Tasty VISUAL art in Horton Plaza!

Fun art on the food court level of Horton Plaza shopping mall.
Art on the food court level of Horton Plaza shopping mall.

Tasty artwork can be found on the food court level of downtown’s Horton Plaza mall!

This fun art was created by VISUAL, whose distinctive work you might recognize. Some of my street art blog posts include photos of utility boxes decorated by VISUAL. You can spot them throughout the city.

Walking through colorful Horton Plaza.
Walking through colorful Horton Plaza in downtown San Diego.
Sign describes VISUAL, an art supply shop and gallery in North Park. Street art created by VISUAL artists can be spotted all around San Diego.
Sign describes VISUAL, an art supply shop and gallery in North Park. Street art created by VISUAL artists can be spotted all around San Diego.
Eating spaghetti.
Eating spaghetti.
A cupcake and ice cream!
A cupcake and ice cream!

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!

Contemporary art program for students in San Diego.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego has a special Extended School Partnership (ESP) program for local 6-12th-grade students. Teachers have the opportunity to expose their students to contemporary art in partnership with the museum.

Students are taught about art making, collaboration and, according to a new sign posted near MCASD’s downtown location, their own identity, solidarity and activism. (As someone who is passionate about writing, I hope there’s an emphasis on personal freedom, truth-seeking and authentic creativity–not politics or propaganda.)

Yesterday I took a photograph of this sign in the breezeway between downtown’s Santa Fe Depot and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. The two art panels were created by local students at Valhalla High School.

Read the sign if you’d like to learn more about this program.

(Click this photo to enlarge for easy reading.)
(Click this photo to enlarge for easy reading.)

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!

A fun peek into Gaslamp shop windows!

Two humorous surfing signs in the window of San Diego Trading Company Gaslamp.
Two humorous surfing signs in window of San Diego Trading Company.

I like to peek into shop windows whenever I walk through the Gaslamp Quarter in downtown San Diego. Many of the windows are sure to have displays that are amusing or eye-catching.

Enjoy these fun photos from this morning!

A t-shirt proclaims Being Normal is Boring in the window of It's Sugar.
T-shirt proclaims Being Normal is Boring in window of IT’SUGAR Candy Store.
A wine bottle has been converted into a salty sea captain at the Michael J Wolf Fine Arts gallery.
A wine bottle has been converted into a salty sea captain at the Michael J Wolf Fine Arts gallery.
A dish towel at Bubbles Boutique reminds everyone to be nice to your kids--they choose your nursing home.
A dish towel at Bubbles Boutique reminds everyone to be nice to your kids–they choose your nursing home.
Frida Kahlo socks in the window of Find Your Feet.
Frida Kahlo socks in the window of Find Your Feet. Viva La Vida!
Art by prolific local muralist Gloria Muriel in the window of Sparks Gallery.
Art by prolific local muralist Gloria Muriel in the window of Sparks Gallery.

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!

Art on construction fence at MCASD La Jolla.

Images from the collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego on a construction fence at the La Jolla campus.
Images from the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego decorate a construction fence at their La Jolla campus.

During my walk through La Jolla last weekend, I noticed some graphics on a construction fence in front of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. As I approached the fence, I read signs that provided an explanation.

This cool, temporary Inside-Out Gallery features images of works that are in the museum’s permanent collection. An expansion of the museum’s La Jolla campus is underway. Please read to the photo captions to learn about MCASD’s very bright future!

The Inside-Out Gallery features images from the museum's permanent collection. The La Jolla location is closed for construction. The gallery space is being greatly increased.
The Inside-Out Gallery features images from the museum’s permanent collection. The La Jolla location is closed for new construction. The gallery space is being greatly increased.
Red Blue Green, Ellsworth Kelly, 1963.
Red Blue Green, Ellsworth Kelly, 1963.
An Inner Dialogue with Frida Kahlo (Collar of Thorns), Yasumasa Morimura, 2001.
An Inner Dialogue with Frida Kahlo (Collar of Thorns), Yasumasa Morimura, 2001.
Terms Most Useful in Describing Creative Works of Art, John Baldessari, 1966-1968.
Terms Most Useful in Describing Creative Works of Art, John Baldessari, 1966-1968.
No Splash, Ramiro Gomez, 2013.
No Splash, Ramiro Gomez, 2013.
Bottles, Philip Guston, 1977.
Bottles, Philip Guston, 1977.
Sinjerli 1, Frank Stella, 1967.
Sinjerli 1, Frank Stella, 1967.
Under the Table 2, Nicole Eisenman, 2014.
Under the Table 2, Nicole Eisenman, 2014.
Pool Party, John Valadez, 1986.
Pool Party, John Valadez, 1986.
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is expanding its La Jolla campus. The gallery space will be quadrupled from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet.
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego is expanding its La Jolla campus. The gallery space will be quadrupled from 10,000 to 40,000 square feet.
A rendering shows the future museum after expansion. The design by New York City-based Selldorf Architects will offer dramatic views of the nearby ocean and coast.
A rendering shows the future museum after expansion. The design by New York City-based Selldorf Architects will offer dramatic views of the nearby ocean and coast.
Another rendering depicts a front corner of the museum after expansion.
Another rendering depicts a front corner of the museum after its expansion.
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla is currently closed due to the construction.
The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in La Jolla is currently closed due to the construction.
A plaque near the museum's entrance. In Memory of Ellen Browning Scripps. The building was her former La Jolla home.
A plaque near the museum’s entrance is In Memory of Ellen Browning Scripps. The original building whose facade is still visible was designed by famed architect Irving J. Gill and considered one of his masterworks. The building was commissioned by Scripps and became her La Jolla home.
Flowers, Andy Warhol, 1967.
Flowers, Andy Warhol, 1967.

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!

Kids create Minecraft-style Mona Lisa mural!

Washington Elementary students create abstract Mona Lisa chalk art during 2014 Festa in Little Italy. It would later become the basis for some cool public art!
Washington Elementary students create abstract Mona Lisa chalk art during 2014 Festa in Little Italy. As you will see, it would later become the basis for a very cool public mural!

Students at Washington Elementary STEAM Magnet School in Little Italy have helped to produce a very cool public art mural! As motorists depart Little Italy, turning onto southbound Interstate 5 from Grape Street, they are greeted by a colorful Minecraft-style Mona Lisa along with the big word CIAO!

The abstract 20′ x 20′ Mona Lisa mural is based on chalk art that Washington Elementary School kids created for 2014 Festa, an annual Italian-themed festival in their very own Little Italy neighborhood.

I happened to blog about Festa that year, and took the above photo of the kids working on the original Mona Lisa chalk art. With the help of local artist Jayne Barnett, their completed work would eventually become a very large, very creative mural that thousands of delighted drivers pass every day!

Mine-A-Lisa's Salutation. The Little Italy mural is a much larger recreation of chalk art created by students at 2014 Festa. The Italian art-themed piece was rendered using "bricks" of color in the Minecraft style.
Mine-A-Lisa’s Salutation. The Little Italy mural is a much larger recreation of chalk art created by students at 2014 Festa. The Italian art-themed piece was rendered using “bricks” of color in the Minecraft style.
An abstract Mona Lisa mural greets cars with a large CIAO as drivers head onto southbound I-5 from Grape Street!
Mona Lisa says goodbye to everyone with a large CIAO as drivers head onto southbound I-5 from Grape Street!

If you’d like to see more chalk art created during 2014 Festa, including many amazing pieces produced by students from schools all around San Diego, click here!

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!

Create a cool beehouse for your garden!

Anyone can create a cool beehouse for their garden. All you really need is a drill!
Anyone can create a beehouse for their garden. All you really need is a drill!

Before my hike through the Sweetwater Marsh on Saturday, I took a stroll through the Native Pollinator Garden just outside the Living Coast Discovery Center. After reading a variety of informative signs, I paused in the garden to look at some very cool beehouses!

As I read about the beehouses, it occurred to me these would be extremely easy to make.

I took photographs just in case anyone reading this blog would like to make a beehouse for their own garden! Read the captions to learn more about the habits of ground-dwelling solitary bees and the materials you can use to make them a beehouse!

The Native Pollinator Garden at the Living Coast Discovery Center includes some very cool beehouses!
The Native Pollinator Garden just outside the Living Coast Discovery Center includes a couple of very cool beehouses!
Bees are extremely important. More than two thirds of the world's crop species rely on pollinators.
Bees are extremely important. More than two thirds of the world’s crop species rely on pollinators.
A large Feed a Bee Pollinator Habitat in the native garden provides shelter for solitary bees and information for the curious.
A large Feed a Bee Pollinator Habitat in the native garden provides shelter for solitary bees and information for the curious.
The rear of this bee condo! Holes have been drilled in a variety of materials, including logs, lumber and bricks.
The rear of this bee condo! Holes have been drilled in a variety of materials, including logs, lumber and bricks.
Solitary bees don't live in colonies. They often seek out hollows of fallen logs, bark and branches. They make up a majority of the 4000 bee species in the United States.
Solitary bees don’t live in colonies. They often seek out hollows of fallen logs, bark and branches. They make up a majority of the 4000 bee species in the United States.
A close look at the fun beehouse. I think even I could make one of these.
A close look at the fun beehouse. I think even I could make one of these.
Creating various hiding places attracts solitary bees, which can be as small as an eighth of an inch.
Creating various hiding places attracts solitary bees, which can be as small as an eighth of an inch.
Feeling inspired? Handy with a hammer and nails? Make your beehouse into a cool work of art!
Feeling inspired? Handy with a hammer and nails? Fashion your beehouse into a unique work of art!

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!

Art from different colleges across San Diego.

Visitors to the gallery on the 9th floor of the downtown San Diego Central Library look at some fascinating artwork.
Visitors to the gallery on the 9th floor of the downtown San Diego Central Library look at some fascinating artwork.

A fantastic exhibition is now open free to the public in the 9th floor gallery at San Diego’s Central Library. You Are Here features work from art students and professors at 13 different institutions of higher education around San Diego County.

Not only is this exhibition an opportunity for talented artists to show their creative work in public, but visitors to the Central Library can learn a little about each school’s unique art program.

I took photos of some of the artwork. Please swing on by–you’ll be impressed by the quality of these imaginative, evocative pieces. You Are Here runs through May 6, 2018.

You Are Here, a special exhibition in the Central Library's gallery, collects the work of 26 artists from 13 different higher education art departments across San Diego.
You Are Here, a special exhibition in the Central Library’s gallery, collects the work of 26 artists from 13 different higher education art departments across San Diego.
Diverse examples of thought-inducing visual art attract curious eyes.
Diverse examples of thought-inducing visual art attract curious eyes.
Space Ships, Wendell M. Kling, Professor of Art, San Diego Mesa College, 2013-present.
Space Ships, Wendell M. Kling, Professor of Art, San Diego Mesa College, 2013-present.
Hubcap Milagro for Chunky, David Avalos, Professor of Visual Arts, California State University San Marcos, 2011.
Hubcap Milagro for Chunky, David Avalos, Professor of Visual Arts, California State University San Marcos, 2011.
Untitled, Monique Van Genderen, Associate Professor of Art, UC San Diego, 2017.
Untitled, Monique Van Genderen, Associate Professor of Art, UC San Diego, 2017.
Pink Cactus Moon Rock, Corina Bilandzija, Student, Palomar College, 2017.
Pink Cactus Moon Rock, Corina Bilandzija, Student, Palomar College, 2017.
Warm Lights, Niki Ito, International Student, San Diego City College, 2017.
Warm Lights, Niki Ito, International Student, San Diego City College, 2017.
Hair, Larissa Lopez, Past Student, Cuyamaca Community College, 2017.
Hair, Larissa Lopez, Past Student, Cuyamaca Community College, 2017.
Ophelia, Hanna Hunter, Student, San Diego Miramar College, 2016.
Ophelia, Hanna Hunter, Student, San Diego Miramar College, 2016.

Do you enjoy discovering new things? I do! My camera is always ready during my long walks around San Diego!

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Museum exhibit shows evolution of fashion.

Fashion changes from decade to decade. This is often due to economic factors, social movements, the popular culture and the evolution of materials and commerce.
Fashion evolves from decade to decade. This is often due to economic factors, social movements, the popular culture and changes in materials, manufacturing and commerce.

A new exhibition at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park concerns the fascinating evolution of fashion over the past nine decades. Titled Fashion Redux: 90 Year of Fashion, this exhibition includes a “timeline of garments” from the museum’s collection, plus a number of pieces that were created by fashion students who are studying at Mesa College. The dresses these talented students created are a unique fusion of the past and present.

I confess that I have no fashion sense. I’m content to wear blue jeans every day of the year. When they become a bit too scruffy, I buy a cheap new pair. I really have no right to proclaim anything about fashion.

But I’ve always been deeply fascinated by human creativity. And the origin, formulation and application of an aesthetic sense. And the twists and turns of history, of course.

Anyone who is curious about fashion and its evolution should head over to The San Diego History Center. The museum will be having a Grand Reveal Fashion Show on April 26, where you can meet some of the Mesa College fashion students and instructors. They’re also having a series of different demonstrations. You can find out more here.

Fashion during the past 90 years is presented in a special exhibit at the San Diego History Center. Included is the work of students from Mesa College, who created new designs based on old trends.
Fashion during the past 90 years is presented in a special exhibit at the San Diego History Center. Included is the work of students from Mesa College, who created new designs based on old trends.
Photographs on the wall are from the collection of the San Diego History Center. They were taken by Charles Schneider, who during his long career contracted with UPI photographing film stars and entertainers.
Photographs on the wall are from the collection of the San Diego History Center. They were taken by Charles Schneider, who during his long career contracted with United Press International, photographing film stars and entertainers.
This 1940's style dress was created by student designer Anna Acosta. In that decade garments were often designed to soften a woman's shape, create a sense of elegance.
This 1940’s style dress was created by student designer Anna Acosta. In that decade garments were often designed to soften a woman’s shape, and achieve a sense of elegance.
An activity center at the exhibition encourages kids to try their own hand and eye at fashion design. A nearby nook is the setting for fashion demonstrations by students and instructors from the San Diego Mesa College Fashion Program.
An activity station at the exhibition encourages kids to try their own hand and eye at fashion design. A nearby nook is the setting for fashion demonstrations by students and instructors from the San Diego Mesa College Fashion Program.
This garment reflects the mid-2000's, when the boho style reached its pinnacle. This dress was designed by student Zari Wabab.
This garment reflects the mid-2000’s, when the boho style reached its pinnacle. This dress was designed by student Zari Wabab.
The San Diego History Center should be the destination of anyone interested in the past, including fashion trends.
The San Diego History Center should be the destination of anyone interested in the past, including fashion trends.
This draped nylon and taffeta gown reflects the Golden Age of Hollywood during the 1930's and the Great Depression. Like an uplifting dream in those difficult times. Created by student designer Stephanie Castro.
This draped nylon and taffeta gown reflects the Golden Age of Hollywood during the 1930’s and the Great Depression. It seemed like a dream in that difficult era. Created by student designer Stephanie Castro.
This garment in the museum's collection represents the 1990's, a time when fashion evolved as the internet gained traction, and working from home and globalism began their rise.
This garment in the museum’s collection represents the 1990’s, a time when fashion evolved as the internet gained traction, and working from home and globalism began their rise.
Dresses from the past nine decades are like a timeline representing evolving culture and various impacts of technology.
Dresses from the past nine decades are arranged as a timeline, each representing the evolving culture and various impacts of technology.

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!

Sexy space warriors and aliens in North Park!

A cool mural on the Supercuts building in North Park depicts sexy lady space warriors and wacky, evil aliens!
A cool mural on the Supercuts building in North Park depicts sexy lady space warriors and wacky, menacing aliens!

There’s a relatively new mural in North Park that replaces a cosmic mural that I blogged about here. This cool spray paint street art features two sexy space warriors and several wacky aliens! You can find it near the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and 30th Street.

It appears to me that certain elements of the old mural have been preserved. Have you “eyed” it?

I recently learned that a special utility box painting event will be taking place in North Park all along University Avenue and 30th Street tomorrow, and I hope to be there for the creativity, live music and fun! But right now I seem to be coming down with a cold, plus rain is predicted–so we’ll see. If I go I’ll take photos!

Ten street artists have their names on one side of this fantastic, complex spray paint art in North Park.
Ten street artists have their names on one side of this fantastic, complex spray paint art in North Park.
Looks to me like a sexy lady Boba Fett and Marvel's lethal super villain MODOK in his hover chair.
Looks to me like a sexy lady Boba Fett and Marvel’s lethal super villain MODOK in his hover chair.
Two weird space aliens and a sexy warrior with a couple of classic ray guns.
Two weird, wacky space aliens and a sexy female warrior holding two ray guns.
Looks to me like a cross between an evil green Jar Jar Binks and a toothy Alien or Venom.
Looks to me like a cross between an evil green Jar Jar Binks and a toothy Alien or Venom.
Two elements of a fun spray paint mural near the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and 30th Street in North Park.
Two elements of the fun spray paint mural located near the corner of El Cajon Boulevard and 30th Street in North Park!

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!

A very brief story about life and memory.

Please forgive me. I’ve written another short story and now I’m going to tell you about it.

This brief work of fiction is titled Another Page. It’s all about life and memory. And those shining, magical things that fill one’s life and memory.

That ephemeral brightness.

You will probably recognize the central character. There’s a very good chance you know that person intimately.

To read the story, click here.