My
nutty art car the “Squirly Whirly” is on her last leg. We got her to run on Sunday, but the car is
old, she still has low miles because she sat for 20 years in an old ladies garage in Boise ID
(which apparently is very bad for a car) and she is rusting due to sea air from living life on the coast. It has a lot
of major problems. I haven’t been very good at internal maintenance, so I’m
sure that I am most to blame. She has had her 15 minutes of squirrely
fame. It’s been the funniest car ever to
drive as my daily driver.
Other
artists may just let the theme die with the car, but I have upgraded her progressively over time. With
the “Pinwheels”, it has been an aerodynamic experiment and a social
anthropological experiment in the public overall.
Bringing
free public art to the world has transformed the quality of my life living with
PTSD, panic disorder and depression.
Every time someone waves, honks with approval or stops and get out of
their car to take a photo, gives me a happy sense of validation, joy and hope
for humanity that they still have a childlike sense of humor. I like mostly to sit far away and watch and
hear people’s reactions to the silly car.
Everyone has a squirrel story too and I have heard them all, good and
bad.
I
must admit, there are many days I do not want the attention while driving the
car or to be found out where I may be shopping based on where my art car is
parked. You can’t be incognito that is
for sure, so I have been considering driving a mundane car again. I took her for a short test run yesterday
over to the beach and found a note someone had written and stuck on the
windshield under the wiper blade.
The
note said “Thank you for making them laugh and smile and that the car made
their day and that it is helping cure depression even one smile at a time.” This made me stop and consider keeping the Squirly
Whirly theme going. Maybe I should? Maybe I could get some funding from the American Psychological Association? Maybe I could teach fun creative art classes
for other people who can also get relief living with depression who can’t take
medication? Maybe squirrels will take over the world?
I
have many sweet notes from people over the years. I have several other art car
ideas too. I sat on the beach yesterday
with that note in hand. I watched the
surfers and kids all gather around my car and laugh and marvel at what a silly
fun car it is. Everyone wonders what kind
of person would do such a thing to a perfectly normal car. Someone sick of the mundane and perfectly normal that's who. Someone right brained dominate that found a way to heal herself and question authority and the entire western medical system. Little do they know it’s a very silly person
who has reached the last half of her life and has decided to make a big
statement to the world, “Life is too short to take that seriously.” Driving such a car reminds me of that every day.
She
sat not running for 6 weeks. It’s funny how much happier I was after
driving it yesterday even for a brief time.
I think that I may just do a SQv4.0 with a better car after all. I did buy 5000 Googley eyes, and most all of
the squirrels need their paint touched up and seem so plain without hair. I love working with SKRATCH. I have some awesome ideas to make the next
version even super bitchin sillier and wilder.
It
may have to be done.
Want to donate a squirrel
for the Squirly Whirly Art car?
