Kickstarter

Coming up with sculptural material for temporary bike art that anyone can manage was a challenge. Paper mache has unlimited potential, except it doesn't ride well! It is stiff and cracks apart when you hit a bump. Upholstery foam turned out to be the perfect stuff. It is light and bouncy and road tested. Rooster bike has 48 miles on him!  

The people who built bike art at the workshop were amazing. It's not like there is a  reference book out there on how to make a lion or a sea horse for your bike out of upholstery foam! They were marvelously inventive and we all enjoyed the creative and engineering challenges of making ride-able art. At the parade, look for the Red Dragon, the Queen Bee and a Bee Hive, the Shark, Monkeys From Space, the Obama Peacock, the Lion, the Seahorse, Kiss My Bluegrass, the Bunny, the Bull, the Clown, and the Unicorn, the Buffalo and the Rooster! All the photos of the workshop are here: http://www.greatatlantabicycleparade.com/workshops.htm

Thanks again for making this happen! This Sunday! Here's our route: http://g.co/maps/xvbf8

We are thrilled about our Art Bikes! Look for these fantastic bikes in the Parade:

The Dodekacycle, six bicycles welded together pulling a caravan, along with The Tall Bike, created by Dodekapus, an Atlanta based artist collective. http://dodekapus.blogspot.com/

Amy Evan’s “Mermaid Riding an Octopus” Bike 

Jack Freeland’s rhinestone encrusted bike, “Freddie” 

Mike Gerke and Bike Decatur’s “Drum Kit Bike” 

Courtney Harnett’s “Elephantized” Bike 

Steve Markham’s “Bike Route” Bike 

Sinan Sinharoy’s “Homemade Tandem” Bike 

Niklas & Tanner Vollmer’s “Spy vs. Spy” Bikes 

Thanks again for making this happen!

We helped 24 kids trick out their spokes at the 9th annual Brownwood Bike rally last Saturday and it was GREAT! Those kids really love their bikes.

One kid stood out for us. Nicolas arrived with tattered remnants of packing tape stuck all over his spokes. He had tricked out his spokes before. We cleaned all that off and Nicholas went to town with the silver tape. He was very serious and meticulous about it. He spent a long time with us and barely spoke. He liked the skull and eyeball stickers and he almost laughed when we offered him a rainbow pinwheel. He wrote his race number all over his front tire tape - after testing many pens to find the right one. He studied his finished bicycle for a moment and then went and got an I Love My Bicycle sticker and put it on the frame. We all wanted to see how it looked spinning and when he rode it for us everyone at the workshop cheered! Nicholas' shy grin turned into a beam of pride and he laughed out loud.

Thank you for making this project happen! Check out the pictures of the workshop here: http://www.greatatlantabicycleparade.com/workshops.htm

I am delighted about the placement of our bike art workshops in three south Atlanta neighborhoods! Between the workshops and the parade, we get to play bike parade with Virginia Highlands, Poncey Highlands, Inman Park, East Atlanta, Grant Park and Castleberry Hill! That is GREAT!

We will be tricking out the kid's spokes at the 9th Annual Brownwood Bike Rally hosted by the East Atlanta Kids Club on May 5th and again at the Grant Park Recreation Center on May 19th hosted by the Grant park Parent's Network. Our bike art workshop for grown-ups (using soft sculpture like my Rooster Bike) will be at Elliott Street Deli & Pub in Castleberry Hill on May 12th! 

The workshops are free to the public, thanks to your help! Thank you so very much. Come out to the workshops and play bike parade with us!

Most Sincerely,

-Chantelle