You can be part of the Shrine to the Oven Mitt Project!

Principal Artists:

Steven Goodman

steve@StevenGoodman.com

Allan Dick

majormallet@yahoo.com

Artistic Consultant:

Rex Norman (aka Kernul Killbuck)

Physical Description:

The total project foot print is 22 feet long, 11 feet wide and 13 feet tall. The primary Oven Mitt is 10 feet tall and 4 feet wide.

The primary Shrine is constructed wooden beams. 2x8 or 2x10 beams depending on location and structural requirements. Pieces of 4x4 will be used to construct connecting elements.

The primary Oven Mitt is constructed of 1 foot x 1 foot pieces of 16 gauge stainless steel linked together to form the shape of an Oven Mitt. The majority of the pieces are squares, while a few are triangles.

Lighting is provided by Solar LED String Lights and Solar LED Spot Lights. Both for lighting effects, and for safety at night.

Philosophical Statement:

The Oven Mitt, an American Icon, and part of the American Dream. If ever there was an item in need of a Shrine, this is the item. The Shrine to the Oven Mitt is a place where people can appreciate the true beauty and value of the Oven Mitt. Come join The Way of the Mitt.

While the center piece of the Shrine is a 10 foot tall Oven Mitt Wind Chime composed of 1 foot squares of stainless steel, there will be additional oven mitts as banners, fluttering in the wind. Empty spaces will be provided where worshipers may leave oven mitts of the own (securely tied in place, of course)

Additional information as to The Way of the Mitt can be found at:

http://www.apokiliptika.com/mitt_page.htm

Construction and Timeline:

Construction of all components will take place in the Bay Area. Construction of all pieces excluding the stainless steel Oven Mitt are well within the expertise of the crew; the skills required are relatively simple woodworking and “rigging” skills. The fabrication of the stainless steel squares used to form the Oven Mitt may require a commercial fabrication shop.

On playa assembly, disassembly and clean-up will be performed by members of Kamp Apokiliptika and the Terminal City Theme Camp Alliance. While assembly and dis-assembly could be done by two people, it is expected to use 4-5 to make it easier. All components will be fabricated (and test assembled) before arriving on the playa. No actual fabrication will take place on the playa, only assembly.

Pre-event:

All design elements will be finalized in March, 2008. Also, design drawings to determine exact angles will be completed in March 2008.

April 2008 will be spent determining the final component list, and searching for alternate part sources, free or used materials, etc, in attempts to reduce costs.

Initial construction of the Shrine will take place in May 2008. All materials are available on short notice. All components will be assembled in June 2008 and tested for strength, stability, etc. Any design corrections will also take place in June.

July 2008 is reserved for contingencies, in case of emergency or major redesign. During July 2008 it planned to transport the project to the Reno area for storage, to simplify transportation to the playa.

On-playa:

The schedule on-playa is to unload and organize components one day, and assemble the components on the second day. A test run of the assembly will have been accomplished long before arrival on the playa. But as everything on the playa takes much longer than expected, it is planned to schedule 4-5 people for one afternoon for assembly. The two days of unloading and assembly would be Saturday/Sunday before event opening. However, a Friday arrival would facilitate assembly, as it would allow more flexible scheduling.

Disassembly would take place Monday at the end of the event, and should only take 2-3 people a few hours.

Leave No Trace:

The Shrine to the Oven Mitt should have minimal impact on the playa. The only direct impact to the playa is rebar required to hold the Shrine in place.

All materials will be removed from the playa for reuse in future projects. Lumber may be donated to Burners Without Borders if appropriate. The actual amount of material in the project is small relative to the size.

Burning Artwork:

The Shrine to the Oven Mitt contains no Open Fire or Flame Effects. The Shrine will not be burned at Burning Man, but will be disassemble for future use.

Thank You, and may the Mitt be with you,

Steven Goodman

Allan Dick