The Bards Branch is a Burning man 2019 art piece by Pam Ward (Pixie Pam). Pam is an Irish artist/healer who lives in the heart of San Francisco. This playa art piece celebrates Pam's treasured memories of reading in trees. She came to USA in 2012 to go Burning Man & met her now husband and collaborator, Michael. They have created many personal art pieces together & helped friends create large scale burning man art, like Michael Garlington's Totem of confessions 2015 & Max poynton’s The Black rock Lighthouse service 2016. This is her first work as lead artist, and Pam is dedicated to art that comes from the heart.
“As a child my favorite thing to do was to retreat to the solitude of a tree and read a book. Climbing a tree with a book in my hoodie front pocket, finding my comfy spot and reading to my hearts content to wile away a summer afternoon. I would like to bring this childhood joy to the playa by building a tree library from mostly old and second hand books”.
The Bards branch will look like an organic library tree. The trunk will have bookshelves with favorite titles with many little gems hidden in books to delight. A spiral staircase will wrap around the trunk and lead you to the comfy armchair in the nest where one can read and survey the playa from your perch. An armchair made of stacked books will be at the side of the tree at ground level for people that don’t climb, three benches will be arranged around the piece with shade to sit, enjoy and listen.
During the event week there will be windows of times each day when we would like to invite participants to bring a favorite piece, chapter or poem, climb the tree stairs and read like a bard from the armchair nest to be heard by the listener sitting in the dust and on shaded benches below.
The Bards Branch has been lucky chosen as a burning man honoraria project 2019 and will be placed on the playa with beautiful desert landscapes and the Burning man festival in the background.
The Bards Branch will have 12, 360 degrees stacked bookshelves filled with over 2000 beloved second hand books titles. We are building the tree structure in west Oakland at American steel and collecting books we love from the community. Then shipping the piece from west Oakland to the playa in august for Burning man 2019. There are many costs involved in bringing an art piece to desert. Transport, materials and fuel are just some.
We would love your help to make The Bards Branch jump off the page and into life. Tell us what book you want to see, send us a book, pay for a book to be on the tree, or donate to help making it happen. It takes a burning man village. Thank you for taking your time to read this and see you out there.
Video credit to Shalaco Wordsmith : https://www.facebook.com/Shalzers
Logo credit to Brodie sullivan
Instagram @thebardsbranch
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Thebardsbranch/?modal=admin_todo_tour
@thebardsbranch
Perks
The Bards Branch sticky sticker can stick to anything for real. you get 3!
This is your chance to be a part of art. We will get your favorite book on the shelves of The Bards Branch.
Yes its a fancy T-shirt/racerbacks with TBB logo, Bard not included.
We will personally read aloud your favorite passage from whatever book you like from the armchair in the tree at Burningman and send a video to you. Plus you get a t-shirt.
You will get a Professional picture of The Bards Branch art piece at Burning man signed by the artist.
A 1000 piece jigsaw of our favorite photo of the bards branch.
Happy Hour drinks at The Bards Bar with our artist and crew at our Burning Man Camp. Come hear the stories from the bards themselves and sample fine cocktails in hand.
Highlights
See all activity42Activity
The Bards Branch sticky sticker can stick to anything for real. you get 3!
This is your chance to be a part of art. We will get your favorite book on the shelves of The Bards Branch.
Yes its a fancy T-shirt/racerbacks with TBB logo, Bard not included.
We will personally read aloud your favorite passage from whatever book you like from the armchair in the tree at Burningman and send a video to you. Plus you get a t-shirt.
You will get a Professional picture of The Bards Branch art piece at Burning man signed by the artist.
A 1000 piece jigsaw of our favorite photo of the bards branch.
Happy Hour drinks at The Bards Bar with our artist and crew at our Burning Man Camp. Come hear the stories from the bards themselves and sample fine cocktails in hand.