Local Exploration

My thoughts and experiences as I explore the rich culture of the city of Davis, California.

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

The End of an Introduction

This week we took our long-awaited class final: the scavenger hunt. We split into groups of four, grabbed four pictures, and headed out into downtown Davis to find those four spots and take pictures of our group in front of them. We would then come back to where we started and show off our pictures to prove we were there. 

Sadly I don't have the pictures myself, and I couldn't take any because my phone's camera still isn't working. If you're interested in the places I describe, however, another one of my group members has already posted the pictures on her tumblr so they shouldn't be too hard to find.

Anyways, we were ecstatic after looking at our four pictures, because we knew each of them instantly, as well as where they were. Our pictures showed the Signs and Wonders of an Interdimensional Warrior, Circus, and Splash from the transmedia art walk, and the Varsity Theater (which I've not only passed by many times but been to already). And if it weren't easy enough seeing as we knew where each one was, they;re all very close together-- all the places are either on 2nd street or on a street connected to it.

We headed out immediately, rushing for the Varsity Theater. We parked our bikes and crossed the street (so that our picture could include the whole of the theater) and we ran into none other than Dr. Andy and the two reporters who wanted to do a story on our class. Dr. Andy took a picture of our whole group for us, and we moved on to the Interdimensional Warrior, a block further down 2nd street. We ran into Dr. Andy and the others again there, so he took our pictures again.

I'll interrupt here just to note: the Interdimensional Warrior was the piece I picked for the transmedia art walk we went on early in the quarter. I thought it was somewhat funny, but found it more to be very fitting that I would end the class with this piece as well. 

Back to the story: after explaining that our next two were also very close, Dr. Andy and the two reporters essentially merged with our group for the remainder of our scavenger hunt. We walked over to Circus, which is at the bottom of G street (and right next to 2nd street) and our pictures were taken there. At this point I have to admit-- the reporters following us around and taking pictures of us with their incredibly fancy cameras made me feel (just a little bit) like the members of our group were incredibly famous. And, if I may be so conceited, it felt pretty cool.

We walked over to our last stop: Splash. This was many people's favorite piece on the transmedia art walk, so it was also cool that we got to have this in our scavenger hunt, and also pretty fitting that we ended our last activity in downtown Davis in this class with it. We took our last round of pictures and headed back.

I don't think I was the only one feeling a bit nostalgic as everyone went through their pictures after we all got back. This was a really fun class, and even though these pictures were taken today, they all served as reminders for the many places we visited over the course of the quarter. And while it's sad that we won't be taking field trips together every Friday, there isn't much that's really over with this class ending. We all still know each other and can see each other all the time (Dr. Andy included-- I'm sure he wouldn't mind any of us dropping by to see him sometime), and we're all going to be in Davis for quite a while longer. This served as our introduction to the cultural offerings of the city of Davis, but by no means is this where we end our opportunity to take part in them. There's loads of stuff to revisit and enjoy, lots that we've learned, and even more that we've still yet to discover. 

[citynittygritty]

On Friday, we participated in a cultural offerings scavenger hunt as a part of our final. We were given four pictures of places downtown, and our task was to find and take pictures by them. All our pieces were on second street, so luckily navigation was no problem at all. Upon receiving our pictures, we grabbed our bikes and took to the streets. Almost immediately, we discovered that bikes+downtown+rain=frenetic (in a good, energetic way!). Flying (safely) by cars and other bikes, we found our first destination, the Varsity Theater. 

When we reached Varsity, we were pleasantly surprised to find professor Andy Jones and two journalists who were reporting on our class! They followed us on our journey, and we snapped some great silly pictures with professor Andy.

Our next destination was the The Signs and Wonders of an Inter-dimensional Warrior, a mural depicting pretty much exactly what the title describes. I really like this mural because it combines so many cultures: Native American, western, and Davis in general. Not only is the warrior inter-dimensional, he is intercultural. 

After posing with the warrior, we visited the Circus sculpture, a colorful, unique stop on the Transmedia Art Walk. Nini impressed us all by doing a handstand on the sculpture! (If you look at the picture, my face pretty much captures my excitement!) 

Our last stop was our class’ favorite piece of art, “Splash.” We took lots of pictures in front of this mural, and I felt about as soaked as the people in the mural looked; it was really pouring by the end, which somehow made the experience even more fun and lively. We finished our scavenger hunt in less than one hour!!

Visiting all these pieces of Davis culture in such a short period of time was a reflective experience for me. I realized how much Davis has to offer its visitors and residents, through food, art, and other cultural activities. It was the perfect end to such an intriguing class!

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

It was really fun going on the scavenger hunt with you and everyone else in our group! It may have been raining, but we hit my favorite parts of the transmedia art walk with Dr. Andy and the two reporters, and it really felt like a good way to end the class. So thanks very much for being a part of that!

[daniels-davis-discoveries-blog]

This will be a short post, but I have been thinking a lot about something that happened when I visited the Farmers’ Market on Saturday that I feel exemplifies the importance of this cultural offering. It seems like a pretty insignificant coincidence, but I bumped into a high school friend of mine...

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

I can't believe I still haven't gone to the farmer's market yet! At first I wanted to go for the food, but from all I've heard it seems that the farmer's market in Davis is so much more than that. I think it's really awesome that it in and of itself is a social event, and I'll definitely be joining you and everyone else there sometime soon!

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

Yolo County Visitor's Bureau

Last Friday, we visited the Yolo County Visitor's Bureau, located above Zen Toro (which is a fantastic sushi place by the way-- if you like sushi I highly recommend it). 

Before I get into the main body of the post I need to explain myself a little bit. All of my posts are coupled with pictures around every paragraph, to give images to the things I'm talking about and show people visually how I saw what happened. 

Today, I only have one.

This is my phone. The first thing you notice in that picture would probably be the background-- it's my roommate participating in a floor-wide fashion show. It was hilarious. If not for that, however, the first thing one would notice otherwise would be the "unable to start the camera" message. That pops up every time I try to open the camera function in my phone at all. It's been like this for two weeks. So not only could I not take pictures for this day, I still can't, and the scavenger hunt is today. Thank God we're in teams. 

This normally wouldn't be a terrible thing because everyone else saw me there so it's not like I need the pictures as proof, but it is the case for the other Davis-related event I got to see this week: Fire University. You see, I'm a member of the Davis Anime Club, and Thursday nights after club we go out to eat downtown. This last Thursday we went to Taqueria el Burrito, outside of which Fire University is located. I got to see a bunch of people dance with fire and spin it around the air. It was really cool. I have no pictures. Life is hard. You'll just have to take my word for it on this one (and take my word that Fire University is super cool and you should go at some point to watch or, if more inclined, participate).

Anyways, back to the actual point of this post: the Yolo County Visitor's Bureau. One thing we kept hearing repeatedly over the course of this class is that a lot of people are working hard towards making Davis a destination town. Well Alan Humason, the office director of the Yolo County Visitor's Bureau, is the guy in charge of making that happen. 

Well, partly. More specifically, he works towards getting people to visit Yolo County on the whole. He mentioned to us that people don't really come to Yolo County to vacation, but rather for events and festivals. That's why they try to play up events that are happening at Wineries, the Farmer's Market, and other things, especially those relating to agriculture. He says that they're trying to frame Davis as the farm to Sacramento's food capital. 

He mentioned that they don't have the resources to create their own events, but that there's enough happening in Davis all the time that they can just play up other events and invite people to them. He said that last year they had an event that had wine from local wineries, and reviewers said that even if the event were to have been bad, it still would have been worth it just for the wine. Similarly, Alan recently brought a bunch of people around Davis, including Mondavi Food and Wine, which got even more great reviews and publicity. 

Alan said that Davis is "richer than you might expect". It may be a small town, but it has a lot to offer and there are loads of really cool things to do. I almost think that we should have done this day earlier on in the class, because at this point we know that ourselves-- Davis is a fantastic place with an incredible amount of cultural offerings and fun events, making it fantastically lively despite being such a small town. 

[daniels-davis-discoveries-blog]

Sorry for getting behind on my blog posts everyone. Midterms really caught up to me and I didn’t manage my time well.

Anyway, last class I used the extra time we had to go get a few pictures of one of the most interesting parks in Davis. I think it’s just called…

[citynittygritty]

These are such cool pictures!!!!! I’m definitely planning on visiting it once midterm craziness is over!

[culturecow]

Cool park! Haha this is something that just seems so quintessentially Davis. It’s artistic and creative while at the same time trying to foster a sense of community. It would be a great place to visit one day! Maybe for a picnic or some other occasion.

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

I've been to this park as well! My girlfriend Alexis and I went Letterboxing a few weeks ago. For those who don't know what it is, it's kinda like a treasure hunt. You get instructions on what to do online, follow the steps, and find the thing at the end. Davis has a few, and it's super fun! Go do it! This was a stop in the one we did, and before moving on we hung out here for a while. It's a great place! And not just this area, but that park on the whole is just awesome. I think it's fantastic that Davis has big parks like this as well. 

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

Davis Shakespeare Ensemble

Last Friday, on Valentine's day, we were graced by a visit from Rob Salas, one of the founders and artistic directors of the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble. 

Around five years ago, Rob, at that time working on a BA in theatre at Irvine, visited Davis and saw a production of Hair in the arboretum, which used the gazebo as a backstage. This excited Rob, who realized that he could also use this as a performing space. So, that summer, he and a few others put on a production of Romeo and Juliet. This was met with incredible popularity coupled with good reviews, which prompted the formation of the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble. 

Rob then gave us a quick overview of all of the other Shakespeare-oriented theatre groups around the country, including those in Utah, Chicago, Alabama, California, and, of course, Oregon.

I'd just like to take a minute to say that I've been going to the Oregon Shakespeare festival for years now, and it's absolutely fantastic. The productions are top notch, Ashland, the town where it's located, is beautiful and fantastic, and it's been my favorite part of my past few summers. If you ever get the chance to go and see a show there, please take it. It's an incredible experience. 

Anyways, back to the main topic. The Davis Shakespare Ensemble puts on four shows a year, and as it grew focused less on taking UCD students into their shows and more on experienced Actors all over Nothern California. While it's a shame that they don't really have all that much opportunity for UCD students, it's good that it's moving to a more evolved and professional theatre group, and it will improve its image and success on the whole in years to come. 

One thing that Rob mentioned that was quite interesting was that as of recently, they've been moving a little bit away from the arboretum. He mentioned that some of their shows this year would be put on in the Veterans Memorial Theater on 14th street, which is cool because it will allow for more technically complex productions. Furthermore, they would love to have an amphitheater with power in Davis. There are currently talks about expanding the arboretum, and the Ensemble is currently talking with the city and the art council to see if it would be possible to put an amphitheater in this new space.

I've been talking a lot about their productions in Davis, but the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble does more than just that. It's actually quite complex. 

A diagram quickly became necessary.

The Davis Shakespeare Ensemble also tours (it actually recently toured an original piece-- Nightingale-- which was a very technically complex show, very different from what they're used to in the arboretum. However, it was met with great success, which propelled them further into the spotlight of California theatre. 

The Ensemble also runs summer camps in Davis-- one for kids aged 7-12 and one for teens-- to give kids a greater appreciation for theatre. As one might expect from me at this point, I absolutely love this. The more people get into theatre the better.

And why is it a good thing for people to get into theatre, exactly? Well, Rob addressed this himself towards the end of our talk. Rob says that "Theater remains the only place where truth is celebrated in our society and culture. What makes a great production or what makes an actor super impactful is that they are presenting something that is innately human and true. Theatre is that pure thing of what the humanities are about."

Rob mentioned that he worked in the Utah Shakespeare festival. Although it was located in a "small, gas stop town", people still came from all over to see the shows. This is what Rob described as a "destination town". He used this as a transition back to Davis: currently there are many efforts to turn Davis into a destination town for the arts. If there's anything I've learned from this class, it's that it's well on its way to becoming just that.

[mraggieuke]

Hello Fellow Aggies and Davis Explorers!

Last week we took center stage with one of the founders of the Davis Shakespeare Ensemble and artistic director, Rob Salas. He spoke about many things but one topic is blatantly central; performance art in the form of plays. Plays are for the audience...

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

"writer, actor, stage designer, costume designer, etc"

All of the above! In fact, I've done all of the above! I wrote a post last week about the theatre program at my high school, but with the focus on theatre this week I feel it's okay to reiterate. All of the different roles are so much fun in their own way! Of course acting is probably the most so, but designing lights, sound, costumes, stage etc is also fun and rewarding in itself, and writing a script (Which is much different from writing a story or screenplay) is an entirely different and really fun experience. I know I'm using the word "fun" a lot in this post, but that's really the best word to describe doing any job in theatre. Getting involved in any way is always a fantastic time, and incredibly rewarding. If any one of you ever have the opportunity to try out a job you haven't before in theatre or just get involved with it on the whole, I wholeheartedly suggest it.

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

United States Bicycle Hall of Fame

Last Friday I fell terribly ill, so I wasn't able to make it to class. It's a shame, because although it was raining, I was interested in meeting such an influential member of the Davis community. 

So, I had to make up this class somehow. After talking to Dr. Jones, I decided I would go and visit the United States Bicycle Hall of Fame in downtown Davis. Just to note: this is not a bicycle hall of fame set up by Davis or anything. This is legitimately the United States Bicycle Hall of Fame. And it shows.

Walking into the museum, I found an incredible amount of bicycles. This didn't particularly surprise me-- this is pretty much what one would expect of a bicycle museum. However, after looking at the notes attached to each one, I was surprised to find that, while some of these are merely historic bicycles, many others are the bicycles famous cyclists across history used that were donated to the museum.

This bike, for instance, was used by BMX legend Stompin' Stu.

Moving on upstairs, I encountered the awards room.

Pardon the horribly done panorama shot, but this is really the only way I could show the incredible number of awards that were in this room in one picture. The walls were just coated with them. It was a little incredible. The room, however, also had a few other pieces of note:

This is a roller. Those who know a bit about bicycles and bicycle racing know that these are used for training and warming up. Those people would also recognize that this is an incredibly archaic roller. It's made of wood and the cylinders are much bigger than in rollers today. These are the kinds of rollers used by professional bicycle racers back in the early days of American bicycle racing at the beginning of the 20th century. And looking at some of the posters around the room, we've come a long way since then:

Yes, you read that right.Bicycle riders used to draft in the slipstream of motorcycles. At over fifty miles per hour. And people died doing it. Although this was just one of many events (of course there was just regular racing at the time as well) it goes to show that bicycle racing was in some ways a much more dangerous sport back in the day than it is now.

Moving down to the basement, I found an exhibit on the history of bicycles. Have you ever wanted to know more about how bicycles came to be as they are now? Well I found out, and in doing so I'm now able to impart that knowledge to you. Isn't this just great for everyone?

Bicycles started with what is probably the epitome of German enineering: the running machine. It's a bicycle without pedals. You sat on it and ran awkwardly, building momentum, and then just riding it. Soon after its most apparent problem was fixed:

A bicycle, with pedals to propel yourself forward with! Genius! You might notice that the front wheel is bigger than the back wheel. Well, people noticed that the larger the front wheel, the faster the bike went. Which resulted in the creation of this idea's logical extreme.

Enter the high roller. It was incredibly popular because it was incredibly fast, but came with a design flaw: braking often resulted in the rider flying forward off the handlebars. Oops.

So a new challenger appeared: the safety bike. This is essentially the prototype form of the bike we're familiar with today. It had the speed of a high roller with the safety of something entirely less ridiculous. The rest of the history of bicycles was improving on this model.

I had taken a picture of the first gear and derailleur bikes, but it came out horribly. So I won't be posting it here. But I do have this, which actually had me laugh out loud in the middle of the museum. The next invention was gears and derailleurs, which allowed for bicycles to be more efficient in different environments, and allowed for bicycle racing to take off.

And here we have the reason as to why most American bicycles didn't have gears or derailleurs: they were used mainly by children. America had an automobile boom that made it so that adults didn't really go everywhere by bicycle. Kids did, however, and the baby boom in the 50s resulted in a concurrent bicycle boom soon afterwards, giving incredible amounts of money to the industry in America.

Soon after came the invention off road bikes. People wanted to take their bikes everywhere, so in came an innovation that allowed them to. This resulted in the creation of BMX racing, furthering biking as a sport.

Lastly, we entered the space age of bicycles. It's called this because bikes started using metals for their frames that were stronger and lighter, eventually getting to the point that the metals used reached and sometimes exceeded the quality of those used in aerospace engineering. 

Finishing that exhibit, I left the museum, exploring all the major components. However, even though I thought I was thorough, I don't doubt there are parts of the museum that I missed. Coupled by the fact that it was a really cool place that I found to be incredibly interesting, I implore all of you to go if you have a moment of free time, and encourage others to go. It's actually pretty amazing that the United States Bicycle Hall of Fame is located in our very own Davis, and we should take advantage of that fact and go visit it while we're still here.

[coolturaldavis]

So I haven’t actually been to any well-known, fancy plays like Phantom of the Opera or any Shakespeare reenactments. The only plays I have been to are the ones my high school had. To be fair though, these plays were actually really good. I have some great memories from these plays.

Some of the...

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

Oh man, this gives me memories of the theatre program at my school. I've been involved with theatre since third grade, and some of my best memories of high school was putting on incredible productions with a bunch of other incredibly talented people. At my school you had to take Drama courses that taught you advanced techniques in acting and how to work all kinds of tech before you could even audition for the class that put on the productions (and yes, it was a class, not purely after school. Though it did go for multiple hours after school every day). And the students got to do everything, from lights to sound to set building to acting to directing to designing to marketing. It was incredible. 

I recently went home and got to see the show that they put on for the winter quarter: our yearly production of 5 student written and directed one act plays. They were fantastic, and while it really made me miss being there, it also made me happy that it was still getting along so great. 

[citynittygritty]

The squirrels on campus are so cute! Sometimes I think they’re a bit too comfortable with people though haha!

[imjinvolved]

I have to agree that the squirrels on campus are absolutely adorable! Although it sometimes feels like they are a little comfortable with bikers. I can’t count the times I have had to swerve my bike to avoid running over a squirrel, and usually the swerving makes nearly hit a human….

[youllseedavis-blog]

This is my favorite picture I’ve seen all day. The squirrels are one of my favorite things about Davis, actually. I want to hug all of them and name them all George. I definitely do not mind sharing our town with them, even when they dart in front of my bike.

[culturecow]

This picture is very funny!  Yes, the squirrels here each seem to have their unique personalities.  They are quite cute.  I think they have integrated themselves into Davis’s culture quite nicely.  

[dwilderone]

Actually, today I almost ran over a squirrel while riding my bike. A car was coming from the other direction, so I’m really glad the squirrel decided to run to the less dangerous side of the road.

[inanutshell-galaxy-life-blog]

The squirrels in Davis bring up mixed feelings! You are just lost in thought and then a squirrel runs past you and you are brought back to reality. And, you look around and are filled with a feeling of contentment as you watch the people and squirrels pass by. But, then sometimes the squirrels are suicidal, or something, and cause you to be scared out of your wits. Got to love them though.

[mraggieuke]

Hey! I was there! I thought it was soooo cute when the two sat on the same bike and didn’t seem to mind us at all! I have a photo (it’s a bit blurry) of one other squirrels jumping over from a bike seat to the frame and I caught it mid stretch, with its hands still on the frame and its feet still on the seat

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

I really love animals so I love seeing squirrels around, but the fact that they're so comfortable with people makes them do incredibly stupid things sometimes. I can't tell you how many times already I've seen squirrels nearly get run over, which was only avoided by the biker swerving out of the way, rather than the squirrel getting scared and running out of the way. I haven't actually seen one get run over here yet, and I really hope I don't.

[inanutshell-galaxy-life-blog]

[mraggieuke]

I love these photos! I remember going to that part of the Arboretum and looking up at the moon. My friends were bold and went and sat on the dock and I finally joined but it freaked me out a bit during the night!

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

These photos are so great! I actually haven't been to the arboretum that much at all since I got here, but I really need to change that. It looks like a beautiful place. 

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

Hattie Weber Museum

Bordering the northern end of the small park between B and C street in downtown Davis, on the corner of C and 5th, lies the Hattie Weber Museum, a museum that focuses on preserving as much of the history of Davis as possible.

Luckily enough for us, we were guided through the museum and its various exhibits by Professor Dennis Dingemans, the director of the Hattie Weber Museum. 

The man was as kind as he was knowledgeable, and it was a pleasure to make his acquaintance and wonderful of him to show us around. 

The museum on the whole was incredibly interesting, containing many different pieces of Davis' history. Some were what you'd expect from a museum, like these ancient artifacts here:

and others are very contrary to what one would expect to find at a museum, like its collection of bags from various stores that are no longer in Davis

There were also a bunch of cool things that we got to play around with-- the museum had a piano we could play,

a typewriter we could type on,

and an antique record player that we could listen to music with.

The main exhibits in the museum, however, would have to be the progression of glass cases along the walls, each representing a different part of Davis' history. It started off with a history of the Native Americans that lived in and around this region-- detailing their ways of life and displaying artifacts.

The next was Davis before it became a town-- what was here was originally an incredibly large and award winning farm owned by a man whose last name was Davis (hence the name)

Next was an exhibit on the founding of Davisville, and how it was put on the map by the railroads, which also brought hundreds of people hoping to settle there.

Just after lied an exhibit on the start of Davis being a university town. Davis was chosen as the site of the University of California College of Agriculture, In this exhibit exists the UCD timeline, and this is where it begins.

The last piece of the history of Davis exhibits chronicles the creation of the Davis Public Library as, as Professor Dingemans said, if the town were to have a college in it, it better have a library.

Now, there were loads of really cool things in the museum. So why did I particularly focus on the pieces that told the history of how Davis as we know it was established? Why not the family photos? Why not the pictures of houses here since before the year 1900?

It's because while all of this is really interesting stuff, my focus, and what I should be writing about on this blog, is the culture of the city of Davis. In my opinion, one important aspect of understanding the culture of a place is understanding its history. Without the history to provide context or explain why things are the way they are, one doesn't have the entire picture of the cultural offerings of the town, much less the town itself. 

For instance, the huge prevalence of agriculture in Davis' history explains why we have such an incredible farmers market-- argued to be the best in the entire country. The fact that UC Davis started as the University of California College of Agriculture explains why the campus itself is so much more focused on agriculture than other UC campuses. The list goes on.

Understanding the history of a place helps to fully understand its culture. It was a very good idea to come to the Hattie Weber Museum to explore Davis' history, and I feel we all came away from it understanding the city that much more.

[davisdiscoveries]

I just wanted to share this awesome quote I found in the Davis History packet.

From June 4, 2012 issue of the California Aggie, the words of a departing student,

"I’ve hated on it in the past, but the city of Davis is one heck of a nice place. I used to scornfully call it a cow-town but now...

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

It's sad that people can live in a place for so long without ever really getting to know it or appreciate it. Ideally, one wouldn't even need classes like these and should just explore the town and its cultural offerings themselves, and we wouldn't have cases where one can spend all four years here without ever really getting to know the town. 

I'm glad we all decided to take a step towards truly knowing Davis by taking this class. There's lots of cool stuff we've done already that helps me to understand and appreciate the town that much more! I'm really grateful for that and excited for what else we'll discover.

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

Transmedia Art Walk

Last Friday, our class went on Davis' Transmedia Art Walk. The idea is that, as one goes past the various pieces of art in Davis, he or she can scan a code on or near the piece with their phone and be linked to a video giving more details about the piece. At least in the case of my piece this consisted of an interview of the artist in front of his piece, but I'll get to that in just a little bit.

Our teacher wasn't able to make it to class, so we had to go through the art walk ourselves. I wonder to what extent this may have been intentional on the his part, because it somewhat defeats the point of the Transmedia Art Walk to have someone guide us and tell us about the pieces rather than using the map to find the pieces and have them explained via our phones as intended.

The art walk begins outside the Natsoulas gallery, which we visited the week before. The colorful giant outside the gallery, Stan, the Submerging Man, actually serves as the first stop in the Transmedia Art Walk.

We moved through the streets, observing various pieces, and very quickly came upon the piece I chose to introduce: The Signs and Wonders of an Interdimensional Warrior. This mural was one of the most detailed pieces in the entire set in that most pieces have a central point or argument or focus, while this piece has many different things going on that say a number of different things. All of us actually had a discussion about the various parts of the mural and what they meant, and I'd just like to take a second to break all that I observed myself and heard from others down.

In the bottom left corner we have a crocodile with a man's face and hands offering flowers to an unfortunately-cut-out-of-my-photo little girl with a halo. Next to this is a little boy eating an apple. This invoked biblical imagery for a lot of people in our group, but in the video for the piece (which you can see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UDhyxhq5sM) in response to questions the artist jokingly talks about how he thinks Dick Cheney is a reptilian. So I guess meaning is in the eye of the beholder in that respect.

In the background of the left side, we see a government building (sorry for not being able to recognize which one it is-- I'm horrible with things like that) displaying an anarcho-communist flag. The meaning to this part was pretty clear. (and fairly consistent with the reptilian comment!)

In the center of the river we have a giant Native American man staring off into the distance, his chest open so that his heart is completely visible. Since he's in the center and inexplicably gigantic, most of the people in our group thought that he was the "interdimensional warrior".

Down and to the left of the Native American was what appeared to many to be a witch doctor of some sorts. Or it's just a person wearing gothic clothing with a scull on their face. One of the two, really. There was speculation that this might have been the interdimensional warrior but, with the general consensus that that title belonged solely to the gigantic man in the river, no one could really figure out the meaning of this guy.

And lastly, up in the right hand corner we have a town, with a boat off in the distance. This seems just to be scenery in the background, but a few people were keen to point out that there's a water wheel on that tower, doing absolutely nothing because it's tens of feet above the water. It's one of those divine mysteries that we're not meant to know the answer to, I suppose.

Moving on, we hit a chain of many murals. Shortly after the Interdimensional Warrior, we encountered "Splash", which was most people's favorite piece. I have to admit, I really liked it myself. It's really just a fantastic looking piece.

A few pieces later we encountered "Hidden Treasures", I really loved the perspective of this one, and even though the whole thing is a painting, until you see it in person the detail is so fine that it actually looks like someone painted a picture of a butterfly on a gigantic piece of paper and put it on the wall with an equally-as-gigantic piece of tape.

A few blocks down we encountered "Collaboration", a protest piece by the Ceramics College Students of California. It's a conglomeration of many smaller pieces shaped like a person, which is a very subtle protest, in that it wants the school and its students to actually collaborate and work together, because when doing so you can create something much bigger.

Luckily, for those who aren't big fans of subtlety and/or entirely missed the point of the sculpture ,its purpose is more overtly stated on the sculpture's palm.

Along the way we encountered this piece, a bench you can sit on shaped like a dog. I thought that this piece was so interesting that I laid across it and posed while everyone else took pictures and videos. I haven't seen a single one on my tumblr feed.  Needless to say, I'm a little disappointed.

Towards the end of our art walk we encountered what very well might be my favorite piece: Taking the Scenic Route. the piece is the walkway itself, covered in paint and embedded with smaller pieces that texture it, in a way similar to collaboration. I loved this piece because it isn't what one thinks of when they think of art, and yet it is art. And it combines many different art forms as well (which I love!), resulting in a really fantastic piece in my eyes.

Wrapping up our artventure (note to self: never say that again) was actually rather difficult, because our last piece required some searching. It turns out that the piece was hiding in the basement of a hotel.

Once we got down there, however, we were greeted by a world of color. I really liked this piece-- not necessarily because of the piece itself (though I liked that as well) but more because of the fact it's a hidden piece of art. Which, in my opinion, says a lot-- that you can find something really beautiful if you look just a little bit harder.

All in all, I really enjoyed the art walk. The pieces were magnificent, adventuring on our own was fun, and we got to know Davis just that much more. Not only would I recommend this to others, but I'd say I have just that closer a relationship with the town now thanks to this experience.  I can't wait to see what we do next week!

[inanutshell-galaxy-life-blog]

Direction

Last Friday, was interesting. There is something amusing about a group of newcomers in Davis getting lost in the right direction.

My peers and I were left alone in a relatively new college town to find pieces of art. We had a map in our hands, a goal in mind, and an idea in our brain. With one foot in front of the other, we headed in the wrong direction.

We were rushing across streets at the call out of art, even if we hadn’t particularly seen the art ourselves. It was hot and sunny, and it wasn’t long before our maps became our fans. There were many stops, and glancing in all directions, including the direction we had just came from.

I knew Davis was a stem study based school, who is able to appreciate the arts as well, but I didn’t know Davis was so colorful! There was amazing art. And, with every wrong turn, and new appreciated art, I became prouder to call Davis my current hometown. There was even a mural that we had to travel to a hotels basement! I am glad I was able to share this adventure with my peers. Who knew that every wrong turn and misdirection was a step towards the right direction?

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

I really liked your writing in this post! The juxtaposition in "getting lost in the right direction" sounds fantastic, as does "With one foot in front of the other, we headed in the wrong direction." 

That being said, what you're actually saying in the post rang with me as well. As I explore Davis more and more I become increasingly proud of the fact that it's where I live.

In all, excellent work! Can't wait to see what you write in the future (just as I can't wait to see what other adventures we'll have in Davis)!

[culturecow]

These are the two works that I enjoyed the most.  I do not recall the name of the first one.  The second one is entitled Still Life With Billie Holiday. 

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

If you can't remember the name of the first one I guess I didn't do too good of a job introducing it!

It's called "The Signs and Wonders of an Interdimensional Warrior" by Alex Reisfar.

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

My hometown, Walnut Creek, is a very interesting place. It’s not particularly large, but it’s a very popular area and thus has a very lively and prosperous downtown. As such, it’s an area where local businesses such as cafes and restaurants can compete with larger chains just through sheer volume…

[mraggieuke]

Seems like a really interesting place and super cool photos! I also liked your word choice, “micro-culture”. What genre is your band?

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

We played mostly alt rock, though we also had some songs mixed in that were more punk and some that were more classic rock. We started off as a cover band and then went to write our own songs so the stuff we covered (which branched across those three genres, though alt rock was our favorite) heavily influenced the kind of stuff we wrote.

[davis-moooorethanmeetstheeye]

That’s awesome! I’m from Moraga, which is about 15 minutes away from Walnut Creek.  Have you recorded any of your songs?

[paradoxicallypensive-blog]

We did, actually! We never got around to mixing them well enough to feel comfortable about releasing an album, but we have a bunch of our stuff up on YouTube and Facebook.