Or fairies if you prefer… but nymphs is far more fun to say. Try it.
[nimfs]
See what I mean?
Here’s the finished product… I think they did this all in one day. Pretty cool, eh?
I talked to Mark Bode for a few minutes while he worked. He hopes to produce more murals in the neighborhood by coordinating with local property owners, including the big recycling plant on Peralta (Custom Alloy). I’m hoping to do a more in depth interview with him in the future.
Until then, thank you Bode!
So this is where it all started…
My Oaktown Art blog that is. It really began with this mural, and a small inscription that read “Peralta Street Mural Project coming soon… Please Respect.”
I had driven or biked past this stretch of Hollis Street hundreds, if not thousands, of times over the last decade or so… it’s on the way to Home Depot, the Post Office, my bank, my work, Trader Joes, and more. It’s practically a daily occurrence. And one day… a few weeks ago, this gorgeous girl caught my eye. She had materialized literally overnight.
Check back tomorrow when I’ll fill you in on more of the story, including my meeting with the artist…
Same artist again… I’m runnin’ with it because I’m under the gun and headed out of town… Who knew this blogging stuff would be so time consuming?! Jeeeeezz….
This is the first one I’ve seen that’s titled. How does the title impact your experience of the image? What does it mean to you? Do you like it? Send me some comments. Pulleeeeezzz.
This one spotted outside Brown Sugar Kitchen on Mandela Parkway, which has the most delectable melt-in-your-mouth waffles you’ll ever taste. Chef/Owner Tanya Holland opened a couple of years ago in this very industrial neighborhood where few restaurant options existed, then or now. I’m happy to say this venture’s been a huge success, garnering various east bay awards and plenty of regular customers. As the name says, it’s a sweet spot!
I saw this artist’s first sticker just outside my house… the same speedbump signpost as our “remember: shame is a 4 letter word” sticker from Monday. Recognize it? (Note yellow house in background.)
Since seeing this first one, I’ve seen other works by this artist all around West Oakland and Uptown. I saw one the night of Art Murmur on the front of a stop sign (people more often slap stickers on the backs of traffic signs). I saw several the other day on my ride down the Mandela Parkway greenbelt.
What’s cool about this artist’s stuff is that many of them are individual, original pieces of art. He/she has a whole slew of stickers around that are hand drawn on various United States Postal Service labels (this one’s actually two), and then slapped up. A unique little work of art with no reproduction involved. I think this is so cool.
What’s also neat is to recognize an artist’s work as you move about town… I recognized other pieces by this same person after seeing only one because his/her style is very distinctive and he does a lot of faces similar to this one, with a wide square nose, oblong head, and various hats or hair.
The use of thick lines and USPS labels also seems to be trademark. Here’s the one I saw the night of Art Murmur…
And for those of you who’ve made it this far and are twisted enough to notice or care, I’m fairly certain that’s chocolate frosting dripping off the stop sign, and not poo.
Oaktown Art | Oakland Art, Public Art, Murals, Graffiti, Culture, Oakland 