A Frugal Town in Lithuania Erects a Christmas Tree Made from 40,000 Recycled Plastic Bottles. Okay municipalities of the world, pay attention.
For a third consecutive year the city of Kaunas, Lithuania approached artist Jolanta Šmidtienė to assist with their annual holiday decorating. Recognizing the city’s somewhat dire financial state the artist challenged herself to build something that wouldn’t rely on any administrative funds set aside for the event. The result: an enormous 13-meter tall Christmas tree made from nearly 40,000 recycled green bottles and zip ties.
One man, 100,000 toothpicks, and 35 years: An incredible kinetic sculpture of San Francisco. Thirty five years ago I had yet to be born, but artist Scott Weaver had already begun work on this insanely complex kinetic sculpture, Rolling through the Bay, that he continues to modify and expand even today.
The elaborate sculpture is comprised of multiple “tours” that move pingpong balls through neighborhoods, historical locations, and iconic symbols of San Francisco, all recreated with a little glue, some toothpicks, and an incredible amount of ingenuity. He admits in the video that there are several toothpick sculptures even larger than his, but none has the unique kinetic components he’s constructed. Via his website Weaver estimates he’s spent over 3,000 hours on the project, and the toothpicks have been sourced from around the world: I have used different brands of toothpicks depending on what I am building. I also have many friends and family members that collect toothpicks in their travels for me. Watermelon carving on Vimeo. Visit Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass at the MFA. "Chihuly: Through the Looking Glass" has closed.
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