Caroline County Council of the Arts: Public Art Project

Public Art Project

The CCCA brings public art to the streets of Denton!

In celebration of its new community arts building at 401 Market Street in Denton, the CCCA will be incorporating Public Art into the completion of it’s Market St. entrance way. The history, form, and function of the space will be addressed by integrating mosaic, metal, and wire into benches and sculptural pieces that reflect images of the arts. Local artists will be used to design and complete the project. The community will have an opportunity to be involved in some of the mosaic aspects.

The Maryland State Arts Council has generously awarded the CCCA $5,000 towards this project and we must raise another $5,000 to match these funds. Contact us at 410.479.1009 or via email to do your part for public art! All contributions are appreciated, and will be recognized as follows: $25-$99 Name on bench, $100 -$499 Small text on garden plaque, $500+ Large text on garden plaque. Although installation is nearly complete, it's not too late to sponsor our efforts, contact us today!

Special thanks to our current sponsors:

In memory of Paul I. Nichols, Brian Pierman, Judy Hodges, The Honer Family, Elaine Shortall, Joan Lunney & William Idler, Myrna Poirier, Barbara Martin, David Burroughs, Leigh and George Sands and David Gleockler.

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Public Art

The Musician and the Muses will serve as not only a sculptural gateway of sorts into the arts district, but as an invitation to explore art in its many forms. The community arts building at 401 Market Street has quite a history. What we now simply refer to as The Foundry (our local art gallery), used to be the impressive Wilson’s Foundry Dwelling in the 1800s. The materials chosen for this project speak directly to the history of our building, from the forged iron of the benches, to the rendered steel wire for the sculptures. Not only do these materials evoke the history of the building, they also provide a somewhat rustic aesthetic, fitting well with the existing structure. On another level, the sculptural elements will be created from what is commonly referred to as “baling wire,” or “tie wire,” a staple in rural Caroline County. Farmers typically use this wire to bale hay from the fields and to mend fences, and nearly every general contractor, from plumber to mason, has a spool on his truck, just in case. The idea is to take elements from everyday rural life in Caroline County and use them in a way that local residents may have never thought of, inspiring art in the community, and opening eyes to the possibilities of everyday objects.

The Muse

The design of The Muse incorporates a modern tree graphic into its mosaic portion, symbolizing artistic growth, an important representation of our ultimate goal for the Arts and Entertainment District in Denton. Colors will include shades of brown and gray for the trunk, green for the leaves and a sky blue background in the center. Utilization of the poem The Invitation invokes a spirit of whimsy, inclusion and possibility, and serves as an acknowledgment of the literary arts and their role in our community. The words will be a part of the mosaic, formed from specially made tiles.

The Muse will also feature a life-sized female figure arching backwards with her arms extended toward the sky, with whimsical accents among her hair and feet. She will embody a general sense of grace and vitality, representing the performing arts in our community.

The Musician

The Musician will be permanently seated near the corner of the porch, life-size, with one foot resting on the ground in front of the steps, and the other crossed over his leg. He will be looking down, playing a guitar, with a sense of introspection in an effort to represent the many talented singers and songwriters in our county. With the same dark brown finish as his muse, he will be hand rendered from baling wire, and hold a mosaiced aucoustic guitar, accented with grren and brown tiles.

To finish out the public art project, two benches will be installed on either side of the front porch, providing public seating as well as functioning as a type of rail for safety. These benches will depict two more muses, forged in wrought iron, across the back of each bench, with wooden slats comprising the seats. One muse bench will pay homage to the visual arts, with a capricious design incorporating paint brushes and brush strokes around a female figure, while the other will represent musical inspiration with corresponding whimsical elements around a female figure.