Three months ago, Sally Marbry conceived the idea to transform a utilitarian electrical box in front of the Greyhound station in downtown Redding into a piece of public art. This 18-part series is a chronicle of her work and her observations of life on the corner of Pine and Butte.
Part 7: Power to the People
August 10 Not trashing so much. Is it Dave or respect for the box? Wood graining still and start the day with wheel chair woman from Tennessee reading her horoscope. I pick up random tips to buy cheaper tickets and a pissy bum rants for money to eat. Tennessee woman protects us all with mouthy reprimands.
My “group of guys” walk by. There is a regular group of healthy, fashionable, good looking young guys that stroll through daily about 10 AM. They shoot out various compliments and questions. One lobbies for a label of Wisconsin on the trunk. I lobby for monetary bribes to get your home town on the box. A helicopter thwacks its daily take-off from the hospital.
August 11 Start with a group of street people. They are genuinely polite, left over from a night of drugs. A pretty Indian woman, apologizing for her funkiness, compliments me on my hair. Right. She has long thick, could be gorgeous, black hair. No shoes. Bruises. Sad. She is hanging out with these scroungy guys, rummaging through her purse, swatting invisible flies. The bearded hippie next to her is stone cold silent. How can they just sit and do nothing.
I paint, they sit.
Wood texture makes the box look like a trunk. Dave comes by and paints the curb red again. Very spiffy street now. Old man talks about the housing fiasco, the fall of our economy, depression, young people of today. My group o’ guys makes me smile.
to be continued…
Click here to find all the Greyhound Chronicles.
Visit Sally on September 12 on Pine and Butte as she reveals her electrical box turned masterpiece as part of September’s 2nd Saturday ArtHop.
Sally Marbry has shared her fine art, ceramics and sculpture skills as a teacher, product designer and interior designer. For the past year, Sally has been the host and writer of “Home Zone,” weekly on KLXR. She also chairs Viva Downtown Redding’s Design Committee, which spearheaded the public art and street beautification project. Reach Sally at Earth2Sal@charter.net.
