makerfaire.com:

Maker Faire Bay Area 2009
Escape From Berkeley (by any non-petroleum means necessary)

Location: West Gate Grass Area G

"Escape from Berkeley (by any non petroleum means necessary)" is a road rally of alternatively powered vehicles from Berkeley, California to the US-Mexican Border. Part engineering problem, part artistic opportunity, the rally challenges contestants to start their "engines" on something other than petroleum based fuel, and by any means necessary, cause their "vehicles" show up at the border five days later - using only fuels/power/motive force scavenged for free along the route. "Some entries will arrive at the start line with extreme technical innovation. Others will arrive with only creative excess. The best entries, as well as the likely winners, will need to arrive with both." - Jim Mason

Web site: www.escapefromberkeley.com

Project photo.

About the Maker(s)

Jessica Hobbs Artist Jessica Hobbs has exhibited her solo and collaborative work nationally and internationally. She is an MFA graduate from the San Francisco Art Institute. Her collaborative project with Felecia Carlisle, Wedding Portraits, (http://www.sfartscommission. org/pubart/projects/market/ kiosk/archive/2005.htm) was chosen for San Francisco Art Commission's Art On Market Street Kiosk Poster Series and most recently exhibited by special invitation at the LH Horton Gallery. She is currently working, by invitation from Los Angeles' Department of Cultural Affairs, to develop installations for the LA River revitalization project. Her video work has also been recently included in a new experimental video program at the St. Louis Contemporary Art Center. One of the primary focuses of Jessica's work is artistic collaboration. This formally began with her collaborative performance work at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she earned her undergraduate degree. She continued to investigate collaboration through her work directing and curating, the Crucible Steel Gallery (http://www.cellspace.org/ programs/crucible_steel.php), a San Francisco non-profit gallery. Currently she is one of the directors of the local Center for Art and Energy the Shipyard Labs. A facility, information resource and gathering of people engaged in art and creative power hacking; a place to experiment with power generation and conversion as an idiom and medium of art. (http://www.theshipyard.org/) Her primary collaboration, for the last 6 years, has been has been as project director, artist, designer, and fabricator within the women-organized installation group the Flaming Lotus Girls (http://www.flaminglotus.com). She has participated and lead a number of large-scale sculptural projects with this group. Coordinating, organizing, and bringing work to the Burning Man Festival in Nevada, USA, the Fire Arts Festival in Oakland, CA, the Robodock Festival in Amsterdam, NL, Big Day Out traveling throughout Australia, and numerous other events.