Many, many months ago I bought a homemade, used tamale cart on a total whim from the nicest guy who told me he made the cart and that he and his daughter used to go around town together selling tamales. It was just too cute to pass up even if I didn’t have a plan for it.
It sat outside my studio for months before I was inspired to give it the name of El Carrito de Arte or The Little Art Cart and even more weeks passed and I finally designed a sticker for it. All of this with still no plan of what it was really going to turn into. Eventually I used some found materials to make a lid for it which I wrapped in some recycled burlap and I lined the inside of it with some more burlap, double sided tape and zip ties, totally making it up as I went. I made a few hooks to hang Art Hearts off the side of it and some chimes for the handle to tinkle when it moved around.
Eventually I came up with a plan to support the lid better so that it could be shifted to be a table for the top of the cart. I found wood boxes that fit to support work on the inside of the cart and also double as a place to store the work when the cart was closed up. And then I found this pink table runner (which matched my kid size bike wheels so perfectly!) that made a divided area under the table so that I could store wrapping supplies and overstock items, making them accessible but also hidden.
Honestly, it makes me smile every time I look at it and I especially love that other than the pink tablecloth, everything was repurposed to make this carrito de arte. I still need some air in my tires and a little lube for turning, but this carrito is ready to make her showing at the next exhibition. And if there’s a truck or trailer in my future, I’ll be able to transfer her around town hawking my wares.
