Jimmy Beans: A Candy-Coated Tribute
by Magdalin Leonardo
Marfa pages are:
All text and images © 1998 Magdalin Leonardo.
Tom’s Patio and Country Cottage, an adorable little pit stop on West Highway 90, bills itself as "Alpine’s Only Plant Nursery & Country Gift Shop." But it’s much more than that. It was once the temporary home of the beautiful James Dean Jelly Bean Mural, a huge candy-coated tribute to the late great star.
A man in Marfa gave me the tip on this sweet work of art. Unfortunately it was no longer on display at Tom's by the time I got there; it had been loaned to the store about a year ago as part of a local art exhibit. Luckily, the store's manager still had pictures of it.
"Jimmy Beans" -- as I Iike to call it -- must have looked pretty amazing in person. This marvelous work of art was made from 10,000 jelly beans and measured a massive 4 ft. x 4 ft. It was created by artist Peter Rocha for The Jelly Belly Company of Illinois. Rocha has created many other murals for the Jelly Belly Company too, including ones of Elvis, Laurel & Hardy, Johnny Carson, President Ronald Reagan, even the Statue of Liberty!
Cotton Candy. Orange Sherbet. Strawberry Cheesecake. Champagne Punch. Mmmm...these are just a few of the jelly bean flavors the Jelly Belly Company is famous for. Jelly Belly sells 40 different flavors in all, but there's no telling which ones were used for this tasty tribute.
One thing's for sure: if you’re interested, you can own one of these delicious murals yourself. Of course, it's going to cost you. The average price of Jelly Belly's murals ranges from $3,000 to $6,000.
Yikes--that's a lot of beans! But wouldn't this mural be just perfect for The James Dean Gallery? Don't worry; I've already told David Loehr all about it. Maybe you'll be seeing "Jimmy Beans" in Fairmount one day soon...
In the meantime, check out some of Jelly Belly’s murals for yourself at their way cool website (www.jellybelly.com). It's yummy fun...you can even order some jelly beans while you're at it! All text and images © 1998 Magdalin Leonardo, email magdalin2000@earthlink.net
NEXT: Part One, Reata Restaurant, Alpine
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- “Jimmy Beans”
- Part One, Reata Restaurant, Alpine
- Reata Restaurant, Alpine, Part Two
- About the Author
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