As the Burning Man Project noted earlier this year, “Burning Man and the global maker movement are inextricably intertwined. Both welcome beginners and experts alike, while fostering a communal, hands-on approach to building tangible objects that become works of art, helpful structures, and engineered wonders.” READ MORE
It is safe to say that Burning Man gets a lot of hype — the climbable sculptures, the endless bass, the outrageous costumes, the endless dust, the fire…the list goes on. One aspect of the annual festival that is profoundly obvious to anyone that attends a bit less so to those that don’t is the massive amount of effort that goes into creating not only the festival itself (hats off to the amazing Black Rock City Department of Public Works), but the many art pieces big and small that are scattered across the playa during the event. Many of these take weeks to build on site in the weeks before the gates open and, typically, many months (even years) before that in warehouses and barns and art studios and makerspaces across the world. Although Burning Man provides the impetus and, often, some funding through its Honorarium program for these art pieces to be built, these pieces are increasingly are finding homes beyond the playa. Big art is fun wherever it lands! And one of those places is Maker Faire Bay Area (as well as other Maker Faires around the world).
Here’s a look at some of the art and makers from Burning Man that will be at Maker Faire Bay Area this year, as well as a few makers who are making art in the desert and also a few bringing new art out there that have participated in Maker Faire in the past.
El Pulpo Magnifico
Duane Flatmo is sufficiently revered in his hometown of Eureka, CA to have an alley named after him. At the Mo Alley dedication extravaganza in June (pictured above) one of his signature creations, El Pulpo Magnifico, gave the crowds gathered to celebrate his magnificent body of work – four decades of kinetic sculpture making and muraling – a fiery blast of thanks. In fact, the first iteration of El Pulpo – El Pulpo Mechanico, made from all manner of aluminum bread tins, and cookie molds and assorted metal ephemera and breathing fire. You get a real sense of the creativity Meet El Pulpo Magnifico on Mare Island September 25-27 at Maker Faire Bay Area!
The Tree of Photon
With Tree of Photon, visual artist, designer, engineer, architect Artur Grycuk (the first Polish artist to receive an honorarium) aims to express the harmonious fusion of technology and nature, where photons symbolize the invisible energies that connect all life. It delves into the quantum poetry of light, where photons represent both scientific precision and metaphorical enlightenment. It seeks to bridge the gap between human touch and technological response, suggesting that in an era of digital isolation, physical interaction can reignite communal bonds. Light‑based art can evoke profound emotional responses, fostering a sense of unity. It communicates that small actions, like a simple hug, can ripple outward, altering the world around us and highlighting our interconnectedness in an often chaotic universe. Following its sojourn on the playa, Tree of Photon will be a centerpiece of the Dark Room on Mare Island.
Last year, another 15′ illuminated tree sculpture from Burning Man, Aquatica by Anna Gribovsky, brought mutant glowing kelp tree grows jellyfish lanterns with colorful, glass-like bodies and optical fiber tentacles. Lit by over 800 LEDs, its canopy undulates in the wind as ocean sounds float from below the tree.
In the picture on the right above sits an absolutely adorable Flash the Tortoise art car inspired by a living tortoise named Flash. A 2002 Gem Car converted to a moving, lighted tortoise. Custom designed and welded aluminum frame, custom built lithium battery pack, vacuum formed HDPE scutes (panels), led back lighting and pebble lighting. Check out how close its concept rendering (below) by the designers of CooLab is to the outcome!
Before Flash, however, was Sepia Lux — a giant, mobile Luminescent Cuttlefish (with a fantastic sound system). As Dale Dougherty wrote in 2025:”When Bill Kennedy saw a Facebook post seeking someone to work on an inflatable art car, he replied that he had relevant Burning Man experience earning him the nickname “Inflatabill,” which became the name of his own business. By December 2020, Inflatabill’s event business had dropped off because of Covid and he was worried about paying the rent on his Santa Rosa, California, workshop. Knowing he needed the work, he drove down to San Rafael and walked into an old airplane hangar. There he saw the project that would occupy him for the next 20 months.
A project manager met Bill and showed him a strange, 23-foot vehicle: a modified Polaris General side-by-side ATV chassis with a trailer. It was the skeleton of an unfinished art car that was conceived to be an illuminated cuttlefish, the so-called “chameleon of the sea” because its body changes color. To bring the cuttlefish to life, the car would need inflatable fins that could move up and down in a wave motion along both sides of its body, and they would need to control the brightness and color mix of the lighting. The head of this cuttlefish would have two prominent eyes and eight or 10 arms.” READ MORE about this incredible build and its journey to the hands of Loren Crotty and fellow makers.
And now, a few years later, the Cuttlefish has babies!
Nebula Rider is the most equine sculpture from New York artist Adrian Landon and is currently installed on the esplanade at Mare Island by the . Like many makers he got his start in playdoh and decided formal schooling not for him–but building skills and making interesting and challenging things was. He created his first mechanical horse in 2014. In 2015 he took his Mechanical Horse to World Maker Faire New York, which it galloped for crowds — showing off its clever mechanisms. In 2019 he received a Burning Man honorarium grant to create Wings of Glory, an entirely new kinetic sculpture that improved up his understanding of horse biomechanics. Nebula Rider, made of stainless steel has a mirrored, reflective surface during the day and color-changing LED illumination at night. This year, Landon received an honorarium grant to bring The Sound of Time.
Mare Island Co. has also brought Zulu Heru’s monumental Farmer the Rigger — a massive, 9,000-pound, 21-foot-tall metal sculpture. The metal mask was forged with the intent to act as a guardian spirit over creative community spaces. Heru, a crane operator by trade, sees the piece as a journey of transformation. Not only his own development as an artist, but as a representation of his vocational journey from working as a farmer to becoming a rigger.
Read more about Zulu Heru and why the Mare Island Naval Shipyard represents such a symbolic place for the piece. READ more: https://www.mareislandco.com/news-events/laborandart
Lastly the unforgettable Project Empire, a culmination of decades of art car making experience. A captivating blend of art car mastery, avant-garde costuming, and spellbinding performance art, brought to life by the ingenious visionaries behind The Golden Mean and The Serpent Twins, both of which have wowed crowds at Maker Faire Bay Area. Learn more about the backstory and sci-fi life of this incredible project at https://formandreform.com/project-empire/
If you can’t make it to Burning Man, come to Mare Island, and check out some of the fabulous and fantastical projects made for the event by seriously skilled makers.
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