All Hail the Burning Man Wagonmasters

What are the Wagonmaster Awards?

And why would anyone make a huge project like this?  The initial concept came from my first trip to Burning Man in 1999, which made my life take a noticeable turn for the better. Just by camping at the Burning Man Event Site (Black Rock City) for a week, my life became a lot more interesting and fun.  I was doing the same things every day, but my life was richer.  This was seriously amazing to me, and I wanted to thank, or somehow repay, those responsible for this wonderful basket of gifts to my life.

But I wondered: how did some of the people building Black Rock City do that?  How did they turn a fun but surly Desert Carnival into The Olympics for Creative People? Exactly Who figured out how to Construct a Space where everyone was more Magic, more Alive, and where they also got to build such Incredible Things?

Each year I returned to Black Rock City and the same sense of amazement and satisfaction occurred. I kept wondering: Who knows how to do this? Can I meet them and see what else they are working on?  What does their time on this Planet look like?

So, I carefully watched…. for decades. And slowly, as those Amazing People became visible, I finally realized what needed to happen, because I now had targets to thank for my steadily increasing enjoyment of life. I selected 5 Professional Designers and Jewelers (who were also Burners) and proposed that we Honor those Amazing People with Ultra High-End Awards. My Design Specs were: aim for Olympic Medals in size, use Fine Jewelry Materials, start with a Significant Gemstone, and that the Design of each piece reflect the Recipient, or that Recipient’s Work. The Designers and Jewelers agreed that it was quite definitely time to use the tools we had learned in Black Rock City to Design, Build, and Distribute:
The Wagonmaster Awards.

It is important to note that the recipients of the Awards in this book are just a few of the ones that we should thank for making that big bowl of magic out in the desert. There are literally thousands of people who have earned these Awards — it’s that kind of a place.

This project was designed in the mode of a Fine Art Sculpture, but it is also my hope that these Awards are a sort of ‘tip-of-the-hat’ salute to those who are making our trip through this Planet more graceful and fun.

I am in awe of these Brave Explorers. They discovered extremely rich and satisfying ideas and experiences. Then they constructed a way for all of us to personally experience them.

All Hail the Burning Man Wagonmasters!

We thank you for taking us to a better world.

Ty Eckley - Author