Tool loving lord of the plywood racetrack
http://www.pacificpublishingcompany.com/site/tab3. [2008-6-26]
Tag : Welding Screw
"We've got a lot of surprises planned, but I don't want to be toospecific," said Oliver, who noted that he and his fellow raceorganizers are trying to be more orchestrated and provide a better,more entertaining pace for the event. "Were' just planning more.It's been really improvisational until now."
A high-end metal fabricator and sculptor by trade, Oliver, age 37,takes on unusual and challenging work that's primarily ornamentalin nature. His clients are typically seeking something special forthings like nightclub ventures or personal passions, such asyachts. Oliver also sells his own work out of his 2,200-square-footshop in South Park (he was recently forced to move from Georgetowndue to a lease issue), which he said generates about 30 percent ofhis current income.
It's this personal welding of work and art that served as thenatural creative spark for the power tool races, a spark that wasstruck during Oliver's time at Evergreen State College.
While studying international political economics at Evergreen,Oliver also found himself working in the school's metal shop. InNovember 1999 he took his fabricating talents and political savvyto the streets of Seattle, literally, for the World TradeOrganization protests. At the intersections of Third and Pine andThird and Pike he erected two steel performance stages that alsoacted as traffic barriers.
The mix of work, art and politics served him well, and he foundhimself traveling to San Francisco to work with the legendaryunderground industrial art collective Survival Research Labs(www.srl.org), founded in the spring of 1978 by Mark Pauline.
"I had been volunteering now and again with Survival Research Labsin San Francisco," Oliver recalled. "I really liked what they weredoing, and there was nothing like that in Seattle."
He decided to take his own avant-garde notions, technical skillsand political training to form the Hazardfactory. Founded in 2001,Hazardfactory is an ongoing, volunteer-based industrial artcollaborative whose largest show is currently the power tool race.
But the race didn't get its creative impetus until Oliver toldGeorgetown Old School Carnival organizer Dave Stern of All CityCoffee his desire to host a power tool race like the ones he knewabout in San Francisco. Stern invited him to do it at the carnivalsince the necessary street vacation permits from the city hadalready been obtained.
"We thought it'd be a really good, natural fit and people wouldenjoy it," said Oliver.
They were right. Not only have the crowds embraced the nutty notionof watching a model-rocket powered toaster blaze down the track, adiverse group of sponsors representing a vibrant cross section ofGeorgetown and SODO culture has backed them with fabricationmaterial and prize donations. Hooverville, Georgetown LiquorControl, Culture Mob, Tacoma Screw, Jules Maes Saloon, CharterConstruction, Georgetown Truck Stop, Calamity Janes, Nine Poundhammer, Full Throttle Bottle, Smarty Pants, and TBH Sterling, Inc.are all on Hazardfactory's power tool band-saw wagon.
Oliver also noted that the Hazardfactory race is much more informaland flexible rules-wise and features a wilder aesthetic than itsdistant San Francisco cousin. Guiding the tools down the twin,80-foot long plywood tracks are the race rules reflecting, andencouraging, this spirit.
The first is all about safety: "participants are solely responsiblefor constructing safe devices, inspecting them and operating themin a safe manner." Taking this a step further, Oliver said a newaddition to the race will be a trial run for all racers to ensurethey adhere to this first rule. He is expecting upwards of 30 thisyear, but there could be more due to the race's last minuteregistration allowance.
With safety put first, midway down the list the true intention ofthe race shines through with a rule that states, "Judges may, andprobably will, amend rules to keep people entertained."
For Oliver and the rest of his Hazardfactory crew, this is what thepower tool races are all about: sheer fun, albeit with realelements of harm worked in if you're not on your proverbial toes.
"We [judge] it in more of an applause-o-meter style," Oliverasserted, adding that their decisions are based on speed,aesthetics, humor, and sometimes whether or not a racer explodes."Were doing it based on entertainment. It's almost a pageant. Ifwe're amused, it's a winning proposition. We finish the races whenevery single race tool is demolished or crippled. Were' hoping toget a five hour show this year."
Pyrotechnics aside, Oliver also values the friendships andcommunity building that have risen from the race and the sense ofliberation the event provides.
"We're going out and doing something just totally ridiculous in ourown berg. You author events regardless of convention, and that's animportant thing to do now more than ever," Oliver asserted. "Ithelps you preserve your own mental sense of freedom. You needpeople that are active and engaged in your own community topreserve that."
The 2008 Seattle Power Tool Race and Derby will be held on June 28near the intersection of South Harney Street and 12th Avenue Southby the I-5 overpass. New this year to the race is a demolitionderby and a power-tool ski-ball game featuring rotating 55-gallondrums with prizes inside going to the racer who makes the shot.
"We've got a lot of surprises planned, but I don't want to be toospecific," said Oliver, who noted that he and his fellow raceorganizers are trying to be more orchestrated and provide a better,more entertaining pace for the event. "Were' just planning more.It's been really improvisational until now."
A high-end metal fabricator and sculptor by trade, Oliver, age 37,takes on unusual and challenging work that's primarily ornamentalin nature. His clients are typically seeking something special forthings like nightclub ventures or personal passions, such asyachts. Oliver also sells his own work out of his 2,200-square-footshop in South Park (he was recently forced to move from Georgetowndue to a lease issue), which he said generates about 30 percent ofhis current income.
It's this personal welding of work and art that served as thenatural creative spark for the power tool races, a spark that wasstruck during Oliver's time at Evergreen State College.
While studying international political economics at Evergreen,Oliver also found himself working in the school's metal shop. InNovember 1999 he took his fabricating talents and political savvyto the streets of Seattle, literally, for the World TradeOrganization protests. At the intersections of Third and Pine andThird and Pike he erected two steel performance stages that alsoacted as traffic barriers.
The mix of work, art and politics served him well, and he foundhimself traveling to San Francisco to work with the legendaryunderground industrial art collective Survival Research Labs(www.srl.org), founded in the spring of 1978 by Mark Pauline.
"I had been volunteering now and again with Survival Research Labsin San Francisco," Oliver recalled. "I really liked what they weredoing, and there was nothing like that in Seattle."
He decided to take his own avant-garde notions, technical skillsand political training to form the Hazardfactory. Founded in 2001,Hazardfactory is an ongoing, volunteer-based industrial artcollaborative whose largest show is currently the power tool race.
But the race didn't get its creative impetus until Oliver toldGeorgetown Old School Carnival organizer Dave Stern of All CityCoffee his desire to host a power tool race like the ones he knewabout in San Francisco. Stern invited him to do it at the carnivalsince the necessary street vacation permits from the city hadalready been obtained.
"We thought it'd be a really good, natural fit and people wouldenjoy it," said Oliver.
They were right. Not only have the crowds embraced the nutty notionof watching a model-rocket powered toaster blaze down the track, adiverse group of sponsors representing a vibrant cross section ofGeorgetown and SODO culture has backed them with fabricationmaterial and prize donations. Hooverville, Georgetown LiquorControl, Culture Mob, Tacoma Screw, Jules Maes Saloon, CharterConstruction, Georgetown Truck Stop, Calamity Janes, Nine Poundhammer, Full Throttle Bottle, Smarty Pants, and TBH Sterling, Inc.are all on Hazardfactory's power tool band-saw wagon.
Oliver also noted that the Hazardfactory race is much more informaland flexible rules-wise and features a wilder aesthetic than itsdistant San Francisco cousin. Guiding the tools down the twin,80-foot long plywood tracks are the race rules reflecting, andencouraging, this spirit.
The first is all about safety: "participants are solely responsiblefor constructing safe devices, inspecting them and operating themin a safe manner." Taking this a step further, Oliver said a newaddition to the race will be a trial run for all racers to ensurethey adhere to this first rule. He is expecting upwards of 30 thisyear, but there could be more due to the race's last minuteregistration allowance.
With safety put first, midway down the list the true intention ofthe race shines through with a rule that states, "Judges may, andprobably will, amend rules to keep people entertained."
For Oliver and the rest of his Hazardfactory crew, this is what thepower tool races are all about: sheer fun, albeit with realelements of harm worked in if you're not on your proverbial toes.
"We [judge] it in more of an applause-o-meter style," Oliverasserted, adding that their decisions are based on speed,aesthetics, humor, and sometimes whether or not a racer explodes."Were doing it based on entertainment. It's almost a pageant. Ifwe're amused, it's a winning proposition. We finish the races whenevery single race tool is demolished or crippled. Were' hoping toget a five hour show this year."
Pyrotechnics aside, Oliver also values the friendships andcommunity building that have risen from the race and the sense ofliberation the event provides.
"We're going out and doing something just totally ridiculous in ourown berg. You author events regardless of convention, and that's animportant thing to do now more than ever," Oliver asserted. "Ithelps you preserve your own mental sense of freedom. You needpeople that are active and engaged in your own community topreserve that."
The 2008 Seattle Power Tool Race and Derby will be held on June 28near the intersection of South Harney Street and 12th Avenue Southby the I-5 overpass. New this year to the race is a demolitionderby and a power-tool ski-ball game featuring rotating 55-gallondrums with prizes inside going to the racer who makes the shot.
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