Frequently Asked Questions
How long did it take you to do that?
I started working on the car in August of 2001. An art car is never truly finished, but I'm finally getting to the point where I don't feel like it's "unfinished."
How do you get those things to stay on there?
Through trial and error, I've learned that each type of object has a glue that works best for it. I use silicon for the carpet, because it's inexpensive and thick enough to cover large pieces. Liquid nails dries too quickly for the carpet, but it's perfect for the smooth mah jongg tiles. And E6000 is more expensive, but holds plastic toys like nothing else I've tried.
Do you ever lose anything?
Toys do fall off from time to time. Winter seems to be especially hard on the glue. I will be doing the "wiggle test" and regluing anything that seems unstable before we leave for Houston. And I'll take a box full of replacement toys in my trunk for last-minute repairs.
Where did you get the idea for an underwater mah jongg car?
I was planning to do my car like a park with a duck pond in the middle, covered with green astroturf and using the sunroof as the duck pond. Then I went to the hardware store and discovered that astroturf comes in blue. That's where the underwater theme came from. There's still a remnant of the duck pond in the strip of green turf and the preponderance of ducks on the roof. The car can't seem to make up its mind whether it's a freshwater pond, or an ocean.
At the same time as I was planning the "duck pond" car, I happened to buy a mah jongg set from Ebay. The set was in bad condition and unplayable, but there was nothing I could do about it because the seller had technically told the truth, while carefully avoiding an honest assessment of the set's condiiton. I was really upset about the waste of money until I realized that I could put the mah jongg set on the car. That set is now on the hood, being played by a goldfish, a lobster, and two koi. (The goldfish has Little Four Winds and is about to win the hand.)
You must really want attention.
Not really. I decorate my car because it makes me happy. I'm glad if other people enjoy it as well, but I'm honestly not that concerned about what other people think. A lot of people seem to assume that the only reason to do interesting things is to get attention. I find that rather sad.
How do the webcams work?
We will have two cams mounted on the car: one in a sailboat, and one on a dolphin. The cams will take photos once every minute. They are connected by USB to a graphite iBook which will process the images and upload them via cell phone to the web server. Many, many thanks are due to Lisa Linn for showing me how to set all this up and lending me all the necessary equipment.
When will the webcams be running?
We are tentatively planning to run the webcams during the following events. (all times listed are Central time zone)
--Art Car Ball, Thursday April 25, 7 pm till...
--Main Street Drag, Friday April 26, 9:30 am
--Art Car Parade, Saturday April 27, 11:30 am
--Post-Parade Celebration, after the parade
Length of time broadcasting will depend on the number of minutes available on the cell phone I end up getting. I will post a more definitive schedule as soon as I know.
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