Tag: libraries

Dreams Beyond Tomorrow at Chula Vista library.

Eight stunning works of digital art add beauty to the walls of the Chula Vista Public Library Civic Center Branch. They were created by artist Galina Semenova and are titled Dreams Beyond Tomorrow. Take a look at them.

The Dreamscape portraits “visualize the inner worlds of eight women navigating metastatic breast cancer…”They encourage us to slow down and live in the moment. As the artist states: “I invite you to stop running. Let these stories remind you than in an uncertain world, our most powerful act is to truly see one another in this very moment.”

Slowing down in a hectic, demanding world can be hard. But in our uncertain lives, what is truly important?

It’s a question we all should ask ourselves

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Contemplation at Georgina Cole Library in Carlsbad.

This exceptional bronze sculpture is titled Contemplation.

The public art stands in a park-like space in front of the Georgina Cole Library in Carlsbad. It’s not far from this bench.

The artist is T.J. Dixon, creator of so many similarly beautiful sculptures in and around San Diego.

Contemplation was dedicated in 2001 as part of the Art in Public Places Program supported by the Carlsbad Arts Commission.

I took these photographs during my visit to the library a couple days ago.

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Carlsbad bench dedicated to Revolutionary War patriots.

I saw this plaque today, during my first ever visit to the Georgina Cole Library in Carlsbad.

The bronze plaque adorns a bench in the park-like space in front of the library entrance.

It reads:

DEDICATED TO OUR REVOLUTIONARY WAR PATRIOTS AND ALL THOSE WHO HAVE FOLLOWED

1776 – 2004

SANTA MARGARITA CHAPTER, NSDAR

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Constitution Week celebrated at Carlsbad library.

Did you know that Constitution Week this year runs from September 17th to the 23rd? I was reminded of the celebration when I visited the Georgina Cole library in Carlsbad today. The library has a Constitution Week display!

If you enjoy being free, and like your ability to vote, think of the United States Constitution.

During our everyday life, it can be easy to take our rights secured by the Constitution for granted.

Curious about your own family history? Looking at this display, I learned the Georgina Cole Library has one of the largest genealogical collections in California!

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San Diego METRO Modern Quilt exhibit in Mission Valley.

The San Diego METRO Modern Quilt Guild has a great exhibit inside the Mission Valley Library. A colorful array of modern quilts represents the creative work of guild members.

The mission of the San Diego METRO Modern Quilt Guild is to help build and foster community based on the common interest of modern quilting.

What is modern quilting? It is a contemporary approach to quilt-making that favors minimalism, bold colors, and improvisational design over strict symmetry. Heavily inspired by modern art and architecture, it often features expansive negative space, high-contrast palettes, and “modern traditionalism”—the reinterpretation of classic quilt blocks.

The exhibit in Mission Valley features hangable works of art, blankets, handbags and wearable clothing. Check out some photos…

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Classic books celebrated at San Diego County Fair!

Once Upon a Fair is this year’s theme at the San Diego County Fair. What exactly does that mean? The fair in 2026 is celebrating reading books–and popular fiction and the classics take center stage!

The fair’s theme exhibit is filled with the wonders that readers find in books. The Wizard of Oz, Winnie the Pooh, Charlotte’s Web, Treasure Island, Harry Potter, Jules Verne, fairy tales we all know, Peter Rabbit, Superman, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Alice in Wonderland, Sherlock Holmes . . . visitors encounter all the great characters and timeless stories generations have come to love!

There is reading aloud story time for the very young ones. There are opportunities for visitors to contribute their own writing. Everywhere you turn you’ll find tributes to famous authors and illustrators. Renowned authors with a San Diego connection are recognized. Visiting libraries is encouraged. The shelves of your local library are like open vaults where endless treasures await.

It was exciting to observe children running from display to display, breathlessly recognizing the books they had come to know. One large, playful section of the theme exhibit is dedicated to La Jolla’s own Dr. Seuss.

It was awesome!

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Two artists explore memory at the Athenaeum.

Within the Context of Time: May-ling Martinez and Coralys Carter is an exhibition of art now showing in La Jolla at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library.

As its webpage explains, the exhibition explores memory, time, and family history through two distinct yet deeply resonant artistic practices . . . While Martinez uses symmetry and balance to shape her assemblages and drawings, Carter plays purposefully with off-kilter constructions and hand-spun details . . .

The variety of pieces seem like memories that vaguely return in dreams and daydreams. Hair, baskets, racquets, tools, shells, fabric, a projector screen and other common everyday objects are often combined, just as memories can suddenly surface and strangely intertwine.

Evocative, mysterious, beautiful, and often melancholy, these two artists create frameworks from which one can begin to ponder the edges of the human experience: the vastness of time and memory alongside the mundanity of daily life.

I can’t describe the exhibition with words better than that.

This is visual art, meant to be absorbed not through words but with searching eyes. When you enter the Athenaeum, turn left at the front desk and walk into the Joseph Clayes III Gallery, then add the experience to your own memories.

Within the Context of Time: May-ling Martinez and Coralys Carter continues through July 25, 2026.

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New mural at renovated Escondido Library!

I recently read that a huge new mural was being painted outside the Escondido Public Library during its major renovation. So I had to swing by to see what I might see!

The 100 foot mural is by artist Tim Topalov of Flow&Form, a San Diego-based studio. The Escondido community voted to select the design.

I found this Instagram story showing the mural being painted!

I took these photos today from behind a construction fence, but you can see how amazing this public art will be when it’s finally in full view.

You can find the mural on the east side of the library building, at the corner of East 2nd Avenue and Kalmia Street.

The mural tells a mythological story. It begins:

In the beginning, the earth was covered with water. Two brothers lived under the water and wondered what lay above. They climbed a high mountain, and the younger brother reached the top first. From there he saw the earth being formed by insects coming up from inside the mountain, each carrying a small bit of rock, building the land as ants built their hills…

It is the Kumeyaay creation story. Read more about it here.

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Have a blind date with a book in Oceanside!

In Oceanside, it’s easy to arrange for a blind date . . . with a book!

For your blind date, simply head over to Jane & Evie’s Used Books at 323 North Coast Highway and choose one of the plainly wrapped packages pictured above.

Beneath the mysterious wrappings you’ll discover a book!

Will you fall in love with it?

You can’t judge a book by its cover. Particularly in this instance. Fortunately, there are written clues on the wrappings that provide an idea of what you might find inside. (You get a beautiful bookmark, too!)

Every five dollar purchase helps to fund the Oceanside Public Library. What’s not to love?

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Beautiful views at Mission Valley Library!

Have you been inside the San Diego Library’s branch in Mission Valley? The library offers beautiful views, particularly from the second floor mezzanine and the adjacent outdoor patio.

These first few photos are from the Mission Valley Library mezzanine, where there are desks perfect for quiet reading or study. Artistic ceiling supports appear like trees with spreading leafy branches.

One can gaze down at the interior of the library. Aesthetically, it’s quite pleasing. The silvery gray metal and light brown wood makes the space feel very clean, orderly and open.

Now we’re looking from the interior mezzanine toward the outdoor patio. Much natural light comes through those windows.

Outside, the partially enclosed patio is a wind-sheltered place where anyone can lounge in the sun, breathe fresh air, and gaze out over the trolley tracks and the Fenton Parkway Station toward trees along the San Diego River. The grassy SDSU Mission Valley river park stretches to the east, where people walk and play sports.

Wouldn’t you like to hang out here?

Finally, here’s what the south side of the Mission Valley Library looks like from outside. That’s the semi-circular patio up above.

The library building opened in 2002. It has received the award for Best Institutional Design from the American Institute of Architects.

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