Sculptures from Seaside are heading to the Burning Man festival to tell stories of grief and recovery.

Ashley Bennett Stoddard has been working on her Burning Man 2026 project at the back of a shop on Broadway Avenue in Seaside, in relative obscurity. She works surrounded by the gigantic creatures of her imaginations – seven 10-foot tree lady figures made of concrete and recycled paper.

“Each girl will have a different color, representing different stages of grief,” the artist explains while walking among Ember, Solara, Lyra and Verdan. They all have names and functions, starting with Aurora, waking up in shock and denial, following with Ember, standing with her heart open in a hole through her body, representing the second stage of grief.

Bennett Stoddard came up with the idea after losing her father, also a sculptor, over two decades ago. Grief comes in waves; it also comes in shapes and forms.

Burning Man “is such an incredible platform for large-scale art,” she says. “The artwork there is so good, and there’s so much of it. You see human beings just being able to be the best version of themselves. It’s a pretty neat experience all the way around.”

The project was accepted in March and the artist, who lives in Monterey, is leaving for Nevada on Monday, Aug. 24. She received a grant covering 40 percent of the production cost. The rest came from fundraising, personal resources and community volunteers. Bennett Stoddard has been documenting her artistic process – the fabricating and welding of the sculptures – on Instagram to share updates along the way.

She stops by the last sculpture. “She’s Amara, and she’s totally liberated,” Bennett Stoddard says. “She’s gone through this circle, but the funny thing about circles, they just keep going. Someone was telling me that they have a psychologist here who they’ve worked with. They view grief as waves.”

Bennett Stoddard is not sure what the destiny of her freedom dancers will be after the festival. Sometimes, Burning Man pieces go and travel to different events afterward. She would like to see them in a park, serving some purpose.

“When I look at them I think about the paper and shredded paper we’ve gone through to build them,” she says. “Hospital records, death certificates, divorce papers, partnership agreements that failed – lots and lots and lots of stories.”

BURNING MAN takes place in Nevada from Aug. 30 to Sept. 7. ashleybennett-stoddardart.com.