Artist: Beth Jones
Project Title: The Jar That Built a University
Location: McGalliard and Oakwood
Statement:I became interested in painting an electrical box for the Box! Box! Project because I believe that unexpected and lovely art covering otherwise standard fixtures of a neighborhood will help enliven it. Public art can create pride in a community. It can show the community’s positive side. It reveals a lively interest in volunteerism, which indicates that the residents really care about their city, its past and future.
When I was considering a subject to paint, I tried to think of some symbols that are iconic to Muncie. What is unique only to Muncie? What was uniquely created here? I thought about the history of Muncie and Delaware County. Through exhibits at the Minnetrista Center and online sources, I had learned about the Gas Boom in this area and the flourishing of glass factories and studios. That led me to ponder the invention of the “Ball jar”, a glass product which was hugely influential in the lives of many Americans, not just Muncie residents.
Millions of American women and men over the decades have canned their home grown fruits and vegetables in Ball jars. The jars were in great demand through times of famine and food rationing. American women were able to feed their families nutritious foods in spite of the Great Depression and two World Wars. I imagined all of those thrifty women standing over steaming pots of sterilized jars and filling them with all of the good foods that they and their families had grown themselves.
The Ball jars helped all of those families and the profits from the jars went to their inventors and producers, the Ball brothers. Though the families may never have known it, the purchase of those jars directly led to the building of a university! The Ball brothers, who were focused on creating philanthropic projects as an outlet for their wealth, founded Ball State University. The university led to thousands of students and their families visiting Muncie throughout the years, giving the area an extremely important economic boost.
For my design, I envisioned a Ball jar with a bounty of vegetables bursting out of it or falling into it. Another panel has the same concept, except with fruits. The side panels represent the delicious foods that all of those industrious home makers might have made with their home canned goods. Some of these ideas came from seeing my grandmothers, aunts, and mother can vegetables and fruits from their own gardens. I have memories of the fantastic foods they made with these canned goods, for all of them were fabulous cooks.
Bio: My earliest memories are of creating art: drawing, painting, creating clay projects, creating collages. Creative projects always appealed to me more than any other activities. When I was between six years old and fifteen, I taught myself to do embroidery, needlepoint, cross stitch, macrame, knitting, crochet, sewing, and beading. I majored in fine arts in college and have a BFA in graphic design. I have always been eager to try new media and methods. Over the years, I have additionally tried printing, screen printing, sculpting, jewelry making, tie dye, basketry, mosaics, fused glass, fused copper, stamping, 3-D art, multimedia, computer art, loom weaving, and murals. One of my current interests is altered art, which uses mixed media and vintage materials. I still paint and draw whenever I can. Watercolors are my favorite painting medium. I enjoy drawing in pencil, colored pencils, and fine line marker. I have had several experiences with creating public murals. I won a $500 prize for a mural design entry in a competition at the Honeywell Center in northern Indiana. I personally designed and painted five murals at Riverview Elementary in Marion, IN. I formerly belonged to and exhibited with several art associations and art shows around the state. I returned to college and received a teaching license in K-12 art. I taught elementary art, with up to 600 students per year, at Grissom Elementary, one of the Muncie City Schools. I was active in a variety of professional art education associations. I am now retired from teaching and have been achieving my lifetime dream of creating an art studio within my own home, where I can store my art supplies and display my own artwork. Coincidentally, my daughters and I created and painted several murals to decorate various rooms in our home.