JEFFERSON PARK — As potholes pop up across the city, Jim Bachor will transform them into works of art with a decidedly trashy theme.
The mosaics will feature pieces of litter like crushed pop cans, Bachor announced.
"The series is called 'Pretty Trashed' and will feature garbage you'd find in the street anyway, but hopefully a little more artfully rendered," Bachor said.
For the third year in a row, Bachor — a mosaic artist who lives on the border between Mayfair and Jefferson Park — will take to the streets to turn the bane of every Chicago driver's existence into a whimsical work of art designed to ease the sting of a broken axle or flat tire.
A successful Kickstarter campaign — which raised $15,122 despite having an initial goal of only $1,000 — means Bachor will get to install his glass and tile mosaics across Chicago, and perhaps in other cities, he said.
Bachor created his first Chicago flag-themed pothole mosaic in May 2013 after becoming frustrated with a pothole in front of his house, and along the way has become "the world's expert on filling potholes."
Other pothole mosaics have featured flowers, the number of potholes the city says it fills every year and phone numbers for local car repair shops, Bachor said.
Last year, the mosaics featured depictions of ice cream and other summer treats as part of Bachor's Treats in the Streets series.
Bachor said he hopes to create this year's first pothole mosaic in the coming weeks as the weather warms up.
Suggestions for potholes for Bachor to fill can be sent to the artist via email at jim@bachor.com.
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