My friend Joan lives over near Newton Corner. She always loved walking past a house nearby that had a whole collection of terra cotta figures in the front yard. This week she met the homeowner, Newton artist Mary Beth Maisel, and learned that she was selling her big house and moving to a small apartment in Needham and didn’t know what she was going to do with all the statues.
On the spot, Joan came up with a wonderfully crazy idea. She asked Mary Beth if she would sell her the whole collection of 20 statues, and Mary Beth was delighted.
Says Joan “Ive never really done anything like this before but something about Mary Beth’s whimsical characters inspired me. She has a story and a name for each one of them.” Joan has been out the last few days planting these sculptures at all sorts of public places around Newton. “I’m tickled by the idea of people just coming across these when they’re out for a walk or going about their business”.
Joan says that these are just her first batch and she hopes to put out more this
week. Also Joan says that if anyone wants to purchase one before they’ve all been put out in public, they should contact her as soon as possible. She’ll sell them to you for $75 each with the proceeds to go to Pathway to Possible (housing for neighbors with cognitive disabilities).
After hearing about this I took a look at Mary Beth Maisel’s web site. By a wonderful coincidence, I came across this painting of a building that’s a few doors away from my house. The painting is called Moon and Sixpence which was the name of the shop that once was in that building. These days the building is now apartments.
By any even better coincidence, the folks who live in that apartment have young kids. The whole neighborhood has been charmed for some time now because the entire outside of their building, which is depicted in Mary Beth’s painting has been covered with kids painting for weeks.
I love everything about this story and I love all the threads of art weaving it all together.
I look forward to stumbling on one of Mary Beth’s little people in my travels in coming weeks.
Thanks to Joan for becoming a benefactor for public art in Newton.
Addendum: Joan reports that she put out another batch of “little people” today. At the moment, if you look carefully you can find at least one of them in every village except Lower Falls, and Oak Hill. She’s hoping to get to those villages soon.
Joan say’s that today’s batch includes one that’s quite a bit different – a non terra-cotta, white head.
@Jerry – both links go to Mary Beth’s home page.
What a wonderful story!
Thanks Meredith. Link is now fixed.
We’ve known Mary Beth for many years. Her studio has been a fixture of Newton Open Studios. Back in the mid-’80s our kids had come home from school and noticed a person sitting in a car across the street looking at our house. The person was there for quite a while. Concerned that someone was casing the joint, they called the police to report “suspicious activity.” The police came and discovered Mary Beth sketching our house. A lovely watercolor of that house (we’ve since moved) now adorns our foyer.
Wonderful way to share Mary Beth’s talents and to add “art” into everyone’s lives.
I love Mary Beth’s work and have visited her Open Studio several times over the years. But I’m chagrined that I’ve never noticed the little people. I’ll have to keep my eye out for their new homes and enjoy them when and if I find any.
What a wonderful story & artfully delightful outcome for all those little sculptures! Thank you so much Joan for creating so many whimsical surprises throughout Newton!
I love these “Little People.” I do hope to find one or more in walks through Upper Falls & Oak Hill. Thanks to Joan and Mary Beth.
Mary Beth has been a member of my book club for a number of years, and many of her fellow members have purchased her art. I have five of her paintings in my house and always get appreciative comments about them when friends and family see them for the first time. Mary Beth is a wonderfully talented woman; even better, she’s a wonderful person and friend.
I was tickled to discover my first one, here in Upper Falls. They are now reported to be in 11 of the 13 villages (see above)
Julie Cohen has written a nice story in the Newton Tab with some great photos of Joan planting artist Mary Beth Maisel’s sculptures all around the city.
Mary Beth Maisel, her sculptures, and her new friend Joan King will be featured on tonight’s (8/24) TV-5 Chronicle at 7:30 PM
The segment on WCVB’s Chronicle about Mary Beth, Joan and the sculptures starts at 2:15
Mary Beth is my aunt! I’m so pleased to see how much everyone else enjoys her art 🙂 She’s given family members pieces over the years; I’m actually looking at the wedding present she gave me which is hanging on the wall in my home office as I type this. I used to get freaked out by the sculptures as a kid. If you walked up the driveway, you could see through the front window where a bunch of odd looking terra cotta heads were assembled on top of her piano, viewing you with suspicion. Somewhat unnerving the first time.