Pendants

2016 Proposed Design

For those of you for whom this is new, this is not required. It is an opportunity. By participating you will have a keep sake from the camp as well as a camp gift to give to those with whom you interact with throughout the week. In the tradition of gifting we provide this as a representation of who we are as a camp and the messaging and symbolism on the pendant draws people into their own inquiry of who they are and what this means to them.

In the tradition of gifting at Burning Man, Camp Manifestation started their own tradition of creating a camp gift with which all camp members could participate. The camp gift in 2007, 2013, 2014, and 2015 was a pendant in the form of an laser etched dog tag. The camp collectively purchases a quantity of these custom designed tags and gifts them to participants throughout the city during the week.

These pendants provide a great opportunity to participate in the tradition of gifting as well as having created something even more special and unexpected. The act of giving in general creates a interaction. Through that interaction comes connection. And the connections made by this simple act of giving provides the giver and receiver an opportunity to be in the organic process of the unknown together. The spontaneity of the reaching out to a stranger causes the unknown to be embraced and connections are made with unexpected results. The giving of these pendants specifically has garnered many different reactions from simple gratitude to extended conversations that made the day for recipients. Additionally, these pendants are an expression of what the camp is about and spreads a message of opportunity, directly in the messaging printed on the tags.

The messages cause people to stop and consider what is written. It touches them and something inside that then considers, "what is manifestation?" or "what do I want to create?" or "how does manifestation, intention and sharing show up in my life and how would I want it to?" Reaching people in this way has caused a ripple in the consciousness of the Burning Man community and has gotten something done in the realm of sparking creativity and awareness in all who encounter these gifts.

In 2007, the first year the camp had a camp gift, the pendant was designed by a camp member, Fiona Burgess. The theme of Burning Man that year was 'The Green Man'. The design of the pendant incorporated the theme by having the head of the Man be a recycling symbol. The message of "Manifest your reality with intention" pointed people toward not just being aware of manifesting one's reality, but doing so with intention and consciousness such that what gets created through this way of being in the world is something directed instead of something that was not desired or actively imagined.

After a number of years off as a theme camp, in 2013 the camp was re-established and the desire to have a camp pendant came with the reignited creative energy. It was designed again by Fiona Burgess with assistance from Elisabeth Geddes. The theme of Burning Man in 2013 was Cargo Cult. The theme was incorporated into the pendant with the inclusion of the lightening bolts upon witch the man sits, with the bolts representing the technical and magical element that would amaze those would would follow in the vain of a cargo cult (“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” – Arthur C. Clarke). Additionally, a heart is placed on the spot which represents the location along the trash fence where Noah Zilberberg and Jenjen Wong got married during this year's Burning Man. The message of "Create your Reality" follows from 2007, simplifying the message and stating clearly that one is responsible for, in the most positive way, and fully capable of creating a reality to ones liking.

In 2014 the camp was created once again with excitement and this time Jed took on the task of designing the pendant. The theme this year was Caravansary which inspired some research into images around the theme specifically and the time-frame it represents. This research resulted in finding a caravanserai in Iran, the Shah Abbasi Caravanserai that has domed roof. The building is a hotel and served as one of the marketplaces that were the core of what the caravansary were all about. When one looks up into the domed roof of the spire of this structure, one sees a beautiful mandala-like pattern concave into the dome. Jed adapted this image into 2-D and made it into a mandala like pattern for the pendant's design.

The design of the pendant for 2014 also resulted in the creation of 2 versions. In the first version the Man sits over the city with the temple point, the Man point, the center camp point and the entry circle point loosely representing chakras on the body. This design being the "roots" design. In the process of creating the first version, there was a desire to see the city rest higher up. The result of exploring this was that the city seemed to have become the wings of the man, so this design became the "wings" design (and is used in the camp logo). Both options were equally liked and desired, so both were created and served as gifts. The message of, "Design and Share Your World" speaks to an evolving understanding of manifestation and connection to one's one design as an inherent aspect of one's being. One's design is unique and in realizing this uniqueness, one can then create in focused manner and share the gift of this power in the world for the good of all.

In 2015 the request to have the camp was strong once again. Jed took on the task of designing the pendant with the input from camp members. The design for this year brought back the winged man element from 2014. This was done because it has become a part of the camp's logo and was loved so much. The other side represented the year's theme, Carnival of Mirrors, incorporating a circus theme. The message along with the man imagery further reinforced the mirror theme and at the same time pointed towards the inner resource which is the source of all manifestation.

The first camp meeting for 2016 is upcoming and at that time we will discuss if we will do another pendant for this year.