Now that I’m thoroughly de-compressed from pre-compression, I’m ready to write a short re-cap of the event.
I have to start by saying that (as a burner), I really appreciate the concepts of pre- and de- compression. These are two events that happen in relation to (before and after) TTID. To understand why any type of “compression” is a good idea, and all you need to do is attend Burning Man.
I actually met my husband Trevor at NYC’s Pre-Compression in 2011. I wasn’t paying too much attention to Burning Man at the time, although I was starting to realize what it was. Trevor was getting ready to go to the burn, and scored a free ticket to Pre-Compression because he volunteered for an art collective that had a piece on display. At the event, I was floored by the art piece. It was a giant honey comb that people were sitting in and climbing on. This was exactly the kind of art I loved, participatory, and activated by the user. When Trevor told me he helped build it, I was definitely impressed. When he described the process and I told him I knew what a jig was, he was equally impressed. He went on to go to Burning Man two weeks later, while I stayed home for work and school, but we remained a couple to this day :) It turns out, Burning Man is a lot of the reason we met in the first place, and also a reason for us to work and play together.
I decided to volunteer our theme camp to participate in SF’s Pre-Compression this year because I wanted an event to bring our theme camp together before the burn. We met at American Steel in Oakland and set up our shade structure, lights, and furniture. Then we went to my studio at Nimby for a barbecue and some more projects. By the time the party was starting we heading back to American Steel and headed in! It was a great night where we had the chance to meet many burners and talk about our camp.