Cool sand artists rest for a bit near the foot of Broadway Pier as they create a welcoming sculpture for the 2019 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge! A couple faces look familiar from past competitions!
Some of the world’s greatest sand artists smiled for my camera late this afternoon! They’re now carving sand sculptures on Broadway Pier that will greet people as they arrive for the 2019 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge.
During Labor Day weekend, these extraordinary artists will be working hard inside the Port Pavilion, where the public can watch them create spectacular pieces of fine art out of compacted sand!
If you’re in San Diego, it’s the big Labor Day weekend event you shouldn’t miss!
On the other side of the welcoming sand sculpture, a design is being carved that celebrates the 250th Anniversary of the City of San Diego!One of the outdoor sand sculptures near the Port Pavilion is sponsored by San Diego’s public transit system, MTS. It’s a work still in progress.Sand master and TV star Chris Guinto smiles for my camera! I met him briefly five years ago during the annual competition. This sculpture he’s working on for an event sponsor will promote Natural Light Seltzer.
UPDATE!
Here are some photos taken the following day…
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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!
This morning sand is being compacted in wooden forms on the Broadway Pier. That means Labor Day weekend can’t be very far away, along with the 2019 U.S. Sand Sculpting Challenge!
During this annual festival, fine art will be created by some of the world’s top sand sculptors inside the pier’s Port Pavilion. Meanwhile, I was told that the carving of several sponsored sand sculptures outdoors on the pier begins tomorrow!
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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
Ranches, hot air balloons, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.
There’s a very cool mural inside a pedestrian tunnel at the Civita development in Mission Valley. I recently learned about this public art because it was nominated for a 2019 Orchid Award by the San Diego Architectural Foundation.
The 72-foot-long mural, which can be found under Via Alta next to the Civita Dog Park, was painted in 2018 by local artist and muralist Kevin Anderson. It depicts well-known and beloved places in the city of San Diego and the surrounding county.
San Diego County is so enormous, it’s geographic area is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware put together! Looking at this beautiful mural, you can see the county’s fantastic natural diversity, from the oceans to the mountains and deserts, not to mention San Diego’s rich history and culture.
Because this mural isn’t far from my work, I couldn’t resist walking over today to check it out!
Here are photos that you might enjoy!
Outside view of the pedestrian tunnel that passes under Via Alta in Civita Park. The mural inside depicts many wonderful places around San Diego.The Blue Angels, citrus and agriculture, the mountains of San Diego County, golf.Potato Chip Rock, mountain biking, rural living.Julian apple pie, wildlife and wildflowers, the Palomar Observatory.Mountains overlooking Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, cacti, bighorn sheep.Beneath San Diego State University and Balboa Park, Civita Park has been painted in Mission Valley, along with the names of Civita Kids Art.Junior Seau, Tony Gwynn, Petco Park, downtown and San Diego Bay.Little Italy, USS Midway, Coronado Bay Bridge, Star of India, Hotel del Coronado.Mariachis of Old Town beneath the Serra Museum, SeaWorld, Mission Bay.La Jolla Cove and Pacific Ocean aquatic life.Surfing and paragliding along the cliffs of Torrey Pines.
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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!
What’s did I see today in Balboa Park? There’s a car parked in the middle of Spanish Village Art Center’s patio and it’s decorated with all sorts of fun, colorful artwork!
According to a sign on the windshield, the Art Car was donated for this project by the San Diego Automotive Museum. It appears to be a cool work in progress during this Summer of Love!
Nobody was painting the car when I walked by, but I saw plenty of space for more creativity!
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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!
Five years ago I blogged about the Wizard of Oz festival which was held in Coronado’s Spreckels Park. After checking out the festival, I took three photos of the beautiful Wizard of Oz glass panels inside the Coronado Library, which is located across Orange Avenue from the park.
Last weekend during my visit to Coronado I enjoyed looking at the panels again. I had stepped into the library to photograph pieces of art by two internationally famous artists. (I’ll post those photos at some point in the future, probably after Comic-Con.)
The thing is, as I paused in front of the wonderful Wizard of Oz artwork at the entrance to the children’s room, I suddenly realized I hadn’t posted photos of all the fun scenes. So I will right now!
This colorful Wizard of Oz Children’s Library Entry Portal was created by artist Brenda Smith.
Enjoy!
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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!
Five enormous eucalyptus leaves seem to have fallen beside a walking path in Escondido’s lush, beautiful Kit Carson Park. You can find them near the adult softball fields, just above Tree Lake.
The huge leaves are cast in bronze. One is gently curved to form a bench. Two stand on their stems to form a graceful arch. One edgewise on the grass seems to be blowing in the wind. The end of one seems to have become pressed into the walking path by passing feet.
These five timeless leaves were created by artist Christine Oatman in 1991. Together they are titled Eucalyptus Leaf Court.
Late this morning I sat on the leaf bench and time stopped. I was very small. As if in a dream, the trees around me were gigantic.
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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!
During my walk through the Scripps Institute of Oceanography on Saturday, I paused in the grassy area just north of the Judith and Walter Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Munk Laboratory to admire an amazing sculpture by Donal Hord.
Spring Stirring, 1947-1948, was carved from black diorite and stands 46 inches tall. It was exhibited in 1949 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Third Sculpture International. In 1964, Spring Stirring was given to the University of California’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography by Cecil and Ida Green.
Donal Hord, who achieved worldwide fame for his fine sculptures, developed a deep love for San Diego. He lived most of his life here. Today some of his most important pieces endure as public art around San Diego.
To see the sculpture for yourself (and some fantastic coastal scenery in La Jolla) follow in my footsteps and take a short walk here.
You can find many photographs of Donal Hord’s public sculptures and reliefs by putting his name in the search box on this blog.
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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!
Scripps Coastal Meander Trailhead at La Jolla Shores Drive, just north of Biological Grade. A sign indicates Coastal Trail Access.
Please join me for a short but absolutely amazing walk.
We’re going to start at the Scripps Coastal Meander Trailhead on La Jolla Shores Drive and pass through part of the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography. We’ll enjoy breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and nearby coast. We’ll pause at a spot of historical importance. We’ll encounter some beautiful artwork.
Let’s go!
The Scripps Coastal Meander coincides with a short segment of the California Coastal Trail.Starting down the trail.Moving through the Scripps Institution of Oceanography campus. Someone reads a sign ahead.Starting along a raised wooden walkway with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean.Sign describes the Scripps Coastal Meander, a publicly accessible walking route through the Scripps campus. It is part of the California Coastal Trail.A map on the sign shows the California Coastal Trail in relation to the beach, the Scripps Coastal Reserve Biodiversity Trail, Scripps Pier and La Jolla Shores.Heading down the wooden walkway with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean, Scripps Pier, and La Jolla Cove in the distance.A paraglider from the Torrey Pines Gliderport floats in the sky above a campus building.Soaring high above the beautiful coast.Looking down from the trail at native flora atop the cliffs above the beach. Dike Rock can be seen jutting through the breaking surf.Walking along on a beautiful, sunny San Diego day.A bench waits ahead.Bench overlooks the wide blue ocean.Opa’s Bench is dedicated to Arnold Krause. His journey began in Germany and ended in San Diego.Two small birds on a rope.Continuing on, I passed a student who attends world renowned Scripps Institution of Oceanography.Another sign ahead.Conserving California’s Coastal Treasures. Sign describes Marine Protected Areas. Just offshore is the San Diego-Scripps Coastal SMCA.Continuing down the path, I see something interesting to the right.A marker stands at what was the oldest known archaeological site in Southern California–radiocarbon dated in 1962–occupied by the La Jollan I Indians almost 8000 years ago.Approaching a small grassy park with a sculpture.The sculpture is Spring Stirring by world famous sculptor Donal Hord, 1948, a gift of Cecil and Ida Green in 1964.Spring Stirring, by artist Donal Hord.Starting along a narrow walkway around the perimeter of the Judith and Walter Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics Munk Laboratory.Looking north up the coast toward Black’s Beach and Torrey Pines State Reserve.Looking southwest at Ellen Browning Scripps Memorial Pier, which is used for ocean research by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.Beyond Scripps Pier and Scripps Beach is La Jolla Shores and the Village of La Jolla.
UPDATE!
I walked this way again in early 2022, and noticed an “Authorized Personnel Only” sign has appeared at the narrow walkway with the amazing view in my final few photographs. Best not to go that way anymore.
By heading back east to Biological Grade road, you can resume a walk south down the marked California Coastal Trail to the foot of Scripps Pier and beyond!
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If you dare, walk with me up the Snake Path at UCSD. We will proceed from innocence to knowledge.
We’ll begin at a spot near the Jacobs School of Engineering, then head west up a hill toward the amazing Geisel Library. Our path is the winding 560-foot length of a scaly snake.
Snake Path, part of the UC San Diego Stuart Collection, was created by Alexis Smith in 1992. The scales of the snake are hexagonal pieces of colored slate.
We’ll pass a monumental granite book, none other than Milton’s Paradise Lost. On the cover is engraved: “And wilt thou not be loathe to leave this Paradise, but shalt possess a Paradise within thee, happier far.”
We’ll linger at a bench in a small Garden of Eden. Written on the bench are Thomas Gray’s words: “Yet ah why should they know their fate/When sorrow never comes too late/And happiness too swiftly flies/Thought would destroy their Paradise/No more, where ignorance is bliss, tis folly to be wise.”
Toward innocence or knowledge. Which direction is best?
UPDATE!
I took more pics of the Snake Path with a different camera during a UCSD walk a few years later…
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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!
Welcome to Fair@44 Open Air Market and Venue. Community, Coffee, Culture and More.
Last weekend I checked out a cool community gathering space in City Heights. The Fair @ 44 occupies a lot on El Cajon Boulevard, tucked between Fairmount Avenue and 44th Street. Here neighbors can enjoy concerts, movie nights, coffee from The Dojo Cafe, and a periodic International Food and Craft Market.
When I swung by it was fairly quiet: just some folks sitting at tables and chairs in the shade enjoying conversation. I saw that people can play various games, and that kids can draw pictures on nearby boards, or even create chalk art. Colorful murals and some small sculptural artwork can also be discovered by walking around Fair @ 44!
Color and cool art greets those who visit Fair @ 44.A very cool mural!Hanging out in some shade on a sunny weekend afternoon.There are huge LEGOs nearby, and plenty to chat about with neighbors.Kids created some chalk art on a picnic table.Coffee and treats can be found at The Dojo Cafe.A board features a wise Quote of the Week.Kids have drawn lots of creative artwork on this board.Enjoying life in City Heights.Do What You LoveMusic en la Calle is a free music festival at Fair @ 44 coming up next weekend!
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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! 