City of 100,000 toothpicks

I’m sure some of you have already seen this, as it’s over 35 years in the making. For roughly 3000 hours over those 35 years, artist Scott Weaver has been working on “Rolling Through the Bay,” an incredible 9-foot kinetic sculpture of San Francisco and Muir woods, created in painstaking detail out of nothing but toothpicks and Elmer’s glue. The sculpture, which is currently on display at the California State Fair, is not only an amazing representation of the city, but it’s also essentially a Rube Goldberg contraption: ping pong/antenna balls twist and turn through a series of mazes running throughout the landscape.

More pictures, facts and photo credits about this unbelievable piece after the jump.

Weaver used different brands of toothpicks for different portions of the piece, including some brought to him by friends and family from world travels; he even created a heart housed within the sculpture’s Palace of Fine Arts out of toothpicks thrown by well-wishers at his wedding.

Weaver, who hails from a family of three generations of San Franciscans, has been building toothpick sculptures since he was 8 years old.

Here’s a video of the sculpture in action.

Photo & Video Credits
1: Laura Chenault for artbusiness.com
2, 3, 4, 6, 7: Scott Weaver
5: Lianne Milton for The Chronicle
Video: The Press Democrat via Ryan Huston