Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Kinetic sculpture of San Francisco made from 100,000 toothpicks

Here's an amazing sculpture of San Francisco by Scott Weaver using 100,000 toothpicks and took 35 years to create! This cool sculpture called 'Rolling Through the Bay' is comprised of multiple 'tours' that move pingpong balls through neighborhoods, historical locations and iconic symbols of San Francisco. All of this is created with a little glue, some toothpicks and an incredible amount of ingenuity.

Kinetic sculpture of San Francisco made from 100,000 toothpicks Seen On www.coolpicturegallery.us




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. And while he doesn’t hold the record for the largest toothpick sculpture, his stands apart with numerous hidden ball-runs that snake around the sculpture. Amazingly, each run is a “tour” of a different part of the city.

Kinetic sculpture of San Francisco made from 100,000 toothpicks Seen On www.coolpicturegallery.us

Kinetic sculpture of San Francisco made from 100,000 toothpicks Seen On www.coolpicturegallery.us

Kinetic sculpture of San Francisco made from 100,000 toothpicks Seen On www.coolpicturegallery.us

Using only Elmer’s glue and working in his spare time, Weaver used amazing precision to create the work. But to build it, Weaver couldn’t rely on domestic toothpicks alone. From his website:

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. For example, some of the trees in Golden Gate Park are made from toothpicks from Kenya, Morocco, Spain, West Germany and Italy. The heart inside the Palace of Fine Arts is made out of toothpicks people threw at our wedding.
Kinetic sculpture of San Francisco made from 100,000 toothpicks Seen On www.coolpicturegallery.us

Kinetic sculpture of San Francisco made from 100,000 toothpicks Seen On www.coolpicturegallery.us

Kinetic sculpture of San Francisco made from 100,000 toothpicks Seen On www.coolpicturegallery.us

For more information, please visit Scott Weaver's website at http://www.rollingthroughthebay.com/sf1.html