Did you enjoy this odd little story?
I took these photos during a walk through North Park on Saturday!
If you’d like to read some thought-provoking short stories (and several poems) click here.
Imagine a story of traveling through life.
Tag: creativity
Painting cool new murals in City Heights!
New murals were being painted today by the 7-Eleven on University Avenue in City Heights! The public’s opportunity to watch artists at work live was one cool aspect of the Love City Heights local Global Day of Caring event.
During my visit, a wall adjacent to the 7-Eleven parking lot was being painted by young muralist Nadia Sanchez. Her inspiring artwork is divided into two panels, and she and her mentor Melody De Los Cobos were working on the second half of the mural when I happened to swing by.
Meanwhile, a large mural in the alley next to 7-Eleven was just getting started by GMONIK. It will be the third inspiring piece of art on that wall. I’ll swing by at some point in the future and take a photo of the completed work.
GMONIK has another super cool mural on the street side of the same building. See it here!
I later walked a couple blocks east down University Avenue to check out two new murals of #TheAvenueMuralProject. Both are really great, as you can see in my photos!
City Heights continues to become more beautiful!
UPDATE!
A few days later I walked through City Heights and noticed GMONIK had finished his One Love mural…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Amazing exhibition of Japanese washi fiber art.
An amazing exhibition at the Japanese Friendship Garden in Balboa Park just opened!
As I entered the garden’s Exhibit Hall this afternoon, I and other visitors were welcomed by the smile of accomplished Japanese fiber artist Maki Ishiwata. On display in the nearby glass cases were many of her stunning creations!
Take a look at these photos and you can see how exquisite this art is. Maki told me a little about her craft, and showed me briefly how she assembles washi–traditional Japanese handmade paper–into delicate, subtle pieces that resemble natural flowers and plants. I learned that some of the larger creations can take eight hours to complete.
According to the Japanese Friendship Garden’s website: “…like many crafts, washi is facing a decrease and disappearance of its makers. For washi culture to survive, greater appreciation for the durability, purity, beauty, and versatility of this paper is essential. Through Ishiwata’s art work, she hopes to be able to connect traditional washi and Japanese aesthetic sense to global context and provide a unique experience for people to see an amazing transformation of one sheet of paper through one person`s hands.”
In the following photographs you can see some of the materials that are used, and a poster describing the complex process used to make washi. Kozo (Paper Mulberry) is harvested, the bark is scraped, boiled, snow bleached, wind dried, then soaked and softened…
The beautiful calligraphy in one photo was produced by Maki’s grandmother. Another unusual photo includes a reflection from the glass display case of a tree outside the Exhibit Hall.
This fantastic exhibition at the Japanese Friendship Garden will continue through January 26, 2020.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Two short stories about caging wild things.
My writing website Short Stories by Richard keeps expanding.
This weekend I’ve published two unusual short stories.
Both tiny works of fiction concern the difficulty of caging wild, undefinable things. Things like divine beauty and absolute truth.
Aviary Observations is about art, capturing beauty and our human limitations.
Soul to Soul is about putting into words deeper truths that cannot be adequately expressed.
Both quirky stories contain humor! We’re human after all.
You can click the above links if you’re curious.
Cool new mural at Humphrey Appliance!
A cool new mural has been painted on the east side of Humphrey Appliance in Normal Heights! I noticed it while walking down Adams Avenue yesterday.
The artist is Jonathan Wenner (Unity21). I did my best to get good photos, but various boxes and pieces of furniture in the small parking lot block the lower part of the artwork.
Enjoy!
UPDATE!
I got an unobstructed photo on a later walk…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Discover public art sculptures around San Diego!
Over the years, I’ve photographed many of the public art sculptures that can be found all around San Diego.
Because Cool San Diego Sights is now over six years old, and most readers have seen only a small fraction of my blog, I thought it would be fun to link to some old posts.
The following links don’t include all of the sculptures I’ve photographed, but they do provide a convenient starting point for a journey of discovery!
Click the following links:
Amazing public art is a hidden San Diego gem.
That big bronze pelican in Pacific Beach!
Photos of Donal Hord’s iconic sculpture Aztec.
Fun photos of Sun God bird sculpture at UCSD.
Photos of Queen Califia’s Magical Circle!
Bronze lifeguard watches the surf in Ocean Beach.
The Spirit of Imperial Beach surfer sculpture.
The Pioneers sculpture at Old Poway Park.
Photos of Tony Gwynn statue at Lake Poway.
A walk through history in The Village of La Mesa.
The arches of National City’s Morgan Square Plaza.
Art and history at Lemon Grove Trolley Depot!
Giant seashell sculpture is a Growing Home!
A shining Flame of Friendship from Mexico.
300 year old Kannon statue in Balboa Park!
Dr. Seuss and Cat in the Hat sculpture at UCSD.
Photos of The Padre sculpture in Presidio Park.
Two cool sculptures at a National City marina!
Sculpture of Bum, San Diego’s famous town dog.
Shedding the Cloak sculpture inspired by MLK.
New public artwork at Bayside Fire Station!
Pacific Soul by Jaume Plensa rises in San Diego!
The cool sculpture at Humphreys on Shelter Island.
Photos of cool sculptures at Liberty Station.
Terracotta female figures at Heritage Plaza.
Sea Passage sculpture and fountain in Coronado.
A crazy handstand at the edge of a rooftop!
Small bubble bath child: a bronze sculpture.
Creative urban trees add smiles to a San Diego walk.
Here are several links to my other website, Beautiful Balboa Park:
Art of the Open Air in beautiful Balboa Park.
Sculpture and mural in Balboa Park Club’s grand foyer.
The faces of the Panama-California Sculpture Court.
Fantastic ikebana exhibitions in Balboa Park!
Today I got lucky!
I stumbled upon two different ikebana exhibitions while strolling about Balboa Park!
The first show I enjoyed was being held inside the Casa del Prado. Sogetsu San Diego Branch had filled a large room with many fantastic Japanese flower arrangements.
The Sogetsu School of ikebana originated in 1927. This school of floral arrangement allows for wider individual expression than traditional ikebana, which adheres to formal rules.
According to what I read in a brochure at the show: Sogetsu Ikebana can be created anytime, anywhere, by anyone in any part of the world, and with any kind of material.
You can see in a few of the upcoming photographs that some rather strange materials are indeed used!
The second show I enjoyed was being held inside the Exhibit Hall at the Japanese Friendship Garden. Fantastic arrangements had been created by the Ohara School of Ikebana, La Jolla Chapter.
A friendly artist explained that the Ohara School often creates a sense of natural landscape with flowers and common plants, like grasses, ferns, holly and even garden vegetables! Wide basins and water can enhance the sense the viewer is hovering above a wild garden or beautiful lake.
The careful design of each arrangement incorporates at least one triangle. You can see several of those triangles in my photos:
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Positive messages observed during one walk.
During my early morning walk through Little Italy, I observed all sorts of positive messages–in windows, on tiles, on banners and signs. Many of these messages concern creativity, one of my favorite topics!
To lovers of beer, one of the following photos contains a VERY positive message!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
How to possibly move the Earth.
I wrote another small story yesterday.
The words came to me in Balboa Park while I listened to my friend Mitchell playing didgeridoo. People walking down El Prado would pause before the strange, resonant instrument. A brave few would dance.
As people came and went, I wondered what effect their movement might have on the planet. Both Mitchell and I are curious about strange, cosmic things.
The title of my short story is Spinning the Earth.
If you like to use your imagination, click here!
Colorful new murals on Park Boulevard!
Check out these colorful murals that now decorate the east side of the old Firestone Complete Auto Care building on Park Boulevard, just north of Smart Corner.
All three murals were recently created by the female artists of @ladieswhopaint!
UPDATE!
I took more pics on a later walk…
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Cool San Diego Sights! 