35 Years +100,000 Toothpicks +3,000 Hours = One Amazing Sculpture

Toothpick sculptures are not unusual - Many artists have created some amazing masterpieces using these delicate wooden sticks. However, San Francisco artist Scott Weaver has taken it to a new level with his recently revealed 'Rolling though the Bay' sculpture.

The 9 feet tall 7 feet wide toothpick masterpiece of San Francisco and its surrounding areas is not only amazingly detailed, but also, kinetic - Which means that it has moving parts. In this case Scott has created pathways through which ping-pong balls navigate to different neighborhoods of the city, providing the viewer with a virtual tour of its most important landmarks.

What makes it even more unique is that Scott, a fourth generation San Franciscan, has created his rendition of the city, with fun little tweaks like hiding the Golden Gate Bridge under China Town and building the city's two famous landmarks - Transamerica Pyramid and Coit Tower, the same height.

In addition to that he has added some highlights of his personal life to the sculpture. Among them are a now closed winery and saloon owned by his great-grandfather in downtown San Francisco, a clock set to the time his son was born and a heart placed inside the Palace of Fine Arts to commemorate the venue of his wedding.

Incredibly, this delicate looking sculpture has survived an earthquake, four house moves and an attack from Scott's Great Dane, who caused the most damage when he destroyed the Golden Gate bridge with just a swipe of his tail.

The artist, who built his first toothpick sculpture when he was just eight years old, says it all began with a kinetic replica of the Golden Gate Bridge and the curvy Lombard Street. He enjoyed rolling around the ping-pong balls so much, that he decided to add to it. While 35 years seems like a long period of time, the artist says he has worked on the project quite sporadically, sometimes taking off as long as two years, to focus on other things.

He estimates that so far he has used about 100,000 toothpicks and spent 3,000 hours on his masterpiece - However, he is not done yet. He not only continues to tweak it, but is also planning to add to it, because while this is the world's largest kinetic toothpick sculpture, it is not the world's absolute largest - And that, is Scott's ultimate dream. Simply amazing!

Resources:inhabitat.com, huffingtonpost.com, fastcompany.com

Scott Weaver's Rolling through the Bay from The Tinkering Studio on Vimeo.