When walking along the street the only reason I look down at a manhole or underground access cover is to make sure the heel of my 4″ stiletto doesn’t get stuck. Considering I rarely wear 4″ heels any more, let’s just say I really don’t pay attention to manholes… until recently.
Meet Jesus (pronounced hay-soos) Salgueiro…
Jesus is an amazing artist. If you visit his on-line studio called Susej Arts I think you’ll be in awe. I am. The tag line reads: Art inspired by Love. I love that. I’m listening to his lovely choice of music on his website as I write this post.
GiGi adores Jesus and his other half – Chef Art Smith. She mentioned to me a few years ago when they traveled to Croatia together that he checked out the local manholes and made manhole cover art. I really didn’t understand what it was all about. It’s something he’s done for many years around the world. Here’s a photo of Jesus and GiGi…
A year or so ago, Lisa at Pick Me Yard wrote about Jesus and his Art Studio in Chicago. I was enamored with everything about him, but I still didn’t really understand the how’s and why’s except that it looked really cool.
The other night I was browsing through GiGi’s photos from her recent European vacation with Jesus, Art and his mother…
They went to Rome, Monaco (during the Grand Prix), Portofino, St. Tropez, Cannes (during the film festival), Portoferraio, Nice and more. Art was the Celebrity Guest Chef for the Chaine des Rotisseurs Mediterranean Wine Cruise on a gorgeous 5-masted ship called the Windstar Windsurf for a week…
That’s a photo of Chef Art talking to Host Jonathon Baltuch (on left), Vice Charge de Missions for the Atlanta Chapter of the Chaine des Rotisseurs. In the middle is Chef Reilly Meehan. Reilly is the winner of the 2011 Young Chef Competitions in both the USA and International and worked with Art on the Cruise.
They went on to a villa in Buggio, Italy (a 1,000 year old stone village with 87 residents) where they were hosted by the gracious and incredible, Helle Duus Alex, founder of SistaEnable (sustainable), a champion for women’s rights…
What a memorable trip! I might share more of GiGi’s photos this week.
While looking through the photos, right smack in the middle of gorgeous buildings, lush landscapes and sparkling waters I saw this…
Suddenly, I understood the story behind Jesus’s beautiful manhole cover art. If you think about it, almost every country in the world has manholes. Each of them are unique and most identify the city where they lie.
As Jesus travels he carries his special paper and chalk, searching out manhole covers in each city…
When he finds an interesting cover he pulls out his art supplies and gets to work…
Of course, he quickly becomes the center of attention…
That doesn’t bother him, he’s in creative mode… and he makes art.
Isn’t it amazing? He has them from all around the world… how cool is that? Some people collect shot glasses, Jesus creates art.
Look at this stack of Manhole Art that Lisa got to see at his studio…
Photo courtesy of PickMeYard
Here are more photos from his creative journey this past month…
Below is Jesus in a very old abandoned church he discovered while exploring the hillsides near Buggio. His dream is to someday make it into his art studio…
Pretty fabulous, isn’t it? Considering that Jesus is most renowned for his heart and angel paintings, I think the graffiti hearts are a sign that one day… it might just happen. xo Amy
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