The 11:11 Diamond Portal was extremely successful in 2004 and 2005, as can be seen by these e-mails that I started to receive immediately after the event:

2005

hi harlan,
i'm a big fan of your work on the playa this year. i discovered the 11:11 diamond portal at just the right time when I needed to most. i was in the depths of a dark trip on the playa where the world of Sodom and Gomorrah was being repeated and the existance of the diamond portal allowed me the hope of ascension from it all. there's much more to the story of course but what i mean to say is that your project helped me find my way out of it with that glimmer of hope for those of us watching this civilization slowly become something out of a philip dick novel. peace robin rgoodwin(at)gmail.com

I was awestruck when I saw your art piece at the Temple Burn.
Way
to
go.
You resurected it to live a second life sharing joy to everyone there.
All I have to say is
thanks.
Katie katie_lu(at)sbcglobal.net

Hey Harlan,
I had the opportunity to meet you (briefly) a couple of times (in that hypha sculpture and the night of the temple burn) although I'm sure you won't remember considering the number of people on the playa! In any case, i just wanted to repeat that I really enjoyed your contribution to the art on the playa this year, and I hope we'll see more of it in the future. I love interactive art and spending time (twice) cradled in the window of your portal was a wonderful, other-worldy and meditative exerience. I won't forget about it; thank you!
love,
sentae(at)earthlink.net
ps thought you might like these images of the portal the night of the temple burn.

Thanks Harlan, that was very powerful. A big step to sacrifice, but a great clearing also. Do you know the scene in Fellinis film (Amercord) I think where the ship comes out of the fog. It was like that. Lots of love on the bext part of your journey, thanks for making our burn so much better.
Love
tony and Marita
T HOUSE WEB SITE www.tonysthouse.com

I don't have images of your piece that are any good, but I just wanted to thank you for a wonderful piece. I usually don't like seeing something return to the playa, but I was thrilled to get to see and feel it again. This time around we had a newbie to share it with. Ah, to watch a newbie's eyes widen on the playa.
Thank you, Bobbie bobbie(at)holonet.net

I have many magical moments on the playa, to which I am addicted. I was blessed by such a moment on the evening of the burn when, after getting a shot of the man just fitting inside the portal (from about 100yrds), I smoothed my body against the portal. I was unable to fit into the portal which was a cacophony of reverberating burners. I suddenly felt something happening that was much greater than the sum of its parts. Hard to explain, but somehow transporting. I was, however, slightly saddened by my distance from the core, which drew me in. I was happy to discovery that after talking to the participants( Ali_Kat, need your email ), that the feeling I was experiencing was shared. I am sending along some more photos. Thank you for your vision.
Brian Herman (born 11/11!) doctorherman(at)hotmail.com

Hello Harlan,
So nice to hear from you! Thank you so much for the picture- a lovely memory. Indeed, the Diamond Portal was a significant contributor to my very wonderful Burning Man experience. Watching it burn was quite emotional! As a bass player whose aura seems to take on the exact green color of the Diamond Portal, I was instantly drawn to it, and I found myself coming back to it again and again as if it was in some way connected to me. Ha! That's art- isn't Harlan? You know its a sucess when it takes on a life of its own! Cheers to your marvelous accomplishment! I look forward to seeing what you come up with for next year...
Grins, Fire, Dust,
Meg mmorris2(at)washcoll.edu

2004

Hi, my name is Nate Smith, I do the fire vortex work at Burning Man. On Saturday night of the event, My friend Gary dragged me away from my project and took me out to see some of the stuff out in the deep playa. I just want to tell you that I loved your piece. It was great to climb up in it and have the city outlined in the hole. Very magical. The vibration and sound were wonderful as well, I still have no idea how you did it. Thank you for your work., I'm glad I got the opportunity to experience it. Nate   "Nathan Smith" <nate(at)fire-arts.com>

It was my favorite moment on the playa this year, After a week of dust storms and infighting at my camp- I stumbled upon the sculpture, climbed into the round/heart opening, and found to my delight that it purred. I have a bad back injury, and found the round support of the metal against my back with the purring vibration to be very soothing. I was soothed to a place of peace, looking up at the sky, and back at the city. It was amazing.Thanks for making it. To discover that the round opening was also a heart was magical. "Fiona Hollins" <fiona(at)baymoon.com>

Yes! Yes! Yes! I am so glad you put up a site dedicated to this amazing piece! I fell in love with it when I arrived around sunset one day, in a break between windstorms. The green side was warm in the sun, and I rubbed my back against it like a cat soaking in the warmth. Much to my surprise it was also purring!! I was fascinated and stayed around long enough to make two new friends. I never did get inside the portal, since I preferred the warm sunlit side near the base, but I enjoyed watching others lie in the tube. We thought it was recordings from space, pulsars. Until someone eventually arrived to check on the piece and I saw there was a bass guitar inside (or maybe someone told me that). I loved the idea that the sound was acoustically generated, when so much on the playa is not... My photos are attached and I have higher res versions if you desire. Love, Juicy aka Watergirl aka JennyTemple of Waterboy Camp (Esplanade and CenterCamp in 2004) "The Big Cheez" <cheezaddict(at)yahoo.com>

Hi - My friends and I spoke with you for a bit on the afternoon of the burn. In fact, if you could see through the diamond, you would be standing on the other side, by the ladder. My friend Will (lying down) is recovering from cancer, and has a lot of residual pain from the chemo, and he just loved lying down in there and letting the vibrations penetrate deep inside his aching body. We really appreciate the work that you put into this piece, and I found your website very interesting. Thanks, Jilla - Wyoming "Jill Anderson" <jilla(at)ctagroup.com>

We thought you might like to hear about our 2004 BM experience with your art installation.
At BM 2004, one of our favorite experiences, perhaps our very favorite and most moving, took place at your "Diamond Portal", which my brother John fondly nicknamed "Green Hole Sun"...it reminded him of the other sculpture in Volunteer Park. Here's what happened on the night of the Temple Burn. Wild Bill ( my spouse) and Andreas (fellow Burner since 2001) and I were making our way toward the Temple on bikes that night. You may know Andreas, his brother Peter was with Taos Station in another year (I don't think Peter was there in 2004). Andreas' idea was that we park our bikes at the Portal and then walk the rest of the way. But when we got there, it seemed so inviting, and someone was up there by himself (I think - my memory could be just a little foggy). So we climbed up and joined him. Could it have been you?
We lay down low in the Portal, feet pointing in alternating directions, gazing out at the stars. From our perspective, there was no ground below, only the stars above. The sound we felt and heard emanating from within the Portal was like an engine. giving us the feeling that we were on a spaceship, floating peacefully through space. Then, the first "explorer" started humming, along with the engine sound of the spaceship. Perhaps he was humming all along, and I just didn't notice until then. He persuaded all of us to hum along, And we did. Before long, some other people joined us in our little "spaceship". I'm not sure how many we had up there, they came and went, staying different amounts of time. And somehow, we lost our sense of time. Perhaps it had something to do with not looking down at the ground.
Then the Temple began to burn...and our attention was drawn to it. It was almost as if we were a visiting alien spacecraft, observing from afar the habits of the local creatures. It was truly a beautiful sight. Instead of being up close, as we had originally planned, we viewed the Temple burn from such a distance that we could see the entire thing, and as you know it stretched a very wide distance across this year. Your Diamond Portal/Green Hole Sun was in every way a fantastic gift that you shared with the rest of the city. Thank You! Merilieu  <billmaryd(at)comcast.net>

Hi! Had a fun time climbing around on "The Diamond Portal"! It was just a fun photo opp at the time, but now that I have read more about the piece, it is fascinating! I wish I could have known more about it on the playa! Something I do remember about my experience with it, when sitting in the hole, it feels comforting and soothing. I think it has to do with the roundness holding me and the vibrational sounds. The other woman climbing on it with me mentioned the same thing. Anyways, thanks! Dakini (Jaime Jean) "Jaime Jean" <jaime(at)murioi.com>

I love your art. Thank you for building the Diamond Portal and for displaying it at Burning Man this year. I visited it on several occasions and one morning, early in the week, I was able to take an amazing photograph of your art piece all alone in the playa landscape... nothing but the portal... the sky (a dramatic cloudful sky!)... and the playa... I shoot with film, so I don't have it in digital form yet, but I will share it with you soon. I love your photograph so much that I know that it is a photograph that I will want to share with others in thefuture. It is an amazing piece of artwork situated on a very dramatic landscape... aphotographer's dream. I want to get your permission before doing so because it isyour artpiece in the center of my photograph. My photography is my art and my passion. "Rey Madolora" <reyshaun(at)hotmail.com>

My son & I, Doug Sr. & Doug Jr., were enjoying your art one night when you came out to do some structural damage repair and we had the pleasure of assisting you. We talk about that night and your explanation of the bass audio you devised for your art. I came across your web address in the BM e-mail, took a look and thought I would let you know how your work is still giving us pleasure in just discussing it. Thanks again and we hope you and your family have the happiest holiday's and a healthy and prosperous new year. Doug, Sr.  "Doug" <dstiles(at)pacbell.net>

Here is a photo of your portal. It was very, very cool!! Thanks for creating it.
Harrison "Harrison Karr" <h.karr(at)comcast.net>

Hi Harlan,
I too loved the Diamond Portal. Thank you! Here are some photos for you.
Tara "Tara Gill, Fisheye Photo" <taranoella(at)comcast.net>