Creating bear statue makes perfect cents
Sonic Runway had a fantastic swan song, but there’s already a stunning new art installation from Burning Man turning heads in downtown San Jose.
“Ursa Mater,” by the Alameda-based art team Mr and Mrs Ferguson, is a sculpture of a mother bear and her two cubs on Paseo de San Antonio near the Fairmont Hotel. Now, that may not sound very Burning Man until you realize the “fur coat” on the towering installation is made of about 200,000 pennies.
The coins were installed by hand vertically into a foam base by a dozen volunteers over four months. The third “penny sculpture” created by Mr and Mrs Ferguson, Ursa Mater made its debut at Burning Man last year and will be on display downtown through May.
And soon it’ll have company across Market Street at Plaza de Cesar Chavez when a second installation, “Tara Mechani” by Bay Area artist Dana Albany is installed. Tara Mechani is a
15-foot, metal figurative sculpture that blends the image of the female Buddha with a robotic, steampunk design.
“The new works will be up for about three months and are really engaging and beautiful,” Kerry Adams-Hapner, San Jose’s director of cultural affairs, said. The Playa to the Paseo project is a partnership between the Burning Man Foundation and the city of San Jose to bring art pieces from the famous desert festival to Silicon Valley — and eventually spur South Bay artists to create innovative pieces for Burning Man.
Stay tuned for information on opening ceremonies for both new pieces.
SPRING AWAKENING >> Rich Santoro, “The Bulb Guy,” is at again, opening his colorful, quarteracre garden in San Jose to the public. This year, Santoro planted 12,149 bulbs — bringing the grand total that he’s planted since 1985 to 72,000. You can tiptoe around the tulips — including Conrad, a wayward bulb with an interesting, touching history — at 850 Gateview Court in San Jose from noon to 5 p.m. every day starting March 24 through April 1 (no foolin’).
He says if the weather permits and the garden still looks good, he may extend visitation a week. As always, it’s free to come visit, but Santoro happily accepts donations to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Feel free to bring the kids, but leave the pets at home, Santoro says. Get more details at www.thebulbguy.com.
CHANGE-MAKING WOMEN >> Sarahi Espinoza Salamanca, one of Forbes’ 30 Under 30 and founder of DREAMer’s RoadMap, will be the keynote speaker Saturday at the sixth annual Strong Girls, Strong Women Leadership Conference at the School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza. The free conference, sponsored by the Santa Clara County Office of Women’s Policy, is open to all Santa Clara County high school students, their moms (or mother figures) and professionals who work with them.
If you’re planning to go, don’t forget to take a donation of family- sized soap, shampoo, toothpaste, feminine hygiene products or diapers, which will be distributed to domestic violence shelters. Get more information and register at https://sgsw2018.eventbrite.