12,000 Christmas Lights Illuminate This Ginormous Dragon

Art & Sculpture Craft & Design
Photo by Kevin Rolly

In 2001 Sean Sobczak left Burning Man feeling inspired. He had never built a thing. “I bought a few hundred feet of wire and a few tools, went home, and began bending the wire. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was learning every day and really enjoying the process.”

sandmandragons1

His first projects were three illuminated sea horses. From there the sculptures kept getting larger until he built his 25-foot-long dragon, which has 700 “scales” and is lit with 12,000 Christmas lights.

sandmandragons2

When embarking on a project of this magnitude, Sobczak first sketches out a basic outline and writes lists of details he wants to include. He welds together the internal structure with support for armature and lighting, and makes sure that there’s a way to break it down for transportation.

The details are accomplished by working the wire with his thumbs and a pair of pliers. For a final touch, Sobczak adds lights and fabric. “This softens everything up by adding some color, and the wire work, backlit by the internal illumination, shows up as dark lines through the fabric skin.”

Discuss this article with the rest of the community on our Discord server!
Tagged

A typical day for Lisa includes: getting up to see the sunrise, bicycling, interning at Make:, reading and writing short stories, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts for hours while working on projects or chores.

View more articles by Lisa Martin

ADVERTISEMENT

Maker Faire Bay Area 2023 - Mare Island, CA

Escape to an island of imagination + innovation as Maker Faire Bay Area returns for its 15th iteration!

Buy Tickets today! SAVE 15% and lock-in your preferred date(s).

FEEDBACK