Gulfport Artist Makes Jamerson’s Metallic Mascot From Bike Parts 

The kids hadn’t even met Gear Guy before they loved him. 

Douglas L. Jamerson Elementary, a St. Petersburg STEM school, unveiled a sculpture made entirely of recycled bicycle parts this April. Standing at five feet tall and posed in a permanent wave, the sculpture is the brainchild of Gulfport metal artist Eric Folsom, who named the art piece “Gear Guy.” 

“The kids watched me set it up during school hours, so a few of them have already seen it,” Folsom said at the Thursday, April 28 unveiling. “They were just so excited. I made it about the size of an elementary school student.”

Students crowded near a tarp prior to the big reveal. When the covering was ripped away and his bicycle wheel chest was spun, everyone erupted into cheers. 

“I’ve been looking for three years to get something like this made,” said Jamerson magnet coordinator Deborah O’Hare. The school’s courtyard is often the space for student-led drum circles and activities, but lacks a 3D piece of art. 

O’Hare discovered Folsom’s work back in December at the annual ArtJones Open Studio Tour. The tour brings art lovers into the working studios of Gulfport artists.

When O’Hare, a math and art fanatic, entered the artist’s studio and admired Folsom’s mechanically-inspired work, she knew his handiwork had a home in her school. 

“It fit into our math and engineering theme perfectly,” O’Hare said. “I’m very happy with how it turned out, and I think the kids are too. Teachers are already planning lessons and activities around it.”  

Folsom is known for his upcycled sculpting and metal work around St. Petersburg and Gulfport. In the case of Gear Guy, he spent weeks piecing together bicycle wheels, gears, and metal parts at his home studio. 

“It was kind of like a puzzle, but you don’t know how it’s going to look,” Folsom said. “I spend more time thinking about how I’m going to put it together than actually putting it together.” 

Though bike parts aren’t Folsom’s only medium, it’s an art form close to his heart. The artist grew up in Gulfport but spent his early 20s working as a bike messenger in Washington, D.C. 

He says he made the trip from Gulfport to the nation’s capital many times on his bicycle. 

“I would ride my bike and sleep under the stars,” Folsom said. 

For now, Gear Guy will live up to his name in the Jamerson courtyard, but O’Hare says the children will vote to rename the sculpture.