On July 25th 2015 teams of four gathered along the Delaware River in Frenchtown, New Jersey to parade handmade boats for a charitable cause.
The rules were simple: boats must be handmade without any preexisting boat parts.
Four teams entered the float. They spent half of the summer working on their boats and preparing for the the reveal. Some groups carved and sanded, while others used found objects to keep their creations afloat. Wood, plastic drums, and piping were just some the materials used.
All of the groups!
Elizabeth Gilbert contributed $1000 towards donations to the charities chosen by the participants. Cap Roberts donated another $1000 towards the selected charities.
Trophies were made for the coolest boats selected by a panel of judges.
Team Steinbeiser hand-carved a canoe from a solid piece of white pine, paying tribute to the Native Americans that once traveled the Delaware. Hours of chiseling the wood with bare hands resulted in a beautiful creation. These skilled craftsmen’s streamline canoe helped to raise money for the Frenchtown Food Pantry.
Team Steinbeiser
The Farm Boys celebrated their agricultural background with their farm themed boat. Reminiscent of a paddle steamer, the boys created their own paddle wheel from a plastic drum, small metal sheets, and a bike on a pulley system to propel their boat through the water. The Farm Boys chose to have their share of the charity money go to the JPS Memorial Fund, which funds scholarships and assistance to pediatric cancer patients.
The Farm Boys
The Penetrators took a different approach for their boat and created something similar to kayak with a stabilizer. Using six plastic drums, pool noodles as arm rests, and piping to stabilize the weight, the Penetrators made their way down the river. They crafted their own beautiful and hand-painted paddles and came in Hawaiian themed wear. The Penetrators chose to have their portion of the charity fund go to The Upper Black Eddy Fire Company.
The Penetrators
Rift Raft created a raft. Using a bike and a wooden paddle wheel, the team peddled their raft along the Delaware. Homemade pontoons were used to keep their wooden frame afloat. Everything in the boat was 100% recycled materials. Rift Raft chose to donate to The Frenchtown Food Pantry.
Rift Raft
This first year event was a great success. It was fun creating the boats, getting everyone together, and doing something for a great cause!
If anyone is interested in participating next year, please shoot us an email at changfreely@gmail.com . We’re going to have prizes, more boats, and the best thing of all is that it’s fun!
August 7th, 8th and 9th 2015 Crowne Plaza 1741 Paper Mill Rd. Wyomissing Pennsylvania
I will be joining fellow artists at Pagoda City Tattoo Fest the first weekend in August! It will be fun catching up with old friends I haven’t seen in a long time and I’m looking forward to making new ones. I will have an assortment of my rotary machines on hand. There will be tattooing, seminars, and contests throughout the event. Come on out, get tattooed, and enjoy!
I’m taking appointments for the show and walk ups too.
Email changfreely@gmail.com if you’d like to schedule an appointment during the festival.
Hey guys! My buddy Riccardo Martinelli will be in town in August! He’s coming all the way from Italy and will be here at my studio from August 16th – 18th! If you want some sweet dot work tattoos from him, shoot me an email at changfreely@gmail.com!
I have been working with Jimmy Whitlock at Lucky Supply over the past year and I can now announce that my rotary machines are officially available on the Lucky Supply website!
This is a project that has been years in the making. It took a couple years to design and create my rotary machines. I was hand-building them, constructing a machine that I wanted to use to tattoo on my clients. A machine that is versatile and reliable. A machine with “give”. With a typical rotary tattoo machine, the give varies with voltage; the higher the voltage the less give the machine has. My rotary machines are different. They have give that stays the same no matter what voltage the machine is at.
These rotary tattoo machines have the same ascetic as a coil machine with no plastic or neon colors.
The machines are now in full production and are available to you at
These rotary machines are all-in-one direct drive rotary tattoo machines with give. These rotary machines use standard liner needles ranging from a single needle to a 14 liner and with a shader anywhere from a 7mag to 25mag. They can do black and grey shading, color, and dot work.
No tuning necessary. Bearing just needs to be maintained.
I am happy to announce that I have been studying and working in the art of Tebori, a traditional Japanese method of tattooing. Tebori, a form of hand tattooing, uses a long steel needle instead of standard tattoo machine. The insertion of the steel needle creates a dense richness in color, as well as allowing for a wide gradation of colors. Following tradition, I handcrafted my needle tool. Outside of Japan, Tebori is rarely practiced. I’m so excited to bring this ancient experience to New Jersey!