Mysterious Bottle Banksy Artist Revealed
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Mystified residents have been baffled by empty milk bottles appearing on their doorsteps for months with intricate art etchings created by an artist that’s been dubbed as ‘Pic-glasso’ and ‘Bottle Banksy’ after the enigmatic guerilla graffiti artist whose work appears overnight on buildings across Britain that continually escapes unseen.
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When homeowners have gone to grab milk left from the dairyman to sit down to their morning java, they’ve been surprised to find the bottles replaced with an extra empty engraved with images of cows, mice, farmyard scenes and animals into the glass with incredible detail, and the artist long gone.
The bottles started appearing mysteriously at homes in Stourbridge, West Midlands, and surrounding villages last spring, much to the delight of the homeowners, but the identity of the artist remained unknown.
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Photo Charlotte Hughes-Martin
“My son has been trying to get up really early to catch the artist at it. But it’s like Santa — you never see them.” said a resident.
Dawn Jones, 81, from Stourbridge, said she received one drawing and was hoping to get another one. “I am collecting them for my grandchildren, they are marvelous.”
“I had heard something about this from a friend, but nobody knows who is doing it.” said Jackie Dimock, who discovered one of the bottles on her doorstep on Monday.
Jackie Dimock from Kingswinford said, “It’s like a Bottle Banksy.”
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“I was putting out the empties and I noticed there was an extra one on the doorstep.” she said.
“When I picked it up I saw there was this amazing picture on it. The milkman came to collect the bottles, but I didn’t want to give him the one with the picture on it, I’m going to keep it.”
“Who knows, it might be worth something one day.”
Some of the bottles are left out for refilling and distributed to other homes, but many have been kept as souvenirs or artworks by thrilled residents, and others have even been traded on internet auction sites.
But unlike the ever-elusive Banksy, the artist’s identity behind the milk bottle creations has been revealed as Charlotte Hughes-Martin.
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The 30-year-old artist painstakingly engraves the bottles with her own designs — some serious, and others humorous. Once completed, she returns the bottles to random doorsteps in the area, where they’re collected for refilling.
Originally from Cheshire and currently based at the Red House Glass Cone in Wordsley, Stourbridge — a former glass factory — Charlotte uses a variety of techniques, materials and styles to engrave the bottles, taking her inspiration from everyday life. And fittingly, many of her etchings are milk related or feature cows.
Two pieces of her work had been short-listed for the prestigious national Glass Biennale prize.
“The first time I did it, it felt kind of naughty — like I was doing something a bit weird, not like giving a gift. I guess I got a bit of a thrill.”
The artist said she had been motivated by a desire to show how “domestic, everyday objects can be things of beauty too.”
The former lecturer has been dropping off batches of her work at random homes for months.
Photo Charlotte Hughes-Martin
Photo Charlotte Hughes-Martin
Photo Charlotte Hughes-Martin
“I like to give people a surprise and make them do a double-take when they step outside their front doors in the morning to pick up their pints of milk.” she said.
“I’ve been etching the bottles for months, then, every so often, I’ll head out one morning and drop them off at random houses all around the area.”
“I decided to do this because milk bottles get passed around an awful lot during their lifetime. The milk bottle you have in your hand has probably been to another 20 people or so beforehand.”
“They are simply washed and passed along. I thought this was a great way of getting art out there.”
“Everyone should be able to enjoy art in their everyday life and I just love the idea that my designs could bring a smile to someone’s face as they make a cup of tea in the morning.”
Charlotte says she buys the bottles from local shops where they’re sold filled with orange juice and works on them in her spare time.
A spokesman for Dairy Crest which delivers in the area said, “This seems to be a nice idea, so far we haven’t had any complaints.”
Photo Charlotte Hughes-Martin
Photo Charlotte Hughes-Martin
The milk bottle etcher has been compared to graffiti artist Banksy —
a work of his graffiti in Portobello Road, London. Photo PA
“Reaction to this milk bottle project has come as a bit of a shock to me. The project started out as something I was doing for myself, and so the immediate interest received from such a wide audience and the Press has been a little overwhelming.”
“I like the idea of finding art in unusual places. It’s happened to me a few times, and when I get to see these special sights it makes me feel privileged, like I’ve been trusted with a really excellent secret.”
“I wanted to make others feel the same way — be it the person who notices this bottle on their doorstep, the milkman, or the dairy worker who wonders what’s going on.”
“I’ve been thinking about why some glass is considered precious, yet some is discarded like it’s nothing. It seems that every family has a special set of glasses that are either never used, or just kept for special occasions. It always struck me that whenever I used these ‘special’ glasses I was always too nervous using them to enjoy the experience.”
“As a glass maker myself I find this really frustrating. I’ve spent a lot of my life learning how to make glass which can be functional and beautiful and to find them relegated to the cupboard is sad.”
“Yet there is another level of glass that we take for granted — functional everyday ware that we care so little for, and is simply discarded. I love the idea of taking this so familiar item of glass and elevating it to the level of art.”
“Part of my fondness for the bottles is due to the fact that they hark back to my childhood. I grew up in a slightly old fashioned village and remember my family’s’ milk being delivered by horse and cart.”
Photo Charlotte Hughes-Martin
Photo Charlotte Hughes-Martin
Photo Charlotte Hughes-Martin
“The aim of this project was firstly to have a bit of fun; to release art into “the world” and see what would happen. If I introduced something new into the communal glass arena, being moved from one person to another, would it open peoples’ eyes to more of the everyday stuff around them? Would I make the milkman paranoid at the graffiti, and would it get back to the dairy?”
“I was curious to see what would happen.”
“I have started experimenting by taking glass forms and aim to make large scale, highly polished, cast glass.”
Visit Charlotte Hughes-Martin’s website to learn more, or contact her by email.
Sources: Telegraph, Daily Mail, and Express and Star
Tags:art artist artists Bottle Banksy Charlotte Hughes Martin glass etching graffiti milk bottles Pic glasso
Amazing Glass Art*
Chihuly Cows!!
)
I was watching Casino Royale the other night + they had that World Body Art Exhibit you profiled!!
Yer Everywhere!!
Revealed? CMIIW..
She’s definitely talented, Billy
I’ve also seen Body Worlds as a setting in CSI Miami.
Hi.Really nice article,enjoyed reading it.
She’s really good and very talented, but I really prefer the latest photos than the drawings on milk bottles…
She’s definitely progressed from her initial works, Jong. As with most artists, their talents increase as they continue to create and experiment.