The terrifying Frankenstein monster and his bride have invaded City Heights!
The rampaging pair are frequently spotted near University Avenue, in the alley just east of the North Park Car Wash.
This graffiti version of classic Hollywood monsters was painted by Ground Floor Murals, the artists who’ve created San Diego Padres players murals all around the city.
Keep your eyes open! Be careful which alley you walk down, because you might encounter the fierce bride of Frankenstein and her monstrous groom!
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Last year, an incredible mural debuted outside the House of Boxing Training Center in Paradise Hills. Ground Floor Murals painted legendary boxers Canelo Álvarez and Manny Pacquiao on the building’s north wall, by a small parking lot.
I took these photos a couple weekends ago when I walked through the neighborhood.
Parked cars and bright sun shining down directly above the roofline made photography difficult, so I captured the spray painted artwork up close. I’ve added contrast with my graphics editor.
Check it out!
Mexican boxer Canelo Álvarez art by Ground Floor Murals at the House of Boxing in Paradise Hills, San Diego.Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao art by Ground Floor Murals at the House of Boxing in Paradise Hills, San Diego.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
There’s an extremely important exhibit in Balboa Park that very few people see. The San Diego City Clerk Archives and Parks and Recreation Department have created a fascinating display of original historical documents concerning the creation and development of San Diego’s world-famous park.
Last weekend, I was poking my nose into the Balboa Park Club building to see if there might be folk dancing in the ballroom, when I spied old letters, maps, petitions, resolutions and photographs on a wall of the grand foyer. I almost missed them in the dimly lit corner!
The exhibit is titled 1,400 Acre City Park – The Journey to Balboa Park.
There are seven parts to the exhibit: Park Idea, 1868; Founding of City Park, 1868; Uses of City Park, 1868-1900; Plantings, 1893-1904; Park Designs, 1891-1905; 1400-Acre City Park Name Change, 1910-1913; and Park Activities Since 1915.
Among the many historical documents, I observed the original 1868 citizens petition for a public park; correspondence to Balboa Park visionaries George Marston and Kate Sessions; a letter from mayor Douglas Gunn to the Common Council; and the Board of Park Commissioners’ 1913 petition to give City Park the name of Balboa Park.
If you’re a San Diego history buff, this extraordinary “hidden” exhibit is a positively must see!
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Would you like to help clean up the San Diego River? There’s a volunteer event coming up that might interest you!
I was in Mission Valley this morning when I saw a poster promoting the First Annual San Diego River March. This coffee, walk and cleanup is being put on by the Ecological Servants Project, a newly formed organization based in El Cajon.
The founder of the Ecological Servants Project writes in a newsletter how his difficult life was transformed, in part by an encounter with nature’s boundless beauty. He came to understand that life itself is beautiful.
I do know the San Diego River could use many helping hands.
The date for the volunteer cleanup is Friday, March 18, 2022.
You can find all of the details at their website here!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Want to be inspired? Head up to the Oceanside Museum of Art!
The museum’s 2022 Artist Alliance Biennial will probably take your breath away, with its many works of outstanding art. The pieces were all created by regional artists; of about 900 entries juried, only 61 were accepted. The exhibit will continue through May 1, 2022.
As I moved through the gallery yesterday, I thought about human potential and began to feel little overwhelmed.
There’s no end to the creativity that can issue from human contemplation and imagination. Our potential is truly infinite.
But life is so very short.
It occurred to me that in one passing life, eyes can see very little–an infinitesimal fraction of the entire world and all the incredible art ever made, and that will ever or could ever be made.
Oh, to see it all, go everywhere, do everything . . .
The minutes I spent at the Oceanside Museum of Art were very sweet.
At the Heart of Life’s Journey, 2021, Cathy Carey. Oil on linen.Ascent in Yellow, 2021, Fiona Phillips. Oil and copper leaf.Marionette Puppet #4, 2020, Linda Phillips. Oil on canvas.Laguna Boys, 2022, Kimberleigh Wood. Oil on 2.5″ wood boxed panel.El Gallo Rojo, 2021, Frank Vining. Epoxy fiberglass and sculpting epoxy.Free as a Bird, 2021, Sue DeWulf. Low fire ceramic sculptural assemblage.Coming Up Roses, 2020, Roberta Dyer. Mixed media on canvas.Park Under a Golden Night, 2021, Duke Windsor. Acrylic and applied imitation gold leaf.There Goes Mom, 2020, Lisa Bebi. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.Sick King, 2015, Kenda Francis. Mixed acrylic media on canvas.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Dance Break Oaxaca, by Linda Anderson. Cotton, bamboo batting, textile paints, thread.
I headed to Escondido today to experience an incredible art exhibition on its final day.
Surface, Substance, Structure featured work by artists who belong to the guild California Fibers. Dozens of amazing pieces filled the galleries at the Museum of the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
The thing about fibers is they curl and intersect and tangle and twist and naturally form beautiful complexity, even if you must look closely.
I was completely amazed by the creativity of these regional fiber artists. Innovative quilts, wire sculptures, baskets, fabric portraits and constructions–there seemed no end to the artistry their hands could produce.
Well, the exhibition is now over, so this blog is a bit late in coming. But you might be awed, or even inspired, by some of the pieces I photographed…
Surprising fabric creations awaited around every corner!Visitors to the museum were encouraged to feel the texture of these fiber art samples.SoCal Mama, by Kathy Nida. Commercial and hand-dyed fabric.Earth Vessel, by Brecia Kravolic-Logan. Reed, paper, patinaed copper, beach glass, driftwood stand, twined, glazed, netted.Small Wonders, by Charlotte Bird. Art quilt. (Microbes remain, even after a good washing!)Exploring Too, by Peggy Wiedemann. Pine needles, Irish waxed linen.Styling, by Peggy Wiedemann. Pine needles, waxed linen, rag cordage from India, old metal wheels, glass beads.Time Warp, by Lydia Tjioe Hall. Steel wire, waxed linen, cast bronze.LAVAfolds, by Cameron Taylor-Brown. Weaving photographic transfer, quilting, embroidery.Wandering the City, by Debby Weiss. Cotton, stitching, applique.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Huge juicy hamburgers, served with precious gold, tempt the eyes of those visiting the Oceanside Museum of Art!
I said gold?
Yes!
The hamburger paintings and a sculpture, by San Diego artist Duke Windsor, are made to shine with the application of gold leaf. He was inspired by the gilt religious icons in the collection of Balboa Park’s Timken Museum. (Would that make these hamburgers secular icons?)
Comic books and graphic novels can be used in schools to stir excitement for reading, and to explore and teach a variety of subjects.
Today a panel of educators shared their thoughts about Words and Pictures Together. The hour-long panel was part of a Will Eisner Week event at the San Diego Comic-Con Museum.
Will Eisner was a pioneering cartoonist and writer whose work both inspired and influenced almost every comic artist that followed him. He practically invented the graphic novel. His amazing artwork is legendary. His stories are often complex, surprising, challenging and philosophical. Not unlike great literature.
The panelists at the Comic-Con Museum yesterday discussed how they have used Eisner’s work and other comics in the classroom.
As I sat in the audience listening, I learned there are many benefits to using certain comic books or graphic novels as educational tools.
Perhaps most importantly, they are accessible to young people. Particularly kids who struggle with reading. Those who resist reading or have limited language skills will often turn the pages of a comic, greedily devouring both words and pictures. After all, most comic books and graphic novels are written to engage and excite.
Another benefit can be the development of critical thinking. There are plots to analyze and characters to understand. Allusions and themes can provide subject matter for discussion. Stories that involve historical events or contemporary issues can open a young mind to interesting ideas and questions.
And there is the graphic art itself. Why did the artist make certain choices? The page layout, typography, style, visual point of view . . .
What I found most inspiring was that students can be encouraged to make their own comic art. To tell their own stories. Express their own thoughts and feelings. When you’re a young person, secretly unsure of many things and trying to figure out life, personal expression can help you grow.
By producing their own comic or graphic novel, students also learn how to plan a creative project and execute it. And they write!
What’s more, the opportunity to show their finished art provides a sense of accomplishment!
The panelists mentioned a few works and web pages that you can use or peruse:
Years ago I described how high school students in San Diego were creating their own graphic novel. Their amazing Jasper and the Spirit Skies was launched last year at Comic-Con@Home! You can revisit that past blog post here.
There’s another reason why I found this panel of educators so interesting. Classrooms around the world are reading my short story One Thousand Likes. This small work of fiction (no pictures!) concerns the use of social media and human isolation. Read the story here.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera (and write)! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
The amazing Star Trek exhibit at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park has expanded!
The special exhibit, titled Gene Roddenberry: Sci-Fi Visionary, includes original costumes, props, historical documents and artifacts related to the creation of Star Trek. The life, writings and visionary efforts of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry are highlighted.
I blogged about the exhibit the weekend it opened here.
Well, check out what I saw today!
New additions include costumes worn by actress Majel Barrett, primarily from her role as Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Majel Barret was Gene’s wife. You might recall she also played nurse Christine Chapel in Star Trek: The Original Series. Majel Barrett-Roddenberry was often called the First Lady of Star Trek.
In addition, amazing works of Star Trek art now decorate one museum wall! These large, inventive LEGO brick character portraits and scene recreations, assembled by a master builder, will blow your mind!
I visited the Comic-Con Museum today to listen to an interesting Will Eisner Week panel concerning the use of comic books and graphic novels in education. I’ll blog about that shortly!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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