An Interview with the Man Behind the Temple
Feature Interview
By KC Badala, Joseph Cohen, Joseph Blair, John Hassen, Benjamin Horsey, Katrina Horsey, Paul Law, Alexandra Lee, Nicholas Michael, Elias Michael, Melanie Kessinger, Sarah Knopf, Gracie Ramos, Campbell Slavin and Anya Sywulak
From Brandeis Hillel, Drake High, Edna Maguire, Kent Middle, Marin Country Day, Mill Valley Middle, Marin School of the Arts and St. Isabella Schools
There was wood everywhere. Scrap wood, two-by-fours, intricate wood cut outs on every visible surface. A loud, green, ornately decorated “art car” made from an old school bus greeted us as we stepped into the workspace. There was an animal skull on the front and couches inside instead of typical bus seats. On one side, it looked as if it was about to be painted gold, but then the artist decided to stop. Everything about it was over the top. Go big or go home. Large wooden structures were scattered all over the workspace. There were so many separate pieces it was hard to tell what was being built. But we knew what this was all for—Burning Man.
Lisa Marie Schull, warmly welcomed us into the workshop and talked about the project looming large before us. It was a temple, not for any particular religion, but for anyone to use, and it is one of the most important features of the Burning Man event. In fact, Schull is a former lawyer who gave up her job to be on this temple-building crew.