Express News article / Documentary / Kickstarter

A SWEET article about the Mulberry bridge was published in the San Antonio Express News yesterday! A lot of pictures and most of them "above the fold" (wink). My appreciation to Steve Bennett for writing such a thorough article and for making a good case for public art to be included in our city's infrastructure. San Antonio's city council will be voting on a "percent for art" proposal in the coming months. If you live in San Antonio, I encourage you to contact your council person and let them know that our city deserves more art in public places!

One amazing thing that has been/still is happening during this entire public art making process is that my friend James Sanders, of Standard Definition  has been filming just about the entire process start to finish with plans of creating a full length documentary about the process.

James is a very experienced filmmaker and has the heart of an artist. Sara and I have enjoyed working with him, his work ethic and dedication to this project have been truly inspiring. James has formed a wonderful team of people to help make this film happen. Catherine Lee is serving as the producer. Her writing and grant writing abilities leave me awestruck and envious! She is maintaining our recently launched Kickstarter campaign, writing grants to help fund the project, and maintaining the project's tumbler blog.

Finally, I want to tell you about Kickstarter. We need your help! We chose to use Kickstarter as a funding platform for a number of reasons. The following is from their FAQ's:

Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every month, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields.

A new form of commerce and patronage. This is not about investment or lending. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project.

All or nothing funding. On Kickstarter, a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Why? It protects everyone involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk.

Each and every project is the independent creation of someone like you. Projects are big and small, serious and whimsical, traditional and experimental. They’re inspiring, entertaining and unbelievably diverse. We hope you agree... Welcome to Kickstarter!

 I really love this concept, and I particularly like that a pledge not only gets you a warm and fuzzy feeling for helping to fund an art project you believe in, you also get some really great promotional items like postcards, posters, DVD of the film, Art Tiles (made by yours truly), or handcrafted mugs. Besides funding for the film, Kickstarter provides us a platform to build partnerships with other enthusiastic folks. So when you have a moment, please check out our links, make a pledge, or just pass on the word! Facebook "likes", forwarded emails, etc will exponentially help us reach the goal of getting this film produced.

Keep that wheel a turning!
Diana

Progress on the Millrace Bridge

Sara and I have been hard at work making the outside panels of the Millrace Bridge. The bridge is the gateway to Historic Brackenridge Golf Course. This time I am going with a warm color palette, and art deco inspired designs (the course was built in the 1920's). The theme of this artwork is "The History of Brackenridge Golf Course." And actually, it is quite interesting! Did you know that the sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, who created Mount Rushmore, had his studio on the grounds of the golf course for 12 years? Another interesting fact is that the course was designed by one of the first golf architects in the United States, A.W. Tillinghast. People come from all over just to play on a Tillinghast course. Last fact, before I start sounding like Cliff Clavin: Brackenridge was the first public course in Texas, all the rest were private. OK, OK, I'll stop for now, you will just have to go see the bridge when it is finished! Pics of the process below, click to enlarge.


"Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up." --Chuck Close

Images of Completed Mulberry Bridge

Hi Folks, I wanted to post some good images of the Mulberry Bridge (The Life Cycle of the Gulf Coast Toad), in case you have not yet seen it in person! Sara and I have begun working on the next bridge, this one is about a mile south on Mill Race and is the gateway to the historic Brackenridge Golf Course. So, no more talk of toads from me for a while, on to golfers!


Will post again soon with images of our progress. Thanks again for everyone's support and kind words about Mulberry, I am so happy about the end results!

Sincerely,
Diana

The Life Cycle of the Golf Coast Toad Bridge

It's finally done!!! We have been working hard to finish the installation of all the tile panels at the Mulberry Bridge.  Everyone we have worked with has been amazing.  We like to thank Public Art San Antonio, and especially Tommy Gregory and Claudia Zarazua for keeping everyone on track and in communication with each other.  We'd like to thank Hill Country Bridge,  EZ-Bell Construction  for their hard work and incredible craftsmanship.  But most of all thank you to all of the people who have stopped to talk to us and brought us water while we have been installing, emailing kind words, and chatting with us on Facebook during this process.  Knowing that it will be appreciated by the people who live and work in the area is the most rewarding thing in the world. Most of all we'd like to thank the people of San Antonio, we cannot think of a better place to live and work...now if it would just rain a little, all would be perfect!

Diana and Sara