creative enlightenment

Entrance of the Edith Heath exhibit A Life in Clay at the OMCA

Experience Three Great Female Californian Artist, OMCA

Silvia

Bring some time if you are going to the OMCA – the Oakland Museum of California, because this is really three museums, plus a special exhibit. You can easily spend a whole day here. More precisely, there is the California History Museum, the Science Museum, the Art Museum, and the special exhibit. 

I came to see Edith Heath: A life in clay. Edith Heath, ceramist, and, as I learned, alchemist, was a trailblazer in everyday stoneware and tile design. This exhibition combines her craft with a  documentation of her life story. You can enjoy this informative display until October 2022.

A mug by Edith Heath und a magnifying glass to see the texture

On the way to the Heath exhibit you’ll pass the ongoing exhibit, Dorethea Lange: Photography as Activism. The Oakland Museum owns Lange’s personal collection of more than 40,000 negatives and 6,000 prints. Lange, a photographer, is best known for her images of the Depression and a truthful depiction of the effect of World War II at home. Her images can be found in various parts of the museum.

Portrait of Dorethea Lange by Hung Liu

After viewing the photos of Dorethea Lange you pass a portrait of her painted by Hung Liu. This is the third exhibit: Remembering Hung Liu. Lui was an Oakland-based artist who passed away last year. Four of Lui’s works can be seen until October, 2022.

I wish I had more time to enjoy the museum’s 110,000 square feet of gallery space. I just quickly glanced at the new garden, where they have lunchtime sessions with dances, storytelling, and more, every Saturday in February and March.

Unfortunately, the special exhibition Mothership: Voyage Into Afrofuturism ends February 27th.

Hella Feminist, celebrating the lesser-known stories of feminism in Oakland and the Bay Area will be the next special exhibition starting this summer.

Visitor Information
The terraced gardens at the OMCA

The Oakland Museum is located at 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA. Museum’s hours are Wednesday–Sunday 11 am–5 pm, with extended hours on Friday 5–9 pm. General admission is $16, seniors and students $11, Youth (13–17) are free through Feb. 27, Children (12 & under) free. There is a surcharge of $5 for the special exhibition.

Please check the web site for current COVID restrictions.

Have you been to the OMCA?

Rise up for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Stanford

Rise up for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Stanford

Silvia
Rise up exhibit at the East Asia Library

The exhibit at the East Asia Library at Stanford has about 4 yards of wall space and two cases, but the impact of the collected history is immense. With rising hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) this seems a very timely choice. But racism is historically embedded in the United States. It begins with the Naturalization Act of 1790, granting naturalization to “free white persons”, excluding everyone except white men from citizenship.

It took until 1943 to repeal all Chinese exclusion laws (Magnuson Act). After this, the immigration quota was still limited to 105 new entry visas per year. 

Shooting death of 19 year old Fong Lee in 2006

As much as I’m impressed with Stanford University and the fact that they present this exhibit, it feels odd that one of the panels tries to defend Leland Stanford as a person taking a stance for the Asian community. It becomes clear very quickly that the president of the Central Pacific Railroad was not interested in the rights of immigrants but cheap labor. 

The history lesson furthers the accord on violence and incarceration. Riots, massacres and ethnic cleansing between 1871 to 1907 are documented. The Executive Order 9066 that incarcerated 120,000 Japanese Americans has its 80th anniversary this year on the 19th of February.

Woman with child protesting. Sign read 'We belong here' and 'I am an American'
Cupertino AAPI Rally, April 2021, Photo by Zhang Qidong

Nevertheless this exhibit is named Rise up and elegantly shows important Stanford alumni of Asian descent, labor disputes, and other noteworthy demonstrations. It ends with pictures from various Anti-Asian Hate rallies from 2021.

The Washington Posts reported on January 26, 2022 that San Francisco’s policy recorded a 567% increase in anti Asian hate crimes in 2021. (https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/01/26/anti-asian-hate-crime-san-francisco-covid/)

How to view Rise up

While the East Asian Library is only open to Stanford students right now due to COVID protocols, they are happy to let you view the exhibit in their entryway. ‘Rise up’ is open until June 30, 2022. You can also access the virtual exhibit: https://exhibits.stanford.edu/riseup

Poster: Know History Know Peace Stop AAPI Hate

The library is located in the Lathrop Library building, 518 Memorial Way, just east of the Oval. Open hours are Monday – Thursday from 9am to 8 pm, Fridays from 9am to 5pm. 

Have you risen up for AAPI?

I previously made a collection of 50 things to do at Stanford.

Android Lawn Statues surrounded by caution tape

Hope for Reconstruction of the Android Lawn Statues, Mountain View

Silvia
Foam sculpture of a donut, partly destroyed.

The Android Lawn Statues were always an interesting excursion to show visitors. On my last visit, about a week ago, this place looked appalling. Caution tape was around the perimeter. The figures, which are larger than life sculptures of each new Android operating release, were either busted or completely removed. Named after sweet treats and candy, like Kit Kat and cupcake, these Android figures are made from foam.

Oreo Android figure wrapped in caution tape.

After the 2018 pie release, Google decided to go on a more boring route. The releases are now designed by numbers, starting with 10, which has an Android head peeking out of the zero.. For 11 and 12 you can see a virtual 3-D model. Interesting maybe to a nerd to find some inscription on the back – but unfortunately, it lost its cute appeal.

The lawn statues garden is located on 1981 Landings Drive; the Google merchandise store used to be steps away. Google decided to close down the store and now only has an online version. 

Hope is on the horizon

Hope is on the horizon
Google's Charleston East building is still under construction.

Google’s Charleston East (Google’s futuristic new campus) is almost here and they promised to open the first floor to the public. Watch this video by Tech Insider (​​https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGx-sYIFHmE). The circus-like canopy shape introduces another interesting office building to Silicon Valley, joining Apple’s spaceship and Nvidia’s triangular headquarter. Or like the Bjarke Ingles Group architects call it: “smile-shaped clerestories”. In a report from the Mountain View Voice in February of last year, Charleston East’s public access could be revised to just allowing non-Googlers to enter on the west side of the building. Amid security concerns the tech giant might also put a, none the less pretty, wall around its campus.

Funny also, that the Android Lawn Statues have a neglected Facebook page, with a link to an Android fan site, but no official Google page.

I understand that these are office buildings and there is no responsibility to share anything with the public. Nevertheless, visitors to Silicon Valley long to see evidence of the high tech giving back to the community – even if it’s only in the form of some large foam statues. 

Have you been to Mountain View? Here is my list of 50 things to do in Mountain View.

The Sonic Runway and San Jose City Hall.

Dance through the tunnel, Sonic Runway, San Jose

Silvia
The Sonic Runway with City Hall, San Jose.

A few years ago, in 2017, I wrote about the light installations in downtown San Jose: See the light throughout the tunnel. The Sonic Runway had just been installed as a temporary installation as part of the Playa to Paseo partnership to bring Burning Man art to San Jose. Now it is back! By popular demand this light show can be enjoyed for at least six more years and will revitalize San Jose’s City Hall Plaza.

Sonic Runway in pink and purple, San Jose.

The artists team responsible includes lead artist Rob Jensen and co-lead Warren Trezevant. They first presented the Sonic Runway at Burning Man Festival in 2016. This reactive light installation “converts audio signals into patterns of lights that shoot down a corridor of arches at the speed of sound”, according to the Sonic Runway website. With 554 LED, the archways light up with electronic music traveling down the 25 arches with the speed of light (about 343 m/sec). The archways can also be activated by live music. San Jose plans events starting in March 2022.

I recommend going down starting from both sides. At one end you travel with the speed of light, starting at the other end, the lights come at you. Of course, if you ever wanted to run at sonic speed, just imagine, as one kid I watched there did, you are Sonic, the blue hedgehog, and run! 

The Sonic Runway lights up at 5 pm until midnight, every day.

Located at San Jose City Hall Plaza, 200 E Santa Clara St, San Jose

Have you experienced the Sonic Runway?

More information

I made a short video of the Sonic Runway Check it out on my YouTube channel and give me some love and subscribe 😉

There is also a Sonic Runway in Chengdu, China. Read this article by one of the creators, Rob Jensen: The Sonic Runway: From Playa to China in the Burning Man Journal. 

Entrance to Christmas in the Park.

Have a Jolly Time at Christmas in the Park, San Jose

Silvia
Some of the many Christmas trees at Christmas in the Park, San Jose.

Around this time of the year I miss the German Weihnachtsmärkte. A festive way of celebrating the season. There you can meet some friends, warm up with some Glühwein (mulled wine), or punch, have some candied almonds, and shop for some artisan gifts. Yes, this is an idealization, my mind ignoring the crowds, but these fairs definitely are part of the Holidays. If you are ever in Berlin for December make sure to visit many of these markets because they all feel different. 

Saucer carnival ride at Christmas in the Park.

Christmas in the Park in San Jose’s Plaza de Cesar Chavez Park compares to a Christmas market in Spandau. Here are a lot of carnival rides for little kids. I was greeted by the smell of kettle corn. There are also candy shops, Belgium waffles, and churros to munch on. You can’t buy Glühwein, but there is a hot chocolate booth. The crowds were not bad and the line for food was reasonable. 

Five girls dancing on the Community Stage of Christmas in the Park, San Jose.

Most people enjoyed the community stage, where local groups performed Christmas acts. But the special attraction of this fair is the hundreds of Christmas trees that are decorated by local businesses, high schoolers, and families, and the animated Christmas themed figures that move about. These figures include the stable of Santa’s reindeers, a train with trolls working, and a band of a fox, a skunk and a raccoon.

Sign for the Kristi Yamaguchi ice rink.

There is also a photoshoot opportunity with Santa on an outside stage and some Lego landscapes with a Holiday theme.

At one end, next to the San Jose Museum of Art, is the Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice skating rink. 

A San Jose tradition

Christmas in the Park is a San Jose tradition for over 40 years now. For people preferring a more socially distant experience, they have continued the drive-thru light experience Blinky’s Illuminated Holiday near Raging Waters that was established last year (tickets are required) or you can sign up for a zoom meeting with Santa.

Christmas in the Park is located at Plaza de Cesar Chavez in downtown San Jose. Admission is free. The experience is open every day till January 2nd, from noon to midnight.

Is Christmas in the Park part of your Holiday tradition?
This is a nice place to come at night and see the lights on the many Christmas trees. The last time I was here, in 2017, I stopped by during the day, and seeing these many trees is still special.

Dave's Christmas Lights in San Jose

Make-A-Wish and See Dave’s Christmas Lights, San Jose

Silvia
Christmas lights on 1851 Cherry Ave, San Jose

It is again the season that lights will cheer us up when it gets dark early. For 17 years now Dave’s Christmas Lights on 1851 Cherry Ave in San Jose not only put up over 60.000 lights on display they also have donation bins for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Giving holiday cheers and raising money for a great cause, what stops you? You can drop money in the red donation bins or give online. 

Sign in front of Christmas Lights: Please Help!! This display is our gift for friends & children to enjoy.

The lights are on every night from 6 pm to 9 pm. On weekends Santa and Mrs. Claus will be there. Meet them from 6:30 to 9 pm. Due to COVID-19 they started last year to have this as a drive-by event. This year, as we all know, COVID is still around, so are the drive-by requirements. 

Light display with one of the red donation boxes on 1851 Cherry Ave, San Jose.

Stay safe and give joy!

Dave’s Christmas Lights are on until December 27th, 2021.

Drive by 1851 Cherry Ave, San Jose.

Other lights displays are:

Eucalyptus Street in San Carlos and Robertsville in San Jose

A few sculptures from the Sam Richardson exhibit at the Anderson Collection

See Social Issues Highlighted at the Anderson Collection, Stanford

Silvia

Stanford is once again open to the public. Last Friday they prepared for the big game against Cal, student bikers zipped around campus, and the art museums are open. We took advantage of the fact that we are able to enjoy the art again, and visited the Anderson Collection.

First, you have to register online to be admitted to the museums. Each museum, the Anderson Collection and the Cantor, have their own registration. We were able to register in front of the museum and walked right in. 

Sam Richardson's sculpture: Most of that Iceberg is Below the Water. In the background a quote from him: I am most satisfied with my work when the tension between simple reductive form and multifaceted content is balanced.

There are currently three new exhibits. First, on the ground floor Sam Richardson’s Islands, Ice, and Sand. Eerily fitting was the subject of climate change in his resin molded landscapes. The piece ​​Most of that Iceberg is Below the Water (1969) for example draws the viewer in with the facets and effect of the light reflecting the pattern above. In fact, Richardson’s art is about 50 years old and has regained meaning in recent years.

A close-up of some of the 3000 toe tags from Hostile Terrain 94.

The wall installation, Hostile Terrain 94, shows more than 3000 handwritten toe tags, each representing a person that died crossing the US/Mexican border at the Sonoran Desert of Arizona between the mid-1990s and 2019. This participatory art project by the Undocumented Migration Project is hosted simultaneously in over 130 locations on 6 continents and started in the fall of 2020.

One of Eamon Ore-Giron's artworks in the Non Plus Ultra series at the Anderson Collection, Stanford.

On the second floor is Eamon Ore-Giron’s Non Plus Ultra. Ore-Giron’s large linen canvases with the gold applications and geometric shapes invoke a history of transnational gold exchange. He moves this subject further by exchanging black with the gold in the later series “as a rejection of colonial legacies and the value system that supports it.” 

The Anderson Collection

is open Wednesdays to Sundays from 11 am – 5 pm.

Sam Richardson: Islands, Ice, and Sand, until March 13, 2022

Undocumented Migrant Project: Hostile Terrain 94, until January 30, 2022

Eamon Ore-Giron: Non Plus Ultra, until February 20, 2022

Visitor parking is right in front of the Museums, but requires downloading an app in order to pay for it.

Have you visited the Anderson Art Collection lately?

Now that the Stanford campus is open again you might want to explore it. To get ideas check out my list of 50 things to do in Stanford.

Large petroglyph at the Chitactac Adams Heritage Park.

Spot some Petroglyphs at Chitactac Adams Heritage Park

Silvia

Next week is Thanksgiving, a tradition widely believed to have started in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621, when colonists and peoples from the Wampanoag tribe shared a week of harvest celebration. 

Exhibit shelter in the Chitactac Adams Heritage Park.

Tommy Orange, in his book There There, depicts the origin of Thanksgiving being a celebration of a ‘successful massacre’; this is rebutted by Snopes. Not the fact that there was a massacre in 1637 killing 500 people, but that this was the origin of the Thanksgiving tradition. Snopes argues that Sarah Josepha Buell Hale petitioned for this holiday and in 1863 it was written into law by President Lincoln. Hale used the narrative of a meal being shared by Natives and Pilgrims to promote the united vision of the state.

This is about as much as I will participate in a history lesson. Fact is November is National Native American Heritage Month. A good reason to search out sacred sites and learn about Indigenous Peoples in the Bay Area.

Large petroglyph with a circular pattern.

The Chitactac Adams Heritage Park in Gilroy offers information on the life and culture of the Ohlone. In an exhibit shelter there are multiple boards teaching us about the diversity of the Native Peoples in the Bay Area, language examples of the Mutsun and Rumsien, and their use of herbs as medicine. 

Bedrock mortars, round holes in the rock.

The real attraction, however, are the petroglyphs, or rock art. In the middle of the shelter a large rock shows circles ground into the rock. Due to many instances of vandalism it was moved multiple times. There are two more rocks as examples at the shelter, but you are encouraged to spot them outside on the boulders. Please don’t climb on the boulders, the petroglyphs are thousands of years old. 

The 0.2 mile hike of the park has interpretative signs about the lives of the native peoples in this area. The rock art on this hike was hard to see, but the holes in the boulders used for grinding up foods, so called bedrock mortars, are impressive.

Sign of Ranchos and Growth, in the background kids playing and vandalism.

Another striking feature of different rock art was vandalism. The disrespectful disfigurement was near a boulder formation with information about Ranchos and Growth.  

The Chitactac Adams Heritage Park is open year round from 8 am to sunset. 

Note the hike is only partial wheelchair and stroller accessible. 

Another sacred site I wrote about is Mount Umunhum. 

Other Resources:

https://time.com/4577082/thanksgiving-holiday-history-origins/

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/11/25/native-americans-thanksgiving-mourning

Men sitting on a bench overlooking the rose garden at Heather Farm, Walnut Creek.

Get surprised by a multitude of gardens, Heather Farm, Walnut Creek

Silvia

When I visited Heather Farm I knew this place was well known for its garden. What I did not know was the dimensions and multitudes of them. They have a stunning 27 different garden arrangements! 

Little tunnel with bushes growing on top.

After I entered the centennial grove, 100 trees from around the world, the cuteness of the children’s garden caught my eyes. I’m sure the small, about a yard long, tunnel is loved by many toddlers.The Crowden Rose Garden lures you in by the scent. It features more than 1,000 varieties of roses. 

Bench at the stroll garden, Heather Farm, Walnut Creek.

With names like sensory, stroll, and meadow garden you will likely discover a myriad of plants, and ,of course there are plenty of benches to take in the scenery.  

The name Heather Farm is from a priced race horse, King Heather, of the original ranch owner, John Marchbank. Marchbank bought the 255 acre ranch in 1921 and converted it into a thoroughbred horse training facility. He sold most of the grounds in 1945. Nowadays an independent organization operates the free Heather Farms Garden and education center. Besides the many gardens, the park offers tennis courts, a swim center, an all ability playground, and a fishing lake, to name a few attractions. 

Heather Farms is located at 1540 Marchbanks Dr, Walnut Creek, CA and is open daily during daylight hours.

Have you been to Heather Farm?

While you are in Walnut Creek you might also enjoy the Ruth Bancroft garden with its lavish display of cacti and succulents.

Resources:

A yellow rose.

Walnut Creek Magazine

https://www.walnutcreekmagazine.com/2021/05/27/307676/a-look-back-walnut-creek-s-rich-equestrian-past

Gardens of Heather Farm History

https://gardenshf.org/50-2/

To see a mini tour of the gardens you can watch this YouTube video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mbSlwqtVxc

A fuzzy cactus with a bright red flower.

Find What’s in Bloom at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek

Silvia
A group of cacti, one with a yellow flower.

At the entrance to the Ruth Bancroft Garden you’ll be handed a map to see what’s in bloom. If you want to come prepared, print it out from their website. The fee to see the succulent garden is $10 for adults with discounts for seniors and children. An amount well spent if you like succulents and drought resistant plants. There are large varieties and they have some in bloom each month.

Two buckets with parasols at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek.

If you go on a sunny day make sure to pick up a parasol to shade you while exploring. The murals at the entrance are also noteworthy, but inside it is spectacular. Large cacti and palm trees vying for attention together with the huge varieties of succulents. The fruits are interesting as well, but please don’t touch the prickly pear, they have thorns. 

Water lily at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek.

This is the perfect environment for lizards. They will zip by and then stop to look at you. The koi pond with the water lilies was an added surprise.

Afterwards check out the adjacent nursery. Cute succulents arranged in a pot and, of course, a large variety of sempervivum, cacti and other drought resistant plants.

Bench at the Ruth Bancroft Garden, Walnut Creek.

The Ruth Bancroft Garden with 3.5 acres is larger than the Arizona Garden in Stanford. Both are equally spectacular. On selected evenings between 5:30 and 8:30 pm, November to January, the garden transforms into the Garden of D’Lights and they promise to ‘glow your mind’! Tickets are available at their website and cost $16 – $24 for adults and children between 6 and 15 pay $8 to $12.

Opening hours are:

March – October

Tuesday – Thursday: 9AM to 4PM (last admissions at 3:15pm)

Friday – Sunday: 10AM to 5PM (last admissions at 4:15pm)

November – February

Tuesday – Sunday: 9AM to 4PM (last admissions at 3:15pm)

Do you like seeing blooming succulents?