Reflections

Overall, we learned a lot while designing, building at home, building on playa, burning, and striking Whispers of a Distant Storm. 

There's tactical things related to the build, such as "next year we shouldn't have so many fiddly bits that we have to assemble above our head," or "the interp lights cause interference, even when on a different power source" or "if you don't rasterize the map for the laser etching, the laser spends too much time in a single spot and the wood smolders and burns."  

We learned about other people at the burn and their stories. A 21 year old who was experiencing his first burn with his dad and thought the demographics were skewed towards older people, so he felt that he was having a harder time connecting. A man whose friend was like a "distant storm" and the sound of crackles and pops gave him a reflection on his friend that he hadn't previously considered. And many many others we connected with. Xeli particularly liked how bringing an installation opened conversations in a way that she hadn't experienced in previous burns. She also appreciated how excited some people got as they learned that the sounds they were hearing was live lightning that was happening right now <insert big hand gestures and excitement!!!>. 

We also learned about ourselves. We reaffirmed our partnership and that we work together well. Whispers of a Distant Storm started as casual conversations discussing what we'd want to bring if we brought art to the playa in previous burns. We started regular weekly work-time on Thursday nights in early/mid 2024 and then it quickly became our primary activity besides work, sleep, and exercise. Throughout all of this, we worked together, communicating wants and needs as we designed and built.