'Art Should Be Everywhere': 'Cork Car Lady' Makes Art Part Of Her Community

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- We all have a passion that keeps us busy and keeps us sane.

For some it's golf or fashion, for others it's exercising or travel.

But for one Twin Cities woman, it's all about the cars -- and not just any car -- one that's decorated with thousands of pieces of cork.

In this week's Finding Minnesota, John Lauritsen got a ride with the "Cork Car Lady" to find out why she transformed her car, and why she isn't alone.

"It's perfectly street legal. If you go to Europe though, it's illegal," Jan Elftmann said.

It's fine to say that Elftmann has a passion that is both quirky and corky.

"I parked mistakenly by an AA meeting once. They got a kick out of it," she said.

So do the people she drives by every day.

There are about 6,000 pieces of cork glued onto the rolling work of art, which happens to be a 1999 luxury Saab. The goal is 10,000 pieces, fender to fender.

"I'm going to work on corking my car," Elftmann said.

For Elftmann, it started 24 years ago. While attending art school, she worked as a server and began collecting wine corks. She got her inspiration after seeing an art car parade in Houston, Texas. We actually caught up with her back in 1999 when her first cork vehicle was an '87 Mazda truck.

"Did you drink all that wine? Does it float? To be asked that 10 times a day, you have to be extremely patient," she said.

Decades later, the questions remain the same, but now, Elftmann has the answers.

"Did you drink all that wine? No, I did not drink 10,000 bottles of wine. That would be a bottle a day for 28 years," said Elftmann, who only occasionally has a glass of wine.

At least she has an art car entourage that gets their own share of questions. Like the "Lipstick Lady," Patti Paulson.

"It's a Pontiac Vibe. I think this one is a 2007," Paulson said.

Paulson has had a thing for lipstick since she was a kid. Now, people give her empty tubes and she'll buy others off the internet.

"Lined them up like soldiers across the front and thought it looked good, so then I laid some glue underneath them," Paulson said.

Then, there's artist Allen Christian who chooses to be in costume while showing off his 1966 Ford truck.

"Elmer Ford. Kind of a play off of Elmer Fudd," Christian said.

There's a lot going on here. Christian's truck was spray-foamed and then carved and outfitted with fiberglass. He said it's about "valuing the valueless."

"Some people gawk. Some people stare. Some people don't even want to look," Christian said.

But you also can't help it. When parking ramps are full, these folks have no problem finding their vehicles.

"I usually look for all the people gathered around one car," Elftmann said. "And that's mine because they are usually looking like, 'what is that?'"

In the winter, they'll go for a spin on White Bear Lake. And this summer, they'll take part in the 25th annual Minnesota ArtCar Parade around Lake Harriet. They're professional paraders who've become experts on oddities. They've put on thousands of miles, but it's all about the journey, not the destination. And despite everything you see, their message is a simple one.

"I believe art and creativity should be a part of our community. A part of our everyday life," Elftmann said. "I think it's really important. Art should be everywhere."

Elftmann said she uses a product called "Liquid Nails" to get her corks to stay on her car.

It has to be applied at 40 degrees or warmer or they won't stay on.