Flaming Lotus Girls

Flaming Lotus Girls are a group of female and male artists who make large-scale collaborative fire and metal art. Beginning in 2000, as a group of 6 women and two men who wanted to attain the necessary skills and knowledge to participate in the creation of large sculptural installations, the Flaming Lotus Girls have grown into a group of more than 100 members, over half being women. They have created major interactive sculptural works, incorporating innovative designs in welded metal, interactive fire effects and responsive electronics. The sculptures are made of steel, stainless steel, copper, aluminum, glass and wood - and sizes range from small to the very large, with fires blazing from 2 inches to 150 feet [insert photo of 7ven Sisters]. Women and men are encouraged to participate with the group by helping design, build, operate, and play with the machines. 

Flaming Lotus projects encourage members with novice to expert-level experience to develop various art-making skills such as design, metal sculpting, operating various power tools, soldering, welding and actual flame effect construction.

My involvement in the group began when I moved to San Francisco in 2005 by assisting one of the main fabricators and designers of the group with the head of the Angel of the Apocalypse, a sculpture that was made for Burning Man in 2005. 

I was a complete novice in the metal arts when I first joined, but through my own interest and passion and the groups' nurturing and forthcoming nature, I was able to pick up on many skills that most women never have the opportunity to learn. In addition to this, I was able to experience being a leader in ways I had never anticipated. The following year, despite my lack of experience making large-scale metal sculpture and perhaps due to my eagerness and creative background, I was invited to design and art direct the building of the head of the Serpent Mother [insert drawing of head of SM].  This was a sculpture that was initially made for the Burning Man Festival in 2006. During that process, I was able to lead a team of 30 talented and dedicated individuals to create one of my greatest achievements [insert photo of finished head]. In that process, I also acquired many new metal-working, welding and leadership skills.

Since then, I have organized and managed local and international exhibitions, performances and tours with the group. Big Day Out in Australia and Robodock in Holland are some of the places we have blown people away with our fantastical interactive art.

Here are some of the specific things I did with the Flaming Lotus Girls:

Hand of God - plumbing elf

Angel of the Apocalypse - designer, fabricator, performance team member

Serpent Mother - principal designer, fabricator, tooth fairy, performance team member

Mutopia - structural designer, fabricator, performance team member

and lots of fundraising, wrangling kitties, facilitating, coordinating, budgeting, writing, drawing, teaching and making art!!

You can find more information on the Flaming Lotus Girls here - http://flaminglotus.com and http://flaminglotus.wordpress.com