By Joe Hale Haden

My Art Car addictions began in the late 80’s, when I heard about a parade of ART on cars then a friend invited me to the Art Car Ball. After that, I didn’t hesitate to join in on the fun. My first Art Car Parade was a blast, and they even gave me a trophy for my efforts; I was hooked! For many years I entered the parade as a skater, then helped on group projects with other skaters, which lead to doing several cars together with the skaters, and eventually leading to doing my own Art Cars. There’s nothing like chopping up a car or cutting holes in it, and some years I helped with 6-7 Art Car projects. Working on an Art Car always lets my imagination run wild.

Driving an Art Car in the parade is like being shot out of a cannon for an hour and a half; what a great adrenaline rush! It also gave me a deadline for a huge project. Each year I had to do something new and completely different, so each year got harder and harder to be original, but my imagination has never let me down... even after 30 years. Driving an Art Car on a daily basis is a complete world of its own; everyone’s your friend. Panhandlers don’t ask me for money, instead, they want to talk to talk about the car. In an Art Car, I’ve never had concerns about being in neighborhoods where I might otherwise be worried. The best part is that you can instantly find your car in a big parking lot!

Through the years, winning not only 1st, but 1st & 2nd place Art Car in one year was one of my most amazing experiences! I have missed the parades scheduled for 2020 & 2021 but I’m hopeful for 2022, and I have a great idea and car waiting.

By Joe Hale Haden

The struggle between being an artist and an engineer is a dance of disciplines which I enjoy. Rules, rules, rules, and then... My art plays with breaking the rules; it can be a paradox and my sense of humor can usually be found in some manner when viewing the work. It takes knowing how to make a strong design then pushing it to defy the rules. My proudest moments in art would have to be when the ideas in my head play out and I can physically create or reproduce the idea successfully.

A few years ago, after injuring my leg and needing to learn to walk again, I had the time to hang out with my friend Mik Miano who taught me how to “cold bend” metal. This started a new journey for me and began my love for metal; it just felt right. I feel metal picked me, and it just took me a while to get on board.

Finding ideas for my artwork is simple: My imagination has full power of attorney when it comes to an endless supply of great and outlandish projects. I’m only limited by time and money usually, and that is why I love found objects. They are free and give me constant inspiration; by working with found objects, there aren’t many rules, so this allows me to break rules in a harmonious way. Some of my work has a lot of contradiction, but somehow it works out for a beautiful piece of art to emerge from that contradiction. I don’t have enough time on this planet to produce all of the ideas I have in my head, and I’m OK with that... It gives me the opportunity to keep coming back for more.