Tag: printing

Unique printmaking art exhibit in Oceanside!

The subject matter for art is infinite, and sometimes it seems like the different paths for creating art are beyond count. That is certainly the case in a current exhibition at the Oceanside Museum of Art. Matrix multiplied: hybrid approaches to printmaking demonstrates that amazing art can be produced by utilizing multiple printmaking techniques.

Eighteen artists are featured in the exhibition. Many of their pieces incorporate different techniques, ranging from traditional handmade printing methods to digital technology. They are truly unique!

No particular theme is depicted among the pieces. You’ll see abstracts, portraits, landscapes . . . art books, hangings, sculptures . . . all produced in ways you might not have imagined. The exhibition is a celebration of artistic skill and creativity!

Go check it out through August 2, 2026!

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Open Print Studio invites artists in San Diego!

Are you an artist in San Diego? Would you like free access to an extensive and amazing Print Studio?

The Athenaeum Art Center at the Bread and Salt building in Logan Heights has the fantastic facility you see in these photographs. I’ve worked at a local print shop, and the number of presses I saw today blew me away! You’re invited to use them, or take printing classes!

The Print Studio features 5,000 square feet of creativity…and 10 presses and over 300 cases of type. Read more about the equipment and possibilities by visiting this webpage.

My mouth flew open when I saw those many drawers of type–I thought I’d stepped into a printing museum!

The studio offers free weekly Open Print studio time to the public for printmakers of all skill levels, from beginner to advanced, thanks in part to the Prebys Foundation and Dr. Edward Petko.

How cool is that? You’ll be greeted by smiles,too!

As this Instagram post indicates, Open Print Studio invites artists to work independently in our print studio space… Some printmaking familiarity is helpful as Open Print Studio is self-guided, and limited technical support is available for refreshers or help finding supplies. Our facility supports intaglio, screen print, relief, and letterpress. Printmaking classes are also offered throughout the year.

To learn of open hours and events at the Print Studio, follow this Instagram page, and/or this one!

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3D printing rocks as art in La Jolla!

A rather unusual exhibition of art can now be viewed in La Jolla at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. Yes, those shelves in the above photo are full of 3D printed “rocks!”

They’re actually a kind of lightweight plastic material, but they do resemble black volcanic rocks. Visitors to the Athenaeum’s Joseph Clayes III Gallery can watch a rock being printed and handle a specimen and consider the deeper meaning of Nolan Oswald Dennis: Demonstrations (i).

As the exhibition webpage explains, this collection of art, selected by The Athenaeum and INSITE from many entries, is informed by the study of geological and planetary systems—and situated within African and diasporic relations to the land, cosmos, and anti-colonial political structures.

A further description in the gallery includes: This artwork explores the political and spiritual history of the land in South Africa as a proxy for an after-history of the planet as a discontinuous but interrelated whole, imagining that we can use the digital shadow of a simulated rock (the thing without itself) to hold the immaterial social, spiritual and political relations which are also part of the geo-physics of the planet.

I’m afraid I’m not terribly sophisticated, so those explanations are a little beyond me. It struck me the exhibition is about something that is universal: the enormous complexity of essence and connection. That’s probably too simple.

Visit this very unique exhibition, turn over a simulated rock, and arrive at your own particular conclusion!

Nolan Oswald Dennis: Demonstrations (i) can be experienced through January 17, 2026.

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Symbiotic art at Chula Vista Civic Center.

Walk through the front entrance of Chula Vista City Hall and you’re immediately greeted by very unique art.

Symbiotic is the name of this Civic Center exhibition. All of the pieces are by printmaker, painter, writer and poet Joelle Cook (@wolfprintsart).

As a nearby sign explains: Symbiotic is the debut solo show of artist and author Joelle Cook… Her art is an exploration of the ways the biological world and the architecture of manmade forms overlap, and how that lends to a new kind of worldbuilding driven by this mix of natural beings and hard shapes.

I noticed that for many of the artists’ pieces, images of living things are created by combining simple and complex polygons–“hard shapes” defined by rigidly straight lines.

In an unexpected way, these creations might remind viewers of a scientific truth. The astonishingly complex living world around us arises from more basic geometry. Think individual molecules and atoms.

Go check out this cool exhibition and see it all for yourself!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

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Two of the coolest artists you’ll ever meet!

Meet two super cool San Diego artists! That’s Susie Zol on the left and Denise Cerro on the right. Both were having a blast today creating art, laughing, enjoying life and talking to visitors in Gallery 21 in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center!

Susie Zol is an abstract artist whose website is here. Denise Cerro likes to make mixed media art and her website is here.

They were having so much fun when I walked into the gallery and radiating such energy that I couldn’t help smiling myself! And then it got even better as they demonstrated what they were up to!

Here’s Susie at work…

That’s Denise in the next photo…

She showed me how to make art using a gelli plate (gel printing plate). It’s sort of works like a slightly squishy printing press.

Okay, I hope I understood this all correctly.

Ink is applied to the gelli plate…

Now she’s putting an inked leafy branch onto the inked gelli plate…

Pressing down on heavy stock paper to make a gelli print…

There it is!

And by using thin material and making a second impression on the residual ink, a ghost print is created!

The ghost prints can be layered, creating a composite image with complexity and depth. In Denise’s mixed media pieces, she’ll often glue on works of ceramic or collage material. The entire effect is amazing.

All I can say is, head over to Gallery 21 by May 18th and see loads of incredible art for yourself.

I almost forgot! The artists are doing daily demonstrations at 1 pm, too!

May 12=Art Journals; May 13=Accordion Books; May 14=Small Series Paintings; May 15=Abstract Faces; May 16=Non-Dominate Hand Art; and May 17=Painting on Loose Paper.

Look at some of their work!

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I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Feel free to share!

History of El Hispano Americano newspaper in San Diego.

A fascinating exhibit on the 9th Floor of San Diego’s Central Library concerns the history of the old El Hispano Americano newspaper, founded in San Diego by Hernando Limón Hernández, who had been a general in the Mexican Army.

Display cases in the library’s Marilyn & Gene Marx Special Collections Center contain photographs, printed art, old newspapers and documents, detailing the life of General Hernando Limón Hernández and his groundbreaking newspaper in San Diego.

While living in Mexico, the General had been tasked with designing and building lighthouses across Mexico’s main ports. He and his family would settle in San Diego by 1916, where the retired General became a Spanish teacher at the military compound in Coronado.

He soon purchased the new El Hispano Americano newspaper, and began to operate its print shop in downtown San Diego.

El Hispano Americano was the first modern Spanish language newspaper published in California. It would become the first binational newspaper that circulated simultaneously in Southern California and Northern Baja California. At its peak, in 1932, El Hispano American averaged 25,000 daily readers.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

Painting a super cool mural in City Heights!

San Diego artist Hugo Fernando Fierro (@hoyote) was spray painting a wall in City Heights today. He’s finishing off a huge, super cool mural on the side of Inscriptu: Custom Printing and Laser Engraving Services, at the corner of University Boulevard the 42nd Street.

I learned about this project from Carlos Quezada of Love City Heights, who told me that hopefully more great murals will be appearing in this east San Diego community’s future.

When I arrived to check out the artwork this afternoon, Hugo was taking a break and we struck up a conversation. Not only is he a great muralist (see other City Heights murals painted by Hugo here and here), but he’s an illustrator, video producer and animator.

Check out the artwork’s neon colors, crazy characters and complex, dynamic composition! When I asked for the title of this mural, he said he hadn’t decided yet.

Hugo then stepped onto the lift and began adding black spray paint to the mural, to resemble dripping printer’s ink. The touches of black make the colorful graphics pop even more.

If you look closely at the mural, you’ll see elements that pertain to Inscriptu, a print shop that specializes in large format.

One day local firefighters driving down the street paused to admire the developing artwork. They suggested that a reference to San Diego Fire Station 17 be added. Do you see it?

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X.

History inside old San Diego bread factory!

Industrial baking equipment can be viewed inside the building in Logan Heights that once housed a San Diego bread factory. The old building, at 1955 Julian Avenue, is now home to Bread & Salt, a cultural hub that features multiple art galleries, plus a brewery and coffee shop.

Today’s coffee shop–which occupies the oldest part of the building–is where Cramer’s Bakery operated a century ago. Read its history here.

The bakery expanded over time and eventually produced Weber’s bread, as you can see in my photograph of the building’s front entrance.

I stepped into Bread & Salt today because the public was invited to tour the historic building during this weekend’s San Diego Architectural Foundation Open House event. While I enjoyed viewing artwork in the various galleries, I was most intrigued by the remaining old baking equipment.

I’m no expert, so I can’t explain all that I saw. No information was available. Perhaps knowledgeable readers can leave a comment.

I did observe how bread dough would be sent from large steel “funnels” hanging from the ceiling into large bread-making ovens (one oven remains behind the coffee shop counter). A machine against a nearby wall appears to have been used for making or mixing dough. I also recognized an old-fashioned printing press. I don’t know if it was utilized in the factory–perhaps for advertising.

Step through the following door to make your own discoveries:

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Exhibit recalls Green Tiger Press in La Jolla.

Tigers, Unicorns, & Puppy Dog Tales is the latest exhibit that the public can enjoy in the La Jolla Historical Society‘s Wisteria Cottage museum.

Colorful displays recall the years when the Green Tiger Press, the Unicorn Cinema and the Mithras Bookstore were much loved La Jolla institutions. The local publisher, theater and bookstore were all established by Harold and Sandra Darling in the 1960s. The Darlings were a visionary couple who loved art, literature and the magic of imagination.

The exhibit contains printed material–postcards, stationery, children’s books, and more–bursting with unicorns and dragons and rainbow dreams and talking animals. Step into the museum and you might feel as if you stepped into a fairy tale. Or traveled through time back to your own childhood.

Bring kids to the exhibit and they will be enchanted. There’s a table where they can pore through picture books and create their own art!

Adults will be intrigued by Green Tiger printed posters that promote the eclectic, often independent films that screened inside the Unicorn Cinema. The dark theater was located through the back door of the Mithras Bookstore. The docent with whom I spoke loved the tiny theater and its popcorn machine. It sounds like a place I would have loved, too.

The Green Tiger Press relocated to Seattle, but they have lent their wonderful “carousel tiger” for this exhibition.

If you want to see all this magic for yourself, make sure to visit the Wisteria Cottage museum by January 21, 2024.

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!

World’s first 3D-printed car in San Diego!

The world’s first ever 3D-printed car is now on display in San Diego. Check it out!

I saw this surprising product of 3D-printing technology when I visited the newly opened POPnology exhibition at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park.

This fully electric car, called the Strati, has a body printed from carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic. According to a nearby sign, it took 44 hours to print the 212 layers, and two days to assemble.

From a distance the Strati’s appearance is pretty cool; up close, it can be rather strange. (The layers produce a surface of odd ridges–I was reminded of a topographical map!)

You can read about Local Motors, the apparently defunct company that produced Strati, by clicking here. You’ll find a video of a short ride in the car.

Popular Mechanics published a detailed article about the Strati here!

Head over to the Comic-Con Museum to experience POPnology. You’ll see this car and find all sorts of technological innovations foretold or inspired by futuristic concepts in pop culture! I’ll be blogging about the incredible exhibition shortly!

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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!

I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!

I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or X (formerly known as Twitter)!