What Else Can We Do WithToothpicks?

When one thinks of toothpicks, what comes to mind? I think of it as an ephemeral object, an object that is not meant to last. After you eat dinner, you use a toothpick to pick out the gunk between your teeth. That’s it right? Apparently not. A toothpick can be used for other purposes—in this case, art. For example, in 1977, Scott Weaver recreated the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge exclusively using toothpicks and Elmer’s glue. He loved it so much that he turned down a $40,000 offer to purchase the sculpture by Ripley’s Believe or Not. There is so much detail in this masterpiece that took him 3,000 hours to build.  This 20-pound, 9-foot piece contains great elements of composition and contrast.

Another example is Saimir Strati’s mosaic called Relentless Spirit which contains 1.5 million toothpicks that he worked on for 40 days. Such patience and detail are put into this endeavor, it’s tremendous. The length of the different parts of the horse gives it texture and contrast. It makes the horse look three dimensional and makes it look alive instead of a static image. Even the simplest items at home, such as a toothpick, can be put into other uses like art.

Toothpicks, we tend to think of them strictly as items that we use to pick our teeth with. To some, however, it is another way to design things.