Coming soon to a festival, fundraising event, or street fair near you . . . the FUNrazer: Functionally Unorthodox Nomadic Roving ArtZ Education Rig.
A partnership with Kevin Deetz, a glassblower and classic car enthusiast with nearly 20 years' experience around hot shops and heavy equipment, this project is a unique platform that fluidly adapts to interact with audiences in a wide range of settings. Read on to find out more about our vision of how a fully mobile, self-contained art school built from a modified schoolbus can inspire and empower audiences with access to a state-of-the-art hotshop for art glass, metal and ceramics. This project is under consideration for a grant from Black Rock Arts Foundation.
A fully mobile, self-contained art school, the FUNrazer is a modified Bluebird school bus that unfolds into a 24’ round, raised platform which accommodates a DJ stage and state-of-the-art sound and lighting system, as well as a complete hotshop equipped for making art glass, metal and ceramics.
Currently, the FUNrazer exists as a functioning prototype. It has hosted events locally and has successfully completed a longer maiden voyage to participate in the Raindance music festival. FUNrazer’s unique design allows it to travel on highways as a registered, street-legal vehicle, which unfolds from 8’ wide to a 24’ platform covered with a 12’ high dome that can be assembled by two people in 2-hours.
The dome accommodates a removable second floor ‘chill space’ and a removable cover that provides shade in the day and a vast canvas for projected light shows at night.
Much of the FUNrazer’s hotshop equipment – including a portable furnace, glory holes, kiln, welders and coldworking equipment – has already been procured; the complete application will outline the steps necessary to adapt and secure this equipment to the mobile platform. The design allows all equipment to slide securely and compactly out of the way when not being used as a teaching platform. Thus the FUNrazer can provide a stage, hangout space, dance floor and art workshop, giving the flexibility that is so crucial when working in a variety of settings, from benefits to urban “pop-up” events, installations and street fairs.
Based on the artist’s nearly 20 years’ experience consulting, building, and teaching in glass studios and hotshops, the FUNrazer is designed to accommodate up to 60 students per three-hour session, in three separate mediums: glass, clay and metal.
We are currently seeking support to build upon structures already in place to complete our vision: a traveling interactive art space that can be used for community education, as well as fundraising for a variety of clients working to prioritize art, creativity and community engagement. A number of likeminded organizations and nonprofits have already expressed interest in teaming up with us to meet these goals.
The FUNrazer aims to provide an all-in-one resource for arts organizations working to raise money in a unique and positive way and for events looking to add an interactive and educational component, based on a belief in the power of the arts to open minds, spur creativity, and build communities.
Hot arts can be perceived as expensive, dangerous and inaccessible. Creating a streamlined unit to bring these artisan skills to the public is a way of lowering the barrier to entry for those who might otherwise never gain exposure to these dramatic and compelling artforms, let alone find a way to access and pay for instruction. By making arts education available through a mobile platform, and by using this platform to raise money that will further support the arts, we hope to ignite the spark of creativity in children and adults.