Name/Title
194, Sarah Gish, Iggy the IgniterTags
=, #Description
---- IGGY the Igniter is the 4th car that has been the mascot for my IGNITE YOUR LIFE! art project (www.IgniteYourOwnLife.com) that I started in 2013 and the 5th daily driver art car I have made since 2003.
Everything on my cars is carefully thought out and has meaning. My second car for the project, PHOENIX RISING Art Car, was born out of my HUBBA HUBBA art car catching on fire in Phoenix, AZ! So the story of the Phoenix bird has been central to my creations. The cars following PHOENIX RISING were also Phoenixes. The LOVE IGNITES! mobile was a re-working of PHOENIX RISING because I felt she needed a new identity that would closer align with my vision for honoring my brother. That car won First Place in the Art Car Parade 2022.
IGGY rose from her "ashes" because I sadly totaled LOVE IGNITES! on the exact 9-year anniversary of the PHOENIX RISING car fire. The number 9 is important to my project as a symbol of endings and beginnings – so I was spurred on by the idea that IGGY is not only a “Phoenix” but also a symbol of new beginnings. She has LOVE! on her front windshield as a reminder to me that it is love that ignites lives -- and her license plate spells out I9NITE (with a 9 for the G) in homage to that.
The theme of fire and ignition is important to me and has been used as inspiration for all my IGNITE YOUR LIFE! cars. Fire is made of 4 colors (yellow, orange, red, blue) so those are the only colors I use. They also correspond to chakras 1, 2, 3, and 5, with which I resonate as well.
In addition to literal ignition by fire, I am also curious about what ignites people’s souls. I wrote "12 Ways to Ignite Your Life Daily" after interviewing hundreds of people about how they ignite their lives. Those 12 Ways are on the car doors as a reminder to me and to others about how to spark up your world. The Ways to ignite are: trust, nourish, meditate, commune, listen, love, serve, forgive, thank, create, learn, laugh. Doing the 12 Ways daily is a firewall to addiction, anxiety, depression, and isolation. I have used my list many times and it really has helped!
The car has 43 hearts on it in honor of my brother Geoffrey Gish who died of alcoholism at 43 years old. He is the reason I created my IGNITE YOUR LIFE! project. I am dedicated to sharing about my own journey with mental health -- and IGGY is a springboard for that as I also tell my brother's story. I share my story of being sober since 1985 and being bi-polar and formerly bulimic. I am open about all of that so that people realize that they are not alone and that they can get help. Having mental health challenges can enrich your life, not disable it.
Lastly, IGGY is ignited with sunshine. There is a sun on the hood and on the trunk as the guiding inspiration for the entire car. It's powered by sun energy! This is a positive form of ignition, one that is good medicine. As Benjamin Franklin said: “Keep in the sunshine” – focus on the good in your life. I teach about that as I write and speak about the car.
My art and my life are always connected, and I am so happy to use this car as a tool to change the world!---- I am a lifelong artist and life-aholic who is curious about the world and what's in it. I love to ignite lives and create connections and am passionate about changing the world for the better with my art and my work and my life.
I am inspired by brave people -- the ones who speak out, the ones who take chances to create, the ones who are compassionate, the ones who share what they know. I am inspired by my art car friends -- we are crazy enough to pizzazz our ride for all to see! I'm especially inspired by daily drivers because our car is a mobile canvas and we have to allow people to see our works-in-progress, we can't hide our art in a studio. We leave smiles everywhere we go and there's a parade whenever 2 or more of us are gathered!
I decided to make art cars in 2003 because I had been volunteering for the Orange Show and desperately wanted my own wacky car. I felt like my cars were too new -- but when I totaled my Jeep (yes, wrecking cars is a theme with me -- WAS a theme), I bought a friend's very used Toyota Tercel. That was the beginning of my adventure! There were 3 years after that car died that I didn't turn my car into an art car -- they were sooo miserable that I promised myself I would ALWAYS be an art car daily driver!
I'm excited that I won't be recovering from shoulder surgery this year and that I can finally do all the painting / updating to Iggy that I was planning on last year. And, as always, I'm excited for the events -- seeing friends from Houston and out of town and also for greeting the public. I love the parade itself too! It brings tears to my eyes (honestly!). I am grateful for the chance to display my art once a year in that way and I always clear my calendar completely for the Art Car Festival week.