Orange Villas Apartments

in Coronado CA

440-450 Orange Ave.

A stone motif starts at the front gate (metal with a single rock), pebble mosaics in three places, and metal and stone arches to enter the motor court.

I did a reverse pebble mosaic due to ADA concerns (pebbles cut in half with the flat side up). The imagery in all three locations is of DNA double helixes. The motor court has a cell division.

The arches are metal with the rock held in place with a X. I think the light contrast from the darkness of the motor court to the center of the complex really works with the arches. It was great luck.

Here are the differences from when it was first installed in 1998:

It was an area of solitude. A place to stop for historic and easy pull out reasons. Now the stone obelisk is surrounded by a government agency. A traveler may glance, but is so focused on passing the area that the obelisk location goes unnoticed. (I believe the desert will shake off this encampment like it does everything else and soon we will be back to desolate again).

I changed the material from plaster to cement-all so it might last a bit longer. I sand blasted rather than cast and used paint to infill.

This is a photo of Elizabeth Hamilton and myself sitting on the bus stop bench of Rosa Parks Memorial Transit Center. I chose this image so I could talk about her involvement. She was the ‘wild card’ professor who called Rosa Parks on the phone and invited her to the campus, at her own cost, so many years ago. It is refreshing to see someone who worked around a heavy bureaucracy to do something so wonderful for the community. Do it.

The life sized photo mural with exemplary students is a permanent feature of this project. The students have a rose over their hearts. For the opening event, I had rose buttons made so everyone could wear Rosa on their hearts. If you want a button of your own, send me an e-mail.

Work continues on the Colfax Ave. Bridge (started in 2003).

One element of the art is a plaque to be placed on the railing leading to the foot bridge. It  had, in the concept, a photo taken in 1938 when the bridge was wiped out by a flood. This photos is owned by a large local newspaper who’s policy did not allow use in anything but editorial. Fortunately, I had the blue prints of this early bridge. I reconstructed the bride in a model, flooded it with a garden hose (great fun). Now a viewer can see an artist rendition of a scent 72 years previous.

Like a grande dame with her slip showing. Tarps cover the components that will be revealed on Feb 25th (10:00 am, please come).

San Diego Mesa College. 7250 Mesa College Drive between the parking structure and Allied Health building.

Miss this event?, take bus route #44 when it starts running in March

Photo by Daniel Sicile-Kira

The central idea for me was using light, both day and night to create shadow-play on the wall. There was one tiny vignette, a group of birds in the grass. The bracket didn’t get connected to the wall. Cutting away the stucco would break the waterproofing and create a patch that, with a light on it, would show up. I suggested using and modifying the birds as a freestanding sculpture for the lobby. It had to happen fast.

This was one of those moments where the bridge between studio arts and public art is connected. In the studio, one makes changes fluidly based on what is in front of them. Public art is more methodical, planned and approved. Making this sculpture was fun, energetic and I made decisions based on what I thought would be right.

“The Shade Tree” for Parkside Apartments (14th and Island, San Diego) is almost ready to install. This photo shows the brackets on the wall, ready to accept the metal branches. A ‘before’ photo. It should be completely installed by December 09.

The next component of this piece is a walking tour map of trees in the area. This research is great fun. There seems to be no comprehensive list of great/interesting trees in the downtown area, at least not for the lay person.

I want to thank- so far- Harry Mestyanek (Ivy Landscape), Andy Spurlock, who is designing the Pinnacale park on 13th and Island, and the treemendous (sorry for the pun) efforts of park ranger, Kim Duclo.

Please share any tree destinations with me as I am producing the map now.

This is a photo of me in studio, interpreting the Rosa Parks photos into original art drawings.

This irony is not lost on me.

I created this piece for a friend who just built a new home with a new wife. Her previous wife was a close friend. The new wife is also lovely and I have not a negative thing to say. This art piece was made for their home.

It is made from a river rock, sand blasted on both sides. One side reads “Over and”. Turn the smooth rock and it reads “revo and” (that is, over backwards or as if seeing through the rock). This rock now resides at the bottom of their pool.

I wanted to evoke the idea that we as people do things again and again. Geology does it too. Ends up looking about the same.

Over