Leather Bucket Alley Artist Selected by Saline Main Street

Michigan artist Curtis Wallace was selected from two finalists to paint a ground mural for Saline’s Leather Bucket Alley by Saline Main Street. Mary Dettling, Saline Main Street’s executive director, brought the proposed art to City Council at the Aug 18 meeting, where it was approved unanimously.

“It’s wonderful to have these local artists want to continue to contribute to Saline,” councilmember Nicole Rice said. “I think that’s awesome. I also have spent some time with Curtis and seen his portrait artistry, and attended an event that he hosted, and really, really love that he wants to be a part of our community as well.”

Leather Bucket Alley, named in 2013 after its historical use as a storage space for the fire department’s leather buckets, is located behind Brecon Grill. Wallace’s proposed artwork will include references to the alley’s history, local flora and “community-created footprints” according to Saline Main Street.

“I had the chance to talk about this and some of the feedback, especially about adopting the buckets to become more representative of what’s historically there, and even the animals and things reflected of it,” councilmember Girbach said of the mural. “So I’m looking forward to this. Curtis was a very energetic and enthusiastic individual when I met him and talked to him a little bit.”

Now that the mural selection has been approved by Council, Saline Main Street is planning to move forward with the project, and will release further information at a later date.