The main goal behind Maker Faires is to bring families and individuals together and to showcase creative ideas. Makers at the Salt Lake Mini Maker Faire shared their dreams, crafts and inspiration with visitors.
“I was blown away by the art [at Burning Man] – the size of it, the mobility of it and the technology behind it,” says artist Jared Gallardo. “It was such an impactful experience for me that I wanted to do something to help create more of the same for others to have that experience.”
Gallardo started his Jellyfish 12000 sculpture-on-wheels with a 1976 Dodge sportsman van. The one-time 12-passenger van was stripped of metal and built up to become an interactive piece of art.
It now contains seating for 22 people, a DJ booth, 3000-watt sound system and 700-watt lighting system with a unique software package designed to create complex light patterns across the dome.
“If people are working and they understand what goes into something, they start to look at things differently,” says metal smith Nile Fahmy. “It becomes more precious.”
Fahmy creates custom jewelry from reclaimed metals, a craft that he started when he was six years old.
“It’s all about the process,” says Fahmy. “If people do not practice our traditional art skills, craft skills, they aren’t going to be here.”
“Crazy with passion”
Both Gallardo and Fahmy say that their art was not an overnight quick fix. But it takes time and dedication to fulfill those dreams.
“I don’t know that you necessarily do something like this unless you’re deeply moved by something,” says Gallardo. “It was a lot of work and took almost a year to build it. You almost have to be crazy with passion to do something like that.”
Gallardo had a full-time job yet still managed to spend 30 hours per week in a dirty warehouse covered in metal filings, working to exhaustion day after day.
“I had a feverish passion as a result of my personal experience,” says Gallardo. “I couldn’t stop myself. I did it because I had to.”
Fahmy is inspired to use reclaimed material from a quote from “The Count of Monte Christo” — “the box came from a time where artistry and craft made the basis of metals precious.”
He feels that the process of making something should give the item value not just the material that it was made from.
Dreams come in many forms
Some dreams are literal sleeping dreams, and others are dreams of creating something for other people to enjoy.
“I don’t think we talk about dreams enough. It is something that’s a reflection of our unconscious,” says artist and dream collector Whitney Noziskova.
Noziskova is on the quest to collect and share people’s sleeping dreams. She believes that it is important to start conversations about dreams people have.
“People in cultures who talk about their dreams and make it a priority have less violence,” says Noziskova. “If you’re able to express these really intense emotions and discuss them and find out what they mean it kind of diffuse some of the tensions we have in our culture.”
For more information on Gallardo visit jellyfish12000.com. For more information on Fahmy visit tattooedtinker.com. For information on Noziskova’s dream project visit whitneynoziskova.com/dream-case-blog/.
