Tag: art

An epic lucha libre match in Hillcrest!

Those who’ve passed through Hillcrest recently might have observed an epic lucha libre wrestling match taking place near the sidewalk. When I walked by last Saturday, a fierce luchador had his opponent in a devastating head lock. Several onlookers were cheering! And a young would-be luchador was standing by, emulating his masked hero!

The big wrestling event, as you might have guessed, is colorfully painted street art. Two electrical boxes have become canvases for the scene!

The artist is Gerardo Meza. Here’s his Instagram page. You’ve quite possibly seen other examples of his work around San Diego, particularly down in San Ysidro near the Mexican border. That’s where I originally discovered some of his very unique street art many years ago.

You, too, can watch this fun lucha libre wrestling on Sixth Avenue, a bit south of Anderson Place!

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Gourd and Basket Guild exhibit at Central Library.

Stunning works of hand made art can be viewed in five glass display cases on the Second Floor of San Diego’s downtown Central Library. As a sign explains, the Misti Washington Gourd and Basket Guild is showcasing the variety of technique and materials used by the guild’s talented artists.

The San Diego group weaves baskets and creates gourd art. It appeared to me that most pieces are composed of natural materials. Looking at these amazing works, I noted that materials include pine needles, cedar, bear grass, reed, willow…

The Misti Washington Gourd and Basket Guild welcomes everyone who might be interested in learning or practicing their craft in a supportive community. Members range from beginners to professionals.

The exhibit will be visible through November, 2024. Check out the exhibit website here.

And if you’d like to read more about the guild, here’s their website.

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

A fun gathering place for San Diego crafters!

There’s a very cool place in San Diego where those who love crafting can learn, work, and enjoy the fellowship of others with similar interests.

That place is the San Diego Craft Collective!

I was walking through Liberty Station in Point Loma last weekend when I stumbled upon crafters working outside one building. They were power carving wood and assembling stained glass. When I poked my nose through the open doors of the nearby studio, I was greeted with a smile and shown lots of amazing stuff produced by creative people in the crafting community.

The San Diego Craft Collective has classes and equipment for creative makers of all ages. They have woodworking, clay and glass working areas, and there is bench space where people can work on their unique projects. A room full of sewing machines was very busy when I peeked in.

Walking every which way with my camera, I found macramé, puppets, ceramics, jewelry . . . you name it!

I’ve learned the spacious studio is also a great place to hold a birthday party or special event!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

Tower of Ten Billion Stars stands in San Diego!

A very unique sculpture can now be approached by the public on San Diego’s waterfront. More construction fences have come down at the new Research and Development District (RaDD) complex!

The Tower of Ten Billion Stars is another work of monumental art on what is called the RaDD Artwalk. You can spy the narrow oblong sculpture standing strangely on one end, by looking south from Broadway, east of Harbor Drive.

The creator of this shimmering “tower” is Lindy Lee, a Chinese-Australian artist. As its official description states here, it stands as both a beacon and wayfinder.

Hundreds of small holes in the sculpture’s side allow the passage of bright daylight. The holes shine like visible stars in a silvery sky. They seem to form constellations. Stars–like the North Star–have been wayfinders since ancient times, right?

I’m not sure why it’s a Tower of Ten Billion Stars. There are 100 to 400 billion stars in our own Milky Way galaxy. And there are between 100 billion and 2 trillion galaxies in the Universe.

Perhaps this curving tower is like a tiny, tiny, infinitesimal sliver of the inconceivably vast and mysterious Cosmos.

I walked around the sculpture this evening and took some photographs. I love those reflections of palm trees and nearby tall buildings!

(I also love how “beyond boundaries” can be read nearby. Astronomers can only theorize. The words are actually in reference to a World Design Capital event being held at RaDD.)

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Thank you for sharing!

The Art of Immortalizing Heroes in San Diego!

An extraordinary War Memorial can now be experienced inside the old Command Center building at Point Loma’s Liberty Station, former home of the Naval Training Center San Diego. The artistic Memorial is titled The Art of Immortalizing Heroes by PISANO Artistry.

A long hallway is filled with amazing three dimensional murals made primarily of painted drywall screws! Over 100,000 of them! The Memorial is also composed of thousands of dog tags and wooden stars.

On the wall opposite the 3D murals is a long corrugated panel that replicates both the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Freedom Wall.

About 2000 volunteers in the military and San Diego community helped to make this War Memorial. It also celebrates Liberty Station’s Centennial.

The artist is Joe Pisano. He envisioned a Memorial for Veterans who haven’t been able to visit the War Memorials in Washington, DC. It honors all those who’ve served in the United States Armed Forces.

I’m so glad I discovered this Memorial on Veterans Day weekend, so that you can experience it, too.

Does this unique artwork appear familiar? I covered Joe Pisano’s drywall screw art in 2023 at the USS Midway Museum. See that old blog post, complete with a photo of Joe smiling, here!

Vietnam Conflict panel. Three soldiers returning from patrol.

Global War on Terrorism panel shows the Battlefield Cross in tribute to those lost in Iraq and Afghanistan..

Unsung Heroes panel. A variety of heroes, past, present and future.

World War I panel, with soldiers and a field of poppies.

Korean War panel of soldiers on patrol.

Funeral Honors panel, depicting Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

World War II panel, with Marines and Navy Corpsmen raising the flag at Iwo Jima.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Art treasures of Maritime Museum: Celebrating the Sea!

Inchcliffe Castle, San Diego, circa 1940, by artist Anton Otto Fischer.

An important new exhibition has opened at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. It’s titled Celebrating the Sea: Exploring the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s Hidden Collection.

Notable works of original art in the museum’s extensive collection have been placed on view. Included are beautiful paintings of ships, local scenes that include San Diego Bay, and coastal vistas. Many of the pieces are by renowned artists, like Maurice Braun and Arthur Beaumont.

Visitors will also marvel at rare artifacts, such as an antique Chinese lacquer cabinet with ivory chess set, circa 1720.

The fine exhibition reinforces the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s reputation as a world-famous destination for lovers of both art and the sea!

Coaling Station on the San Diego Waterfront, 1930s, by artist Marie DuBarry.

East View of the Coast Guard Station, 1934-1937, by artist Maurice Braun.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Holiday craft sale coming to Balboa Park!

Attention holiday shoppers! The big annual Balboa Park craft sale is fast approaching!

San Diego’s AgeWell Services Craft Sale will be held at the Casa del Prado next weekend, November 16 and 17, 2024, from 9 am to 3 pm each day.

Senior crafters (age 60 and better) will be displaying handmade goods inside Room 101 and on the two outdoor patios.

The family friendly event is free to the public!

So mark your calendars! Then make sure to come on down to Balboa Park to discover beautiful crafts and works of art made with loving hands. You’ll find heartwarming Christmas presents for loved ones–or for yourself!

You’ll be rewarding creative seniors in our San Diego community, too!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Statue of basketball legend Bill Walton at YMCA!

A bronze statue of basketball legend Bill Walton with his beloved bicycle stands just outside the entrance of the Mission Valley YMCA in San Diego!

I heard the San Diego Blood Bank was having a blood drive in honor of Bill Walton at this YMCA today, so I figured I’d come on down. Of course, I had to take photographs of Bill Walton’s joyful sculpture!

Here’s a 2016 article about the sculpture’s creation. It explains: Bill Walton led the UCLA Bruins to national championships in the early 1970s before playing for San Diego Clippers, the Portland Trail Blazers, and Boston Celtics and joining the NBA. Walton won two NBA championships and was named the NBA valuable player. He was also a very dedicated Grateful Dead Deadhead!

The artist who created the life-size, carefully detailed sculpture is Alison Brown. She really captured his energy and love of life. Bill frequently visited the Mission Valley YMCA, and he would greet everyone with his big smile.

Bill Walton grew up in La Mesa near Lake Murray and played high school basketball at Helix High School. He spent his later years living in San Diego, where he was an active public figure and loved by many. Check out his Wikipedia page to learn of his many accomplishments.

The statue’s plaque recalls how Bill Walton spent many hours at the Mission Valley YMCA. Because the indoor pool soothed his chronic pain, he said the Y saved his life.

Finally, here’s the web page concerning today’s inaugural Bill Walton Memorial Blood Drive. There’s a button you can click if you’d like to donate blood in the future. You can schedule a visit to the San Diego Blood Bank or learn of upcoming blood drives!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Youth Artist Showcase comes to Balboa Park!

This afternoon, a special Youth Artist Showcase was enjoyed by the public in San Diego. The Ecologik Institute, in partnership with Forever Balboa Park, assembled talented young women in Balboa Park near the Bea Evenson Fountain to celebrate their achievements.

The mission of the Ecologik Institute is to empower young women to be champions for nature, innovators in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, warriors for environmental stewardship, leaders in their communities, and changemakers who create a positive impact on the world around them.

The Youth Artist Showcase was part of a larger effort to brainstorm new ideas of how to bring art into Balboa Park in the future.

I was lucky to arrive at the Bea Evenson Fountain when I did. I observed a bustle of activity and learned this special event was soon to get underway.

Enjoy these photographs!

First up, Cindy was showing a project that included images of birds that can be observed in Balboa Park. She also keeps a sketch book.

Next, I enjoyed viewing some great artwork by young artists! Here are two samples…

Then came a wonderful performance of selected dances from The Nutcracker, by members of the San Diego Civic Youth Ballet!

As usual, they’ll be performing The Nutcracker at the Casa del Prado Theater in Balboa Park this holiday season!

Finally, I listened to an excellent performance by four members of the Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Cool photo memories from November 2019.

New month–time to enjoy a little history!

Five years ago, during November 2019, Cool San Diego Sights featured photographs from a variety of interesting places and events. My favorite event by far was the San Diego and Arizona Railway centennial that was held out in Campo.

If you have a curious mind, and if you’d like to take a time machine back five years and look at some of those old photographs, click the links that are coming up!

To see many fascinating photographs, click the following links:

Colorful photos of Escondido Tamale Festival!

Public art in Escondido: two female bronzes.

Amazing exhibition of Japanese washi fiber art.

Marigolds add meaning to El Campo Santo.

A walk around the Escondido History Center.

Vintage postcards remember old San Diego.

Community volunteers beautify City Heights!

Painting cool new murals in City Heights!

Amazing walk up the historic Helix Flume Trail!

A ride on the San Diego and Arizona Railway!

Photos of San Diego and Arizona Railway centennial!

Concert celebrates organist Jared Jacobsen.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.