The Chief Tiny Officer of Balsa Man will be appearing tonight from 6:45-7:15 on Pirate Cat Radio on Jeremy Pollock’s show, The League of Pissed of Voters. Listen in to 87.9fm!

Note you can also listen to it broadcast online.

UPDATE:

The segment with me is available for download:
Balsa Man on Pirate Cat Radio (mp3).

We here at Balsa Man Headquarters (BMHQ) have been previously pondering about the potential problem for pantsless partyers and pontificating on proposing protocols to prohibit this practice. Luckily, Puny Pants Posse, aka The Society of Pants for the Wee, have come to the rescue. Here is their latest statement and grant request:

Pants Are Necessary Things - Seriously!

We, the Citizens who think Pants Are Necessary Things, Seriously! (PANTS) are concerned that tiny-person nudity is an epidemic sweeping the nation, causing wanton licentiousness, suggestive hoopla, blindness, and a corruption of the morals of our most precious asset, the children! Some little people have been known to lie around for days, weeks, nay sometimes months completely naked! I shudder to think what sort of lascivious thoughts might come unbidden to the unformed and malleable mind of a child who unwittingly happens upon such an obscene display! With just a tiny $2.69 donation for a tiny cause, you can ensure that such a scene will never mar the dignity and minuscule majesty that is Balsa Man! PANTS will fight tiny-person pantslessness with several specially-developed tools, including our PANTS Trebuchet and our PANTS Cannon, designed to render the pantsless incapable of exposing their hairless, bland crotches to the unguarded eyes of innocents. We will provide pants to any tiny-person without them, and will “convince” those who might be obstinate with the use of our arsenal.

In the name of decency,

Signed, The Puny Pants Posse, aka The Society of Pants for the Wee, aka What Part of Pants Don’t You Understand!

At first, the BPAF art grant review committee was hesitant to award monetary funds to “theme camps,” lest these “theme camps” become popular and get out of hand. However, we can all agree that pants are a necessary thing, and the word alone makes one giggle. Puny Pants Posse: APPROVED. pantspantspants!

YOU CAN PANTS IF YOU WANT TO – YOU CAN LEAVE YOUR PANTS BEHIND

And if you do happen to leave your pants behind, the Puny Pants Posse would also like to invite you to “The Party In Our Pants” which will take place at Balsa Man, from 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Pantsocolodas will be served – BYO tiny reusable cup! Come admire the wall of tiny pants (pantitos?) and fire a pair of slacks from the pants trebuchet!

Are you an artist working in miniature for a Balsa Man project?

Are you somebody attending either of the l’il get togethers this Labor Day weekend, at the Mothership in San Francisco or up at the Regional Balsa Burn up in the Black Rock Desert?

Do you have a digital camera and a penchant to want to show off your snaps? If so, then please consider joining the Balsa Man Flickr group!

For inspiration, please consider what our lovely, talented friends did with last year’s Flickr group.

Temple Construction

For example… there are recent additions up documenting the Temple Build. It’s almost like being there!

My Friend Flocka

Also, there is the wonderous, whimsical, widdle (okay, that’s a stretch for an alliteration) version of Flock! You may remember seeing a large version of this project in the San Francisco Civic Center or possibly you saw it at an art festival somewhere. Well now you get to see it in miniature!

If you have pictures from this or last years’ Balsa Man builds or events please contact Colin on Flickr. Tiny art makes big memories, so be sure to share yours!

After one solid weekend of work and another late weeknight, the Balsa Man has been built! There are a number of improvements to the man this year. Most noticeably, the ribs and the circles on the arms and legs which are much more regular and smooth thanks the new scroll saw which was a recent addition to the Balsa Man workshop. Also new this year in the workshop are the saw horses which were built by SFSlim. There are also several little touches that we were able to accomplish due to the increased size of the Balsa Man KCrew.

And lastly there is the beautiful heart that was created by SparkleBottom and signed by every member of the Balsa Man KCrew.

We photo documented the build and have a Flickr Balsa Build 2009 photo set.

I’ve also created a new Balsa Man 2009 group pool which I invite all Balsa Man artists to contribute their build photos to. This pool can also be used to for pictures taken during the event itself.

In this era of 140-character limit ubiquity, we need ways to commemorate our most fleeting of thoughts, our passing interests, our Tweets of Fancy.

One of the most wonderfully and thematically underwhelming experiences of last year’s Balsa Man event was the Temple of Reduced Expectations. The tradition of a temple to commemorate your Ritalin-addled attention span returns this Balsa Man Tiny Art Festival 2009.

An irregular temple for an irregular event

No longer part of a complete puzzle, the pieces used to create the Temple of Minor Irregularities come from all manner of puzzle boxes—each with a different story and background. Separate from their box, they no longer have a predetermined place to fit in. Each now an irregular piece, yet no more irregular than the next. The Temple becomes their home; a place that is more than a sum of its irregular parts much like the Balsa Man community.

Or I could be a huge art fag, and this is just a bunch of cardboard with puzzle pieces glued to it. I dunno, it’s art. You choose.

What does the Temple Mean to YOU?

Sacred spaces the world over are places for people to commune with forces beyond their understanding. Ideas larger than what we can logically fathom take physical form in these temples, churches, holy landmarks and places of pilgrimages.

This Temple is no different in function, just in form.

And stature… Well, and longevity.

We invite you to make an offering to the Temple of Minor Irregularities, and to the diminutive dieties you revere!

How do I send my Post-It Prayer?

1. Find a Sticky Note pad from one of the Temple Team, or bring your own.
2. Ensure your miniature mantras contain no more than 140 characters.
3. Fold up your Post-It Prayer, and put it in the Temple at the appointed time.
4. Achieve some small comfort as the Puny Pantheon sends your Post-It Prayer up in flames.

The Tiny Temple Team needs your help!

The lead architects for this year’s tiny temple are Amy Diva and Steve Gonzales, skilled artists who have worked on several amazing projects including the magnificent Crude Awakening.

In order to make this year’s temple a reality they are asking for two things:

1. Donate your old jigsaw puzzles to the Temple Team! Red and yellow pieces are highly prized.
2. Volunteer to help glue!

The Temple Team  are wonderful folks, and would love to make your acquaintance while gluing your collective fingers together into a huge Gordian knot of phalanges. For more info contact the Temple Team at gro.namaslabnull@elpmet

In light of the recent online discussions regarding photography rights and privacy during events, Balsa Man has prepared its Terms & Conditions which includes use regulations for photography, video, or film.

Photography, Video, and Film

All people within the boundaries of the Balsa Man event, hereafter assumed to be line-of-sight, accept that BALSA MAN RETAINS ALL RIGHTS TO ALL THUMBNAILS OF ANY PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO, OR FILM THAT IS TAKEN AT THE EVENT. Rights for full size versions of photographs and video remain property of the photographer/videographer/camera operator.

The Balsa Man Terms & Conditions page also includes regulations regarding Health & Safety and liability. By visiting this website you agree to all regulations contained within.

We hope this document clears up any confusion.