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Upon arriving in Beaufort two years ago, J.W. and his wife, Jenny, inherited the Mermaid Project, a town art effort that might have drowned if not for their enthusiastic leadership. Now 31 mesmerizing ladies of the sea‹each decorated by a local artisan‹adorn various corners of the coastal borough. "The mermaids are about public art," says the executive director of the Arts Council of Beaufort County. "There are just an incredible amount of artists here." When he's not nurturing painters and sculptors in the form of public gallery space and good old-fashioned grant money, J.W. sits in with local musicians on the blues harp and performs at festivals as a "New Vaudevillian," employing such theatrical skills as juggling, illusion and fire eating. He grew up in Nashville, served in Vietnam and has traveled all over the world making a living as a busker, but relishes this role as an arts administrator. "It's about inspiring the community to creativity."

The best thing about wearing a skirt: As an actor, you have to be in touch with your feminine side. It rounds a man out, so to speak.

His favorite thing about reading skirt!: I appreciate the graphic nature of the magazine, the visual effect. And I loved the F-Word editorial!