Would you like to help clean up the San Diego River? There’s a volunteer event coming up that might interest you!
I was in Mission Valley this morning when I saw a poster promoting the First Annual San Diego River March. This coffee, walk and cleanup is being put on by the Ecological Servants Project, a newly formed organization based in El Cajon.
The founder of the Ecological Servants Project writes in a newsletter how his difficult life was transformed, in part by an encounter with nature’s boundless beauty. He came to understand that life itself is beautiful.
I do know the San Diego River could use many helping hands.
The date for the volunteer cleanup is Friday, March 18, 2022.
You can find all of the details at their website here!
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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!
Want to be inspired? Head up to the Oceanside Museum of Art!
The museum’s 2022 Artist Alliance Biennial will probably take your breath away, with its many works of outstanding art. The pieces were all created by regional artists; of about 900 entries juried, only 61 were accepted. The exhibit will continue through May 1, 2022.
As I moved through the gallery yesterday, I thought about human potential and began to feel little overwhelmed.
There’s no end to the creativity that can issue from human contemplation and imagination. Our potential is truly infinite.
But life is so very short.
It occurred to me that in one passing life, eyes can see very little–an infinitesimal fraction of the entire world and all the incredible art ever made, and that will ever or could ever be made.
Oh, to see it all, go everywhere, do everything . . .
The minutes I spent at the Oceanside Museum of Art were very sweet.
At the Heart of Life’s Journey, 2021, Cathy Carey. Oil on linen.Ascent in Yellow, 2021, Fiona Phillips. Oil and copper leaf.Marionette Puppet #4, 2020, Linda Phillips. Oil on canvas.Laguna Boys, 2022, Kimberleigh Wood. Oil on 2.5″ wood boxed panel.El Gallo Rojo, 2021, Frank Vining. Epoxy fiberglass and sculpting epoxy.Free as a Bird, 2021, Sue DeWulf. Low fire ceramic sculptural assemblage.Coming Up Roses, 2020, Roberta Dyer. Mixed media on canvas.Park Under a Golden Night, 2021, Duke Windsor. Acrylic and applied imitation gold leaf.There Goes Mom, 2020, Lisa Bebi. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas.Sick King, 2015, Kenda Francis. Mixed acrylic media on canvas.
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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!
Dance Break Oaxaca, by Linda Anderson. Cotton, bamboo batting, textile paints, thread.
I headed to Escondido today to experience an incredible art exhibition on its final day.
Surface, Substance, Structure featured work by artists who belong to the guild California Fibers. Dozens of amazing pieces filled the galleries at the Museum of the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
The thing about fibers is they curl and intersect and tangle and twist and naturally form beautiful complexity, even if you must look closely.
I was completely amazed by the creativity of these regional fiber artists. Innovative quilts, wire sculptures, baskets, fabric portraits and constructions–there seemed no end to the artistry their hands could produce.
Well, the exhibition is now over, so this blog is a bit late in coming. But you might be awed, or even inspired, by some of the pieces I photographed…
Surprising fabric creations awaited around every corner!Visitors to the museum were encouraged to feel the texture of these fiber art samples.SoCal Mama, by Kathy Nida. Commercial and hand-dyed fabric.Earth Vessel, by Brecia Kravolic-Logan. Reed, paper, patinaed copper, beach glass, driftwood stand, twined, glazed, netted.Small Wonders, by Charlotte Bird. Art quilt. (Microbes remain, even after a good washing!)Exploring Too, by Peggy Wiedemann. Pine needles, Irish waxed linen.Styling, by Peggy Wiedemann. Pine needles, waxed linen, rag cordage from India, old metal wheels, glass beads.Time Warp, by Lydia Tjioe Hall. Steel wire, waxed linen, cast bronze.LAVAfolds, by Cameron Taylor-Brown. Weaving photographic transfer, quilting, embroidery.Wandering the City, by Debby Weiss. Cotton, stitching, applique.
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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!
Huge juicy hamburgers, served with precious gold, tempt the eyes of those visiting the Oceanside Museum of Art!
I said gold?
Yes!
The hamburger paintings and a sculpture, by San Diego artist Duke Windsor, are made to shine with the application of gold leaf. He was inspired by the gilt religious icons in the collection of Balboa Park’s Timken Museum. (Would that make these hamburgers secular icons?)
Comic books and graphic novels can be used in schools to stir excitement for reading, and to explore and teach a variety of subjects.
Today a panel of educators shared their thoughts about Words and Pictures Together. The hour-long panel was part of a Will Eisner Week event at the San Diego Comic-Con Museum.
Will Eisner was a pioneering cartoonist and writer whose work both inspired and influenced almost every comic artist that followed him. He practically invented the graphic novel. His amazing artwork is legendary. His stories are often complex, surprising, challenging and philosophical. Not unlike great literature.
The panelists at the Comic-Con Museum yesterday discussed how they have used Eisner’s work and other comics in the classroom.
As I sat in the audience listening, I learned there are many benefits to using certain comic books or graphic novels as educational tools.
Perhaps most importantly, they are accessible to young people. Particularly kids who struggle with reading. Those who resist reading or have limited language skills will often turn the pages of a comic, greedily devouring both words and pictures. After all, most comic books and graphic novels are written to engage and excite.
Another benefit can be the development of critical thinking. There are plots to analyze and characters to understand. Allusions and themes can provide subject matter for discussion. Stories that involve historical events or contemporary issues can open a young mind to interesting ideas and questions.
And there is the graphic art itself. Why did the artist make certain choices? The page layout, typography, style, visual point of view . . .
What I found most inspiring was that students can be encouraged to make their own comic art. To tell their own stories. Express their own thoughts and feelings. When you’re a young person, secretly unsure of many things and trying to figure out life, personal expression can help you grow.
By producing their own comic or graphic novel, students also learn how to plan a creative project and execute it. And they write!
What’s more, the opportunity to show their finished art provides a sense of accomplishment!
The panelists mentioned a few works and web pages that you can use or peruse:
Years ago I described how high school students in San Diego were creating their own graphic novel. Their amazing Jasper and the Spirit Skies was launched last year at Comic-Con@Home! You can revisit that past blog post here.
There’s another reason why I found this panel of educators so interesting. Classrooms around the world are reading my short story One Thousand Likes. This small work of fiction (no pictures!) concerns the use of social media and human isolation. Read the story here.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera (and write)! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
An exhibition of art at the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego’s Balboa Park features the “memories” of graphic designer Shuichi Hashimoto.
Should you walk into the garden’s Exhibit Hall, you’ll discover flowers and mountains and clouds and cities, composed quilt-like from many bright fragments. The exhibit is titled Moisture and Light–Landscape in the Memory.
The inspired creator of this unique beauty, Shuichi Hashimoto, is based in Osaka, Japan. According to the JFG website: Hashimoto believes that the persistent rain combined with the humid environment influenced the diverse culture of Japan.
One can see how streaks of light and drops of water in his artwork seem to shimmer and bubble throughout the bright memories.
As I looked upon these abstract landscapes, it seemed I was peering through windows spattered with sunlit raindrops.
You can experience these fantastic memories, too, at the Japanese Friendship Garden through May 7, 2022.
Enjoy a few examples…
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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!
World events lately have been very depressing. Perhaps it’s good, at least for a few moments, to remember that life can also be fun, interesting, and optimistic.
Five years ago my walks around San Diego resulted in hundreds of lively photographs.
Back in March of 2117 there was a hike to the top of Cowles Mountain, several fascinating museum visits, more discoveries of cool street art, and good times at the International Mariachi Festival and the World Baseball Classic!
Cool San Diego Sights also went behind the scenes at several city landmarks during the San Diego Architectural Foundation’s annual OPEN HOUSE event.
Click the following links to see lots of photographs!
This blog now features thousands of photos around San Diego! Are you curious? There’s lots of cool stuff to check out!
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A new exhibit opens in March at the San Diego History Center in Balboa Park. It’s titled To Advance the Status of Women in Law and Society: Lawyers Club of San Diego at 50 Years.
Yesterday, during a visit to the History Center, I enjoyed a preview of the exhibit, which then was almost complete.
Displays filled with photographs and detailed descriptions explain how over the years women have fought for equal rights and opportunity in California, and San Diego in particular.
I learned how Clara Shortridge Foltz, the first woman to pass the California bar in 1883, helped lead the fight for the women’s right to vote in California.
I learned how gender bias in the San Diego legal community, right up into the 1970s, made it hard for women attorneys to gain employment.
I also learned how one woman achieved unique success. Madge Bradley, who was appointed to the San Diego Municipal Court bench in 1953, was the first woman to serve on a judicial bench in San Diego County.
When Madge Bradley retired, there again were no women on the bench, and only 24 women practicing law in all of San Diego County. So six female lawyers, who sought to challenge gender bias in their profession and elevate the status of women, started the Lawyers Club in 1972.
Over the decades, the Lawyers Club of San Diego has helped to greatly advance the cause of women, and equal rights, not only in the legal profession, but throughout society.
But there is still work to do. For several decades women have graduated from law school at the same rate as men, but they still make up a minority of judges.
One display explains how to make change happen: by voting, advocacy, speaking out, raising awareness, leadership, finding allies, and giving back.
In 2022, the Lawyers Club is celebrating their 50th Anniversary!
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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!
The Russian invasion of Ukraine is being widely condemned by civilized, peace-loving people around the world.
Today a rally was held in San Diego’s Balboa Park, before the El Cid statue, in support of Ukraine.
Flags waved and urgent words were spoken, including Stop the War and Help Ukraine. Signs were held high for eyes and cameras to see.
As a surprise beginning to the 2 o’clock Spreckels Organ concert, Ukraine’s national anthem was played. Much applause could be heard from the audience.
At the House of Ukraine among the International Cottages, additional words of support were spoken by concerned visitors.
May this war end very soon.
And may Humanity prevail.
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!
This beautiful Sunday afternoon, there seemed to be an endless procession of bright, colorful sailboats down San Diego Bay!
I took photographs from the Embarcadero as a crowd of small dreamlike sails approached from distant Shelter Island. The billowing, many-colored sails grew larger and larger as the boats filed past North Island.
I believe most of these sailboats were participating in the San Diego Yacht Club’s CR914 WINTER SERIES II. Correct me if I’m mistaken!
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 