3D Design Model

The design for the fence has two major themes: 1) to reflect the colorful heritage of the Baltimore Arabber cart tradition and 2) to complement and play off of the fruit trees planted in the greened area.

Baltimore Arrabbers are street cart vendors local to the east coast. Arrabbing is predominantly a male, African American tradition of selling fruit out of a horse-drawn wagon. On Bruce Street we are lucky enough to have one of the oldest Arabber barns in Baltimore! With this design, I wanted to draw attention to the horses and create a space for them to roam. The entrances of the fence feature two horse-drawn wagons with fruit spilling out over the top of them. The fruit then continues to enlarge, and pears, apples and cherries cascade down the rest of the fence. On the back, a different assemblage of fruits are painted directly onto the fence. To make the fence into a more solid structure I also added more boards to the back. This made the fence into a wall-like structure and made it easy to transform the fence into a mural.

For my senior thesis studio, I made a 3D model of the entire fence out of basswood. To explain the process, I took images of just the middle section of the fence through the different transitions.

NOTE: This does not include the cut-out pieces that will be on the front of the fence.

Here is a picture of a Baltimore Arabber. They are hardly seen in the streets anymore because many of their barns have been shut down. Many cities have made them illegal, but Baltimore is one of the last cities to hold onto this tradition.

First Fence Sightings

I started working with Parks and People when a friend of mine, Bryant Smith, started telling me about a project he was just funded for that involved a need for artists. Bryant took me out to see one of lots he and his team had recently transformed into an urban "green" space. Many vacant houses get torn down in Baltimore and create spaces where people then decide to dump their garbage. The Great Parks Division of Parks and People take care of "greening" these properties.

The Bruce Street project is one of the largest lots in Watershed 263, a water drainage system composed of more than a hundred storm drains that empties into the Chesapeake Bay. Bryant and his team cleaned out the lot, planted fruit tress, and put up a large wooden fence to prevent further dumping. The space has been transformed into a green area for the community. With a little extra stimulus money, Bryant was able to hire me on as the artist to design and complete the fence to further integrate the space from eyesore to park. The beautification of the fence would also prevent people from backing their trucks up to dump more waste.

These are pictures from my fist sight visit.

Where is the Fence?

West Baltimore within the Watershed 263 , 2 blocks up from the Bon Secour Community Building.