This is a call to all the SuperForesters of the world. I need help coming up with an idea for an art shanty. A what? An art shanty. It’s an ice shanty that is a piece of art. For those of you in more warmer climates, ice shanties are the little houses people that set out on frozen lakes to keep themselves warm while ice fishing or drinking beer or (often) both. This particular project takes place on Medicine Lake in the Minneapolis area. I’ve been brainstorming some ideas, but I’d love to hear what SuperForest has to say. Get the ice shanty low down at http://www.artshantyprojects.org.”
Art Shanty! Interesting… Let ‘s put on our thinking caps.
What do you say, SuperForesters? What sort of art piece should Neal erect on a frozen lake?
Just got an email from SuperForester Neal, who wonders why we haven’t yet covered the art car phenom. Hmmmm. We wondered the same thing!
It seems that the wily and clever SuperForester Neal has converted his Geo Tracker into a rolling chalkboard, redubbed: the Geo Chalker!
Take it away, Neal!
“Hello SuperForest,
I recently became a Superforest fan. I like the commitment to saving the world while still keeping things cool. The art postings are great too. One thing I don’t see is any mention of art cars. I’d love to see someone cover this fringe art. As an art car driver myself, let me tell you why I chose to drive an art car.
My beat up, rusty 1996 Geo Tracker was a sore sight on the road. But being an artist and an employee of a nonprofit, I can’t yet afford to purchase a better car. While I dream of one day having a zero emissions car, I’m stuck with what I’ve got. It may be ugly but it gets me there. Plus thanks to it’s lightweight and four wheel drive, I’m rarely ever stuck in the MN snowfall. (To all considering 4×4 transportation, check out an old Tracker. Their small size and small engine get great gas milage compared to other SUV type vehicles. I still get 25+ mpg.)
I decided that if I have to drive this vehicle (I do bike whenever I can) it should at least add some kind of beauty to the roadways and parking lots of the world. So I decided to turn it into an art car. More specifically, an interactive art car where the rest of the world creates the art and I drive it around. I spraypainted the entire car in chalkboard paint and attached a bag of chalk to the spare tire. Two small signs encourage passerbys to leave their mark on my car, aptly named the Geo Chalker. When I see a new chalking, I snap a photo and upload to www.GeoChalker.com.
I think you’ll find that a lot of Superforesters out there would drive an art car if they had the choice and most art car artists would consider themselves a Superforester. I also encourage anyone out there to transform their car into a piece of art. The roadways of the world need a touch of beauty to them. If you do, send me a photo at blackboard(at)geochalker(dot)com. I’d love to post images of Superforester Art Cars.
SuperForesters are all over planet Earth, all united in exploring how to redefine "environmentalism" and "sustainability" to encompass every aspect of our lives.
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(image via flickr user farm1)
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