Open Call to Oakland Artists…

Listen up artists…. the Dimond District of Oakland is looking to install more public art projects in the neighborhood, and they’ve got some funding to make it happen!

Organized by Dimond Public Art (DPA), a volunteer-run committee of the Dimond Improvement Association, the goals of the overall project are the following:

  • To develop the cultural, artistic and physical identity of the Dimond District
  • To beautify the neighborhood through creative, attractive and unique artwork
  • To engage the community in the development and production of public art and related educational opportunities

They are seeking proposals for public projects ranging in scope from mini or temporary works ($500) to large scale permanent installations (up to $10,000) and anticipate funding approximately 4 to 6 projects by spring of next year.
dimond public art, dimond district map
Map above shows potential sites, though these are merely suggestions:

  1. The Bay Leaf Restaurant – MacArthur & Canon
  2. Empty Storefront (formerly Blockbuster) – MacArthur & Dimond
  3. Bienati Parking Lot – Bienati Way & Dimond
  4. Wells Fargo Pillars – Fruitvale & MacArthur
  5. Wells Fargo Parking Lot – Champion & MacArthur
  6. Champion Street Pedestrian Plaza – Champion & MacArthur
  7. Dimond Library Garden – Fruitvale north of MacArthur
  8. Dimond Park – Fruitvale & Lyman
  9. Fruitvale Presbyterian Church – MacArthur & Coolidge

Also, electrical boxes and chain link fencing throughout Dimond.

Here is the link for the Request for Proposal.

And here is the Application.

Note that preference will be given to projects involving members of the community, including children, since one of the goals is community engagement.  Any questions can be sent to dimondpublicart@gmail.com.

Submissions due by November 30th! Get busy.

Please share this with any Oakland based artists you think might be interested.

One way to spruce up those boring garage doors…

art on garage doors, slice of california, multicultural art

My girlfriend recently had to replace her garage door with essentially a large piece of plywood… a short term solution. She asked if I had any ideas for how she could “spruce it up a bit,” so I’ve been on the lookout during my travels about Oaktown to see what creative folks have done with theirs. I shared one a few weeks ago, with DREAMS.

Here’s another… and all I can say is, “wow!” It’s quite a production.

And it’s so quintessentially California I almost have to laugh. We see people of all colors and backgrounds happily integrated… even the Muslim woman and the Jewish man sit together under the tree (though not k – i – s – s – i – n – g). She’s reading Frog and Toad Together, while he reads Horton Hears a Who.

And all are living in peaceful harmony with their woodland creature friends…

painted garage, creative garage doors, funky garage doors

oakland public murals, garage door art

I got nothing. Well… a little.

You may have noticed I was nearly MIA last week… and I’m afraid this week may not be much better.  I missed Art Murmur on Friday, again.  It’s been crazy busy with work, home improvement, weddings, housewarmings, and more.  And I have to be honest, I don’t have a lot of material right now, nor much time to generate new stuff.  So this is my guilt-ridden disclaimer… near future will be sporadic.  But hopefully I can come up with some interesting photos if nothing else.

And if any dear readers out there have something to share, well… now is the time!

In the meantime, here are some photos from a guerilla art show anonymously installed on a boarded up building on San Pablo Avenue in West Oakland… who needs a gallery, eh?

public art installation, anonymous paintings san pablo ave

san pablo paintings, guerilla art installation, oakland public art

yellow green paintings, painting of boat, painting of trees, guerilla art

abstract primary paintings, abstract landscape paintings, oakland guerilla art

Patience Grasshopper

Awhile back you got spiders.  Today you get grasshopper.  Just because.

long horned grasshopper, california grasshopper, grasshopper photograph

This little bugger was on one of my tomato cages. As a gardener, I know I’m not supposed to like these hungry herbivores, munching away on my carefully tended goods. But I can’t help but dig them… they’re so cute.

I’ve been visited by vibrant green grasshoppers like this from time to time in my garden, both in West Oakland and here in the lower hills. I decided, one seemingly mundane day, that one of these visits was a sign. But of what?

I did a bit of quick internet research to discover that grasshoppers (and locusts, which are a type of grasshopper) figure into cultural lore for many centuries, especially in Asia.

  • Regarded in China as symbols of good luck, longevity, happiness, prosperity, fertility, and virtue (wow, that’s a lot), families often kept them as pets.
  • In ancient Greece, they represented symbols of status and even immortality – Athenian women would wear decorative hair pieces and jewelry featuring the figure of the grasshopper as an indication of nobility.
  • And the Japanese cherished the songs produced by these insects (particularly the long-horned grasshopper, which I believe this one is), and considered them to be symbols of good luck.

As I lay in bed before falling asleep, I often hear the lovely chirping of what I thought was a cricket.  I now think it’s likely this little guy (or gal).  Woohoo little grasshopper!  You can come visit anytime…

long horned grasshopper, green grasshopper, photograph of green grasshopper