The older I become, the more I understand that life is fleeting.
Because of that, I’ve come to a decision.
I will now dedicate my spare hours to writing fiction.
Why?
While I enjoy walking everywhere and taking photos of San Diego, I feel that my efforts in creative writing might be more important. Apparently some people think my works of fiction have merit.
It doesn’t seem possible, but my website Short Stories by Richard has received visitors from school classrooms in four different countries now. Most of the students are reading the story One Thousand Likes. Many people around the world have also begun to read An Unexpected Sunflower, which is my very first short story and still my favorite.
So now I’m really going to concentrate on writing. Which means Cool San Diego Sights and my other photography blogs will be put on pause.
I’m hoping a few more worthwhile stories will come to me!
If I’m lucky!
If you’d like to read and follow my writing, you can click here!
Jeryn Young, Pop Art Portraits, 2019. Tempera paint on paper. Grade 11, Mission Bay High School.
Something new and very cool has recently opened in Seaport Village.
In partnership with the San Diego Unified School District, Seaport Village is now home to the Student Art Gallery!
I visited the gallery today and was blown away by some truly amazing student artwork. The pieces are selected by classroom teachers all around San Diego. Artists attend grades from Kindergarten through High School.
I learned the exhibition will rotate every few weeks, continuously introducing new artwork produced by San Diego’s talented youth. I also learned the gallery will move to a different, larger location inside Seaport Village in a couple of weeks.
If you want to check it out for yourself, visit the Seaport Village website here.
Please enjoy photos representing some of the art currently on display…
The Student Art Gallery at Seaport Village was created in partnership with the San Diego Unified School District’s Visual and Performing Arts Department.Trinity Covarrubias-Burns, Bees and Bloom, 2019. Construction paper, marker and tempera on paper. Kindergarten, Vista Grande Elementary School.Valeria Romero Padilla, Mas Que Una Voz, 2019. Graphite pencil on paper. Grade 9, Crawford High School.Amalia Martinez-Oviedo, Anime, 2019. Colored crayon and marker on paper. Grade 4, Toler Elementary School.Isaac Benitez, Tree Frog, 2019. Tempera on paper. Grade 10, Lincoln High School.Jessie Hsu, Abstract Face in Glitter, 2019. Pastel and glitter glue on paper. Grade 2, E. B. Scripps Elementary School.Jaime Barrozo, The Steeple, 2019. Black ink Pointillism on paper. Grade 8, Correia Middle School.Leigh Archibald, Orange, 2019. Multiple mediums on paper. Grade 12, La Jolla High School.Jade Someda, The Fruits in Four, 2019. Wax crayon and watercolor on paper. Grade 9, Mission Bay High School.Daniel Perez, Blind Contour Self-Portrait, 2019. Black marker on paper. Grade 5, Edison Elementary School.Lillian Robinson, Silence of the Lilies, 2019. Colored pencil on textured paper. Grade 11, Mission Bay High School.Tiernan Nauton, Cezanne Apples, 2019. Tempera on paper. Grade 3, Kumeyaay Elementary School.Kelsey Amann, Censored, 2019. Graphite pencil on paper. Grade 11, Mission Bay High School.Riley Fritzenkotter, Love Thyself, 2019. Oil pastel and black marker on paper. Grade 4, Alcott Elementary School.
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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!
In the one room Mason Street School in Old Town San Diego, younger and older children sat together before the teacher and learned their letters.
A cool theme developed during my walk through Old Town San Diego State Historic Park yesterday. First I wandered into the 1868 San Diego Union Building and observed ladies in 19th century dress practicing calligraphy. A short time later, as my eyes scanned the walls of the one room 1865 Mason Street Schoolhouse, I noticed a sheet on the wall titled First Lessons in Penmanship.
Turns out it was a great day to relearn the alphabet!
A super nice gentleman in the old print shop provided all sorts of tidbits of information concerning printing, publishing and life in early San Diego. I learned the original Washington hand press that was used by the San Diego Union newspaper is now in the collection of the Henry Ford Museum of American Innovation. And that setting up the tiny type for a single page of the newspaper took a keen-eyed person about 12 hours!
I posted photos of the old print shop and editor’s office four years ago. I also wrote a little about the San Diego Union’s history. You can revisit that blog post by clicking here.
You can see much more inside the old Mason Street School building and learn more about San Diego’s first school teacher, Mary Chase Walker, by clicking here!
Additional information that I learned yesterday is in my photo captions!
A sheet on the schoolhouse wall contains First Lessons in Penmanship. THE ALPHABET.I’m given a small tour of the print shop inside the historic San Diego Union Building.Like wet laundry, hundreds of newspaper sheets would be strung up all around the print shop so that the freshly impressed ink would dry!A demonstration of assembled type and a finished impression.Part of a large plate in the massive Washington hand press. Today school students often visit the historic print shop to learn about publishing long before the digital age.Those students can rearrange these letters to spell words like SUPER.To proof newspaper sheets as type was assembled, this huge heavy roll would be used to make a quick impression.In the entrance of the San Diego Union Building, ladies sat at a desk practicing their penmanship.A sample of elegant Copperplate Calligraphy.This beautifully penned text is from Lewis Carroll’s humorous Lobster Quadrille in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.Showing how to write fancy letters with an old-fashioned pen and inkwell.
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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 voices of local high school students can now be “heard” in the breezeway between the Santa Fe Depot and the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego.
The artwork represents what youth in San Diego observe and are taught. The emphasis is on power. I was glad to observe one young person is thirsty for knowledge.
Rènn (Queen), 2019, Xeviah Jordan. Mount Miguel High School.This work is about women’s empowerment. It shows how women can be dominant and on top.Observe and Procure, 2019, Eric Gallegos, Jose Jimenez, Marc Robledo. High Tech High North County.Our artwork is a wall and it represents how everyone is being watched by someone or something.Reach, 2019, Vanessa Townsend. Mount Miguel High School.This piece is meant to portray a reach for knowledge and a desire to want to learn more.
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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!
Thao Huynh and Kolten French of Mindful Murals encourage school kids to #CREATE with a super colorful interactive mural!
Yesterday during my mural walking adventure I was introduced by Love City Heights to two people who are doing something that is brilliant and inspiring. Thao Huynh and Kolten French have together created Mindful Murals, an enterprise that’s all about engaging young students at schools with large, affirming, fun graphics!
Check out these six interactive murals that were recently completed at Edison Elementary School. They decorate the backstops of outdoor handball courts. Big splashes of color feature short positive messages like BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, BE LOVING, and NEVER GIVE UP. The murals not only encourage positive thoughts and behavior, but they become a motivating part of a student’s outdoor physical activity.
In addition to interactive murals, Mindful Murals creates sensory paths for schools. These pathways invite kids to walk, twist and turn all about, as they head down a colorful path to discover happy emojis and surprises. It’s a cool idea that engages a growing body, mind and spirit!
To learn more about Mindful Murals, check out their Instagram page here!
Several of the Mindful Murals recently painted in the playground of Edison Elementary School, located in San Diego’s City Heights neighborhood.PERSEVEREBELIEVE IN YOURSELFEMPATHYBE LOVINGI love how this bold message faces the school’s soccer field. NEVER GIVE UP
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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!
Public art now on display in Seaport Village aims to raise awareness about the impact of illegal bird trafficking.
Birds Without Paradise (Pajaros sin Paraiso) was created by Oaxacan artist Manuel Molina with the assistance of volunteers and school children in both the United States and Mexico. Many life-size birds made of corn husks and wood take flight overhead, reminding us of the harm caused by illegal bird trafficking.
The freedom themed art, which has been displayed at various locations in both nations, strengthens cross-border cultural connections and is a delightful bond between diverse people.
These colorful birds will be flocking above Seaport Village, just west of the central fountain, through April!
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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!
