About Mini Bike Maniac

Tom Drzewiecki has been drawing since he was a small child. One of his favorite memories is sitting at his grandparents’ kitchen table with stacks of white paper and a pencil, spending hours putting his imagination to paper. He grew up in Wisconsin and his passion for art motivated him to earn an Associates’ Degree in Graphic Design from Milwaukee Area Technical College in the 90s. Yet, because of the changing landscape of technology and its ever-evolving use in graphic design, he chose to pursue a career in another field… yet he never quit drawing.

“I work in the trades, but my hobbies are my life,” he says. Tom is not only an artist but a seasoned mechanic as well. His love for art was not the only thing that developed during his childhood; he became interested in cars and shadowed his father as he learned how to restore them from bumper to bumper. His father, an avid collector of cars from the 60s and 70s, loved to work under the hood and amassed quite a collection of cars and parts as he neared retirement. While Tom loved the cars, he didn’t love working under the rusty frames. He started his own collection with Hot Wheels first, and then moved to garden tractors… finally, he began collecting and building vintage mini-bikes. The tractors and mini-bikes gave him the joy of repairing and building, but without the hassle and space requirements of the classic cars. From there, the idea blossomed to combine his hobby with his art, and “Ed the Maniac” was soon born.

Inspired by artists like M.C. Escher, Tom’s art is an abstract version of real life. Growing up, he loved the character Rat Fink by Ed “Big Daddy” Roth. In fact, “Ed the Maniac” is named after him.

“I started to create images of characters driving my favorite Hot Wheels,” Tom said. “It was inevitable that the mini-bike maniac would come to life.” He credits his artistic ability to his wonderful mother, who he lost at a young age to cancer. He has a brother and sister who share his love of art as well. His whole family still resides in Wisconsin. Tom lives in Wisconsin with his wife Lori. He has a stepson, Cody and a beagle, Layla.

Tom loves to share his art and talk about his hobbies, so the next time he is at a show near you, be sure to stop by and say “hello.”