In 2019, about one week after its installation, I posted a blog concerning this amazing, stainless steel, sea snail sculpture, which is called Growing Home. It rises near Petco Park in East Village, in front of the Park 12 – The Collection luxury apartments.
You can read more about this phenomenal public art and see my original photographs by clicking here.
Last night I walked past Growing Home. Wow. I was so struck by its glowing brilliance that I had to take more photos.
And here they are!
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Today is Easter. It’s spring. The sun is out in San Diego. A perfect day for a leisurely walk through Balboa Park!
What did I encounter?
Second day of the Makers Arcade on Balboa Park’s West Mesa.People enjoying yoga near the lawn bowling green.Flowers are in full bloom at the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden.Vendors at the San Diego Turtle and Tortoise Society’s Annual Show and Plant Sale.A tortoise in Room 101 of the Casa del Prado.The Spring Exhibition of Art inside the Village Arts Outreach Gallery.Here comes the Balboa Park Miniature Railroad!Many native flowers are showing color along the San Diego Natural History Museum’s Nature Trail.Beautiful butterflies and a ladybug inside the San Diego Sculptors Guild courtyard.A small bird enjoys the green grass growing near the Botanical Building.It’s busy inside the Botanical Building on a sunny Easter day.The new pergola west of the Botanical Building is looking good!Uh, oh! Somebody forgot their bunny ears!Free roses made of corn husks offered by a street performer.Happy Easter in a window at the International Cottages.Looks like Quinceañera photos are being taken at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion.Some cool cars and lowriders have arrived in the park.Spring beauty at the Alcazar Garden in Balboa Park.
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Next time you enter the Balboa Park Visitors Center, move to the left side of the front counter and look up. You’ll see an amazing quilt on the wall!
The quilt, titled THE BOTANICAL GARDENS OF BALBOA PARK, depicts the Botanical Building and Lily Pond. It’s so detailed and exquisite that it won a prestigious national award. It took First Place in the Group Quilts category at the American Quilter’s Society 32nd National QuiltWeek competition in 2016! Here’s the AQS website with all the winners.
Who created this fantastic work of art? The eight members of San Diego quilting group Bobbin Buddies! The quilt was made to celebrate Balboa Park’s centennial.
The award-winning quilt would go on to be included in the Brigham City Museum’s 46th International Quilt Invitational Exhibit in 2018.
This webpage describes how the beautiful quilt was created, and how it was purchased by the Balboa Park Conservancy and has been on display in its Visitors Center. (Today the Visitors Center is operated by Forever Balboa Park.)
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I love this public art at Town Center Community Park East in Santee. It covers the four sides of a structure next to the playground.
San Diego River Wildlife is written large among images of birds and animals one might encounter nearby along the San Diego River.
On one side there’s a Cooper’s Hawk, Mallard Ducks, Great Egrets, Brown-headed Cowbird and California Gnatcatcher. On another side there’s a San Diego Gopher Snake, Two-striped Garter Snake and a third snake whose label has sadly become unreadable. A third side shows a Pacific Tree Frog, Western Pond Turtle and Western Fence Lizard. Finally, the side facing the playground shows a Red-Tailed Hawk, American Coots, Great Blue Herons, Southwestern Willow Flycatcher and California Towhee.
I don’t know the origin of this beautiful but now weathered, sun-faded public art. If you know anything about it, or the artist(s), please leave a comment!
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Almost a year ago, I posted a blog about the restoration of Balboa Park’s beautiful carousel animals. I walked by today and found carousel caretaker William “Bill” Brown and a smiling volunteer hard at work!
The carved wooden War Horse, Camel and Goat are at various stages of restoration, as you can see. Compare today’s photographs with those I took in June 2025 by clicking here.
First up, here’s the War Horse. The Balboa Park Carousel was originally built in 1910 by Herschell-Spillman, and, fortunately, there is a factory description that still exists. Bill intends to keep the restored version fairly true to that historical appearance.
Here’s an image of how a Herschell-Spillman War Horse appeared in the early 20th century…
Here’s how the restoration appears so far, with a lot of detailed painting still to go…
Here’s a sketch Bill made of the Camel as it may look when finally restored.
Unfortunately, no record exists of how this carousel animal originally appeared over a century ago. The leaves atop the camel’s humps would obviously be green.
The painting of the Camel is getting underway…
The Goat isn’t quite as far along.
As you can see, a lot of sanding is required when restoring these carved wooden carousel animals, they’re so very detailed. Lots of nooks and crannies.
But when the restoration is complete, the animals are amazing! Look how the Persian Cat turned out!
The Balboa Park Carousel is one of San Diego’s great treasures. Thanks to all who are keeping it alive, vibrant, and the source of joy for many!
UPDATE!
In mid-May I noticed the Camel and War Horse had been beautifully painted!
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This very beautiful plaque near the beach in La Jolla Shores is dedicated to the Kumeyaay Nation, whose people have lived in our region for thousands of years.
I took these photos of the plaque a while back, during my last walk along the boardwalk near Kellogg Park. You can find the plaque inside the Grand Canyons of La Jolla Educational Plaza.
(To learn more about the plaza, check out a blog I posted a few years ago here.)
Text on the plaque includes:
KUMEYAAY NATION
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS WE HAVE LIVED TOGETHER AS A PEOPLE…from the shores of the Pacific Ocean ~ to the mountains and inland valleys ~ down through the deserts of Baja California Norte, Mexico.
Our cultural and historical roots can be traced throughout the greater San Diego region, dating back more than 12,000 years. La Jolla Shores has always been an integral part of our history and was a vital resource for gathering, fishing and hunting well into the early 20th Century. This area was once part of a lagoon offering a variety of plant life used for food, clothing, medicines, baskets and building materials. Our ancestors were exceptional stewards of the environment as demonstrated in their plant husbandry techniques and responsible use of land and water resources. Beginning with the Spanish invasion of 1769, the Kumeyaay were forced off ancestral lands and now live on twelve of the eighteen reservations in San Diego County. Our historical presence is visible along the shoreline as evidenced by unearthed artifacts, burial sites and remnant of ancient villages.
Offshore, submerged sites are protected by State and Federal Laws in order to keep our rich cultural heritage alive for future generations to learn from and enjoy. The Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation dedicates this plaque to honor our past and promote preservation of this unique marine environment.
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Oh my goodness! What is this impressive new structure being built in Balboa Park? With those elegant columns, is it some sort of ancient Greek temple?
No! It’s the new pergola that will stand west of the Botanical Building!
The Botanical Building Pergola recreates one of twelve pergolas that originally graced Balboa Park during the 1915 Panama-California Exposition. And you can tell already that it’s going to be amazing!
It seems every time I visit the San Diego Sculptors Guild in Balboa Park, I find artist Justin Hammond bringing clay to life. He was at work again yesterday!
Justin is a multi-talented artist who loves to create art that tells a story. The clay he was shaping is part of one amazing story.
The figures you see in these photos he calls Elata. The sprite-like creatures with flowers sprouting from their heads are born as the blossoms of a tree. The tree has grown from a seed: a woman carried away by a flood, burying her.
Each beautiful little Elata creature results from a single memory of the deceased woman.
The story created by Justin develops, until the Elata themselves become memory collectors. It’s a brilliant and original idea that would make an amazing movie. Imagine these fantastic clay figures in a Laika stop-motion animated film, like Coraline or ParaNorman!
In addition to a lot of great artwork, Justin Hammond has created short YouTube videos using clay models. You can see much of it on his website by clicking here!
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An exhibition and sale of Chinese brush paintings continues tomorrow, Sunday, March 1, 2026 in Balboa Park. To view some very beautiful artwork, step into Room 101 of the Casa del Prado between 11 am and 4 pm.
The event features original Chinese brush paintings by members of the Lung Hsiang chapter of the American Artists of Chinese Brush Painting. Admission is free. Most of the pieces on display are for sale.
Visitors get to meet the artists, view a painting demonstration, and even try their own hand at brush painting! If you’re looking for gifts, you’ll find framed and matted paintings, and hand painted cards and crafts.
I visited the exhibition today and am pleased to share a few photos.
When I asked one artist the difference between traditional Chinese brush painting and Japanese brush painting, I was told the Chinese style has more “pop” and more chi, or vital energy. To me, generally speaking, the Chinese style seems a little more bold and colorful than Japanese brush painting, which appears more delicate and impressionistic.
All that I saw was exquisite and very beautiful.
2026 is the Year of the Horse!
For curious eyes, there’s much to discover. I was shown the historical evolution of the Chinese pictograph for horse. The three strokes represent a horse’s mane and legs.
Visitors can learn how to paint it!
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This memorial plaque should be read by all who love beautiful San Diego. It’s set in a bench by the fountain east of Balboa Park’s Botanical Building.
Here’s what it says:
In Loving Memory Of RUTH C. SMITH
Known for her generosity and her Love for San Diego
San Diego can be proud of Ruth C. Smith for her work to preserve Kate O. Sessions and Mt. Soledad memorial parks; for her promotion of the ecology by the planting of 10,000 trees in San Diego Parks, and the beautiful poinsettia display at Balboa Park’s Botanical Garden from December 3rd to January 3rd.
As the founder of the City Beautiful of San Diego, Ruth C. Smith has left a legacy of beauty for all San Diegans to enjoy for years to come.
She was loved by everyone.
Will you have a similar legacy?
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Cool San Diego Sights! 