All From Just Toothpicks
Models of Early 20th Century Ocean liners
And ships from the Age of Sail
By Folk Artist Wayne Kusy
www.WayneKusy.com waynekusy@sbcglobal.net
For Immediate Release
25 Foot Toothpick Queen Mary to Exhibit in
Algonquin’s Village Hall
Contact Wayne Kusy
Artist
(773) 784-3379
On December 5th 2005, Wayne Kusy’s 25 foot toothpick sculpture of the Queen Mary (1936) will join the public art exhibit in progress in Algonquin, Illinois. It will be displayed in the village hall along with artwork from other artists at 2200 Harnish Drive in Algonquin.. The admission is free of charge and the Queen Mary will be on display through February 2006.
This will be the first major exhibit of the Queen Mary as a finished piece. Until this time, it has exhibited nationally as a work in progress since 1997. After 8 years of work, folk artist Wayne Kusy has completed his largest toothpick undertaking. At 814,000 toothpicks, the Queen Mary is 25 feet long from stem to stern, 3 feet wide from port to starboard, and 6 feet high from keel to the top of the masts. It is built in 6 sections to transport from his Lincoln Square apartment in Chicago. The entire installation process is expected to take 4 hours.
Wayne Kusy is an internationally acclaimed Folk Artist who builds large scale ocean liners out of toothpicks and wood glue. What started as a grammar school art class project in 5th grade, evolved into a life long hobby which was officially recognized as ‘Outsider Folk Art’ in 1993. Since then, he has exhibited nationally at the nation’s top galleries and museums. He has a long term exhibit in Baltimore’s American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM) with his 16 foot replica of the Lusitania. The AVAM museum is considered the nation’s top ‘Outsider Folk Art’ museum, created by an act of congress in 1994. His work has appeared in every major American newspaper including write ups in European and UK publications. His biggest feat of publicity came in the August 1997 edition of People Magazine, with Princess Dianne’s last living photo on the cover.
With the official launching of the Queen Mary, Wayne Kusy will have more space to build more toothpick projects. His next will be an 8 foot replica of the famous British tea clipper Cutty Sark.
www.waynekusy.com