About Our Lead Artist
Torchmouth has been an active member in the Northern Colorado art community for 25 years. By specializing in metal, glass and all things fire, Torchmouth has been able to collaborate on various projects within this network.
Some current examples include, teaching glassblowing at a local maker-space and designing downtown district rejuvenation projects with the city of Loveland. Torchmouth has a work featured in Meow Wolf’s Las Vegas branch and is presently working with CSU on their next TEDxCSU.
About Our Sculpture
Our harbinger of life will be represented by a mechanical spirit being. Her body will consist of steel and stand 15 feet tall with a 30 foot wingspan. She flaps her wings to attract visitors, and breathes out 30 foot gusts of icy-cold CO2 using cryo effects. The wings will be constructed of aluminum, heat resistant nylon and Nomex fabric.
As the evening visits Black Rock City, so will our 10 foot tall mechanical owl. The spirit being will rescind as the bringer of death emerges, trapping her inside his steel body. The owl will embark on his quest to scorch the skies with his 40 foot bursts of poofer-driven flames. He will flap the wings that he stole from the spirit being as he beckons an audience to witness his unforgiving fury.
The massive wings will move by utilizing both upcycled hydraulics and minimal electronics powered by a gasoline motor. Each feather will be attached with individual ball joints to induce organic movement.
Funding And Budget
We are currently looking at spending about $46,000 total on building and transporting our sculpture to Apogaea and Burning Man. We were fortunate enough to receive 2 grants so far, totaling $30,000. We plan to run as many fundraisers as possible this Spring and Summer to raise the remaining $16,000. We plan to offer "by donation" fire performances in Boulder, Denver and Fort Collins to help offset our budget deficit. We would like to offer anyone who donates to our project some special perks including custom cotton patches of the sculpture, 3d printed models of the completed sculpture, and. an invitation to our VIP launch party this fall.
The Impact
Sepia Syndicate is honored to announce that our sculpture design has been chosen as the effigy for Apogaea this Summer! We will have the sculpture in it's half completed state, showing just the female spirit being. This stage of the sculpture has been lovingly dubbed the Celestial Elemental. We will also be showing our sculpture at Burning Man this August! The sculpture at this stage will then have the ability to transform into an owl at night. The female form will shoot C02 during the hot desert days, and at night the owl will warm the crowds with massive flame bursts. As a team of artists and makers of all kinds, we are hoping to send a rippling impact through our community that inspires the next generation to create!