Cover image by Scarlett Hayes, shayestudios, Mosaic 2015
October in Ohio might get a little chilly at night. You are more than welcome to bring an above ground fire pit or a burn barrel, but if you do we would like you to register it, please. We just want to keep everyone safe and make the landowner happy.
Thanks a bunch and see you soon!
Squiddy Rob Mosaic Fire Safety Lead fire@mosaicexperiment.com
We've found the most helpful aid in packing for burn events is having a good checklist to go by before organizing your items into waterproof bins and placing them in your vehicle, but if you've never attended a burn before, it can be stressful trying to figure out what exactly belongs on that list! Thankfully, one of our Mosaic participants, Jessica Strong, generously gifted her own checklist of items to pack for the Reclaimation regional burn in Kentucky, whose climate and weather isn't too unlike Southern Ohio's. If you already have a Burning Man packing list, keep in mind at Mosaic you'd be more concerned about rain than dust, with more focus on umbrellas and raincoats than dust masks and ski goggles, and you'd be more likely to deal with October cold than August heat, but you never know, our very first Mosaic event in 2013 was riddled with temperatures in the 80's, so we'd advise you prepare for both extremes!
*A note on organization. I bought a small 3 drawer organizer that stays in my kitchen bin that holds all of our silverware, cooking utensils, dish soap/scrubbies. Everything I need to run my kitchen is in one bin except the stove. It’s too big!
*Items that stay packed year round/do not spoil*
*I keep a food bin with all of this stuff. When It comes burn time, I just refill with the perishable items. I personally like to eat well at a burn!
Also, I'd like to issue a quick reminder about registering your car if you need to have it at your camp. If you're not registered, we WILL ask you to move your vehicle to the parking lot. Click here to register your vehicle.
LNT/Earth Guardian lead here. I'm calling all burners attending Mosaic, seasoned veterans to rosy-red virgins, and all the ones in between. If you are interested in keeping Reclaim just as we found it, please email at lnt@mosaicexperiment.com or you can im me here on the facebooks. You can sign up to be an Earth Guardian, keeping Reclaim MOOP free during the event or LNT, cleaning up Reclaim and the burn scar Monday October 6th, or both. Remember, volunteering is sexy, plus you can get some awesome swag for your help.
Dearest Mosaic Experiment 2014 Registered Theme Camps and Art Installations,
I have to start off by saying thank you for wanting to go through all the effort to gift your camp and art to participants (and thank you for registering by the deadline)! The following is what you need to know about bringing your camp/art to Mosaic.
When you will be able to get on site? Theme camps and art installations will be able to be processed at gate and start setting up their camps no earlier than 2pm on Wednesday, Oct 1. This means that no theme camp or art will be placed or able to start setting their camp up until that time, no exceptions. Estimations of arrival were asked for in the registration form before the Wednesday, 2pm info was out. If you would like to arrive on Wed please sign email Redbird at placement@mosaicexperiment.com so that we can inform gate and know when to expect you.
How will you know where you are placed?
See the above placement map! Your camp space allotment onsite is based off the dimensions given in your camp registration. Small ground flags will indicate your placement borders.
Parking of your vehicle? Unless you indicated that your vehicle is required to be onsite in your registration, all vehicles will be required to be in the parking lot by time gate labels on your car. You can still register your car to camp with you here.
What, When, Where?
If you would like to submit something for the what, where, when daily delivery (yes, participants want to make it like a morning newspaper delivery!) then submit your happenings here, one at a time please!
We’ll have a center hub this year too! This year at Mosaic we will have a volunteer hub inside the Atomic Chocolate Bar. It’s purpose is to help out volunteers and participants navigate the burn, volunteer shift rotations, volunteer appreciation, Khaki station, and anything else that makes sense. Should you find yourself wanting to volunteer on the spot or in need a Mosaic info, stop on in!
FIRE! No fire poofers or flame effects this year. Propane allowed only for cooking fires. No impromptu fire pits. All camp fire must be safely elevated as to not scar the ground underneath. FAST volunteers will be around during camp setups to check out your fire. If you are attracting fire spinning as a camp, consider providing a fuel dump at your camp for spinners.
Reminder of sound policy
“Turn down for what?!” The layout of Reclaim is such that the placement of sound camps is carefully chosen (considering topography, forested perimeter, land shape) to maintain a pleasant experience for the sound camps, surrounding campers, and other theme camps. Nightly sound limits are an effort to minimize sound complaints.
Who does this pertain to? Sound policies are for ANY participant, art installation, or theme camp employing any amplified sound system (1 to 10000w) or loud musical instruments. Mosaic has set a maximum of 4 large sound camps this year. Only these four camps will be allowed louder sound limits. Any other theme camps or participants employing amplified sound or acoustic instruments will be subject to quieter sound limits.
What are the event guidelines?
BASS AND VOLUME TURN DOWN: Large Sound Camps For the 4 large sound camps, all sub-woofers will be turned off and turn volume down such that 90 decibels are registered at 40 ft from camp center.
BASS AND VOLUME TURN DOWN: All sound not certified as a large sound camp: For any other sound (amplified or otherwise), all sub-woofers will be turned off and turn volume down such that 50 decibels are registers at 40 ft from camp/installation center.
Bass and volume turn down times: Wednesday- 10pm Thursday- 3am (Friday morning) Friday- 3am (Saturday morning) Saturday- 3am (Sunday morning) ***Bass turn down and volume restrictions expire the following mornings at 10 am Thur-Sun***
How will amplified sound policy be regulated on-site? Our friendly Sound Squad will monitor sound systems during the above posted turn down times. A decibel reader will be used to evaluate volume 40 ft from camp center. Remember that these are helpful volunteers who offered to work the graveyard shifts, please work with them. Non-compliance with turn down requests made by a badged Sound Squad member after the listed times will be grounds for sound shut-off for that camp for the duration of the event. Repeated failures to comply with sound policy will be grounds for removal from the event.
Remember to read the survival guide: http://www.mosaicexperiment.com/survival-guide/
Planning on sleeping in your vehicle? Make sure it's registered.
Having a campfire? Register your camp fire.
Lastly, and most importantly, please encourage your camp to volunteer!
Thank you and see you at Mosaic! redbird, DPW Placement
In the heart of the Midwest, there is a vibrant community of individuals dedicated to the idea of creating a space to enact self-reliance, self-expression, respect of the environment, and the value of the common good. These good folk will gather at a transformational festival in October, and this work will serve as the central effigy art project for the community.
Our campaign will fund only the material costs of a large-scale burnable art installation for this festival taking place in October. The structure, Our Hive, is an abstract geometric representation of a beehive. The building allows for interaction in a variety of ways. Participants can admire the structure’s intrinsic aesthetic beauty, sit or cuddle in one of the numerous alcoves, lounge in the cargo net, or scale to the top to look around. The structure will be illuminated with LED lighting systems that bring the internal design and negative space into greater conscious awareness. It will stand at around 18 feet tall with a rough diameter of 20 feet at the base.
The festival organizers have already awarded our team a $500 grant for the structure. We need your help to make up the difference in cost for building materials. Our goal of $1,190 will cover the lumber costs for the project.
All of the funds raised will pay for the cost of the materials to build and transport the structure to the festival site. This campaign to raise $1,190 will cover the cost of the lumber for the 18 foot by 20 foot effigy. Additional costs not covered by this campaign include $1,800 to cover all remaining construction and transportation needs (e.g. internal netting: $170, hardware: $125, lighting: $100, truck rental: $385, and burn costs) Fuel, tools and construction space have already been donated. If we do not meet our goal, all funds will still support the project, and we will have to work even harder to raise money in person…
As a supporter of Our Hive, you'll receive our sincere gratitude, plus additional perks depending on the level of your contribution. These range from handwritten thank you notes to custom stickers to patches to the chance to light Our Hive on fire...in person!
The Impact
Our Hive will be the central art piece and effigy for a transformational festival in Ohio. Dozens of these events occur across the globe, and the movement is on the rise. With roots in the dreams of activists, artists, hippies and seekers, transformational festivals create radically free spaces where participants awaken to their inner selves and experience a new way of being that springs from self-expression and community interaction.
Here in the Midwest, this “dreams made real” opportunity is rare. Opportunities to connect with like-minded folk who passionately believe in the values of radical inclusion, radical self-expression, leaving no trace, and the value of communal effort and civic responsibility are unusual. Burn festivals create the opportunity for individuals to propel the next evolution of humankind forward.
The Artist
In 2012, Thom Root attended his first burn festival. An unassuming software engineer in his regular life, Thom attended an additional nine burns over the past two years, including Burning Man 2013 and the inaugural Mosaic Experiment. Building large-scale burnable art has become a personal passion that brings him fulfillment and joy. His passion ignites a similar fire in anyone around him, bringing others into the community of transformation. A team of volunteers is already in place, helping to bring Our Hive into existence.
Thom has experience with how to design and construct an effective project. He designed the inaugural structure for the Mosaic Experiment 2013. The Dodecamosaic touched and delighted many. The structure was designed so it could be rolled around, providing an interactive element for participants. Thom also contributed to building the inaugural Indiana C.O.R.E. project, INchanted Forest, for Burning Man 2013. We are thirsting for the opportunity to create a larger scale interactive project.
If we don’t raise our goal of $1,190, then we will focus on in-person fundraising through selling patches and stickers at other festivals in the area. Additional funds may be donated by existing team members and through personal gifts.
The structure will be designed with the safety of all participants in mind. Walls and rafters will be reinforced to prevent accidental falls. On-site construction will include seasoned builders, including the lead builder of a 20 foot obelisk for another festival in 2013. This structure will be the most ambitious project for this festival, and we are pumped to make it happen!
Whether or not you're able to donate please spread the word to everyone you know. Other burners, performers, artists, your wacky neighbor, your supervisor, that interesting guy you chatted up the other day - you know - everyone! And consider using the buttons below to spread the word online. Thank you - that is all.
Mosaic Experiment has become the first Ohio regional burn to hit its ticket cap before sales were scheduled to end. In fact, the event isn't for another month! Roughly 200 tickets sold within the two weeks leading up to the ticket tier pricing change from $50 (Tier 1) to $75 (Tier 2.)
This is shocking to all of us as there has never been a ticket scarcity for an Ohio burn since the first ones started 7 years ago (in 2007.) Mosaic has had them on sale since April and have been promoting them since March.
We started notifying people of a ticket sellout threat 2 weeks prior to the start of September as we saw an increasing number of them selling every day right up until Tier 2 hit. By then there were less than 50 remaining and they all sold within two days. In total, that's 350 tickets sold in just over 5 months. By contrast, our closest large regional burn to Ohio is Lakes of Fire and their 1,600 tickets were all gone within minutes of their first and second sale, both of which happened within the same week!
What can we do now? Not to fret, one of our organizers put together a Mosaic Ticket Exchange Facebook group. As the event nears, many people who secured their tickets early in response to our warnings of tickets selling out will find themselves unable to attend and will be putting up their tickets for sale here. There obviously won't be enough for everybody who still wants a ticket, but there is still hope for those holding out. If you're persistent and attentive enough, you'll stand a very good chance of getting one.
How can we raise the cap for next year? One word: volunteer! Our cap was determined in January 2014 by last year's organizers who met and guessed the number of participants we felt we could safely handle based on the number of volunteers from our inaugural year. For every extra 100 people attending, you need at least another 30 volunteers (roughly 2/3rds of the entire Lakes of Fire event is made up of volunteers!) For example, you can't justly accept 100 participants if you only have 1 greeter working a couple 6 hour shifts. Gate would be crashed, no one would be tagged entering the event, and no one would be verified as an actual ticket holder. You'd need much longer shifts (not fair to the volunteer greeters) or many more greeter volunteers to remedy this problem. If you have 500 people, you need more rangers to scout the land for potentially dangerous behavior. Having only one person on call day and night wouldn't be cutting it anymore. You'd need more Emergency Service volunteers to be on call , and more Leave No Trace people to educate the masses on picking up after themselves so the organizers don't get stuck doing it afterwards (more people = more risk of MOOP!) At the moment I'm writing this, we still see a lot of empty volunteer slots needing to be filled. If we find a sudden boost in volunteerism before the event begins, or even at the event itself, we will feel more confident raising the cap. Want to help make it easier for more people to attend next year? Volunteer this year!
Why not raise the cap now? Aside from the note above about our critical need for more volunteers this year, we are also bound by a contract with the property owner stating we would have no more than 350 for this year's event, and we also stated this on our insurance policy. To permit more would violate both our signed contract with the property owner and our insurance policy. Best thing to do now if you're a lucky ticket holder is to volunteer for a couple shifts at Mosaic, and if you already are, encourage your campmates to do the same. There are many slots still available, most importantly Emergency Services, Rangers, and Greeters, but we definitely need a stronger Leave No Trace presence this year or we may not be permitted back on this property. PLEASE spread the word and encourage everyone to pack it all out! Help make our event cleaner, better, and ultimately bigger, by volunteering right now!
We are so excited to announce our partnership with Kintimate Costumes, etc. for this radical FUNdraiser on September 6th! https://www.facebook.com/events/533350760144439/
Do you remember Glamour Shots? The huge hair? The movie star make up? The sparkle and gem stone outfits?
Well we will be hosting an eccentric and colorful version of this glamorous portrait experience in an effort to raise funds for interactive outdoor art projects. These 8 projects will be created for the participants of The Mosaic Experiment, happening this October 3-6.
GlamBurn Shots, as we call it, will take place at Kintimates event space on Knowlton street here in Northside. Both floors of this incredible home will be used to provide a complete makeover, costuming selection and a photography session!
As you enter, grab a snack and a beverage and head upstairs to select your outfit and style. Then get your hair did and face made up to match your vision. Finally, spend 15 minutes making your best duck and kissy faces for our talented photograpers as they capture your best side.
These photos will be emailed to you for your own use, so let out your inner pin up, glam rocker, wild child or blushing beauty. All while supporting unique public art!
We will soon be taking reservations for spots for this wild evening of wacky fun so RSVP ASAP to get your first pick of the prime spots!News to use, here is an update on the art grant fundraiser being held on Sept.6th here in Cinci.
We will not be using reservations. You will receive a number when you arrive and sign in. You will pay the $15 for the makeup/photography session.
Drinks (soda, juice and some beer and wine) and snacks will be available, but potluck and booze donations are lovingly welcomed!
Also we will be featuring a Game Room! Cards Against Humanity, jenga, mad libs, apples to apples, all the party favs will be available while you wait for your session.
Of course you are welcome to join in the fun without all the glam! We will ask for a $5 donation to the cause if you are just coming but don't wish to have the full Glamburn experience.
Finally, what is the cause you ask? ART! ART! AND MORE ART! 8 separate artists are hoping this event will help support their creations and allow them to share their visions with the Mosaic Experiment. More info about the projects will be available at the event, and you are welcome to donate more towards a specific project that catches your eye.
So spread the word, share the news, this is going to be an epic night of fun!
Bought your ticket? Now it's time register for all the things by AUGUST 31!
"... Mosaic is a 100% volunteer run event. Everyone from the main organizers, to the art installations, and even the guys who check you in at the gate are volunteers! The life blood of Mosaic is volunteering..." http://www.mosaicexperiment.com/news/volunteer
