Where's Marty? Hanging out with the artist beautifying Baltimore's salt boxes
Hi Everyone!
Today, we revisited one of our favorite "Where's Marty" guests -- Juliet Ames. For those of you who do not know, Juliet created the Salt Box, as I call it "Art Project."
Juliet looked out of her window one day and saw a beat-up, lonely-looking Salt Box, on her corner. Juliet makes, fine jewelry out of heirloom ceramics at her Mill Center studio in Hampden.
So she went to work, basically, vandalizing, the city's Salt Box.
But it looked cool and got legs. And the city, while not saying "go for it," let the effort happen.
Now with many artists involved, and a couple of hundred Salt Boxes making people smile, not to mention brightening neighborhoods, Juliet's idea has become modern Baltimore Cool. (Below is the actual first one.)
John Waters himself put Juliet and the Salt Box in perspective. And look at where the quote was published.
Now with fall just under two days away, and only about a month from when the boxes start to be distributed, we thought why not catch up with this unintentional star? (BTW Juliet calls the day the Salt Boxes leave the city's storage facility on Pulaski Highway, "Descending Day!"
As in they descend upon us once again.) As mentioned more artists than Juliet make the box fronts, but she will have a few new ones too.
So far, one of past Fire Chief Herman Williams is ready to go, as is one with braille to be dedicated to Mo Gaba. (Mo's is about to be painted and his smile and beauty will cheer up all who pass by. And for those of you who did not know him, Chief Williams started the program to get over 70,000 smoke detectors in city homes that needed them most. A good man and a hero.)
We want to thank Juliet, Julie, Jules Ames for hosting us again today. (I am a friend, and friends call her by all three names FYI.)
She did ask if I could spread the word about a big open house at Mill Center, her studio site on Chestnut Avenue in Hampden, a week from this Saturday.
Mill Centre is home to some of the most creative artists in the area. And this could be a way to start some holiday shopping early! See ya then Julie!!
Marty B!
