Tulsa metal artist creating giant serpent sculpture for 2023 Burning Man

May 19, 2023

Lisa Regan (left) and Leyla Brashka are seen at Burning Man last year. The pair of artists was inspired to submit a collaborative metal sculpture design for 2023 after their experience last year.

A miniature version of "Quetzalcoatl Reborn" is displayed outside of Lisa Regan's former store, Garden Deva. The shop is selling two sizes of this metal design, and profits go toward Regan's GoFundMe campaign.

The 40-feet-long metal sculpture "Gaia" by Marco Cochrane is shown at Burning Man 2022. Lisa Regan said she was inspired by the intricate patterns in the large-scale design.

It's hard to miss Lisa Regan's art. Her breadth of work spans from 15-foot metal trees created for museums and campuses to various smaller garden sculptures found in Tulsa and across the U.S.

Now Regan is building her most ambitious project yet: "Quetzalcoatl Reborn," a collaborative, interactive installation that will be featured at Burning Man 2023 in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.

Regan is no stranger to the event, as she has attended Burning Man five times. This year is the 50th anniversary of the event and the first time her work will be displayed there.

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Burning Man is often seen as one of the largest outdoor galleries of art in the world. The estimated 400 installations created this year range from flammable pieces like the iconic, 75-foot "The Man" that burns every Labor Day to smaller, metallic art pieces like Regan's.

"It is probably the premier exhibition of metal sculpture in the world because it's just mind-blowing, amazing work," said Regan over the phone from Mexico. "So, it's a huge honor to be able to do that."

The nine-day phenomenon attracts people to the decommodified Black Rock City in the northwestern desert of Nevada. The attendees, often referred to as "burners," all must forgo using currency and provide a service to the city. That can be teaching yoga classes, setting up a coffee stand or, in Regan's case, providing an art installation.

The founder of beloved Tulsa shop Garden Deva is collaborating with Mexico City-based artist Leyla Brashka to create the metal sculpture, one of 75 installations chosen to receive funding this year.

"We really try to find a collection," said Burning Man Associate Director of Art Management Katie Hazard. "Because ultimately they’re all coming together."

Hazard chairs the committee that chooses the artworks that receive funding from Burning Man. This year, they read over 350 proposals from artists all over the world trying to get the chance to bring their work to Burning Man. Hazard said the international, collaborative aspect of "Quetzalcoatl Reborn" really impressed her and she’d love to see more of that in the future.

Regan is currently traveling around Mexico and will be returning to her studio later this month to finish the monumental piece.

Getting the 10-feet-tall, 28-feet-long sculpture from Tulsa to the deserts of Nevada is both tedious and expensive. Burning Man provided $15,00 of the $35,000 needed to make "Quetzalcoatl Reborn," a reality. Regan and Brashka must provide the rest.

They are fundraising through GoFundMe and by selling a miniature version of the sculpture at Garden Deva, from which Regan retired in 2017.

"When I sold it (Garden Deva), I didn't really think I would do more pieces like that," Regan said about her large-scale metal sculptures. "I thought that I would focus more on paintings, or grandkids or whatever, so it really is special to get a second chance to do something spectacular."

Regan credits Brashka with the idea after they attended Burning Man together in 2022, but they both have equal parts in the fabrication process. Regan is constructing the metalwork components while Brashka is creating the stained-glass pieces that will be engraved with Mesoamerican symbols.

The Quetzalcoatl is an ancient Mesoamerican deity that is still culturally important in Mexico today. The feathered serpent is the creator god for Aztecs and is often associated with rain, wind and, of all things, corn. Regan and Brashka are tying in this last inspiration for the interactive portion of the piece. The Quetzalcoatl's tail will be made of corn and leather drums for burners to play and interact with during the event.

One thing most Burning Man attendees agree on is that it's not a festival.

"If you go to a festival, you know there's food you can buy, T-shirts you can buy, there's trash cans you can use, but Burning Man is not like that at all," said Regan. "Everybody that comes in brings in their own water. Whatever they consume there, they carry out their trash."

Burning Man has a large focus on sustainability, and Hazard said it is one of the world's largest Leave No Trace events. Everything that is brought in and consumed must also be taken away when the event ends.

Regan said an infrastructure has been built so that the expected 80,000 attendees can flock to the desert to experience Black Rock City, and this year interact with "Quetzalcoatl Reborn."

"Ultimately the sculpture will be beautiful," said Hazard. "So will all the things they learn along the way. That feels like the most magical thing in the world."

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