Pile O' Parts
It started one night in the shop when we were brainstorming ideas about how to raise the funds we need to
keep our organization running. We decided to have a fundraiser (on December 8th at American Steel) and hold a silent auction. I tossed out the crazy idea of making a sculpture that we could auction – to create some collaborative art that someone could take home. Even though we were all still worn out from the BrollyFlock! build, lots
of people jumped at the chance!
Cupcake grinds some brakes!
Our next task was to figure out what to make. Everyone liked the idea of using salvaged items to make art. Someone used their creative mind to design and build every manufactured item. We wanted to showcase those designs while repurposing them into art. I happened to have a bunch of old car parts in my garage, so this was perfect! We decided to meet one night for a brainstorm,
and everyone brought in some kind of scrap, mechanical part, or other wacky-looking old piece of metal.
Max makes a flower
The idea was to look at the items we had, figure out what each piece resembled, and come up with a concept on the spot. We started with various car parts, pipes, saw blades, gears, axles, hubcaps, and manufacturing scraps. After a couple hours of wacky ideas, we had seen trees, giant flowers, rabbits, and chickens. Then we noticed that some scraps that Jess brought resembled cactus spines. Wait – the big pipes could be the trunk, the brake rotors a flowerpot, and the saw blades would be cactus flowers! It would be wacky, but sharp and scary. Our idea was born!
The main trunk in progress
It’s now day 5 of the build, and it’s coming along nicely. We’ve got all the pieces cut and the main trunk is bolted into its brake-rotor flowerpot. We have some saw-blade flowers made, and Max turned part of an A/C compressor and some motorcycle tires into more flowers. We will even have some junkyard Porsche wheel-cap flowers!
Saw-blade flower
Rebecca has been rocking the structural design, and makes it seem easy. I can’t wait to send this piece home with its future owner!
I love imagining the excitement of the engineers that designed those saw blades, seeing them rescued from the crusher to provide enjoyment to people in ways they never could have imagined!
You won’t want to miss the chance to take this sculpture home! Join us for our holiday fundraiser on Decemeber 8th at American Steel from 7pm-12am. Visit our event page for more details!
See you in the shop!
Wes
fantastic flux! cant wait to see the final piece.