Artists Statement and Bio for 2011 NC Artist's Exhibition

I wanted to share the Biography and Statement that I prepared for the 2011 North Carolina Artists Exhibition, as I feel that to a certain extent, it marks a place in time for Reptire Designs and I . Hopefully, it will serve as something of a place holder for this Chronicle of Reptire's developement.

TIRE TAMER - TRAVIS COHN

ARTIST’S BIOGRAPHY AND STATEMENT

FOR THE RALEIGH FINE ARTS SOCIETY’S 2011 NC ARTISTS EXHIBITION

            Travis Cohn was born and raised in Durham, NC. While his Portrait Artist Mother bequeathed to him his first love of drawing forms in Nature, this practice had always had a secret (shadow) twin tendency towards creating art from found objects. Recently, in 2002, he day-lit this passion, and married his love of the line with his love for the found; bound, as it were, within the ring of The Tire. And there he has remained ever since, devoted to exploring what possibility can found within this symbolic vessel, the bastard child of the Transportation Industry.

            In 2004, after several years of purposeful play, determined to find an eloquent way to let used tire rubber express it own beautility to the world, Cohn conceived of the treadknot. An enigmatic form of folded flubber (primordial, single-celled basketry, if you will) 7 years later, it still stands as a vexing sherpa, shuttling varied luggage of interpretations. In it, the artist finds a symbol of man, in an endless struggle with the self, and subsequently, a symbol of regeneration. From a larger perspective, in its familiarity with the Internationally recognized symbol of Reduce-Reuse-Recycle, the treadknot form could also be boldly posited as an article of iconography within the contemporary Art-From-Reclaimed-Materials Movement. To learn more of about the treadknot; it’s creation; and the treadknotics of its interpretations, you can visit a page devoted to it on the Reptire website at www.reptiredesigns.com.

 

            For The Future, Cohn is planning to take these tires on the road. He envisions a series of place-based art installations, which will explore the Geography, Geology Ecology, and Human History of North Carolina, and its Environs (of the 0-8 legged variety). Where to start? Where else, but at the top of the hill?!..

            In The Meantime, Travis Cohn feels highly honored and excited to be included in this special showing of North Carolina Artists.

Never leave 'er, Beaver.

I don't know how this relates to Reptire Designs....but Fuggit!

This past sunny Sunday morning, I was driving up Highway 87, on my way to band practice at Bruce and Sue Saunders' house, off Lutterlow Rd. when I saw this great big heap of brown fur to the right of the road. Now that is fairly common around here, probably everywhere where there are lots of woods, with occaisonal roads, sadly.
  What was unussual, was that this lump of fur had great big monsterous flat tail sticking out.
To be completely honest with you, my first reaction was, "is that a Platypus?!!!" Of course, I quickly discerned that, no it was much more likely a beaver (as of course, these are in plentiful supply in these parts, and their distant cousin the platypus, lives, well, on the other side of the globe).

Still,  of all of the poor slain animals I have encountered over the years (and I do pay attention), never once in my 30+ years have I seen a beaver.

What's more, I thought that I saw this lump of fur move....

So I turned around and pulled over.

What I found kind of blew me away...

It was a beaver all right, but this was one Big Mother...I would say just shy of a yard long from nose to tail tip. I'm not sure where she had been struck. She seemed to be completely intact. But she was bleeding from her mouth and nose a little.
When I layed my hand on here back, she was Very warm to the touch...steamy, I think she must have just been hit.
Her feet... we're just incredible..I've never seen anything like it really. They were webbed, like a duck's, but with soft fur on the tops....
With these great mittens of hers, I pulled her off the pavement, and tried to figure out what to do...
What TO do? Another car pulled off, and in sympathy, tried to help me answer this question.
Not really much to do. The beaver seemed pretty clearly gone, though so recently so.
I thought to call my friend Sarah Haggerty, who works for Piedmont Wildlife, and left a message with my friend Josh Zaslow, looking for her number.
  After the woman left, a rumaged around in my trunk, for a plastic bag or something. And lo and behold, I found the big plastic tarp I use for a camping ground cloth.
So this I brought over to the old girl, and slid her on to it.
I then grabbed both ends, hoisted her up, and lowered her onto the canvas tarp I keep in my back seat for hauling tires..,and OFF I went to band practice....!

Well, it just so happens that Bruce and Sue's neighbor is my friend, Perrin Heartway, a skilled local vetrinarian!..
  So I dropped by, and asked his new son, Cedar, "where's your Papa?" and Cedar pointed there! (after I'd found him). So Perrin agreed to take a look at him, out of his own curiosity, which is really why I wanted to show it to him.
Perrin was able to sex it though, and also observed that the beaver's leg had been broken.
Bruce called Mr. Honeycutt,  a local Taxidermist, who gave me some good advice about preserving this creatures qualities, for the sake of education. He agreed that, while he had too many beaver's already to put it too much use, that a beaver is a marvelous creature, and an educational resource not to be wasted!

So, I was pretty much left to my own to find a way to cool this body down with in the next 2 hours....
I happened to know that there at Blue Heron Farm, they have a meat freezer where they keep their delinquint cows, so I went running across the farm field, to ask Ray or Hannah about this. On the way, I ran into Jean, who was excited to the beaver, as I thought she might be.
When I got to Ray's and described the strange thing I had found, he was indeed curious.
I then mentioned that we had about 2 hours to cool this thing down or loose it forever, could we use the meat freezor, if there was space.
To this Ray responded, that they had just filled the freezor with a (presumably delinguent) pig.
But, instead, he said, bless his odd ball heart, lets see what kind of room we have in the freezer here in the house.. and he went to rearranging the tator tots and bacon, or what ever he had, clearing a shelf/tomb of the perfect proportions for out gainly friend.
So we conviened around the big beaver, and spent some quality time with her. Murray came too, and Soren, and Ray's daughter. We held her in our arms, cradled her like a baby, passed her around a little.
Its funny,  along with her smell, a very woody, resinous, musty odor, a part of her rubbed off on all of us, and as I knew that would happen, I carried a part of her into our band practice, where I got royally drunk, on both the case of NewCastles I had brought, and her beaver perfume.
There was a toast to a lovely Lady of the Lake...

Reptire Rolls into State Capital for 2011 NC ARTISTS EXHIBITION

On a dreary Sunday, March 6th, (after a late night of drawing caricatures at a Mardi Gras party, and I must admit, some customary debauchery) I got myself, a little more bleary eyed than I'd have liked,  over to Mahler Gallery of The Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts, in our State Capital of Raleigh, NC.

I was there to attend the reception of the 2011 North Carolina Artists Exhibition, hosted every year, by the Raleigh Fine Arts Society. I had decided to submit a work of RepTire art, Leviathan, into the show, and the Juror, Peter Nisbet, Cheif Curator for the Ackland Museum of Art, in Chapel Hill, NC, had appearently discerned that it would make a good addition into the show!

Needless to say, this was a considerable honor for me and my RepTire Artwork to be included in this showing of some of our famously very artistic State's current 'Fine Artists'.

Here I will attempt  to sharing some photos, footage, and fixin'' from this memorable event!

When I arrived, I found myself shuttled in by finely dressed high society women who said "Oh you must be one of our artists" which I wasn't sure how to take. How did they know my socks were wet because my shoe soles had leaked in the rain water? Was it that obvious? I'm mostly kidding, 'poor me', I was actually pretty smug that they had picked me out.

So anyways, I got ushered to a table for my name tag, and then into a giant darkly lit performance hall. On the stage were three chairs, a giant screen, and up front, a grandiose floral arrangment. This was stage from which our Juror, Mr. Nisbet would be delivering his 'Lecture' about his choices for inclusion in the Exhibition.

This was exciting! I felt like a kid on a field trip to the planetarium!

'AF Shot' of a cosmic Chandelier in the 'Atrium' Entrance of the PECPA

So I sat myself down in a VERY comfortable cushioned seat, to take in the show!

First, we got a word from our hosts, the Raleigh Fine Arts Society, and I have to report that I was both a little shocked and somewhat pleasently suprised by what I had heard. You see, truth be known, I have to own up to a long held prejudice against the city of Raleigh. I think if it as a little bit shooshy, and extravagant, with out a whole lot really hearty value or true good taste. Kind of like really expensive high end raman noodles, compared to a good minestroni, which I would liken my native Durham too.

And to be honest, before meeting these people, I had sort of lumped the Raliegh Fine Arts Society in that catagory (though I was actually not familiar with this organization, prior to getting the RFQ fort the show). So I was quite intrigued when the Chair of this organization shared with us the audience, her apology to 3 of the Artists, whose work would soon be removed, on account of the Nudity shown in them!
  The Raleigh Fine Arts Society then CONDEMNED this "act of cencorship"! Right ON!

Finally, it was the turn of our Juror, to tell his story.

Mr. Nisbet is an English fellow, and it seems is freshly new to NC, coming from the Harvard Museum of Art. There he was "the Dailmler-Benz Curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum (a branch it seems, where) he was was responsible for a collection of 39,000 works of central and northern European art ranging from the Middle Ages to the present and played a leading role in the reconceptualization and revitalization of the museum, leading to its relocation in 1991." (from the 'Meet Our Juror' section of the program).

So no doubt, having seen a whole heck of a lot of nudity in art, through out his ages, and The ages, no doubt, I'm sure Mr. Nisbet was a little bit amused and intrigued himself, to learn of this demand from the Progress Energy Center to remove a few paltry displays of flesh. (In fact Nancy Kenna, the Chair shared with me towards the end of the reception that Mr. Nisbet had taken it upon himself to go chew them out personally!!!)

What proceeded was a somewhat sad story of this Jurors somewhat harrowing plight, flash-lit by flourishes of wit. He spoke of long evenings spent with a record 550 submissions, trying to winnow out almost 9 out of every 10 of these, a task I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. To top it off, he also shared the tale of a dejected feeling Artist, who hadn't made the cut, guilt tripping him on his answering machine, telling him that his repeated rejections to these shows make him want to give up.
Mr Nisbet replied that such experiences made him want to give up too!

He notes in his Juror's Statement that "Towards the end of many hours, he is interested to note how he found the sculpture submissions to be the most extravagant, the paintings to be the tamest, the photographs to be the most elegant, and the mixed media works to be (appropriately) the most resistant to generalization."
 And his speech craftily reflected this.
 He began with the photographs, and had some really interesting things to say about some I thought, pretty tame work. One wonderful example was that of a photograph of a tourist gazing up the skirt of a giant statue of a woman.
Finding something far beyond the limited one liner scope of the photograph, he found in the photo, or rather, in his selection of the photo, a biting commentary on the gawking/spectacle nature of photography!!! Alright Man! I was starting to like this guy really quickly!

 Then he went through the paintings, and I have to admit, I was sort of feeling for him.
He made one observation that many of the pieces were simply pretty, but that they didn't venture beyond this prettiness (even some of the mixed media work). He asked, after all that Painting has been through in the last jarring century, turning its entire world upside down, over and over, can a painter really submit something as banal as a photorealistic scene?

Well, its not for me to say, but he was there, then, and he said it! (Like probably any artist who loves to draw, I actually do have a place in my heart for the devotion to place scenic paintings, particularly urban scenes).
Anyways, I was kinda feeling for this guy. I mean 500 tame paingings?..poor fellow.

However, it took me a while to catch on, but eventually, I realized what was going on. It seemed that this guy was no fool in making his presentation, and it seems he had saved his favorites for last (and I have to admit, I agreed with his tastes).

As we drew towards the end, some really fresh 2D art began to emerge on the screen before us.

And then, to kick off the sculpture, he pulled up an image of who else, but that big black lug of knotted, folded tire, Leviathan!
Wow!
(I video recorded what he said, and am going to ask his permission to share it here)
 This learned man had some very nice things to say about this sculpture!

"The sculpture that I start with is, I think, a rather fine piece of work that picks up on the history of 20th-Century Geometric Abstraction, and the Utopian notion of mathematical forms and mathematical formulae, one can       an ideal form of art, that somehow represents an ideal world, here translated into a very beautiful tire, that wraps around itself, in some emblem of eternity. But of course, as we know, tires will rot out at some point, and wear out. A great melding, I think, of Minimalist ideas, Abstraction, and modern materials. I like that piece a lot."

You know, aside from being flattered by his reaction to me piece, it was also nice to know that I had given this guy something to 'tickle his fancy' a little. I'm glad you liked in Peter, I was hoping that you would!

From the there we poured out into the adjoining Mahler Gallery (the auditorium we were in is where the NC Symphony regularly performs, among others!

For food, not the lox that I had been hoping to lap up!!!
Nope, just oreo cookies, with their asses dipped in chocolate (taking after our Lady James)
Now That's just what I would expect from the Raleigh Fine Arts Society- a little Guilding the Lily ;)
(Too bad Raleigh hadn't 'dipped it's ass in chocolate' before P-funk arrived, and George Clinton decreed once and for all "Raleigh ain't got not soul." He tried).

Folks I met:

I had the distinct pleasure to  run into one of my Favorite famiies of Durham folk over there in Rally, Linda Belans, an old teacher of mine at CFS!, her lovely daughter Lisa Sobsey, with whom I coincidantaly studied at the SF Art Institute! and her warmly savage husband, Scott Howell, who was showing his stirring Photograph in the show!



Missing from the that photo was Father Figure (to much of Durham, I am so sure!) Jim Lee, Bamboo Turtle Artist, Of Many Varied Talents, and Influences. I caught up with him eventually, and shared with him that there's a certain artwork of his that I am after.

After the reception, I headed out with a few choice accomplices, for a photographic expedition of the space. Here's some of what we came up with...

This is the original front of the Raleigh Memorial Auditorium. I can't remember how old it is, but appearently a couple 100 I think...it was once used as the governer's offices, or mansion of something, I guess kind of like the North Carolina White House, I don't know. Anyways, in an innovative architectual renovation, this original face to what is now a huge Auditorium, is now housed with in this giant glass Atrium.  The grand columns you see in the front of the building today, are actually a facade, a relpica of the original colomns, now housed with in. Now thats a front porch!

The Balistrade

Vamping in Action!

SPIRITUAL VISIONS EXHIBITION: 3rd and Final Pilgrimage to VA for SV.

I recently made my final trek up to Hermitage Museum & Gardens, in Norfolk, to retrieve my 3 'pilgrims' from the Spiritual Visions Exhibition.

I had planned to wait a bit, and plan a meeting with the staff a month or so down the line.
But with Leviathan called to duty, it looked like I had to hasten my plans for my journey.
So on a Friday afternoon, I set sail, whipped my way up and across to Norfolk, with only dwindling light at my heals.

My plan B camp site which eventually became my plan A

Night drawing down its shade

"Go quick and seek a place to lay your head, for when your neck will soon be weary of carrying it."

So, I scouted out a plan B camping spot, and then set out for downtown, hoping I might find myself a plan A, a risky venture.

So I docked myself in front of what (besides Hermitage to a certain extent) has become the closest I have to home base in Norfolk. Also, the closest I have found to 'Funky' in Norfolk, no doubt, it serves this same function to other kindered souls here. 

My favorite building block in Norfolk, shown here in the light of day

A lovely passage, where art meets life

Home of Yorgo's Bagelry

and this wooden furniture refinishing shop with kniving marketing approach.

Here found I myself upstairs at the Belmont, seated at a bar with 3 young lasses, who said:

"Hold on a second,  let me get this straight. You're an artist, and you're here in Norfolk alone, and you're here drinking at the Belmont for the first time, and next you're about to go salsa dancing at the Mambo Room?"

To which the best I could reply was:

"yup"

"cheers"

and

"ya'll comin'?"

For off I had to boogie, to The Boogie, at the

where there I proceeded to dance the night off, and my ass away (making nefarious passes at various lasses, of all manner of shapes and sizes).

Sleep that night was seldom. I am remiss to report that I wound up camping in the plan B of my plan B, not at all where I had hoped to B. But, in the morning, I was able to open my eyes and C, as you can here C.

And glad was I, for I soon found myself back up and at 'em, eating breakfast at a dear Diner named Doumar's.

The Rapture: The Ecstatic Tilework Of The Men's Bathroom Floor
 of Doumar's BarBQ, in Norfolk, VA

Arabesque

There, while drinking coffee and chewing an egg sandwich, I was blessed to witness the owner, Mr. Doumar himself, come in, put down his coat, and pick up his tools, setting up the WORLD'S FIRST ICECREAM CONE MAKER.

Yes, that's right, Mr. Doumar's Uncle Doumar, I believe, was the INVENTOR OF THE ICE CREAM CONE!!!

What a privalage to watch a pioneer craftsman laying out his station in the morning light, 

for a Cameo of the Cone!

I promised Mr. Doumar a painting, hold me to it, will ya?

Then, I was off to my twin appointments at Hermitage Museum & Gardens, to
A) Pick up our trio of Pilgrams, from the Spiritual Visions Exhibition

Leviathan, waiting on his stoop, to be returned home to NC,
and delivered the 2011 NC Artists Exhibition

2) To meet with Hermitage Museums's Public Programs Director Melissa Ball, and Photographer Ed Pollard, to discuss our plans the the upcoming Reclamation Exhibition!!!......

I had a really good time hanging out with these two, and hashing out ideas, and spent a very both relaxing and energizing day afterwards at Hermitage, sketching a few choice artworks from their permanent collection.

Also was able to track down Truly, whom I am hoping to collaborate on a limited edition product line for Hermitage. Its funny, I thought that I had missed her that weekend, she was off, so had pretty well given up. But I was able to convince the staff to let me go in and sketch the permanent collection (though I think that area was closed.
   As I crept down the darkened hall, to visit one quite powerful, very old piece...
who did I find but Truly, with pale skin, and eyes all lit up. My god, she scared the CRAP out of me. It was the first time in my life, I truly thought for a second I might be attacked by a vampire ; no joke!
 So anyways, Truly didn't drain my arteries and tuck me behind an old sofa, and we got to discuss business alittle, in those darkened halls.

Darkness was drawing down again, and so I had to split, hit the road, in hopes of getting back for my buddy, Joey Howell's awesome Galactic Art Opening (well worth it!).

Before I hit the road, I revisited a spot I had found the night before.

I stumbled upon this bizarre scene of a metal scrap yard, across the tracks, behind a fence behind a parking lot.

You can find alot of things when you are looking for a good place to sleep (besides, that is, a good place to sleep).

WE ARE FROM NEW YORK CITY MOTHERF*#$#^&'!S

Bookmark / Placeholder- A few weeks ago, my good friend Gmoney took me to see a favorite band of hers from NY.
It was a memorable experience, and I'll try and follow up.

2011 North Carolina Artists Exhibition

Wow, wow, wow.

I woke up this morning to find (among other things) two gorgeous Harley's sitting in the Alley way below my studio, just gleaming away. I promptly grabbed my camera, poured down the steps into the Sidewalk Cafe, to find out who's bikes they are, and see if I could snap a few pictures. My friend John and Wandee Dooley who own JD Power Sports, (newly located up on Hwy 64, Siler City) have been mentioning a mural for their building, and I thought a close up of some gleaming tailpipes and radiator fins might do just the trick.

    While I was busy interrupting these two gracious gentleman's breakfeast (Don Kinyoun, and Rod Hackney- on their way to ride the Blue Ridge Parkway), Becky walked over and handed me a letter in a nice looking envelope.
   As we talked, I glanced down at the envelope tucked into the corner of my arm; a large, dark green, bold and classy looking logo in the corner heralded that is was from the Raleigh Fine Arts Society.....Ah..I was wondering why I hadn't heard from them..(I usually get my mail from a PO Box).

      I had entered their show a few months ago, entitled North Carolina Artists Exhibition 2011. I almost didn't, as I have a lot going on, and also wasn't sure if I could cut it (I have been batting 5-5, and didn't want to break my streak!). I thought, maybe Spiritual Visions is a good place to stop for a while- quite while I'm ahead... I just about let it slip by, but then, at the last minute, for some reason, I went for it. In a graphic artist's confessional, they had printed a very, very attracive, artfully colorful application on cardstock, with a perforated tear-away mail-in. Oh...the rapture. To me, this suggested they were serious about exhibiting, and perhaps investing in, fine art. Also, this work-of-graphic-art-in-itself featured a photo of the exhibition's setting in the Progress Energy, Center for the Performing Arts, which lit up at night looked like some kind of lavish colleseum,  and what sculptor could resist placing their art in such a jewel case as that?! Come to think of it, I have always wanted to show my tire art in a stone building. There is something about the combination of polished granite, complitmenting ordered grace of a treadknot....not sure. And to top it all off, the show was being Jured by Peter Nisbet, of the Ackland Museum of Art, an institution for which I have considerable respect (spent many hours there taking in breathtaking exhibitions during my time at UNC.
   So at the last minute, I had selected a couple artworks that I thought might be a good fit, both for the space, and the show, and what would capture the Jurors interest, as best as I could surmise. We could submit two artworks.

    For this, I chose Leviathan, who is currently showing in the Spiritual Visions Exhibition, at Hermitage Museum, in Norfolk Va (see Dec - Jan). Leviathan, is a big, strong piece, very strong, indeed, powerful, I think. I thought that if I had one piece that could hold his own in this space, that would be he. I also came very, very close to submitting a much smaller treadknot, with a soil inlay, a precurser of the developing Gem Line. I thought that the inclusion of the orange-red tinged soil, so characteristic of both this area, and also an allusion to the pottery tradition, would actually make a very nice addition to the show, and in some ways, I wish that I had submitted it. But in the end, I decided to hedge my bets, and put it all on the big guy, showing a side shot of his massive flanks (locked in self battle), in place of the other submisssion.

  It was a gamble (a $30 gamble!), and I really wasn't sure we would get in. I marked the announcement date on my calender, and when it passed by, and I hadn't heard from them, I was a little dissapointed. And also a little puzzled- it seemed like an organization of this stature would surely have the courtesy to let a looser know the score.

    Well, there was my answer, in an off-white envelope waiting to be tore open...

So anyways, I was somewhat relieved to see that my batting streak remains thus unbroken. This old tire is still rolling, this time up into the State Capital..

http://www.raleighfinearts.org/nc-arts-exhibition

And check this place out! Glad to know how they are spending all that money I send them every month!

http://www.progressenergycenter.com

And here's to Don and Rod, out on the road as I write this, on their trail up into those blue mountains.

A 'Rubber Affair'...

OK, Here's one from the annals of the recycled tire design business. I was recently skimming around on LinkedIn, which, by the way, I have found to be a treasure trove of creative business, when i stumbled upon the profile of a distinguished looking older gentleman, in a powder blue 3-piece suit. His title said that he works at Rubber Affair...in Italy. My throat sort of lumped up, and as I clicked on his website, I sort of braced myself. Those Italians, you know, if there's one thing I know about them, its that they are STALLIONS of design. Cars, espresso machines, women...If they are making furnishings or accessories out of recycled tires, you can almost be assured that their designs are going to knock your socks off, and blow me and my wee Reptire Designs out of the water. With a name like Rubber Affair, I figured at the very best, I was going to get to oggle some gorgeous Italian Super Models, decked out in some racy. righteous S and M gear.   As I clicked on the link to their website, my heart quivered in my chest. I wondered, Is it really all going to end like this; a quick bullet through the window, and all of a sudden, you are laying face down in your spaghetti?     Well, the link didn't work, and I wound up at a Century Link 'sorry, not there' site, suggesting a few other options..The suspense mounted!...   Well, I was undeterred, in fact, at this point, I was determined. If I am going down, well then feed me that bullet, buddy, I want to know I saw that one of the options on the Century Link page was for a Rubber Affair video on youtube...ok, here we go.   So I clicked it, found the right one, and sat back in my chair ready to be blown sky high, by dreadlocked Italian designers, absolutely dripping with beautiful women, in shiny black latex couture, to the driving beat of Techno Trance Dance Hall Hip Hop.   Well, for starters, that was not the music I found to be playing on the sound track...... You're going to need some kind of speakers on your computer,  to appreciate the charming humor of this video, as the melodramatic soundtrack is 'Paramount'. For without this score, the video is, well, footage of a rubber processing factory.... Check it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZjwvot5T-M  First, I have to say, that ONLY AN ITALIAN crumb rubber processor would call themselves, Rubber Affair!!! Now, I have been told (I had forgotten; this was the other thing I Should know about Italians), that Italians are passionate about everything they do, even the most mundane things, which in general is an honorable trait... Well, I submit to you this video as evidence A. In the end, this video is quite endearing. I mean, the mere fact of all of these metal machines, performing this work IS miraculous in itself. And clearly, the author of this video saw in the plight of these poor tires, in their being herded to the slaughter, a potent allagory, and a mortal drama! I keep imagining the author of this video, perhaps Rubber Affair's owner himself, chasing the forklift driver around the factory in his suit, hounding the poor driver "Is it not fantasico???!!!"  "Si, si" assures the driver. So, in the end, it is nice to know that this Rubber Affair is not a threat to my tire marriage. And its also a pleasent surprise to see tire recycling finally receive its due GLORY in the world. Que Bella!