Is that a sea lion on a rock in the middle of Balboa Park’s Spanish Village?
No, it’s a life-size sea lion sculpture among other works of art at the San Diego Sculptors Guild! It’s the first of many more sea lion sculptures to come!
Sergey Gornushkin, President of the San Diego Sculptors Guild, is the creator. He’s part of a project that includes the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club and the Seal Society of San Diego. The goal: raise awareness concerning the protection of sea lions on our coast.
What is the plan? Sergey explained that his Whale of a Tale sculpture presently in the middle of the Spanish Village Art Center patio will soon be replaced by this sea lion. Then, eventually, a mold will be made of this sculpture, and 10 to 20 additional sea lions will be cast.
Those additional sea lions will be artistically painted by school children and artists from around the region, then placed in and around La Jolla, where there’s a great deal of concern about human encroachment on the sea lion population.
When I took photos today I learned this sea lion sculpture isn’t quite finished. But take a look. It’s already incredible!
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Who in and around San Diego hasn’t heard of the artist James Hubbell? Between his architecturally fantastic Ilan-Lael residence and studios in Santa Ysabel, to his many works of public art around the city (many of which I’ve photographed), the beloved artist has earned a special place in the heart of San Diegans.
Did you know James had a brother named Bert who was also an artist?
During my recent visit to the museum, I noticed the art of these brothers is similar in certain ways. The construction of pieces is very organic, elemental. The works seem to have been extracted from or designed by the living Earth itself. While James lived and worked in Southern California, for over fifty years Bert lived in Kokubunji, Japan near sacred Mt. Fuji.
Their art’s earthy quality seems natural and familiar–perhaps that’s why it feels so spiritual.
According to the exhibition webpage, Bert…was profoundly shaped by Japanese culture, Shinto, Animism, and Native American art. Self-described as a “primitive artist,” he worked across mediums but most prolifically in ceramic sculpture. His fantastical creatures—reminiscent of yōkai—externalize inner fears and anxieties as a means of transformation and healing… Bert, who never sold his art, left behind an estimated 28,000 individual ceramic figures as well as paintings, drawings and found object assemblages.
The exhibition, which continues through September 6, 2026, provides an interesting contrast between the work of the two brothers. In places their pieces are placed side by side. In one gallery room a wall contains the work of James, and the opposite wall contains pieces created by Bert.
One gets the impression Bert could have reached the level of renown achieved by his brother. It seems, however, that he created art just for the personal joy and satisfaction of creating art.
Like any art, you need to experience it in person. A few photographs to entice you into visiting the Oceanside Museum of Art:
The art on the left and the bottom are by artist Bert Hubbell. The pieces are displayed in contract to the watercolor on the right, by brother James Hubbell.More work by artist Bert Hubbell, including Forks and Spoon and Sunburst, circa 1963. Ceramic.Photograph of Bert Hubbell, date unknown.Ceramic by Bert Hubbell atop Wood Pedestal by James Hubbell.Bert’s Mountain of Sculpture, Bert Hubbell, 1961-1963. Various ceramics.
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This might be the most fun interactive art exhibition you’ll experience all year! It’s showing for one more week at the Oceanside Museum of Art, and it’s titled Aaron Kramer: Sense of Wonder.
Do you love crazy, clever, fun-loving inventions? Upstairs at the museum you’ll find loads of them! Playful artist Aaron Kramer likes to tinker and make mechanical wonders using found objects.
Visitors to the Oceanside Museum of Art can turn cranks and press buttons that activate wacky kinetic creations. Wires, old springs, bottles and tin cans, cardboard, odd pieces of wood, broken things–magically become spinning whirligigs, dipping hummingbirds, dancing figures . . . even contraptions that trace images on paper!
I’ve always loved these sort of whimsical creations. Remember that scene near the beginning of the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang–that crazy, elaborate Rube Goldberg-style contraption that automatically made breakfast? These small works of art are just as fun!
If you’re young at heart, you’ll be pressing every button and turning every crank! Through August 23, 2026, that is, when this super cool exhibition wraps up.
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Inner Strength rises near the center of the parking lot in front of the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center and Bonita-Sunnyside Library. You can’t possibly miss it!
The striking steel sculpture debuted earlier this year. It was created by South Bay artist Michael Leaf. The public art is part of a new sculpture garden located outside the museum.
(I’ll be posting photos of two other pieces by Leaf in the sculpture garden coming up!)
A plaque at the base of Inner Strength reads:
May “Inner Strength” serve as a reminder that true strength goes beyond physical strength; it is our ability to overcome challenges and rise above adversity.
Please let this statue inspire you to recognize the resilience that lies within each of us. May it stand as a beacon of hope and a symbol of unity for our community; encouraging us all to embrace our inner strengths and support one another on our journeys.
With Love and Light, Michael, Stephanie and Canon Leaf
At the center of Inner Strength is a heart.
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About a month ago, I discovered a very beautiful garden in front of the Solana Beach Post Office. It was obvious that people have carefully tended the green space that includes paths for strolling and public art.
Those people, I’ve learned, are the volunteer SeaWeeders of the Solana Beach Garden Club. Their mission is to promote the sustainable beautification of the City of Solana Beach through social interaction, garden education, and home and civic enrichment.
Here’s a webpage that describes the Solana Beach Post Office garden rejuvenation project. (Other community projects by the SeaWeeders, too!)
The colorful sculpture you see in my photos is by artist Christi Beniston. It was originally created for the El Paseo Invitational Sculpture Exhibit “Topiaries” in Palm Desert. For a while it had been located on North Cedros Avenue.
You can join the SeaWeeders to help keep Solana Beach green and beautiful! Learn more about this opportunity here.
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The San Diego Natural History Museum in Balboa Park now has a cool exhibit called Washed Ashore: Art to Save the Sea. Trash collected from beaches has been creatively converted into sculptures representing healthy marine life!
Plastic bags, bottle caps, toothbrushes, fishing line and all sorts of undegradable garbage harm life in the ocean. Everything from plankton to fish to whales can be adversely affected.
This exhibition of art, created by Washed Ashore, an organization based in Oregon, seeks to raise awareness of the problem. Volunteers have created these sculptures from plastic litter collected on the Oregon Coast.
The San Diego Natural History Museum has pieced together an immersive experience that wows visitors. Today I walked through an underwater scene filled with jellyfish, anemones, colorful fish, crabs and other fantastic representations of nature’s living wonders.
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If you love art that portrays coastal California landscapes and wildlife, you’ll love a free exhibition now showing in Balboa Park’s always wonderful Spanish Village Art Center. Simply step into Gallery 21!
The exhibition is titled Where the Sea Meets the Sky.
Three artists have beautiful pieces on display. I forgot to ask, but it appeared most or all of the art is available for purchase.
Ira Cosmos is Ukrainian born. She has contributed to the Art for Ukraine initiative. I noticed today that at least one of her beautiful paintings is dedicated to Ukraine.
During my visit, I was personally drawn to the ceramics created by Elena Miller. They’re organic, complex, full of life.
Approach Gallery 21 and you’ll notice a huge butterfly outside!
Friendly local artist Karen Haub was present and working on a canvas when I poked my head into the gallery. Her paintings are full of life, too, and bright California sunshine!
She described her plein air coastal landscapes as in the style of California Impressionism.
Make sure to visit Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center this week. The exhibition ends soon.
Where the Sea Meets the Sky continues in Gallery 21 through July 13, 2026.
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In the middle of Balboa Park’s colorful Spanish Village Art Center, a whale is flukes up, ready for a dive! The whale’s surprising presence has a story behind it. A whale of a tale!
A Whale of a Tale is the title of the sculpture, which was created by Sergey Gornushkin, member of the San Diego Sculptor’s Guild. I was told the sculpture was placed in Spanish Village Art Center about a month ago.
The artist has provided an explanation for his creation in a sign at the sculpture’s base. It describes Sergey Gornushkin’s trip to Guerrero Negro in Baja California, where he and his son encountered over 30 gray whales. The friendly giants came right up to their boat, looking artist and son directly in the eye.
A very real and magical tale!
A Whale of a Tale seemed strangely familiar when I spotted it today. Turns out I shared photographs of this sculpture when I first saw it a year ago displayed in downtown Vista. Click here to see that.
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