Tag: spanish village

Exhibition by San Diego River Artists’ Alliance.

The San Diego River Artists’ Alliance is a group of artists who love our beautiful San Diego River. They have a free exhibition open to the public in Balboa Park. The River: Sea to Source is now on display in Gallery 21 at the Spanish Village Art Center.

Fourteen member of the San Diego River Artists’ Alliance have pieces in this exhibit. The fine artwork depicts the life-giving river and its ecosystems.

These very fine works are for sale! A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the San Diego River Park Foundation.

My photos provide a sampling of what you’ll see.

The SDRAA artists work alongside the San Diego River Park Foundation, an organization that advocates for the river. The San Diego River Foundation organizes river and estuary clean-ups, engages in environmental restoration and education, enhances the river’s extensive park system, has helped to create numerous murals along the river trail (you’ve seen many on my blog!), and is presently building a new nature center in Mission Valley (the River Center at Grant Park).

If you’re in Balboa Park the next couple of days, make sure to swing by Gallery 21 in Spanish Village. The exhibition will be open through November 6, 2023, so that gives you only a couple more days to pay a visit.

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Exhibition by Chinese Brush Painting Society of San Diego.

Those who love art should head over to Spanish Village in Balboa Park soon. An exhibition by the Chinese Brush Painting Society of San Diego can be enjoyed inside Gallery 21. The Flow of Ink and Color will be on view through Monday, October 9.

I gazed at fine works by seven members of the society, and wondered how the human hand can produce such beauty.

Talking to Wendy Nakamura, one of the artists, I learned that one thing distinguishing Chinese brush painting from Japanese brush painting is the color palette. I also learned how traditional brush art can inspire contemporary, more brightly colorful or abstract pieces.

Wendy demonstrated how she handled a brush to quickly render an image of bamboo. Visitors are invited to try their own hand!

I noticed many displayed pieces are for sale. Do you collect beautiful art, or simply love to view it? Swing on by!

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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)!

27th Annual Exhibition of 7 Printmakers opens!

The 27th Annual Exhibition of 7 Printmakers has opened in San Diego. The public is invited to enjoy the work of seven master printmakers inside Gallery 21 at Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center. The free exhibition will be short-lived, however. Make sure to see it by September 25, 2023.

The art on display is extraordinary. You’ll observe pieces created using several different processes of printmaking. There’s the woodcut, wood-engraving, collograph, etching, engraving, drypoint, aquatint, lithograph and serigraph.

All of these many, often complicated printing techniques boggled my mind, even as friendly artist Angelika Villagrana provided a detailed explanation of various processes.

The seven artists with fine work on display are: Raymond Brownfield, Jacqueline Dotson, Igor Koutsenko, Kathleen McCord, Sfona Pelah, Julianne Ricksecker and Angelika Villagrana. They’ve been exhibiting together for many years now!

If you’re looking to purchase some very fine art, swing on by. There’s much that you can choose from.

An opening reception will be held in Gallery 21 this coming Sunday, September 17, from 4 – 7 pm.

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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)!

Beautiful silk art in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village!

Gallery 21 in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center is now hosting a show full of very beautiful silk art, created by members of the San Diego Silk Guild.

During my visit to the gallery this afternoon, I was interested to learn about the different types of art that can be created using silk. I was shown clothing, scarves, paintings on silk, wax batiks, Japanese shibori, botanical printing, unique sculptures . . . far more than my astonished brain could easily comprehend!

As you can see, this silk artwork can be very colorful. Some of the techniques produce a degree of subtlety and complexity one might not expect.

Looking for something beautiful to take home? Most of the pieces are for sale.

I’m afraid I forgot to take a photo of the sign in front of the gallery, but I believe the show continues until mid-August. You might want to drop by next weekend!

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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 Twitter!

North County artists exhibit in Balboa Park!

An exhibition by the North County Society of Fine Arts can now be enjoyed in San Diego’s always amazing Balboa Park.

Paintings by over twenty NCSFA member artists fill Gallery 21 in the Spanish Village Art Center. The exhibition, titled North County Creates, continues through March 14, 2023.

Anyone in San Diego who loves art should swing on by the gallery to enjoy the many fine pieces. And there are friendly artists with whom you can chat, too!

Today I was fascinated by a variety of painting styles as I visited the gallery. I noted that nearly all of the pieces are for sale, just in case you’re looking for something beautiful.

I also noticed small works of colorful art available for a suggested donation of twenty dollars. Donations support the organization’s high school scholarship fund.

Very cool!

Pathway, by artist Doris Bertch.

Mirror, Mirror, by artist Minnie Valero.

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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 Twitter!

Signs of Spring’s approach in Balboa Park!

Spring is less than three weeks away. And signs of the coming season are “springing” up in San Diego’s amazing Balboa Park!

I walked through the park today and took a variety of photographs…

Lawn bowlers were out on a sunny day.

San Diego sunshine on the iconic California Tower and California Building’s dome.

A tour group takes advantage of a spring-like day in Balboa Park.

Under a Baseball Sky at the Old Globe? Yes! Spring Training has begun!

Some flowers are already blooming in the Alcazar Garden.

The Cherry Blossom Festival is coming to the Japanese Friendship Garden in a couple weeks.

Cherry trees are beginning to bloom in the Japanese Friendship Garden’s lush Lower Garden.

This 1932 Morgan Super Sports would be the perfect ride on a warm Spring day. Meanwhile, it’s on display at the San Diego Automotive Museum.

Blossoms have appeared at the San Diego Potters’ Guild in Spanish Village Art Center!

Blossoms have also appeared in Spanish Village’s Studio 26, flowing from the paintbrush of friendly artist Edward Juarez!

And fresh flowers have appeared in some hand blown glass in Spanish Village!

Last, but certainly not least, I learned huge news will be coming this Spring from the San Diego Natural History Museum. But I’ve been sworn to secrecy! Stay tuned!

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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 Twitter!

A secret, magic bench in Balboa Park!

There’s a secret bench in Balboa Park that works magic. Very few visitors to the park ever see it.

Sit on this bench, look down, and suddenly before your feet colorful stars, planets and creatures appear!

This magic bench is in an out-of-the-way corner of Balboa Park, just north of Spanish Village Art Center, at the east edge of the small parking lot. In the above photo you can see the green grass of the nearby Balboa Park Miniature Railroad.

Should you sit on this magic bench, what might you see?

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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 Twitter!

Seven master printmakers in Balboa Park.

If you’re interested in printmaking or the production of visual art, don’t miss 7 PRINTMAKERS in Balboa Park’s Spanish Village Art Center.

Tomorrow, January 2, 2023, is the special exhibition’s final day!

When you step into Spanish Village’s Gallery 21, you’ll enjoy the very fine work of seven master printmakers: Raymond Brownfield, Jacqueline Dotson, Igor Koutsenko, Kathleen McCord, Sfona Pelah, Julianne Ricksecker and Angelika Villagrana.

You’ll also learn a good deal about the art of printmaking. As I wandered about the gallery, artist Angelika Villagrana explained to other visitors several printmaking processes. In the past I’ve worked at a print shop, so I had to eavesdrop!

This is the 26th Annual Exhibition by these amazing printmakers. If you’re in San Diego and need something to do tomorrow, you might consider heading to Balboa Park!

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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 Twitter!

A wonderful New Year’s Day in Balboa Park!

It’s a breezy and drizzly New Year’s Day in San Diego. But a visit to Balboa Park proved to be just as wonderful as ever!

I was surprised that a few museums were open. Several studios in Spanish Village were also open. And, of course, there was the reliable two o’clock Sunday concert at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, where, due to the threat of rain, audience members got to sit right up close to the guest organist on stage!

The photo captions describe what I experienced…

Not the usual Sunday crowd on El Prado, but still pretty busy.

Roger, a regular Balboa Park busker, somehow managed to escape again!

Leaves and puddles in front of a colorful Spanish Village studio.

Gallery 21 was open. The 26th Annual Exhibition of 7 Printmakers continues through tomorrow, January 2, 2023. (I’ll be blogging about it shortly.)

I was greeted by a smile in Studio 9. Glass bottles were being converted into cool wind chimes!

A videographer records a street musician on El Prado.

The Palisades part of Balboa Park was unusually quiet on New Year’s Day.

Color in a tree and on the grass is a reminder that winter has arrived in San Diego.

Guest organist Jeobon Hwang rehearses before the Sunday afternoon Spreckels Organ concert.

Jaebon Hwang, organist at First United Methodist Church of San Diego, comes on stage.

I got to sit up close. The mighty Spreckels Organ thundered music directly into my bones!

Some people listening on the benches have umbrellas at the ready.

A flawless performance of classical music by one of San Diego’s outstanding organists!

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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 Twitter!

Making spheres and cabochons in Balboa Park!

If you ever visit Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park, make sure to step into the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society building. Inside you’ll discover walls lined with displays. Arranged in glass cases are crystals, fossils, jade carvings, handmade jewelry and a whole lot more.

You might not view, however, what goes on behind the scenes.

During this weekend’s December Nights event, the public was invited into several rooms where students were transforming minerals and gems into works of art!

I confess that as a boy I had a rock tumbler. Promising stones found on the beach would be rounded and polished in the simple tumbler until they seemed like bright bits of treasure. I also had an uncle who enjoyed lapidary as a hobby–he gave me a tiny fire opal cabochon as a present one year.

Have you considered working with metals, gems and minerals? I’m sure it would be a lot of fun!

I see the San Diego Mineral and Gem Society offers many very affordable classes. You can learn faceting, metal fabrication, casting, carving…

During my behind-the-scenes look yesterday, I spoke to one friendly teacher and watched students grinding and polishing minerals using specialized machines. And I took these photographs in the “cab room” where spheres and cabochons are created!

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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!