San Francisco artist Steven Backman has made this piece depicting one of the engagement photos of Kate Middleton and Prince William out of toothpicks. (Photo: Steven Backman, toothpickart.com)
A San Francisco artist has used a unique medium to create a piece of artwork to commemorate the royal wedding: Toothpicks.
Steven Backman told me he’s always been fascinated by the royal family.
“I had the opportunity of meeting Prince Charles and Camilla in November of 2005 during their U.S. tour. This inspired me to make a toothpick portrait of Queen Elizabeth II,” he said via e-mail. “And now the Royal couple’s wedding is approaching, I thought that it would be nice to create a portrait of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The likeness took 137 toothpicks, some glue and a lot of patience over a period of three weeks to complete.”
Backman did this portrait of the Queen using 80 toothpicks. It's worth checking out his website to see what other creative things he's done with toothpicks. (Photo: Steven Backman, toothpickart.com)
The toothpick portrait appears on his website, Toothpick Art.
His bio says Backman has been creating toothpick sculptures since he was a child and had to do a science project of DNA molecules. He has a bachelor of arts degree in industrial arts from the San Francisco State University and runs a toothpick art business called Landmarks of San Francisco.
He believes in “the essence of patience.”
I would think so.
These might look like simple pieces to put together, but have you ever dropped a bunch of toothpicks and then tried to pick them up? It’s hard – so I would imagine doing artwork with them would be equally frustrating – but clearly very rewarding for Backman, who also has pictures of Barack Obama, Buzz Aldrin, Oprah, and some really amazing sculptures of items like the Brooklyn Bridge and abstract pieces.
Backman said he will “definitely” be watching the royal wedding on TV on April 29.
“I watched Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s wedding and was was totally mesmerized by the experience. I’m sure I will feel the same way about this one,” he said.