Worker at parking garage construction site, which is right next to the Little Italy trolley station.
I was pleasantly surprised this morning to see some new public artwork at one end of the Little Italy trolley station. It’s part of the new parking structure that’s being built right next to the station.
I had to peer over and through a chain link fence, but the super colorful leaf-like art immediately tickled my fancy. Upon closer examination, the multi-colored ovals that form a dazzling mosaic appear to be impressed with different tire tracks. I guess that would be appropriate for a parking garage!
UPDATE!
I’ve noticed that a small plaque installed by the artwork reads:
David Adey
Inspiration/Expiration
2015
Ceramic
This parking garage, when completed, will serve both the nearby County Administration Center and Little Italy.Brilliant layers of new public art in San Diego. Forming a mosaic, these ovals appear to be randomly squished by vehicle tires with different treads.There’s some unusual new artwork at the Little Italy trolley station in downtown San Diego!
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Super cool street art on side of building on University Avenue in Hillcrest.
A month or so ago I enjoyed a pleasant walk down University Avenue in Hillcrest, a neighborhood just north of downtown San Diego. I spotted a whole bunch of colorful artwork, which I’d like to now share. In no particular order:
I don’t know if this qualifies as street art, but I like this cool Jack in the Box sign.Exist1981 street art on a corner of University Avenue in Hillcrest, San Diego.Fun chalk art sign in front of Fiji Yogurt.Long blue hair becomes ocean surf. Artwork painted on California Coast Credit Union.A colorful image of wine and grapes seen during a walk through Hillcrest.Filter…Where good things happen!More cool street art in Hillcrest has a mythical, possibly Egyptian appearance.I was told by a worker at this thrift store that the rainbow-like mural is a work in progress.This large bold spray paint mural on University Avenue is signed by artists Fizix, Revolver, Eyemax 2015.This is the best photo I could get of a really long colorful mural along a rooftop. I see James Dean and Muttley!Live a great story. Sticker on a utility box.A school of fish on an electrical transformer box.A windtorn mountaintop meditation, face in hands.
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Amazing artist at 2015 Festa in San Diego’s Little Italy. Smiling, she shows me the source material for her Balboa Park themed chalk art!
Brace yourself! Here come dozens of super cool photos! Check out the amazing chalk art created today for 2015 Festa in San Diego’s Little Italy! The special theme this year is the centennial of Balboa Park!
Gesso Italiano chalk art is a tradition at Little Italy’s Festa, and every year I’m blown away by all the colorful creations. Most of the images this year are inspired by beautiful Balboa Park, or paintings or artifacts contained in its museums. I arrived to take photos about an hour before the event opened, and many artists were still hard at work. I spoke to one who said their masterpiece took about seven hours to complete. Now that’s dedication to art!
I’ve inserted the team name at the beginning of each caption. Enjoy!
Cecelia Ramos Linayao. Face of child riding Balboa Park’s hundred-year-old carousel, which debuted in 1915 for the Panama California Exposition.Lesley Perdomo. Madonna and child, a popular theme of Gesso Italiano artwork.Robert Guzman. I believe this might be a hippo at the world famous San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park!Tonie Garza. The iconic El Cid Campeador statue in the Plaza de Panama. Chalk art celebrating Balboa Park’s centennial in 2015.Team Parada. A beautiful face with elaborately styled hair.I didn’t get the team name, but this exquisite white chalk portrait was one of my favorite pieces at this year’s Festa in Little Italy!Before the Festa event opens, chalk artists work to finish their creations. The art covers two blocks of Beech Street in downtown San Diego.Squadra Terun. A vividly colorful flower. Perhaps this depicts a scene from Balboa Park’s reflecting pool.A bit of random chalk art on the street. I spotted this near the official Festa competition entries.Ciao! A chalk image of lilies and koi in the reflecting pool, and the Botanical Building in Balboa Park.I didn’t get the team name. The artist was working from what appeared to be a poster or advertisement with the word Ventimiglia, which is a city in Northern Italy.Lisa Bernal Brethour. Delicate white blooms formed of chalk.Brianna Cunha. This stylish Gesso Italiano art appears to possibly show bubbles, a glass of beer and wheat.Bijan Masoumpanah. This chalk art seems to depict a classic sculpture of a bearded head.Valerie Michelle. A super colorful parrot and tropical fish!Weenie Kingdom. One of the carved wooden horses from the historic Balboa Park Carousel.Salgado. Perhaps one can see this big cat at the San Diego Zoo!Killer Queens. Dinosaur skull represents what one is likely to see at the Natural History Museum in Balboa Park.Cobian. Figure in flowing red dress reclining on a couch.Team Arcala. Chalk interpretation of the historic Cabrillo Bridge and California Building. The artist had looked for hundred-year-old photos of the bridge under construction, but without success.Meg. A big smile and a boldly colored work of chalk art taking form on a San Diego street during 2015 Festa!Team Pinoy. California Tower and the words Balboa Park Centennial Celebration 2015.Team Chalkolate. Another chalk representation of the famous El Cid equestrian sculpture near the center of Balboa Park.Campo Elementary. These gifted students won first place last year! What will this chalk creation be?John Vaughn. Chalk version of ornate plaster designs above the west arched entrance to Balboa Park.Two blocks in Little Italy were full of rampant creativity this morning.Michael Zamora. Fantastic chalk face based on an Italian painting in the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park.Art Within Reach. I thought at first this might be a dog in the lily pond. Then I thought it might be Moby Dick. It’s actually a polar bear at the zoo! No ears yet!Team Pierre. Vintage images take form as a skilled Gesso Italiano artist takes on the cool theme of Balboa Park’s centennial.Kira Lewis-Martinez. More cool chalk art with a nostalgic feel. The Panama California Exposition marked Balboa Park’s debut in 1915.Lydia Puentes Phillips. Very color koi swimming in the Balboa Park reflecting pool. Great chalk art that captures one of my favorite places!Raney and Talbott. These artists are basing their image on one of the elegant passageways along El Prado–specifically the one next to the Timken Museum.Coronado High School. A completed portion of what should eventually be a stunning work of art.Liberty Charter High School. A fun chalk art giraffe and zebra!Canyon Crest Academy. By far the most popular inspiration for this year’s Balboa Park centennial theme is the reflecting pool with its color-splashed koi and lilies.Lidia F. Vasquez. Wow! This elaborate mask is super inventive! It’s formed out of elements from Balboa Park’s unique architecture!Torrey Hills Elementary School. Gesso Italiano artwork is a tradition at the Festa celebration in Little Italy. I look forward to it every year!San Diego High School. A girl with a camera in the Botanical Building! I love it!Faithful Ambassadors Bible Baptist Academy. Cherry blossoms courtesy of the Japanese Friendship Garden! Is this awesome, or what?Washington Elementary STEAM Magnet, based right here in Little Italy! Lots of little colorful scenes along the border.Team Noni. A very colorful tiger comes alive on the street! More amazing zoo animal art!Julyen Ecoffey. Mother and child spending a sunlit day in San Diego’s wonderful Balboa Park.Cathedral Catholic High School. Lady with umbrella faces the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Another great image.Sycamore Ridge Elementary. Not only are there lily pads and flowers in the reflecting pool, but there’s a Venetian gondola! And an Italian flag over the Botanical Building!Dos Mustachios. One of the two fountains near either end of the Botanical Building. The actual fountains were recently restored by the Friends of Balboa Park.Torrey Pines High School, National Art Honor Society. I could feast my eyes on this glowing chalk artwork all day long!Elisabeth Eckert. Abstract image of Moreton Bay fig tree roots, probably either near the Palm Canyon stairs or Natural History Museum.Mel Clarkston Art. It’s a green people mover! I see colored tiles from Spanish Village, flags from the International Cottages, and a butterfly from the Zoro Garden!Mount Miguel High School. Everyone loves the reflecting pool. The calm natural beauty is inspiring.San Pasqual High School. Classic images from Balboa Park rendered using simple, colored chalk. Fantastic!The creativity couldn’t be contained! It flowed right out of the specified boundary and onto the nearby asphalt!Steve Alan and Friends. Simple but captivating.Aaron Hernandez. This is crazy! Looks like Planet of the Apes! I’m guessing these are hip simians who hang out at the San Diego Zoo…Team Arancio. A portion of this chalk art resembles that cool mural painted earlier this year in Spanish Village for the Balboa Park centennial.Chalk Riot. Wow! I love this! The nice artist said she incorporated elements from throughout Balboa Park, including the facade of the Museum of Man.Godfrey’s. And finally a stooping giraffe. The San Diego Zoo is a favorite place in amazing Balboa Park.Soon thousands will crowd the street to enjoy this great chalk art. I swung by early and got photos of works in progress!
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Amazing 28 foot tall Robot Resurrection stands in Balboa Park’s Plaza de Panama during 2015 Maker Faire San Diego!
Get ready to see some super cool stuff! Here are a bunch of photos I took at Maker Faire San Diego this morning. The festival, which celebrates human creativity, with an emphasis on engineering and technology, is being held in Balboa Park all weekend long!
2015 Maker Faire in San Diego offers young and old a glimpse of what creators, dreamers and inventors are up to. Here we see some projects of San Diego City Robotics.Checking out a 3D printer at the San Diego Public Library table at Maker Faire. The downtown library is about to expand their Innovation Lab and will have nine 3D printers!Four of these funny cupcakes cars were cruising around Plaza de Panama and up and down El Prado.This guy was showing how he employs magnets in very unique bicycle wheel hubs that he produces.Photo display shows how guitar building–including cutting, drilling, shaping, sanding and dipping–inspires STEM learning.Wow! Maker Faire is about to officially open and Robot Resurrection has begun to shoot flames from its fingers! Let’s check it out!According to Shane Evans, maker of the giant robot, we humans have all become automatons in a highly controlled world.Robot Resurrection has been joined by the famous 17 foot tall mechanical walking Electric Giraffe!Local company Qualcomm had a large exhibit showcasing their electronic chips, some drones, and this little remote control race course which utilizes smart phones.Another fun part of the Qualcomm exhibit at Maker Faire. Robots stack blocks, then cross a finish line.Down by the Balboa Park reflecting pool I discovered something really awesome. It’s a Victorian-era whimsical flying machine!This fantastic, imaginative creation is called the Strato Sculpin. It’s a project of the Starburner Galactic Courier Service, a local steampunk group!Here are some members of the cool group engaged in steampunk cosplay!Smiling members of the Starburner Galactic Courier Service. They are the galaxy’s only bonded courier service operating throughout time and space!This cool guy with the big wheeled penny-farthing bicycle is often seen around Balboa Park. He has appeared in other blog posts. I spoke briefly with him and he’s really nice!But his big wheel can’t compare to this! Coming down El Prado, this awesome personal transportation doohickey looks like it arrived from another world!And here comes another cool rolling steampunkish robot thingamajig. How cool is this? Human imagination on display at Maker Faire!Shortly after 10:30, San Diego Mayor Faulconer welcomed the attendees to the first annual Maker Faire.I couldn’t believe how much press was gathered for the event. If you live in San Diego, I’m sure you’ll see it on the television news!Jorge Astiazaran, the Mayor of Tijuana, Mexico speaks about our two cities collaborating in various areas, including technology.After the brief ceremony and speeches, I headed to the fountain by the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center. Lots more cool stuff was attracting a crowd.Back down El Prado, and now the Electric Giraffe is on the move! This creation has been featured on national media, and even was tickled by President Obama.Not only do the neck and head move, but it talks! The head is equipped with webcam eyes and special touch-sensitive sensors.Russell the Electric Giraffe, also named Rave Raff, heads down El Prado in the heart of Balboa Park!A costume zone near the Japanese Friendship Garden had stuff that looked like a combination of Star Wars and steampunk! Chewbacca is wearing some goggles!The huge Battlepond near the San Diego Air and Space Museum had sea battles taking place! The Western Warship Combat Club makes radio-controlled model ships which engage in real combat!National University’s School of Engineering and Computing had a futuristic vehicle on display.Some artists by the San Diego Automotive Museum were painting a nearby Prius!Compressed air launched rockets high into the sky, to the delight of kids!Holy mackerel! Look at this thing! It’s a gigantic robot spider, or something! Wow!I didn’t get the name of this amazing, jaw-dropping contraption, but a close examination shows that it actually walks on those spider-like legs!Leonardo Da Vinci was the ultimate innovator. The world famous San Diego Air and Space Museum has a special exhibition about the legendary Renaissance inventor.These kids are playing human foosball by the Hall of Champions!The Drones and Outdoor Play zone had lots of material for young, imaginative creators to assemble.A free spirit parked their car nearby. You are more than any mind can or could understand.A delightfully painted car topped with flower pots!San Diego’s first ever Maker Faire is a huge success. There are so many cool things to see, your eyes will pop clean out of your head!
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Public art on display in downtown San Diego’s dynamic Horton Plaza shopping mall.
I made a cool discovery today! I was walking through Horton Plaza, downtown’s extremely unique shopping mall and popular tourist destination, when I noticed that some art was being displayed on a lower level. A sign indicated that Horton Plaza is showcasing the work of local San Diego artists. Great idea! Here are some pics!
The San Diego artist Beau Carney was born and raised in Southern California. He works with a variety of mediums.Some very colorful painted work by Beau Carney.Public art and other unexpected discoveries add character to a very unique shopping mall.Westfield Horton Plaza supports local artists. For information on how to showcase your art, contact hortonplaza@westfield.comA few early evening visitors to Horton Plaza mall in downtown San Diego walk past cool artwork created by a local artist!One last photo of eye-catching panels by local San Diego artist Beau Carney!
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A human connected to technology in this new public art mural. Park it, charge it! The seven-story parking garage is located at 707 Broadway. This photo was taken from 7th Avenue.
During a walk several days ago my eyes lifted with surprise at a very cool new sight. An absolutely gigantic mural has appeared downtown, on the seven-story parking garage located at 707 Broadway!
A quick internet search revealed the identity of the creative person behind this public artwork. Christopher Konecki of Cohort Collective is a self-taught spray paint artist whose work can be seen elsewhere in San Diego, including nearby at SILO in Maker’s Quarter. This particular piece, which was finished a couple weeks ago, is said to be the largest mural in San Diego. The wildly imaginative, cartoon-like design is meant to convey the intersection of evolving communication technology with art and personal human experience.
These photos proceed from the west side of the parking garage, to the north, and finally to the east. You can see just how colorful and amazing this art is!
The huge cool mural wraps around the parking garage. I see a hot air balloon, phonograph, radio tower, satellite and various buildings, all interconnected like a circuit.The artwork engages the eyes and mind with its detailed composition. Two clusters in the image are connected by the Coronado Bay Bridge.Moving around toward the brightly sunlit east side and 8th Avenue. The high mural is viewed beyond some trees.The parking garage adds its color to the adjacent building’s futuristic graphic, at 707 Broadway in downtown San Diego.And finally we are on the east side of the parking garage. Very cool!
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Ceramic eye atop parking lot post at north end of Balboa Park’s art-filled Spanish Village. Various faces and fun eyeballs decorate nearby posts.
Spanish Village is where you’ll find artists at work in San Diego’s incredibly beautiful Balboa Park. On any given day, one can watch artists painting, shaping pottery, blowing glass, or just relaxing beside artwork for sale, out in the colorful courtyard or inside their charming studios. But before you walk into Spanish Village, there’s a good chance you’ll be greeted by funny eyes, two huge elephants, or a happy owl. And possibly even a spider!
What am I talking about? Take a look at these fun photos! (Can you find the spider?)
A peek through an arch into Spanish Village from the small north parking lot.The colorful courtyard of Spanish Village contains abundant beauty, both natural and artistic.One of many small artist studios in this very cool corner of San Diego’s Balboa Park.Here come more photos of funny ceramic eyes and faces decorating those plain steel parking lot posts.This is my favorite face of the bunch. I believe I used it in another blog post.A single artistic eyeball painted pink, yellow, purple and blue. The ceramic post-toppers have forms that are very organic.Check out this crazy, creative face! At least, I think it’s a face…A wonderfully alien, weird fantasy eye stares right back at you!Two huge shrub elephants guard a path at the west edge of Spanish Village. Walk north and you’ll arrive at the world famous San Diego Zoo!And this owl with spread wings is keeping an eye on the main entrance to Spanish Village, which is to the south.
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The Earth and a crescent moon. One of 26 terrazzo inserts arranged in a circle at entrance plaza of the Balboa Park Activity Center. Created in 1999 by artist Joyce Cutler-Shaw.
I recently enjoyed looking at some very cool public artwork. Located in front of the Balboa Park Activity Center, The Circle and the Self: A Picture Story by artist Joyce Cutler-Shaw is a series of images that tells a unique story about human activity and sport. Twenty six terrazzo inserts are arranged in a circle on the building’s south plaza, within a large tile map of the western United States, which was designed by another artist Raul Guerrero. I took a close-up photo of each terrazzo square and show them in sequence. That way you can easily follow the artist’s narrative, and the thought-provoking transformations.
The gymnasium-like Balboa Park Activity Center is where many San Diego residents go to participate in badminton, table tennis and volleyball. Similar artwork by the same artist can be found inside the building. Seventy two laser-cut metal plates depict the bodies of athletes engaged in sport, in many different, often imaginative environments.
Human figure poses beneath the slender blue moon. That moon will transform as the narrative moves counter-clockwise around the circle.Reaching up toward the ring-like moon. Striving toward hopes and dreams.After grabbing hold of the ring, and another, a gymnast swings through space.This outdoor public art titled The Circle and the Self tells the story of human athletic pursuit and competitive sport. Each tile measures 16 by 16 inches square.Planet Earth seems to transform into a ball. Is it a tennis ball being served?Here’s a planet-sized ball swooshing through a cosmic basketball net!Perhaps that ball is a round blue moon orbiting the Earth.A player tosses the ball toward the net.This fun artwork causes the curious viewer to actively walk around the large Activity Center patio. Now that’s true kinetic art!A ball and net, half light, half shadow.A competitor leaps!Another figure aims to shoot the ball.Is this an Olympic athlete engaged in shot put competition?The circle is a common image in sport. A sphere moves and bounces equally. The playing field is level.Is that a flying ball and baseball player?Here comes the ever-changing blue ball!Getting ready to catch the ball–or is it the Earth moving through space?Dynamic artwork shows human physical activity while traveling along life’s circle.Is this man playing handball?A blue ball on a stick. What sport is this?Perhaps this ball is about to be served in table tennis.The magical blue ball suddenly grows!The blue circle now seems to be a lake inside the contours of an ocean coast.As scale is altered and perspective changes, ocean and coastline become the planet Earth once more. Other blue circles are heavenly bodies throughout the universe.Our big blue marble is third planet from the sun. It has its own small orbiting moon.The viewer of this art has returned to the beginning. We’ve come full circle.The Circle and the Self by Joyce Cutler Shaw, 1999. City of San Diego Civic Art Collection. Commissioned for the citizens of San Diego.
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Many of the world’s best sand artists are in San Diego for the 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.
Right now, the world’s most amazing sand sculptures are standing on the B Street Pier on San Diego’s Embarcadero. They were created by a select group of international sand masters for the 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge. These talented sculptors are world-class artists, as you can see from the following images. My photos were taken on Saturday morning shortly after the gate opened. All of the competing artists were on the pier adding the final touches to their incredible artwork. The sculptures will be officially judged this afternoon.
The theme of the U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge this year is the Olympic Games. Many of the sand masterpieces had a classic, sculptural relief appearance. Every one was sensational.
The competitive event, which takes place downtown at the edge of our beautiful bay next to the Cruise Ship Terminal, continues through Labor Day weekend. If you can’t make it, enjoy these photos!
John Gowdy, Jersey Boy, now living in Italy, has been sand sculpting since 1990. He was winner of Sand Wars on the Travel Channel.John Gowdy’s Olympics-themed sculpture features Bruce Jenner, men’s decathlon winner in 1976, and his transformation to female Caitlyn.Bruce Jender. I am Cait…now.Unzipping a past gold-winning athlete. A new person emerges.John Gowdy is interviewed by a video production crew at the 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.Sue McGrew, from Tacoma, Washington, is also accomplished in snow and ice sculpting.Sue McGrew’s sand sculpture titled Father of the Game, a statue-like image of Zeus, king of the Greek gods on Mount Olympus.Amazing artistic skill is required to sculpt sand so perfectly. These sand masters, like Olympic athletes, are the best in the world!Zeus seems to be sitting at the edge of the B Street Pier in downtown San Diego! The Port Pavilion and the Broadway Pier are in the background.JOOheng Tan, of Singapore, won last year’s competition! He has been called Vincent Sand Gogh!JOOheng Tan’s sculpture, Game Over, is a striking work of art that immediately caught and held my eye.Just an amazing, incredible work of art. You don’t see something like this everyday! In a few days it will be swept away.The artists are still at work, getting their pieces ready to be judged this afternoon.Ilya Filimontsev, from Moscow, Russia, is competing here for the first time, and I predict he will win an award! I voted for him and saw others doing the same.Ilya Filimontsev’s sculpture is titled Never Give Up!!! Wow! Now that’s an impressive sand sculpture. And he wasn’t finished!Carefully working beneath a wing and Olympic wreath on a sunny San Diego Labor Day weekend.A masterpiece of sand is being created as the public watches and takes photographs.Fergus Mulvany is from Dublin, Ireland. He studied fine art and became a sand artist as a student by chance!Fergus Mulvany is working on his creation called The Threshold of Momentum. It’s a fantastic piece, one of my favorites.Closer photo shows superb detail work of the kinetic sand sculpture.Back side of The Threshold of Momentum is simple and stylish.The artists were all friendly and didn’t seem to mind chatting with folks who were admiring their works in progress.Dan Belcher, of St. Louis, Missouri, is 14 time world champion sand sculptor!I can see why Dan Belcher has won so many world championships. The artistry of his piece, Citius, Altius, Fortius, is exceptional.Citius, Altius, Fortius is Latin for Faster, Higher, Stronger. It’s the Olympic Motto.Human figures shaped from sand have bold form and physical presence.Susanne Ruseler, from the Netherlands, studied biology and thereby learned to represent and beautify human beings and all creatures. She has won many contests.Susanne Ruseler’s sculpture is called Long Jump. An Olympic athlete leaps like a rabbit!Flowing hair made of sand. Incredible.I saw lots of water hoses, buckets, shovels and carving tools being used on the large sand creations.Morgan Rudluff is from Santa Cruz, California. She considers herself to be quite fortunate and rich in many ways. Sand sculpting has her heart.Morgan Rudluff’s sand sculpture is Perseverance. It appears to be a tower made of a Greek column and abstract human forms.We’re nearing the end of the B Street Pier, gazing out at blue San Diego Bay.Many hours of hard work and perseverance combined with imagination and skill produces a fine result.The steady hand of a world-class sand artist.Kirk Rademaker comes from Stinson Beach, California. His nickname is The Sand Guy. Fantastical mechanical machines are his trademark.Kirk Rademaker is creating a piece called Anchor Leg, which indeed resembles an anchor. How appropriate, because it’s by the water!The skyline of downtown San Diego can be seen to the east. It’s a warm day and promises big crowds.This sand sculpture was quite fantastic and left much to the imaginationMelineige Beauregard is from Quebec, Canada. Some believe sand sculpting is art, some believe it’s a sport. She believes it’s a spiritual experience.Melineige Beauregard’s artwork is called In The Zone. I believe it was the most original creation of all the entries. You’ll see why.An interesting face decorates one end of the complicated multi-part sand sculpture.The opposite end features a circle, like an eyepiece, through which visitors are meant to look.And this is what we see! An Olympic runner ready to race at the starting blocks!Jorvis Kivits, of the Netherlands, believes that in art, beauty should shine through. He has recently begun sculpting marble.Photo Finish is the name of Jorvis Kivits’ curvy piece. It’s an unusual, wonderful thing to behold!Gazing through some world-class sand art across San Diego Bay toward North Island.Eleven amazing works of art on the B Street Pier. Plus there are other team sand sculptures getting started, and a few finished sculptures by event sponsors. Lots of cool stuff all over!As of this moment, these are the finest sand sculptures in the whole wide world. In a few days…they vanish! Go see them now, if you can!
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Dan Belcher from St. Louis, Missouri and Ilya Filimontsev from Moscow, Russia, work together on the big event’s welcoming “Team USA” sand sculpture.
The 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge and Dimensional Art Exposition is coming next weekend! Between this very special annual event, and the equally amazing Festival of Sail which will be held a short distance up the Embarcadero, the long Labor Day weekend is going to be awesome!
Today I walked along the waterfront in the warm sunshine to see if anything interesting was going on.
Not only has quarry sand been dumped in large piles along the B Street Pier, right next to the Cruise Ship Terminal, but sand sculptures which welcome visitors to the event were being readied by a few of the world’s top sand masters! I briefly met Dan Belcher, Ilya Filimontsev and Susanne Ruseler, three of the best, most talented sand sculptors on the planet! And all were really nice people! They and the other world-class sand artists who will compete at the event have won many top awards. Dan, alone, has won 14 world championships!
Ilya is new to the San Diego competition this year, and so is Susanne. When I spoke to Susanne, I remembered how Chris Guinto, several days before last year’s competition, told me his still unformed creation was secret. Susanne remarked that plans aren’t so much a secret–it’s that they’re only partially formed when the work begins. The act of sand sculpting is dynamic, and sometimes changes have to be made mid-creation for either artistic or structural reasons. I asked if she ever accidentally knocked down portions of a sand sculpture and she replied: “Yes!” But it’s something you get used to and work around. It’s just something one can expect when working with sand.
Funny. According to a notification I received from WordPress, today is the two year anniversary of Cool San Diego Sights. And during those two years, the most “liked” blog post is from last year’s U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge! You might enjoy seeing last year’s jaw-dropping entries!
The 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge is coming to San Diego’s B Street Pier, next to the Cruise Ship Terminal, this Labor Day weekend!Dan is helping to prepare this sculpture near the entrance to the 2015 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge at Harbor Drive.These mounds of quarry sand from East County were dumped on the B Street Pier several days ago. They’ll be used by the competing sand masters later this week.Susanne Ruseler, from the Netherlands, is another new competitor this year. She was super nice and talked for a bit.Susanne is carefully working on another cool sand sculpture for event visitors. I can’t wait to see what she produces during the competition!
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Cool San Diego Sights! 