Here is where art meets science, meet goofing off at a low bridge as a driver runs into it with a double decker bus.
This custom-built 1974 Cadillac which adorns 5,000 pieces of silverware is the creation of Uri Geller, one of the world's most famous spoonbenders. And 1000 of these spoons and forks were given by the children from around the world, and some of the treasured pieces were owned, or used by famous personalities. Some of the pieces on this custom-built 1974 Cadillac were arched by Uri Geller using his "brainpower", while the remaining were artfully shaped by his friend Avi Pines, a famous Israeli sculptor. I cant vouch for the "mind bending" part but the car sure looks really cool.
There are very few guitar art cars but I think it all started with Ray Nelson and his Guitarcycle. Then there was the Acousti Car and finally the world biggest guitar bicycle by Didi Senft, a cycling fan, who made his debut in Strokow, Germany. I don't know about you but it might be a bit tricky playing while driving.
Ray Nelson and his Guitar Motocycle
Guitar Bicycle
A Taiwanese pensioner covers every inch of his four vehicles with virtuous words from Buddhist texts.
Li Zongxiong, 71, a workshop owner, started to 'tattoo' his car, two trucks and a motorbike nine years ago.
His words virtually cover the vehicles, including the mirrors, windscreens, bodywork, doors, wheels - and even the number plates.
Li admitted his hobby had caused him trouble: "Passers-by thought I was doodling on the cars of others, and police found it hard to believe that someone would cover his own vehicle in writing," he explained.
Li, who has only an elementary school education, said most of the words were taken from Buddhist texts.
"I felt public morality was deteriorating, so I started to write some words of virtue on my vehicles," he told China News Network.
"Each day I write something down. If I spot a place where the writing has worn away, I write it again."
Li?s son, Li Jiasheng, said the family now forbids his father to buy new vehicles, since they know he will write all over them - no matter how much they cost.
But his grandson has promised that when he grows up and makes some money he will buy him a big bus to write on and indulge his hobby.
via ananova
Where have you been all my life Atomic Dog Art Car!!!!
An art car extension to the Mothership Connection, "The Atomic Dog, One Nation Under Groove" pays tribute to musician George Clinton and his funkadelic band, Parliament. Band members and dogs made of mosaic mirror shards mingle with beaded flying saucers, guitars, drums, and lots of chrome pipes while one big mirrored dog guards the roof.
Led by veteran art car artist and teacher, Rebecca Bass, the 2006 Art Class at Waltrip High School created this award winning art car in four short months. Students worked after hours, on weekends, and over spring break to craft this stunning masterpiece.
Stories about this amazing vehicle spread across the country and eventually reached George Clinton. In June of 2006, funkadelics star George Clinton came to Houston to autograph the car. George and his entourage were very impressed with The Atomic Dog and its creators. They all became instant art car fans!
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An art car extension to the Mothership Connection, "The Atomic Dog, One Nation Under Groove" pays tribute to musician George Clinton and his funkadelic band, Parliament. Band members and dogs made of mosaic mirror shards mingle with beaded flying saucers, guitars, drums, and lots of chrome pipes while one big mirrored dog guards the roof.
Led by veteran art car artist and teacher, Rebecca Bass, the 2006 Art Class at Waltrip High School created this award winning art car in four short months. Students worked after hours, on weekends, and over spring break to craft this stunning masterpiece.
Stories about this amazing vehicle spread across the country and eventually reached George Clinton. In June of 2006, funkadelics star George Clinton came to Houston to autograph the car. George and his entourage were very impressed with The Atomic Dog and its creators. They all became instant art car fans!
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This photo of a 1960 Cadillac Fin Attaché Case was sent in by Kelly and was made by Steve Heller's Fabulous Furniture. On this amazing site you will find a ton more art cars made from classic 50's car parts, wood furniture and other sculpture made from assorted motorcycle parts.
1960 Cadillac Fin Attaché Case
Here is what he has to say about his art car work:
"I love wood and metal, but in my heart I'm a car freak.
The Cadillacs of the 1950's are the cars I love the most. I've collected dozens of them over the years, and have incorporated them into furniture and sculpture, hoping to keep them from going to the crusher (perhaps the most evil piece of machinery ever invented). I have made cedar chests, entertainment units, beds, lights, and other pieces of usable furniture out of these once rusting piles of metal. I am, after all, my fathers son."
- Steve Heller
1957 Buick Two-Tiered Bar
1960 Cadillac Fin Attaché Case
Here is what he has to say about his art car work:
"I love wood and metal, but in my heart I'm a car freak.
The Cadillacs of the 1950's are the cars I love the most. I've collected dozens of them over the years, and have incorporated them into furniture and sculpture, hoping to keep them from going to the crusher (perhaps the most evil piece of machinery ever invented). I have made cedar chests, entertainment units, beds, lights, and other pieces of usable furniture out of these once rusting piles of metal. I am, after all, my fathers son."
- Steve Heller
1957 Buick Two-Tiered Bar
I came this Star Wars Car for on ebay today, a Custom Painted 2007 Chevy Cobalt LS. called the "Star Car" painted by Greatlakes Airbrush. 15 year auto tech and Artist John Deltgen with brother of 25 year Sign & Graphic Art expreriance with over 30 Awards, Artist David Peterman. This is pretty amazing car and for a mere $20K it can be your.
Start Wars Car Yoda Close Up
This amazing motorcycle Harley Davidson Electra Glide covered in a million lights was taken back in 1974. Photo sent by Sparky who left a nice comment about my daughters pen car. Thanks I needed something to write about.
Photographer: (1974) Steven R. Hudson, Patterson, GA
The event was in Daytona Beach, Florida.
Photographer: (1974) Steven R. Hudson, Patterson, GA
The event was in Daytona Beach, Florida.
My smallest daughter has always been fascinated by my Mercedes Pens Art Car covered in 10,000 pens. And every time she sees it she wants to go over, sit on the car and play with the pens. So I decided for her first birthday that she needed her own pen car so I "penned her ride" as well with crayola caps and other colorful felt tips. I even tried to spell out her name on the front. She loves her Toy Pen Art Car and now that its raining we brought in the house and she sits in it while watching her favorite DVDs, with her feet up on the dashboard. The only problem is that she managed to take off all the pens on the other side. No worries, daddy will fix it.
Here is a great video that just came out about Art Cars on Ice 2009 in Minnesota that ends this weekend. For a native Californian this is totally nuts, riding your art car on a frozen lake just seems dangerous, but what do I know. These guys took traditional ice fishing houses and turned them into themed works of art for pretty much an entire month.
Not sure about this salvage special. Is it a hybrid car that's pedal powered or is it a really safe bike with a car shell. Either way you see it, the environment is a winner. As a hybrid it uses very little gas and that's good but the power source will produce a bit of methane every once in awhile. Now as a ultra safe bike this is also good especially on a front end collision or a roll over down the ditch. I can't say anything about getting rear ended, but it is safe to say your you will have a sore touchy for a month but will cut down on the methane emissions for a month as well.
Only I can go from fashion week to mad max in one post but this Mad Max Bad Boy is freaking awesome. Some say we are living in the "end times" and if that is the case I want to be driving this around town when I go shopping for my $100 loaf of bread at Costco. That 's were I will be getting my $150 gallon of gas, 50 Caliber rounds, propane for my flame thrower, grease for my tank tracks, battery for the CB radio, DW40 for rusty hinges and turtle wax for the paint job. It tends to get a bit scuffed up when the vermin trying to steal my bread bounce of the hood at high speeds. Mad Max eat your heart out, I bet you didn't have bullet proof front wheels like these.
This fuzzy scouter looks like it was created from the all the leftover material from this years fashion week. Which of course I know nothing about but I assume any model caught on this beauty would be given at least fifty strands of spaghetti...to eat. Its late folks and I am simply delirious and my free association filter is on the fritz.
How would want to be the lucky clown that got the request from little "Bobby" to make this crazy balloon scouter? Oh yes, meanwhile there is a line of angry kids at the party waiting for their flowers and poodles. Kids let this be lesson, you will at some point in life end up behind the guy with 16 items at the 15 items or less line.
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Harry Sperl has created one of his long time dreams.
The dream ... a hamburger motorcycle. That's right!! A Harley-Davidson trike fashioned to look like an exact replica of a hamburger; And this burger's got all the trimmings.
With cheese, pickles, onions, lettuce, and tomato, not to mention a side of fries and a shake, this bike is gonna make your mouth water when it goes by. You'll be able to see the steam coming off the medium rare beef patty, of course its rigged that way.
Airbrush artist Chris Cruz is responsible for the detailed paint work on the entire burger trike, from the melting cheese front tender, to the ketchup bottle shock covers.
Involved in every step of the production of the trike, Harry says, "This is just the beginning'. Harry intends to construct a hamburger golf cart and a hamburger drag car. But the next project,now that the trike is done, will be the Hamburger Museum, according to Harry.
The Hamburger Museum building will, of course, look like a double bacon cheeseburger, and will be the resting place for Harry's elaborate hamburger collection.
Harry owns over 500 burger replicas of all sizes and all kinds of materials from plastic to glass, and owns over 1000 burger related items like posters, pictures, and memorabilia from all restaurants. It would take Harry too long to build the museum by himself financially, so he is looking for a sponsor to help with his dream to display his collection.
And why has Harry been collecting burgers for over 7 years, he loves to eat them. To Harry hamburgers are an important part of his life. Originally from Germany Harry feels the hamburger is Americana. He loves burgers because they are an icon of the United States.
Harry still goes burger hunting at flea markets or anywhere there may be burgers. Harry currently displays his burgers in his home in Daytona Beach, and holds an open house once a year to show off his collection.
Copy from Hamburger Harley
via kodac
Joe Gomez of San Antonio, Texas, relates that "One day when I was in bed, I dreamt that I was building a wrought iron car. I woke up, ran to the kitchen and got some paper, and started sketching. My wife thought I was crazy.Everything on this car is handmade, nothing is factory. It took me a little bit better than nine months. The reason I chose the Volkswagen is because the motor's in back -otherwise I'd have all the fumes in front." The car brought more customers to Gomez's wrought-iron company than he could handle, and he soon retired. He later found out that two other people have made wrought-iron Volkswagen's! And here are some more of them
Photo and links below by iamthemaintrain
1. Metal Beetle, 2. ROT IRON, 3. vw iron work, 4. wedding car, 5. RotIron1, 6. Joe Gomez - wrought iron VW bug, 7. Air Conditioned Bug, 8. CIMG0027, 9. Rod Iron VW, 10. IMG_3719, 11. ROT IRON, 12. Wrot Iron VW Bug, 13. IMG_3717, 14. www.flickr.com/photos/udpride/2294504563/, 15. Day 203: No blind spots on this car...., 16. IMG_3764
by Delta Niner
The AeroCar 600 is a 1959 BMW 600 turned airplane! Created by Dave Major, this little vehicle is as much airplane as it is car. It has a handmade propeller turned by a 12 volt electric motor, a tail from a real airplane and tires from a Beech Jet 400A. It even has a custom dash with a working altimeter, airspeed indicator and aircraft compass!The car is street legal and has a 600cc 2 cylinder air cooled BMW engine in the rear. The front of the car opens up to allow "the pilot" to enter the aircraft. Dave displays the car at a variety of car shows where it is quite popular. The Aerocar 600 also appears in many art car parades around the country.
Its Mutant Mondays and today we have the land raft made from plastic 55 gallon drums roped together under a wooden platform with a sail. It looks sturdy enough and has set sail across the Burning Man desert abyss on its way to another party. My advise is: keep your hands and feet inside at all times and do not unbuckle until the Land Raft come to a complete stop. 7 days is a long time to be adrift this sea.
This Quilted Gas Station was the brainchild of artist/activist Jennifer Marsh who came up with an idea to bring greater attention to the world's dependency on oil. She put the word out to fiber artist all over the world to submit 3x3 foot squares to cover the abandoned gas station. This old gas station located on the way to her studio was the perfect candidate to be covered in 5,000 square feet of fabric (colossal handmade blanket). With the help of other artists from 15 countries and more than 2,500 grade-school students from 29 states, Marsh covered everything including the pumps, light stands and signs. With more than 3,000 fiber panels, crocheted, knitted, quilted and stitched together she managed to cover this 50-year-old gas station that on a cold nights is the perfect place to stay warm.
Shuttle Van Frozen Rear Thrusters
I got this email today and its a reminder that a lot of good people are having a rough time with this crazy weather. Its also a great story of the positive and life saving aspects of owning an art car. The story is about the Shuttle Van Art Car and written by Bill Viereck about how the Shuttle Van Technology saved his bacon not having any power due to heavy frost.
"So when do you fully realize the payback on the undetermined investment made in your art car? Well, start with a deadly ice storm that encapsulates younder 2+ inches of solid rock and devastates all infrastructures around you. No power, no water, no heat, no dice.
My search through camping supplies, used on various multi-car odyssey's, uncovered battery lighting and a sterno burner complete with three cans o' heat. Now hot tea and camp coffee was awesome, but an ice melt sponge bath is a horrific trauma. However, the inch-thick slab of ice on the roof of a good sized doghouse will provide enough non-potable water to flush your toilet a few times. You'll need lots more sterno, though.
My 2000 watt generator was purchased to operate the Shuttle Van's systems during stand-around appearances and to recharge at campsites lacking power. A gallon of gas will run a 1700 watt fog machine (or a typical space heater) for about four hours in favorable weather. My lawn tractor kindly donated almost three gallons of old gas. At the peak of the storm when temps were down to 16 degrees, three hours of heat were a very special treat.
Later 48 hours of entombment, my civilian vehicle had to be moved to escape the new overhangs of trees threatening from above. After working through the better part of daylight to chisel enough away to move that car 12 feet, I turned my attention to the Shuttle Van. All four passenger doors were sealed under the 1/2 inch layer over all vertical surfaces (six times that on the horizontals) but I chipped around thrusters, etc. and accessed the rear tailgate. I wedged my middle-aged girth into the crawl space and reached the two isolation switches for the battery banks. If you're forced to design systems in your art car to handle 111 amps of power drain, you've got some juice available for indoor camping. Fully charged when the power went out, Shuttle Van's reserves could provide some heat for a few hours or operate various other low-consumption devices for much longer. An extension cord stretched from my stranded spacecraft to my satellite receiver just in time to catch the evening news, none of it good. 200,000 customers out of power in NW Arkansas alone, with no clear estimate on restoration. I used the available amp-hours to keep a phone charged, run a portable DVD and a light for well over 24 hours.
Once that initial charge was exhausted, the battery banks offered the advantage of storing the power produced by the gennerator rather than having to use it as it burned. My last gallon and a half of rationed gas gave me 6 1/2 hours of charge for the Shuttle Van, a fresh-brewed pot of real coffee for me and about and hour of heat for my cat.With that I made it to the point of escape, carving 1500 sq. ft. of ice shelf off my driveway and breaking free of the property to buy six gallons of gas and a bucket of chicken.
Do I love my art car? Yes, and I owe my art car. After this Apollo 13-type experience I feel inspired to do more, after I clear nine acres of formerly wooded hillside. Still without power after nine days and eight cold nights I long for hot showers and a warm bed but am able to compose this anecdote on my computer thanks to Shuttle Van technology."
Shuttle Van Frozen Door Handle
Shuttle Van Frozen Side Panel
Shuttle Van Frozen at Night
I got this email today and its a reminder that a lot of good people are having a rough time with this crazy weather. Its also a great story of the positive and life saving aspects of owning an art car. The story is about the Shuttle Van Art Car and written by Bill Viereck about how the Shuttle Van Technology saved his bacon not having any power due to heavy frost.
"So when do you fully realize the payback on the undetermined investment made in your art car? Well, start with a deadly ice storm that encapsulates younder 2+ inches of solid rock and devastates all infrastructures around you. No power, no water, no heat, no dice.
My search through camping supplies, used on various multi-car odyssey's, uncovered battery lighting and a sterno burner complete with three cans o' heat. Now hot tea and camp coffee was awesome, but an ice melt sponge bath is a horrific trauma. However, the inch-thick slab of ice on the roof of a good sized doghouse will provide enough non-potable water to flush your toilet a few times. You'll need lots more sterno, though.
My 2000 watt generator was purchased to operate the Shuttle Van's systems during stand-around appearances and to recharge at campsites lacking power. A gallon of gas will run a 1700 watt fog machine (or a typical space heater) for about four hours in favorable weather. My lawn tractor kindly donated almost three gallons of old gas. At the peak of the storm when temps were down to 16 degrees, three hours of heat were a very special treat.
Later 48 hours of entombment, my civilian vehicle had to be moved to escape the new overhangs of trees threatening from above. After working through the better part of daylight to chisel enough away to move that car 12 feet, I turned my attention to the Shuttle Van. All four passenger doors were sealed under the 1/2 inch layer over all vertical surfaces (six times that on the horizontals) but I chipped around thrusters, etc. and accessed the rear tailgate. I wedged my middle-aged girth into the crawl space and reached the two isolation switches for the battery banks. If you're forced to design systems in your art car to handle 111 amps of power drain, you've got some juice available for indoor camping. Fully charged when the power went out, Shuttle Van's reserves could provide some heat for a few hours or operate various other low-consumption devices for much longer. An extension cord stretched from my stranded spacecraft to my satellite receiver just in time to catch the evening news, none of it good. 200,000 customers out of power in NW Arkansas alone, with no clear estimate on restoration. I used the available amp-hours to keep a phone charged, run a portable DVD and a light for well over 24 hours.
Once that initial charge was exhausted, the battery banks offered the advantage of storing the power produced by the gennerator rather than having to use it as it burned. My last gallon and a half of rationed gas gave me 6 1/2 hours of charge for the Shuttle Van, a fresh-brewed pot of real coffee for me and about and hour of heat for my cat.With that I made it to the point of escape, carving 1500 sq. ft. of ice shelf off my driveway and breaking free of the property to buy six gallons of gas and a bucket of chicken.
Do I love my art car? Yes, and I owe my art car. After this Apollo 13-type experience I feel inspired to do more, after I clear nine acres of formerly wooded hillside. Still without power after nine days and eight cold nights I long for hot showers and a warm bed but am able to compose this anecdote on my computer thanks to Shuttle Van technology."
I was sent this email with this funny photo of a parking meter tombstone. Barbara had a great sense of humor and always used to say that when she died she wanted a parking meter on her grave that says 'Expired'.. So her nephew got her one on eBay! The grave is right by the road so everyone can see it and many people have stopped to get a chuckle. This photo is testament to Barbara's sense of humor and is a great reminder that life too short to be grumpy. Its car related and very funny so I had to.
For me this Space Invaders Car is a find of a life time. I loved this game way back when all you had was a joystick that was left and right and a fire button. The green glow of the monitor a roll of quarters and free time was all you needed back in the days. Thank you so much for the good memories my friend, may your car last forever.
by san~~
by san~~
Candid Art Car is a 1971 VW Super Beetle created by Jennifer Larsen. Formerly of Seattle - Candid and Jennifer have been turning heads since 2001 at the Fremont Solstice Festival & Art Car Parade and other various events. Now in Newport, Oregon, and being one of the handful of art cars on the coast, heads turn I think even more!
The paintings on Candid are of the comic strip of the same name by Jennifer. "Candid is my alter ego, Mack Duck is Candid's roommate & voice of reason, and Christof is...well...Christof. I started drawing my comic strip in 1992, and it's developed into this rolling display. Every year something new has to be added...a little glitter, a little more paint, some rust treatments, etc. I moved to the Oregon Coast in 2006, and I've been doing more rust treatments than I like."
"Since 2007, I've tried to organize with other art cartists to visit the coast and drive in the local parade. My reasoning for asking people to drive so far is that I want to expose the coast to the wonderful uniqueness that exists in the world. Thankfully, with my connections I'd made in Seattle and online, I've been joined by some pretty awesome people (we're all pretty awesome)....and I want to thank them. This is a new year, and big things are happening, so hopefully we'll have even MORE art cars to drive in the parade!"
The thing that I get asked most often: "That's YOUR car?!"
Jennifer Larsen
Draka the Dragon Head/Photo by Lisa Nigro
Click image for larger view
Draka the Dragon Panoramic/Photo Lisa Nigro
Draka the Dragon is a 112-ft long, mutant vehicle created by sculptor Lisa Nigro. This is a fire breathing mobile/kinetic sculpture that is built on a truck along with three trailers for the rest of the body. It was originally created back in 2000 at Burning Man in Black Rock Desert, NV, made up mainly of recycles materials and capable of blowing a 50-ft burst of flame. Inside there is a bar, elegant decor, room for music and comfortable seating for approximately 50 -75 people. Sounds like a great limo rental ride for prom night. Lisa was inspired by the book Wicked - The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire, and his description of a Dragon Clock Tower that roamed from village to village displaying twisted puppet theatre. By the way if you have any video footage of Draka the Dragon in action, please email it to Lisa, she might be featured on Discovery Channel and she wants live footage to be included in the special.
Draka the Dragon is a 112-ft long, mutant vehicle created by sculptor Lisa Nigro. This is a fire breathing mobile/kinetic sculpture that is built on a truck along with three trailers for the rest of the body. It was originally created back in 2000 at Burning Man in Black Rock Desert, NV, made up mainly of recycles materials and capable of blowing a 50-ft burst of flame. Inside there is a bar, elegant decor, room for music and comfortable seating for approximately 50 -75 people. Sounds like a great limo rental ride for prom night. Lisa was inspired by the book Wicked - The Life & Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, by Gregory Maguire, and his description of a Dragon Clock Tower that roamed from village to village displaying twisted puppet theatre. By the way if you have any video footage of Draka the Dragon in action, please email it to Lisa, she might be featured on Discovery Channel and she wants live footage to be included in the special.
Here is a great video of a post I did some time ago about Mel and his Atomic Ride who turns scrap cars into what I call >Scaptastic" Works of Art. A video just came out that is a must see, produced by Channel 3 in Arizona, link.
Atomic Ride Art Car
Atomic Ride Art Car
The reason I love photoshop so much is because in that world anything is possible including these incredible even hideous photoshop edible art cars brought to you by Worth1000.com Photoshop contest. The people that created these art cars did a fantastic job and are worth mentioning here. Here are my top 5 reasons to love art car meals on wheels.
1. VW Chicken Car.
You can use all the extra chicken grease down in the pan to power your car for year.
2. VW Watermelon Car
Some people freeze their credit cards in ice blocks to slow down their use, and now the latest craze is to encase your car in a block of cement to help you use less gas. That's one way to save the planet, one cement car block at a time. It was probably done by one of them environ"mental" mafia groups.
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