Burlingame Buzz VIDEO: Burlingame's World Famous Toothpick Artist
Steven Backman is the world's most famous toothpick artist. I came across Steven while reading the Extraordinary Burlingamer list, which was compiled in honor of the Burlingame Centennial celebration several years ago. I went to Steven's website and was mesmerized by his unique art form...I found myself staring in awe at the photos on his website wondering how a person could possibly build something by hand out of thousands of toothpicks, and I knew he would be just the right person to feature on Burlingame Buzz. You can see more examples of Steven's work at toothpickart.com.
To watch the video in HD, once you click the play button below, click the "360p" button in the bottom right and choose "720pHD". I've also had this video closed captioned for the benefit of those who are hearing impaired, so make sure to click the "CC" button in the bottom right of the video player to activate it.
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A short transcript of the video:
Raziel: I'm Raziel Ungar and you're watching Burlingame Buzz, and today we're gonna meet with Steven Backman, the internationally-regarded toothpick guy.
Steven: I'm Steven Backman, a.k.a. "The toothpick guy." I've been living in Burlingame 9 years and I love it. I'm a toothpick artist. I use a unique medium to create unusual art and my passion are little sticks of wood. And I'm able to achieve any shape, form, curve with toothpicks like people could achieve with paint. My art became recognized when I started making San Francisco landmarks and I started making cable cars, but my claim to fame is The Golden Gate Bridge. Thirty thousand toothpicks and glue. Thirteen feet long. Took 2 & 1/2 years to make. It's currently on the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum in Hollywood, California. I was honored as an extraordinary Burlingamer a couple of years ago for the centennial celebration of Burlingame and that was really an honor for me. I've lived here for the past 9 years, and I chose Burlingame because it's very relaxed and I enjoy Burlingame Avenue, so that's why I live here.
