Skip to main content
Sister Publication Links
  • Rubber News
  • European Rubber Journal
Subscribe
  • Login
  • Register
  • Subscribe
  • Current Issue
  • Mid-Year Report
  • ADAS
  • News
    • OPINION
    • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
    • COMMERCIAL TIRE
    • GOVERNMENT & LAW
    • Humanitarian Award
    • RETAIL TIRES
    • SERVICE ZONE
    • TIRE MAKERS
    • Best Places to Work
    • RUSSIA WAR IN UKRAINE
  • Data
    • DATA STORE
  • Custom
    • SPONSORED CONTENT
  • Resources
    • Events
    • DIRECTORY
    • CLASSIFIEDS
    • SHOP FLOOR
    • AWARDS
    • ASK THE EXPERT
    • LIVESTREAMS
    • WEBINARS
    • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
    • RUBBER NEWS EVENTS
    • BALANCING
    • DEMOUNTING
    • SAFETY
    • TIRE REPAIR
    • TPMS
    • TRAINING
    • VEHICLE LIFTING
    • WHEEL TORQUE
    • Best Places to Work
  • ADVERTISE
  • DIGITAL EDITION
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. News
June 07, 1999 02:00 AM

GATORS TO CROWS: ALA. ARTIST TRANSFORMS TREADS

Vera Fedchenko
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Print

    BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—An artist has metamorphosed discarded truck tire ``gators'' into masterpieces. In a display room at Birmingham-Southern College's Environmental Center, nine crows made of truck tire gators are suspended on springs to show visitors ways to recycle and reuse waste products.

    The birds were created by Randy Gachet, a 33-year-old construction worker and art graduate from Birmingham-Southern, who picked up tire gators off the side of highways and transformed the junk rubber into a work of art.

    ``I've always been drawn to fine materials and objects,'' Mr. Gachet said. ``That's the basis of my work. It's kind of a natural evolution for me to get to this point with tires.''

    Fascinated with crows and having heard of Earthship homes constructed out of tires in the Southwest, Mr. Gachet noticed that some of the curled up treads along the highways resembled bird wings. He saw patterns on flat tread pieces that suggested feathers, and the black rubber was the perfect color and texture for a crow.

    Mr. Gachet went to work on the treads he collected, making flat, cut-out crows with a basic body shape. He found that as the steel belts in the treads came off in strips, he could cut the rubber into pieces more easily and fashion the body with feathers, giving the form a three-dimensional shape.

    Mr. Gachet had created other art pieces, including crows, out of wood, copper and burlap, but not from tire treads, he said. The subject and material came together better than he originally envisioned.

    ``It was kind of magical in the way it happened,'' he said.

    Mr. Gachet initially made eight crows and displayed them in a local art gallery during the fall of 1998. Roald Hazelhoff, director of Birmingham-Southern's Environmental Center, saw the crows at the exhibit and persuaded the college to commission Mr. Gachet to create more crows out of tire treads for the center.

    The college's Environmental Center, frequented by 20,000 visitors annually, displays how individuals can reuse waste to help clean up the environment, according to Mr. Hazelhoff.

    A number of art works made from trash are exhibited in the center, including a garden containing sculptures made from discarded Volkswagen parts. Mr. Gachet constructed nine more crows from tire treads for the center. The rubber figures are true-to-life scale, measuring 20 inches from beak to tail with a 2-foot wingspan, Mr. Gachet said.

    The birds have been displayed in the center since April.

    Mr. Gachet's work may not create a new means to clean up the environment, but it can change the public's perceptions of not only cast-off tire treads—which most believe, rightly or wrongly, are retreads—but of all waste, Mr. Hazelhoff said.

    ``The essential message is to help redefine trash and waste so that people can start perceiving it as having value,'' Mr. Hazelhoff said.

    In the future, Mr. Gachet plans to continue using truck tire treads in his art work. He envisions creating other animals, such as snakes, from the discarded treads, which he said are in abundance along Alabama's highways.

    ``There's plenty of material (treads). If I wanted to stick with it, I think I could stay in business for a while.''

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Do you have an opinion about this story? Do you have some thoughts you'd like to share with our readers? Tire Business would love to hear from you. Email your letter to Editor Don Detore at [email protected].

    Most Popular
    1
    Average executive salaries found in Tire Talent report
    2
    Conti rolls out new taglines for Conti, General brands
    3
    Our View: Groups celebrate past by looking to future
    4
    Discount Tire installs RoboTire at Arizona store
    5
    TBC Brands expands Pennsylvania distribution warehouse
    SIGN UP FOR NEWSLETTERS
    EMAIL ADDRESS

    Please enter a valid email address.

    Please enter your email address.

    Please verify captcha.

    Please select at least one newsletter to subscribe.

    Newsletter Center

    Staying current is easy with Tire Business delivered straight to your inbox.

    SUBSCRIBE TODAY

    Subscribe to Tire Business

    SUBSCRIBE
    Connect with Us
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Tire Business is an award-winning publication dedicated to providing the latest news, data and insights into the tire and automotive service industries.

    Reader Services
    • Staff
    • About Us
    • Site Map
    • Industry Sites
    • Order Reprints
    • Customer Service: 877-320-1716
    Partner Sites
    • Rubber News
    • European Rubber Journal
    • Automotive News
    • Plastics News
    • Urethanes Technology
    RESOURCES
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    • Terms of Service
    • Media Guide
    • Editorial Calendar
    • Classified Rates
    • Digital Edition
    • Careers
    • Ad Choices Ad Choices
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Mid-Year Report
    • ADAS
    • News
      • OPINION
      • BUSINESS/FINANCIAL
      • COMMERCIAL TIRE
      • GOVERNMENT & LAW
      • Humanitarian Award
      • RETAIL TIRES
      • SERVICE ZONE
      • TIRE MAKERS
      • Best Places to Work
      • RUSSIA WAR IN UKRAINE
    • Data
      • DATA STORE
    • Custom
      • SPONSORED CONTENT
    • Resources
      • Events
        • ASK THE EXPERT
        • LIVESTREAMS
        • WEBINARS
        • SEMA LIVESTREAMS
        • RUBBER NEWS EVENTS
      • DIRECTORY
      • CLASSIFIEDS
      • SHOP FLOOR
        • BALANCING
        • DEMOUNTING
        • SAFETY
        • TIRE REPAIR
        • TPMS
        • TRAINING
        • VEHICLE LIFTING
        • WHEEL TORQUE
      • AWARDS
        • Best Places to Work
    • ADVERTISE
    • DIGITAL EDITION