Bicycles – Kristen Baumlier

Category: Bicycles

Ride Your Bike And Make a Lamp (!?)

Posted on February 27, 2014May 19, 2014 by Kbaumlier

An unusual lamp created by Mark Colliass uses a unique method to create the actual lampshade. You can’t tell by looking at it, but the lampshade was created while riding on a bike.

The process involves pouring resin, called Jesminite, into side areas of the mold which is located on the side of the bike. As you ride the bike, the force of riding will push the resin out of the storage area and into the mold, forming a unique bowl shape. It takes about 40 minutes to make the lamp, and for the mold to set. Who knew you could do a recreation activity and create a design at once? You can read updates about the project on @tincanboy.

Photos by: Terri NG

Image Source and Links:

https://twitter.com/tincanboy

Bespoken – a Music Track created With Sounds from Bicycles

Posted on January 19, 2014January 20, 2014 by Kbaumlier

Noise art and sampled music have been around for a while, but composer Johnnyrandom has done something interesting in regards to making musical compositions made only from everyday objects. He has a music track called “Bespoken” which is created from the full potential of sounds that can be created generated from bicycles and their components. In the online video, you see him hit the spokes with a mallet, put a guitar pick on the wheel as it spins, and watch as the sounds are being made.

The piece was made without synthesizers or samplers and the full work is available on Itunes. If you like ambient music or bikes, this is worth a listen.

Links and Images:

Bespoken on vimeo

johnnyrandom_ – Twitter

Ballroom Luminoso: Chandeliers made of Recycled Bike Parts and LEDs

Posted on June 17, 2013June 21, 2013 by Kbaumlier

In Cleveland, where I last lived, there were several bridge underpasses that were dark and uninviting, that I always tried to avoid at night, since they were dark and seemed unsafe. They also tended to be dirty, and had puddles and mud underneath. I recently read about a public art project that was not this year in San Antonio, Texas that transformed an underpass area with unique color changing chandeliers.

Ballroom Luminoso is a series of six globes, each of which is 48” in diameter, that are made of a custom-designed LED light fixture, upcycled bike parts, and steel. The piece uses shadows and colored light to transform the underpass space into a dramatic shadow space. The images cast iclude repeating circles and sprockets and gears, and the chandeliers transform an ordinary underpass into a unique colorful space filled with light and shape.

The project references the area’s past, present, and future and imagery that includes the community’s agricultural history, strong Hispanic heritage, and growing environmental movement are included in each piece. The medallions are a play on the iconography of La Loteria (a board game with cards), which has become a icon of Hispanic culture. Utilizing traditional symbols like La Escalera (the Ladder), La Rosa (the Rose), and La Sandía (the Watermelon) in the work, the piece alludes to the neighborhood’s farming roots and horticultural achievements. Each character playfully rides a bike acting as a metaphor for the neighborhood’s environmental progress, its concurrent eco-restoration projects, and its developing cycling culture.

I was looking at some websites with my niece, and her and I were both drawn to this piece, which can be seen at the intersection of Theo and Malone with I-35 in San Antonio. The artists behind the work Joe O’Connell and Blessing Hancock have done other interesting public art pieces, and you can check out Ballroom Luminosos and their other works on their site.

Image Source:
http://www.jbpublicart.com/portfolio/ballroom_luminoso

Links:

http://www.jbpublicart.com/portfolio/ballroom_luminoso

Bicycled: A Bike Made of Junkyard Cars

Posted on March 25, 2013April 1, 2013 by Kbaumlier

Bicycled is a upcyling project where the frame of a bike is made out of recycled materials that come from cars from the junkyard. Lola Madrid, who is behind the project strips cars of parts such as the transmission belt, upholstery materials, and door handles and uses them to make a new bike.

Which parts are used for what purpose? The bike chain is made out of the transmission belt, the seat and handlebars are made from seat upholstery, the seat post clamp is made out of a door handle, and the bike’s safety reflective lights are made from the turn signal reflectors on the car. Each bike is unique, and he is working on developing a line of bikes.

You can watch the Bicycled video online which shows Madrid in the process of making the bikes, and contact him via the website to get your name on the list for a bike.

Image Source:
bicycledbikes.com/

Links:

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=wOB-KciTjvo

bicycledbikes.com/

Backbrat: A Portable Bicycle Grill for Bike Excursions

Posted on February 18, 2013February 26, 2013 by Kbaumlier

Today in Germnay the bratwurst is still the typical German fast-food. (maybe tied with the Doner Kabab) Many brats are named after their geographical origin, and various areas have their own brats.

Mahtias Hintermann has designed a portable grill that can be attached to a bike, making a compact and efficient way to bring grilling to any outside location.

The grill is designed with compartments that are integrated into one unit. In the grill is the

grill, an area for coal, an area for the grill tong, a boiling compartment, and the lid is also a cutting board. The size of the grill is designed to hold around 4 average brats. To use the grill, you boil them for 15 minutes, then grill for 15-20 minutes.

Hintermann has lots of research on his website to support the design, and he states that there are 500,000 commuting bikes in Germany. He also says that Germans eat 5.9 pounds of bratwurst per year.

The grill has gotten lots of press lately, and is available not just in Germay, but also in other countries. You can see more designs and learn where get on Hintermann’s website. If you like brats, why not bring them along so you can cook them on the go?

Image Source:

http://www.mathiashintermann.com

Links:

http://www.mathiashintermann.com