Gazing east through dark trees into Balboa Park. The California Tower is a small spike inside a golden sunrise.
Early yesterday morning, the weather was so pleasant that I decided to walk to work. It’s about a four and a half mile journey. I started from downtown San Diego up Sixth Avenue along the west edge of Balboa Park, walked from Bankers Hill into Hillcrest, then finally descended Bachman Place into Mission Valley.
These photos capture the golden glow of a cloudless sunrise. Moving through the warm morning light was a modest adventure in a magical world.
Buildings along Sixth Avenue on Bankers Hill reflect breaking day one early January morning.A warm glow and reflection on the Redwood Bridge Club sign at the west edge of Balboa Park.A stately house at Sixth Avenue and Upas Street seems magical.Happy orange flowers poke through some bars along the sidewalk.The Tap House has a glowing light bulb on their business in Hillcrest.The sky is gradually brightening above a shadowy Hillcrest alley.A reddish splash in blue water. Morning photo of the fountain in front of Scripps Mercy Hospital.Eucalyptus trees in warm winter morning light. Photo taken while walking down Bachman Place into Mission Valley.Reflection in windows of the once-proud San Diego Union Tribune building in Mission Valley. The newspaper offices are moving to a smaller location downtown.
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Exotic elephant on wall of the Crest Cafe in Hillcrest, created by San Diego artist Cody Griffith in 2012.
Here are two of my favorite street murals in San Diego. The colorful elephant appears on the outside west wall of the Crest Cafe in Hillcrest. It was painted by local artist Cody Griffith in 2012. The monstrous Tyrannosaurus rex dinosaur with a funny fuzzy rider can be seen in North Park, at the corner of University Avenue and Ray Street. This cool urban artwork was created by Mark Paul Deren, who also goes by the name Madsteez.
It’s a street art battle of monstrous proportions!
Funny urban art in North Park. A cool T. rex and rider rise high above a concrete mixer truck. Created by artist Mark Paul Deren, also known as Madsteez.Another fun example of creativity in the diverse and wonderful city of San Diego.
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A flock of San Diego River ducks. The curious birds seem to wait for a morning bus at the Fashion Valley Transit Center.
Just a quick, fun post!
This morning, a flock of San Diego River ducks were happily waddling about the Fashion Valley Transit Center. They fearlessly mingled with the humans, who watched the proceedings with amusement. Perhaps those curious feathered friends were also waiting for a bus!
Many outdoor sculptures are being introduced into Balboa Park. The exhibit is titled Art of the Open Air. It’s a unique project of the San Diego Museum of Art.
During the past week, a number of sculptures in the San Diego Museum of Art’s collection have been carefully moved into the Plaza de Panama, a large outdoor gathering place in Balboa Park. For the next two years, anyone in San Diego will be able to freely enjoy the sculptures, and see them in changing light, beneath different skies. Moving such large pieces has taken a lot of work, but I noticed today that the installation, titled Art of the Open Air, is approaching completion.
Included in the unique outdoor exhibition are works by world-famous artists Joan Miró, Auguste Rodin and Tony Rosenthal. I wasn’t able to approach the artwork too closely–right now, while the sculptures are being readied, they’re still roped off. The same goes for a new piece in the museum’s May S. Marcy Sculpture Garden, which I also photographed from a bit of a distance. I put some identifying information in the photo captions.
Art of the Open Air is set to run from February 11, 2016 through February 13, 2018. I can already see that Balboa Park is going to be more lively and interesting than ever!
Alexander Calder. Spinal Column, 1968. Steel. A sculpture being installed in the San Diego Museum of Art’s outdoor May S. Marcy Sculpture Garden.Lynn Russell Chadwick. The Watchers, 1960. Bronze. Now stands in Balboa Park’s beautiful Plaza de Panama, part of the Art of the Open Air exhibition.Auguste Rodin. The Prodigal Son, 1905. Bronze. Installed in the northwest corner of the Plaza de Panama, where the sculpture Youth Taming the Wild (Horse Trainer) used to stand.I can’t find anything about this piece, but it seems strangely familiar. If you know what it is, leave a comment! UPDATE: I learned the bronze sculpture is called Mother and Daughter Seated, by Francisco Zuniga, 1971Two very fine sculptures that will soon will be approachable in Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama.Joan Miró. Solar Bird, 1966. Bronze. Standing guard near the entrance to the San Diego Museum of Art.Tony Rosenthal. Odyssey III, 1967. Aluminum.Photo across front of the San Diego Museum of Art, the north end of Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama. Outdoor art is being installed.Luis Jiménez. Border Crossing/Cruzando el Rio Bravo, 1989. Fiberglass with acrylic urethane finish. Stands outside the May S. Marcy Sculpture Court and Panama 66.Monumental totem-like sculpture depicts artist’s immigrant grandfather carrying wife and son, crossing the Rio Grande from Mexico.A large sculpture seems to stride into the life-filled Plaza de Panama in San Diego’s historic Balboa Park.
The 50th Annual Local Author Exhibit – Golden Anniversary – runs through February 29 at the downtown San Diego Public Library.
San Diego is the home of many thoughtful, creative residents. Proof of this can be seen at downtown’s San Diego Public Library, where a special exhibit features books by local writers that were published in 2015. It’s an impressive visual tribute to local writing talent. Works of fiction and nonfiction alike are on proud display. Congratulations to all!
Many exceptional books of all types were published in 2015 by local San Diego writers.One display case contains an old manual typewriter, and several lists from past years of published authors in San Diego.The many glass display cases feature books by local authors that came out in 2015. Some of the writers are quite famous!Christmas in San Diego by local legend Bill Swank. Cool San Diego Sights has 5 photos in this awesome book! What an honor!
I made a cool discovery! It’s Bill Swank’s new book Christmas in San Diego! I blogged about it a couple months ago!
Through the Dark Door of Time: SAN DIEGO 1867, a novel by Barbara McMikle. Blood of the Band: An Ipai Family Story, by David L. Toler, Jr.Sunshine/Noir II: Writing from San Diego and Tijuana. Coastal Zone, poems by Joe Safdie.7 Deadly Sins That Poison the Soul and How to Conquer Them! by A.D. Brown. States of Terror. The Advocate’s Geocache, by Teresa Burrell.Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America’s Pioneering Woman in Space, by Tam O’Shaughnessy. Troubleshooting Your Mac, by Joe Kissell.Books by local authors concern every subject imaginable, including art, history, culture and photography.Horror, detective fiction, graphic novels, young adult and children’s books . . . San Diego authors are prolific creators!Many eBooks were published online by local San Diego writers!A number of works by local authors were written in foreign languages.How to be Happy in an Unhappy World, by Marie Chapian, a New York Times Bestselling Author.Congratulations to all San Diego writers who had books published in 2015!
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Neighbors gather in San Diego’s East Village to learn how to make cool mosaic planters!
This morning, residents of San Diego gathered at Fault Line Park in East Village to learn how to make mosaic planters! The neighborhood event was put together by the Downtown San Diego Partnership and Home Depot.
To make your own cool mosaic planter, you need a clay pot, ceramic tile adhesive, and broken bits of tile, colored glass or mirror. Apply a generous coat of adhesive to the outside of the pot, then press in the colorful, shiny mosaic bits! I was told it takes a good 24 hours for the white adhesive to thoroughly dry and harden.
What a fun DIY gift idea! Or a cool craft project for a downtown apartment or condo!
I think I heard that events like this will be happening at different parks around downtown San Diego every first Saturday of the month!
An event held Saturday morning at Fault Line Park taught participants how to produce an easy, artistic craft.Home Depot sponsored the Do-it-Yourself Workshop. Everyone learned how to piece together beautiful mosaics!A layer of ceramic tile adhesive is applied to the exterior of clay pots.Lots of broken bits of tile are spread out on the table like jigsaw puzzle pieces!Art is easy! You just gotta do it!
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Native American Kumeyaay from the San Diego area work near the foot of an ewaa, a dome-shaped hut made of sycamore and oak tree branches.
Over two years ago, when Cool San Diego Sights was relatively new, I blogged about some amazing public art near the Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego. I provided just a brief glimpse, really.
The artwork, titled The Tracks We Leave Behind, created by Betsy K. Schulz in 2008, is so utterly fantastic, so absorbing, I’ve decided to blog about it once again. Whenever I walk past (which is often), I like to pause an extra few seconds beside my favorite column, which features gorgeous mosaics that depict wild nature and the Native American Kumeyaay people, who have lived around San Diego for about 12,000 years.
Living in this place we set fires to open the land and make the seeds grow. We fish all year, both near shore and deep. We walk to the canyons and the mountains–hunting, gathering food and trading . . .Public art titled The Tracks We Leave Behind, by Betsy K. Schulz, 2008, includes the image of a Kumeyaay hattepaa (coyote) howling.Beautiful handmade mosaic tiles form a Kumeyaay ispa (eagle) in flight.The bald eagle has captured a Kumeyaay hiiwaa (fish).Yellow Sycuan Suncups grace this gorgeous, detailed public artwork in downtown San Diego.The yellow bloom of a prickly pear. This sculpted tile mosaic is so phenomenal, you almost can’t remove your eyes from it!The native Kumeyaay people (also called Kumiai, Ipai-Iipay, Tipai-Tipay, Diegueño, Kamia) have lived in the San Diego region for around 12,000 years.Public art in San Diego depicts Cinon Duro Mataweer, spiritual leader (kuseyaay or tribal shaman) of the Ipai (formerly northern Diegueño) Native American Indian tribe.
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It’s hard to believe, but this photo blog of San Diego now contains over 800 posts, and features a vast universe of wonderful art–not to mention other random cool stuff! Click some links that look interesting if you’d like to explore! Have fun!
Catamaran driven into the rocks near the Grape Street pier during an El Nino storm in downtown San Diego.
Yesterday and last night an El Nino-driven storm produced very strong winds throughout San Diego. Last night as I lay in bed I listened to the wind howl and powerful gusts shake my building. So this morning I figured I’d get up and see if any damage occurred downtown.
Large branches were down, and one tree lay on the sidewalk on State Street just south of Cedar. But when I reached the Embarcadero, I saw some real devastation. Many boats had been driven aground, and were either submerged or partially submerged.
Here are some photos. They aren’t cool. But they are newsworthy. I feel badly for the people who lost their boats.
Masts of a sailboat rise above the water the morning after fierce winds buffeted San Diego’s Embarcadero.All the local television news stations had cameras at the scene. The images were truly devastating.Resident of catamaran driven aground on deck of half-submerged boat. I wish her well in this difficult situation.The seagulls were enjoying the stiff chilly morning breeze, but the worst of the gusts seem to be over by sunrise.Another boat was driven up against the boardwalk between the Hornblower dock and Maritime Museum. Just the mast was sticking out from the churning bay.Several more boats piled up right next to the Maritime Museum of San Diego.A small boat between the museum’s deep diving Dolphin submarine and the pilings. I was told the restored Swift Boat owned by the Maritime Museum of San Diego sustained some damage.The effects of El Nino winds seen up close. The wind howled during the night, and in the morning light, the damage became apparent.
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I’ve started a new photo blog! It’s called Beautiful Balboa Park! My first post concerns a beautiful but scraggly cactus garden that very few visitors see.
As you might know, I live in downtown San Diego very close to Balboa Park, so this new blog should be fairly active. I hope you enjoy it!
Here are a few of the photos:
Please follow my new blog by clicking the link below to see much, much more!
Volunteers needed! Volunteer work parties take place from 9am-12pm at the Kendall-Frost Marsh. Please wear long pants and sun or rain protection. Bring your favorite work boots or gloves, or we can provide these to you.
Yesterday I was privileged to watch citizens in San Diego teaming up to improve our environment. During the Love Your Wetlands Day event, a group of concerned people gathered together to help clean and restore the beautiful Kendall-Frost Marsh in Mission Bay.
Do you live in San Diego? Do you enjoy nature and being outdoors? Do you love seeing and protecting wildlife and birds? Do you have a bit of free time? Would you like to personally make a very big difference in this world?
Volunteers are needed to help restore San Diego wetlands! Spread the word! Find out more by contacting the San Diego Audubon Society from this page of their website! Or check out more info by clicking the above photo.
Volunteers help to restore wetlands in Mission Bay. Do you live in Pacific Beach or in greater San Diego? With a little elbow grease, you can actually make a big difference!
Cool San Diego Sights! 