline 105 friends
joined on 01/16/07
last updated 10/28/08
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What's Going On?

I've been receiving the Environmental Working Group's email newsletter for a while now ( www.ewg.org/ ), and they've started up a new effort for pets and their owners: www.petsfortheenvironment.org/ . I'm concerned about our pets' health and thought I was feeding them high-quality pet food (Nutro brand). Well, today I found out I was wrong.

Short of feeding them what they're truly meant to eat: ground raw meat with bones, organs and connective tissue (which is expensive, but... read more
Fri, May 16, 2008 - 3:36 PM permalink - 1 comment
 
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I've said...

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Fellow hedonists and bon vivants:

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Oct. 2008: Seahorse Effigy for Fall PDF

Just before Burning Man this year we received a grant to design and build the "pony" effigy for Fall Playa Del Fuego. Twist and I decided to take creative liberty with the usual pony and do a seahorse variant. In September we started collecting the most interesting driftwood we could find along the Potomac from a huge 1/4 mile long pile we've hiked around and over many times. Twist then built a 16' bamboo and tarp structure in our driveway for us to work in. He constructed an armature (support structure for a sculpture) to my specifications. Using sketches I'd done of a seahorse as guidance, we proceeded to cover the armature and fill out the seahorse over two evenings, taking a total of about 7 hours to essentially "finish" the piece for transportation. It was remarkably easy; I'd pick a piece of driftwood and decided where it should go, then Twist would wire or screw it in place. Naturally, once we were at PDF we spent another day putting on finishing touches (like the "spines" along the back and head, fireworks, etc.). At the same time we laid out a bunch of natural materials (pine cones, interesting roadside brush, seed pods, weeds, string, paper, markers, wire) and put up a sign saying "Build Your Own Effigy!" Folks did, and we ended up with 40-50 little effigies, most of which were put in the belly of the beast. We had a LOT of help erecting the seahorse (we'll rethink that part if we do another big effigy like this one); we couldn't have done it without the AWESOME volunteers who stepped up. We owe a debt of gratitude to all who helped, including Mungo Jerry, Mama Love & Bitchezz, Jsun, Twist's friend Kevin, and our neighbor Wayne and his friends. Thanks to Miller Electric for loaning tools. And thanks to Jill for suggesting we apply for the grant!

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Sketch for the Seahorse Effigy

Side view of the seahorse conception for the effigy (Fall Playa Del Fuego 2008)
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The Seahorse Effigy Realized

The seahorse effigy in it's final incarnation, standing on the burn stack.
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The Seahorse Burns

The seahorse engulfed in flames. It took so long to topple (at least *I* was getting anxious, we thought it would burn faster) that I was sitting there going, "C'mon, FALL, I have to pee!"
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Mushroom Sculpture / Structures

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8' Mushroom Sculpture SKETCH

This sketch is for early conceptualization. Please click the photo to get a full description.
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Shaggy Stem Mushroom ILLUSTRATION

First computer illustration. Click to get a fuller description.
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Fly Agaric Mushroom ILLUSTRATION

This is the second mushroom sculpture I'm doing for this project (see previous slides for other design). Illustration ©2007, Marlene Bruce
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The Final Result:

Here's a daytime shot of my mushroom sculptures for fall PDF 2007.
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Here's a nighttime shot of my mushroom sculptures for fall PDF 2007.
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The color of me:

Gender
Female
Age
41
Location
about me
Ember is short for Nuclear Ember, which is an anagram for my real name. I am a talented massage therapist, freelance web and print designer, photographer, writer, community builder, dancer, activist, and last but not least, an artist.

I like being vertical, horizontal, moving, still, inside, outside, thoughtful, thought-free.

There's lots more to learn at my web site, but since I've sorta hidden my more private content, start here: digitizethis.com/travelogue/.
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