Saline Welcomes New Mural

Volunteers assisted muralist Curtis Wallace for over two weeks. 

Photo: From left to right, Curtis Wallace and volunteer Donna Johnson, Columbiaville, MI painting on Sept. 12. Photo by John Anderson

Can we paint the ground in the Leather Bucket Alley?

As Mary Dettling, Executive Director of Saline Main Street, recalled, this was an idea Saline’s Mayor Pro Tem, Janet Dillon, raised last November at the Farmer’s Market as a way to make the alley more inviting.

“Yes! Absolutely, we can do that!” replied an enthusiastic Dettling.

From September 4—17, that idea came to fruition. Over 40 volunteers assisted Ypsilanti-based artist and muralist Curtis Wallace, of The Be Creative Studio, with painting the alley in downtown Saline. After a public request for proposal and months of planning, Wallace was awarded the commission by City Council in August. The mural was funded by a $15,000 Main Street Vibrancy Grant, by the Michigan Economic Development Council, and matched by 15%.

It’s All Part of the Process

To put the mural on the ground bypassed certain issues, primarily seeking permission from building owners. As opposed to the walls of the alley, which are privately owned, the concrete walkway in the alley itself is city property. However, there were other issues.

“The business owners were like, ‘Well, have you thought of the logistics?’” said Dettling.

Delivery times to Brecon Grille, customer pick-ups at Drop Top, and other operational concerns from adjacent business owners had to be taken into consideration. Yet, they were supportive. “I absolutely loved the idea,” said Joe Maino, co-owner of Drop Top. “Anything that brings some vibrancy around here.”

Logistics weren’t the only concern. Safety was another issue. Primarily, would the paint get slippery during inclement weather?

“It’s all part of the process,” said Wallace. Although he has worked on over 20 murals in his career, Leather Bucket Alley was the first mural Wallace had been commissioned to paint on the ground. “I spent about 2 or 3 weeks meeting with, not just your local hardware stores, but I was meeting with national representatives of paint companies: either on Zoom, in person, or on the phone: just researching,” said Wallace. By process of elimination, Wallace chose Insl-X Tuffcrete. “We are not painting the ground,” he said. “We are staining the cement.”

Leave Your Footprint

As the week of September 4^th approached, Main Street reached out to their network for volunteers to “leave your footprint (literally)…” in the project called “Color Underfoot.” While most were from the surrounding community, some drove as much as 90 minutes each way to assist.

“My niece, Miri [Weidner] asked me to join her one day,” said Donna Johnson of Columbiaville. She hesitated at first because of the distance, but reconsidered based on how her niece hyped the town. “I loved it and came four times! Not everyone gets to participate in creating a mural.”

Composed mostly of native flowers, like daisy, bergamont, and aster, the mural began as a white outline: a 70-foot-long color-by-number. By Saturday, September 6, Wallace was ready to paint. For the next week, volunteers joined Wallace as early as 9 AM, kneeling, stooping, squatting, and sitting on the ground, filling in the numbered shapes with warm, bright colors.

By Sunday, Sept. 14, all that remained were finishing touches. Shoes were painted and used to create footprints striding the length of the mural. Later in the week, the silhouettes of native species, like a deer, mountain lion, bobcat, and heron were added. Several illustrations of water buckets also dot the alley, referencing its namesake.

The alley’s history isn’t the only thing Wallace has reflected on while working on the composition. Having previously painted eight murals with volunteers, Wallace reflected on the impact those murals had on their communities. “In the past, I’ve learned, these murals that I create are not just art anymore.” Beyond the act of painting, the mural can take on a life of its own: from the community that develops among volunteers, to the passersby who ooh and ahh and snap photos for Instagram. It’s placemaking, transforming a drab alley to pass through into an environment to inhabit. “You know, in some way it’s bigger than the scope of what I can even imagine.”