"As my artist's statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of…read moredeep significance."―Calvin San José has a long line of, shall we say, questionable Public Art (PA) projects; everybody knows about the giant dog turd statue Quetzalcoatl―or as I like to call him Quetzacaca ( goo.gl/lvswBr )―in the Plaza de César Chávez. Let's also not forget the Fallon Statue debacle ( goo.gl/wKEv0g )―and don't get me started on the mangled shopping carts (goo.gl/vbB6NE) passing for a statue on the corner of Alma Ave and Almaden Rd. Need I go on?! So, whenever CSJ does something right I love to point it out. I first read about Ursa Mater (aka Mama Penny Bear) in the Merc from my buddy Sal Pizarro's column. Ursa Mater is a gigantic piece of coin art that was put together by Hayward-based artists Mr & Mrs Ferguson. She first made an appearance at last year's Burning Man festival and is now prominently displayed in Paseo de San Antonio―just east of Plaza de César Chávez, right by Bijan Bakery. The statue of Mama Bear and her two cubs sits at least 10-12' tall and is completely covered in 200,000 pennies ($2,000 worth) to make up the bears fur. It's pretty cool to look at from afar, and even cooler up close. I suggest getting here quickly to check her out, as she will only be on display until the end of May. And then we'll be back to staring at Quetzacaca forever. FOL...

I like to think that these represent the bear on the California flag. The name Ursa Mater…read more Is an excellent play on words by the artist. Ursa Major is Latin for "greater she bear" So Ursa Mater translates roughly to "She bear of matter" ( I only understand a very small amount of Latin so this may or may not be the exact translation). The bear and her cub are made of pennies so it seems the artist's intention was to make a realistic mother bear out of " matter" , hence the name. Also behind the pennies is a concrete core. It's as if these bears have a real fur made out of metal. As the previous reviewer said, there are are a lot of bad San Jose art pieces, but this one is fantastic. Just an edit: it seems to be gone now. Very sad.

Desire is a public art installation located in the Willow Glen District of San Jose. It is one of 3…read morepieces purchased as part of a downtown beautification effort. Desire, created in 2014, is the work of San Jose artist Jeff Owen. From the artist "My sculptures combine the past and the present. I have a deep affinity toward the materials I work with, a wonderful sense of emotion, feelings, and dreams for what the material was once used for and now what it will become in my hands. These feelings direct me on my path. My processes emerge with patterns. Taking one piece of steel; adding to it, deleting from it, constantly discovering the metal's unique appeal. When a sculpture encompasses all of my creative energy, it is finished. My technique is brute force, decide-at-the-moment. The interesting shapes of metal; the patterns, textures, and grains; all entice me. I am fascinated with form. My aspiration is to create sculpture that is completely unique; that no one has done before. I resist conformity and mass production. My art is as individual as I am." The sculpture is both complex and simple with the rust of the corten setting off the red orb in the center. Desire is best part of a larger trip and there are plenty of shops and restaruants in easy proximity to it.

As small business month is quickly approaching I was thinking how wonderful and vibrant a community…read moreJapantown San Jose is. There so many seasoned and new diverse small business owners here in the heart of Japantown. Classic Loot, Zonkey, Roy's, Santo Market, Taqueria Corona, Minato, Hukilau, Kazoo are among my families favorites. We have also enjoyed and welcomed new businesses too like Banne (yummy sourdough) and Furbaby Fancy petgrooming (the most posh and elite pet grooming experience) into our rotation as well! I should have just listed all the businesses here! So proud of the businesses that contribute to our community!

There's definitely a lot of history, community love, and shops and restaurants here. It's smaller…read morethan the other Little Tokyo in LA and Japan Town in SF (I think), but because we came around midday lunch time on a Tuesday after Fanime, not many stores or restaurants were surprisingly open? Maybe it's due to being after Memorial Day or because most of them were night time dinner service only restaurants. Either way it's much cleaner than Little Tokyo in LA and with less jump scares and trash everywhere. Easier to find parking and more affordable, in a sense, than Japan Town SF. Stopped by the Japanese grocery store and Santo Market while we were here. Fun to kill a couple of hours, I suppose. I just gotta come back here again when more things are open !

I love the Triton Museum of Art. Definitely a pillar of the Santa Clara Community. Free admission!read more

This was actually my second time ever at this museum, I came a couple years back when they had a…read morechalk festival. If you ever get the chance to come show up both days so you can see the artist outlines, and when they start everything, and then day two to see the finished product!! This particular day I went with my dad and Brother to check out what new art pieces they had. We spent about an hour walking through and looking at everything. My brother, major in art and could tell us about different types of oil/paint that was used and how it would last over certain decades or fall off and crack ! Lol so I found the history of how well each artist project with withstand the time of life very interesting as well. I will definitely come back when this gallery changes to another theme! It also has a very nice park. I just wish there was a coffee shop or Matcha shop nearby! Hee

This is a temporary art exhibition at Plaza de Cesar Chavez, featuring oaxacan animal sculptures…read moremade of fiberglass and metal construction and painted with colorful and imaginative designs. My faves were the lionbull, the happy alien, and of course, the rabbit (by artist María Jiménez). A couple of the artworks are located across the street, near the SJ Museum of Art and in front of Bijan Bakery, but the rest are scattered throughout the park, a lovely sight to see among the beautiful trees and decorative lights in the plaza. Supposedly the statues themselves light up after dark. But perhaps they were broken during my recent visit, or maybe these creatures partied too hard over the weekend during the Pride festivities, cuz only one was illuminated with color-changing lights at nightfall. It was still enjoyable to explore these creative pieces during the day, especially on a Monday afternoon without the distraction of annoying crowds. Plus it's free to view, unless there's a special event happening which charges an admission fee. San Jose Jazz and its partners are hosting various community gatherings and activities in the plaza through the end of September as part of this exhibition, including cultural festivals and movie & music nights. These are great opportunities to check out this fun and unique art display and celebration of Mexican tradition and heritage. And just maybe, if you're lucky, you'll get to see all of the sculptures lit at night during these events.

The three stars is for the Coco movie shown last night, next to the Art Museum. The problem was…read morethat the view of the movie screen was faded, because of a city sidewalk spotlight which was aimed directly at the movie screen. This made the movie harder to see. Because one of the palm trees cast a shadow over the right-third of the screen, the right side of the screen was easier to see than the left side of the screen, which suboptimized the experience, because our eyes keep reminding us that one side of the screen is faded, while the other side is not, which forces the mind to continually have to adjust for the whole hour and a half. But the black statue at the other end of the park lit up well in the dark:

Totally responsive upon initial request. Came and looked at job, very quick with quote. Very fair…read moreprice. Work is quite outstanding, down to minutest detail. Very agreeable to work with, had 5-6 exchanges of ideas, with John the customer is the driver, John delivers what he says he will in the time he says it will take. HIGHLY RECOMMEND for mural work, small scale (mine 250 sq ft), or large.

Very creative, professional, easy to work with, and the work is very widely appealing.read more

This sculpture has an intricate seek & find pattern showing elements of Asian positivity. Enjoy…read morefinding the hidden imagery! The Key shown in the attached photo allows one to locate everything within. Have fun in celebrating Asian culture!

This is a fairly new sculpture by Roger White Stoller, a 2021 art piece that looks brand new…read moregleaming in the sunlight, located at Heinlenville Park in Japantown (a park that's new as well). I'm familiar with one of his other artworks, Tetrahelix, in Mountain View, and the similarities are easily recognizable, yet the meanings behind the works are unique. The stainless steel Sheltering Wing combines different images beautifully in its design, including bamboo, lotus, butterflies, wind, and clouds, in honor of the Chinese and Japanese cultures, as well as John Heinlen, a German immigrant and landowner who welcomed Chinese immigrants from one of SJ's 5 Chinatowns that burned down in the 1880's. He helped them rebuild their community and established Heinlenville, SJ's longest lasting and final Chinatown, which ceased to exist in 1931 due to anti-Chinese immigration laws and the Great Depression. The site is located in what today is Japantown. Sheltering Wing is more than just a sculpture, it's a wonderful display of art, culture, and history.

My friend took me here to celebrate my bday and it was such a cute and fun experience!! We did the…read morecandle making and pressed flower candle holder class! First we chose our scents and blended color and scents into our two candles and then from our leftover we got to make a special mini candle combining all of our candle wax! The color came out cute for the combo one! Then we glued on pretty pressed flowers into the glass to hold our candles!! It was so fun and a great place to yap away and craft together! Emir also holds other craft classes in the studio as well which all look fun and interesting!

This was a great experience. I got to spend some one on one time making these cute little frames of…read morepressed flowers! Plenty of flowers and leaves to choose from. The facility was clean and warm. The restrooms were separate but also clean. Emir was awesome! He made us feel welcomed and explained everything thoroughly. I'd take more of these classes. :)

Weekends are fun at this place. You can enjoy live music, some drinks and pizza from round table…read morepizza next door. The ambiance is cool and you can hang around for a while. The staff could be a a tad more friendlier. Another lovely place to hang out in Willow Glen.

They are now hosting the San Jose Poetry Slam once a month. Great fun, great atmosphere. Terrific…read morebar service and space for events and gatherings in general. It's conjoined with a Round Table restaurant so one can order a really good pizza and share it at the Wheelhouse.