And You Thought Toothpick Art Was Tiny

We've all seem impressive creations built in miniature scale with toothpicks or matchsticks, but artist Steven J. Backman makes these creations look absurdly massive with his amazing artworks that are each created from nothing but fragments of a single toothpick and a little glue.

Like many artists in the field, Backman has created toothpick sculptures since he was a child. But after building a cable car out of toothpicks for a college art project, he decided to challenge himself even further by decreasing the scale of his projects.

He calls his creations "The Essence of Patience" and, after looking at his work, it's easy to see why. But while most of us would go mad working with something so painstakingly intricate, Backman loves it. "Never before have I been so relaxed and at peace with myself while spending hundreds of hours sitting at a table," he says. "Whether the piece of art is created over several weeks, months or years, it is an extension of my passion."