For many years, the face of Jimi Hendrix could be seen at the corner of Adams Avenue and Ohio Street in North Park. The cool spray painted art decorated a tattoo parlor. You can see a photo of that now vanished mural here.
During a recent walk, I noticed a new image has appeared in the same spot! Do you recognize this beautiful face? Leave a comment!
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Extraordinarily beautiful public art can be found in a seldom seen corner of San Diego’s Middletown neighborhood. A tile mosaic appears to depict a fiery, spiritual woman, rising above surging waves of colorful artwork composed of individually made tiles.
The mosaic is mostly hidden in a cranny by Kettner Boulevard, east of the Middletown trolley station, near the bottom of stairs that climb to the pedestrian bridge over Interstate 5. Few people use these stairs.
I can find no information about this mysterious public art. I took these photos today. The last time I observed it, about four years ago, the mosaic hadn’t been completed. You can see those images here.
If you know who created this stunning, very complex mural (perhaps a community project?) please leave a comment below!
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
One of San Diego’s most beautiful Christmas displays can be enjoyed inside the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park. Jewels of the Season has returned for 2023!
Over a thousand uniquely hand-crafted, jewel-like ornaments dangle from the museum ceiling, frame bright windows, fill display cases, and decorate a large Christmas tree. Visitors stepping into the Timken might feel they’ve entered a twinkling Christmas wonderland!
Thank goodness a lady at the Balboa Park Visitors Center reminded me of this annual display. I really loved last year’s Jewels of the Season and blogged about it. Check out that past blog post if you want to read about the artists and learn why these ornaments are so special!
The photographs that you see here were taken today.
Would you like to experience this magic? Visit the free Timken Museum of Art before New Year’s Day!
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Nine beautiful works of art by world-renowned sculptor James Hubbell can now be enjoyed by those visiting SDSU Mission Valley and its newly opened river park!
A soft opening of the river park at SDSU Mission Valley includes portions of the two-mile pedestrian and bike pathway that circles Snapdragon Stadium. Every quarter mile, medallions fashioned by James Hubbell and Emilie Ledieu (artist in residence at Hubbell’s Ilan-Lael Foundation) are embedded in the path marking the distance. Each mosaic medallion depicts a significant plant in local Native American Kumeyaay culture.
The first medallion you see in the above photograph can be found a very short distance west of the Stadium trolley station. The image represents Basket rush (Juncus textilis). It’s where our two mile walk will begin.
Here’s a map that shows exactly where each bit of Hubbell art can be found…
A sign in the nearby trolley plaza explains Ethnobotany and describes what each medallion represents…
Okay! Let’s go for the walk (late yesterday afternoon) and take a look at these small but very beautiful works of art, beginning at the Start medallion…
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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Chicano Park, a National Historic Landmark in San Diego, is experiencing a renaissance. Many of the outdoor murals that were painted in the late 1970s are being carefully restored.
One of the first murals to be restored is very beautiful. La Virgen de Guadalupe was originally painted by artist Mario Torero in 1978. Its two month renovation was recently completed by Mario with the help of several assistants, including close members of his family. Today many gathered to celebrate and rededicate this truly extraordinary mural.
The dedication ceremony included indigenous dance (Danza Azteca) and a blessing by Father Neal “Pepe” Wilkinson of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish. Mario Torero and his family members then spoke about the mural–of its inspiration, creation, symbolism and importance. How it represents hope for many in the community–particularly those who are in need.
Mario Torero spoke of his experience when he once touched this painted image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. He could feel that the many prayers made before the mural were alive. Everything about the place and moment felt perfect. It changed him.
Words printed on the mural state: For 45 years this monolith has kept hope and faith alive for so many people. We are sure that many miracles have been manifested.
I can say that when you stand before this glowing Virgin of Guadalupe, you feel the light she brings forth.
The next photograph is from nine years ago. It’s how the mural then appeared. A comparison shows that beautiful imagery (eagle and condor wings) and color have been added during the recent renovation…
And today…
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
A happy skeleton couple (and their dog) have been partying day and night on a street corner in Barrio Logan. Perhaps you’ve seen them, drinks in hand, having a good time, on the side of a building at Logan Avenue and Sampson Street!
I spied this mural for the first time a few days ago during a Barrio Logan walk. According to the spray painted signature, the mural was designed by Diego Romo and painted by Dent Angeles (@dentloktattooarts) earlier this year.
Enjoy these photographs!
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Unfortunately, exhibitions in Gallery 21 typically last two weeks, and tomorrow is the final day of this one. But I figured I’d post a few photos anyway, to bring attention to a group of local professional artists who actively support the San Diego Museum of Art.
I moved in a circle through the gallery, peering at various types and styles of art, wowed by the talent of these great artists.
Friendly artist Ed Whitmore, who was manning the information desk, answered my questions about his own pieces–very unique, strangely organic works. He uses the controlled oxidation of iron, copper, and bronze metal effects paints, a process that quickly creates patina.
Check out one of his pieces…
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
A cracked stone stands in Encinitas, enfolded by a rock wall whose ends appear unfinished. Those who walk past might pause and wonder.
The vertical stone seems timeless–like an ancient monolith.
When I first saw this unusual monument near the intersection of Encinitas Boulevard and Vulcan Avenue, I wondered what it might be.
Plaques near the standing stone explained this was a Veterans Memorial, established by the City of Encinitas, dedicated on December 7, 2003. It soon will be National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, when this memorial will be twenty years old.
I took photographs of the Veterans Memorial, then sought more information. I found this blog that transcribes the various plaques, one of which I didn’t observe during my walk. It reads:
These memorial walls are meant to be reminiscent of ancient walls, the shapes referring to “the waving flag.” Both ends of the large memorial wall are left unfinished, representing the unfinished lives of those who have perished in the line of duty. The large monolithic stone water feature within the memorial, trickles water slowly as tears, speaking back to those who mourn.
The ultimate goal in the design of this memorial wall is to offer a sense of quiet sympathy to the visitor, reminding those of us who take so much for granted, just how much others have given in protecting our freedoms.
Here’s an article from 2003 that provides a good explanation of the memorial and its creator, Michael Ames Clark, from nearby Cardiff.
I was interested to learn the artist’s vision was made real by landscape architects Schmidt Design Group. They’ve created dozens of outdoor projects around San Diego over the years. Their redesigned Children’s Park in downtown San Diego opened a couple weeks ago.
During past architectural Open House events, I enjoyed tours of their Waterfront Park and Briercrest Park. To enjoy those tours, click the links!
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Several weeks ago a new exhibit opened at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. San Diego’s New Deal Renaissance: An Artist’s Experience concerns the life and work of notable local artists during the Great Depression, with a focus on Belle Goldschlager Baranceanu.
Belle Baranceanu was painter, muralist, lithographer, engraver and illustrator who moved from Chicago to San Diego in 1933 looking for opportunity. She found employment with the Works Progress Administration curriculum project.
Her work included two monumental murals at Roosevelt Junior High School (not far from Balboa Park): Building Mission Dam and Portola’s Northern Expedition. Those two amazing murals were moved to the San Diego History Center where they have been preserved and can be viewed. The exhibit includes studies that she produced before painting the murals.
By the way, you might have seen more of her work in Balboa Park. The Progress of Man can be found in the grand foyer of the Balboa Park Club building. The mural was created for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition. The History Center exhibit includes a reproduction of the large mural.
San Diego’s New Deal Renaissance: An Artist’s Experience provides information concerning other local artists during this era, as well, including sculptor Donal Hord and painter Charles Reiffel. (Yes, the same Charles Reiffel whose pieces include two huge murals at the History Center and two canvases on a wall inside the Casa de Balboa, the building that houses the History Center.)
There’s far too much to describe here, so it would best to visit the San Diego History Center yourself! It’s always super interesting and free!
During your visit, check out the History Center’s seasonal poinsettia Christmas tree. Perhaps swing on by during Balboa Park’s big December Nights event next week!
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Tigers, Unicorns, & Puppy Dog Tales is the latest exhibit that the public can enjoy in the La Jolla Historical Society‘s Wisteria Cottage museum.
Colorful displays recall the years when the Green Tiger Press, the Unicorn Cinema and the Mithras Bookstore were much loved La Jolla institutions. The local publisher, theater and bookstore were all established by Harold and Sandra Darling in the 1960s. The Darlings were a visionary couple who loved art, literature and the magic of imagination.
The exhibit contains printed material–postcards, stationery, children’s books, and more–bursting with unicorns and dragons and rainbow dreams and talking animals. Step into the museum and you might feel as if you stepped into a fairy tale. Or traveled through time back to your own childhood.
Bring kids to the exhibit and they will be enchanted. There’s a table where they can pore through picture books and create their own art!
Adults will be intrigued by Green Tiger printed posters that promote the eclectic, often independent films that screened inside the Unicorn Cinema. The dark theater was located through the back door of the Mithras Bookstore. The docent with whom I spoke loved the tiny theater and its popcorn machine. It sounds like a place I would have loved, too.
The Green Tiger Press relocated to Seattle, but they have lent their wonderful “carousel tiger” for this exhibition.
If you want to see all this magic for yourself, make sure to visit the Wisteria Cottage museum by January 21, 2024.
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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 (formerly known as Twitter)!
Cool San Diego Sights! 