No man is an island, and some of my best work has come from collaborating with others!

Sometimes everyone works on a piece and brings them together to make an amazing whole. Twice I got to work on the LA CORE project (Circle of Regional Effigies) for Burning Man 2011 and 2012.

2011’s project, SCARAB, was a structure built to look like a food truck that had plaques representing the many cities and neighborhoods that make up Los Angeles. I made a plaque for my neighborhood, Highland Park, featuring many landmarks including Chicken Boy and the Highland Theatre.

The original burned with the main project, but I used a photograph to create a digital version of the plaque. I took the photo before mailing it off (I didn’t attend the event that year) and unfortunately it was a little blurry. Here’s the picture on the right:

You can prints of the finished circular art here and you can get it printed on a variety of products like t-shirts, travel mugs, water bottles and phone cases here.

2012’s project, Seraphim, was more involved for me (mainly I had more time available to give). I made a panel for the central vortex that you can see below, and I also helped on build days, tearing apart pallets and staining the slats that made up the “fire”.

Another fun opportunity for collaborations happens at house parties that I host: I often hang a few pieces of blank poster-board and encourage guests to doodle, paint or write on them. Afterwards, I add my own touches to try to tie different elements together to make a more cohesive design. Currently I have one that’s complete and 3 that need more done to them before I will be satisfied. Hopefully the next party will see some progress!