Tag Archives: ceramics

checking in to see what’s new

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… another walk down Graffiti Alley

group of people, back to camera, walking down graffiti alley

below: Part of a monochrome mural by Nicolas Araneda aka niko.volts that has a lot of very American feet walking all over the faces of other people as lay on the ground….   ‘Trampling’ might be a better verb than ‘walking’

part of a mural in shades of grey, black and white, of feet wearing boots that look like the American flag, walking over the heads and faces of other people lying on the ground

below: Some walk in heavy boots, and others swim with open mouth ….

large fish mural in graffiti alley,

below: Looking crazed and demented, “Lobo” by Horus (aka Trevor Goodwin)

evil villain face with red eye, white wrinkly skin, yellow teeth, graffiti on a wall in graffiti alley, by horus,

below: Not quite so crazy or so demented but certainly not cuddly and warm either.

face, graffiti, white skin, yellow hair, red lips,

below: “Bring your green hat” by FreshPaintDaly aka Billy Creekwater

Donald Duck like character, but older and seedier, with black hat, text balloon that says bring your green hat

below: Two (and a bit) of six panels, drawings by Hartshorn (or posts collective).

street art drawings on the pavement

street art painting in graffiti alley, in alcove that was a window, now boarded up

street art painting in graffiti alley

collection of graffiti slaps covering a door in graffiti alley

below: “Not today Satan”.  There’s a lot going on here – the Silly Sausage Gang being front and center.  33wallflower33 in her white coat with the fuzzy collar and little decorations by catchoo .  There is also a T-bonez (of urban ninja squadron fame) wearing a green shirt and a necklace with a pendant – that’s Sticker Eddie he’s wearing, apparently.   The red-hearted pug’s name is Mopsi. Mopsi has something in his mouth but the donut is in the way (for more Mopsi see the Instagram page of his creator, So schoen immer weider)….   And the other dog is a collaboration between TRP613 (check out the reflections in the sunglasses!) and DivadogLA

part of a door covered with graffiti stickers and other slaps

below: “Get me out of here” and a dose of Instant Karma.

two graffiti paste ups, one is a young woman saying get me out of here, the other is a large hand holding a glass that says instant karma

many paste ups up high on a wall

below: Free Iran

free iran mural in graffiti alley, woman holding a white dove that died because shot with an arrow

below: This painting of a woman with her headphones above and yellow birdie walking a dog below was one of the first murals in Graffiti Alley – the work of Uber5000. Not many originals still exist!

uber5000 mural in graffiti alley, yellow birdie is walking dog, woman with headphones, on brick wall,

below: Elicser Elliott’s contribution to a larger mural that has been painted below the pink Poser bunny, “Don’t watch me cry”

street art painting by elicser elliott, part of a larger collaborative mural, man with burgundy baseball cap, with hands over his eyes. back of hands have tattoo words, Don't watch me cry, written over the two hands

below: Half a face.  He only needs one eye to stare at you.

half of a purple face, urban art, with other shapes and colours on it, black and grey eye and nose

below: Gold…  With a garland of white and blue flowers.

street art painting, gold male face with light blue highlights, wearing garland of blue and white flowers

below: A very large and very purple bear is at the door.

street art painting covering a door in graffiti alley, a large purple bear's head and face

below: He or she looks rather cramped in there. Signature says Neem?

street art mural, blue face

below: Another flower garland and another Neem head squeezed into a box.

two graffiti paintings, on left is black and white face with fingers in front, on right is an orange face with a garland of daisies on its head

graffiti alley, people taking pictures, people walking past

below: Scowling and smoking with ace in his cap.

mural in graffiti alley

below: Skydome forever and ALCS, as well as Vladdy’s number 27 shirt and World Series 2025…. little blue and white pieces of ceramic that celebrate the Toronto Blue Jays that someone lovingly made.

graffiti or urban art made of a collection of little ceramics, all decorated with toronto blue jays baseball team symbols

below: One Inch?  …  And other stickers crammed together.

man in red shirt is taking a picture, behind him is a sign that is covered with graffiti stickers

graffiti stickers covering a sign, a mural of a face is behind it

below: “We are the colours of corn”

feet on paved alley, where someone has written we are the colour of corn

below: More stickers and pasteups including catchoo’s dumpster fire that t-bonez from urban ninja squadron is using to dry his socks and underwear.

graffiti stickers and slaps on a wall

below: A couple of contributions from Dogmaslaps here (they’re all about dogs in case you haven’t guessed yet).

below:  More pasteups, some of which are quite intricate and detailed … especially the top two (vulture and jaguar?) which are both the creations of Ezpektro.

below: Sharing space with the Ezpektro pieces are a few smaller pasteups, some of which were made by artists that are new to me.  There is a pink bike in the top right, the same bike that is in the Make Art Not War poster in the above image…  BikeDeSuro creates stickers and wheatpaste featuring bikes.  From the left, a woman by Fiigueers and then a young girl with the Spanish words, “que nunca se apague la llama de la autonomia” which translates to “may the flame of autonomy never be extinguished”… The collection is rounded out with a guitar player from Sentient Cookie and a cute little green guy from Catchoo.

 

below: MonkYi cat with a very real looking heart in his claws.  Two carp swimming on the pavement in front.

below: Charmander, a Pokemon character.

orange pokeman character, urban art

below: Alfred E. Neuman makes an appearance in a couple of places – he’s the dude from MAD Magazine.

Alfred E. Neuman graffiti, also a woman on a television screen, as well as a very large painted eye

Alfred E. Neuman as a graffiti sticker, along with a black and white little bird

below: By 50 shades of greatt aka Adam McKnight – It looks a lot like Sponge Bob… maybe it’s his cousin?  But what’s with that tongue?  It looks like a slug is trying to slither out of his mouth.

square cartoon character with skinny arms and legs, and big white hands, purple tongue sticking out, by fifty shades of great

 

below: Verity and a happy face.

graffiti, including a yellow happy face and the word verity

small graffiti on round metal disc, graffiti is image of person with head of a large baseball,

below: Someone is not impressed…. Lame

concrete block at the base of a sign on a metal pole, stencil graffiti on the concrete that says lame

below: Green guy says: “In one year’s time, strike your blow, I shall return.”

stickers and paste ups, graffiti alley

below: “These days will define us”

small sticker graffiti with words these days will define us, with a drawing of the Earth

street art painting of a purple and yellow bear's face and front paws

Photos taken August 2026

hope and trust in Port Philllip

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This structure stands in a park in Port Phillip (St. Kilda) Melbourne.

small square building with no windows, street art on the two sides that meet,

below: An owl on the left and a lion’s head on the right – with a can of spray paint in the middle.
mural with a brown owl on the left and a lion's head on the right top,

below: The interesting part of the artwork is the other wall. Here there is a large image made of ceramic tiles. You can find many familiar St. Kilda landmarks in the picture – the pier, Luna Park, and the beach for instance. The central image is surrounded by squares decorated with various symbols, pictures, and/or words.

central image in a street art mural made of ceramis. the central image has many elements, in general it is a seaside view of St. Kilda with Luna Park, and the St. Kilda marina.

below: “TRUST” as well as “Bad Spellers of the world untie”

hand decorated ceramic tiles arranged in a mosaic as street art on a building in a park in Port Phillip Australia, including words like trust, and bad spellers of the world untie

below: “Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.  Live the life you have imagined.” as well as “Belonging to something, to someone, that’s what health’s about”

hand decorated ceramic tiles arranged in a mosaic as street art on a building in a park in Port Phillip Australia,

below: “Silence never won rights.  They are not handed down from above, they are forced by pressure below.”

hand decorated ceramic tiles arranged in a mosaic as street art on a building in a park in Port Phillip Australia

below: “HOPE” as well as as Thoreau quote: “The world is but canvas to our imagination.”  It also asks a question: “Would it be a problem if you had a peaceful mind?”.

“Welcome to our site of community reflection, respect, recovery, resistance, compassion across difference. This is a place where differences are forgotten and your heart unites with others. This mural was launched on the 4th of Dec 2009 by Frank O’Connor (mayor), Serge Thomann, Mirka Mora, Carolyn Briggs, Aunty Jacks.

a walk around Delft

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Delft is a lovely city with a large public square by an old church. There are some old houses along a few canals as well as some narrow lanes. There is also some street art there.

below: In a very narrow lane, Kloksteeg, is a large mural by Micha de Bie

kloksteeg mural in delft

looking down alley in delft, Kloksteeg, towards church and town square

below: The mural contains portraits of characters from Delft’s past such as Hugo de Groot (1583-1645), Antoni van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723), “The father of microbiology”) and Vermeer’s Milkmaid (from the famous painting).

below: A mural by Serge KB (aka Serge Kortenbroek), a handful or two of little creatures.

below: Another Serge KB painting, biomechanical. Ectoplasmic ooze. paints surreal creatures, animals, cyborgs and androids.creates grim scenes with a twist.

mural on door, pink and purple portrait in profile, greenish yellow background

below: On a wall in Papenstraat is a map of Delft in the 17th century and it is made entirely of mosaic tiles. It is the work of Nan Deardorff McClain and Colja de Roo.

on exterior wall, map of 17th century delft made of ceramics

below: A closer look at part of the map.  At the top, close to the left side is Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek’s house (mentioned in the Kloksteeg mural above).  The word “microscoop” appears beside it.

portion of a map of 17th century delft made of ceramics

below: Catching and eating fish.

mural in two panels, on left is man fishing and on right is man eating fish

below: Are you sure they fit? Poor Henk

mural of a man trying on new shoes while woman sits behind him

below: A decorated lane

looking down an alley in delft, bikes leaning against wall on right along with a large panel painted blue with large capital E in green

looking down an alley in delft, bikes leaning against wall on right along with a large panel painted blue with red letters

below: “O! Nadine, wat is mijn HUID mooi” or Nadine, my skin is so beautiful (or nice). This replaces a very similar painting that featured a man and a woman with the text, “O Jan wat zit je haar mooi (Jan, your hair is so beautiful”)… But wait…. this is also an ad for beauty products?

below: Literal street art – chalk (paint?) on the paving stones.

below: Stand with Ukraine, a sticker in the main square.

stickers on a pole, graffiti

below: Dinosaur angst and an all-seeing eye.

below: Hands by 4d_kaze

graffiti stickers

graffiti stickers

below: Accept This street art; it’s Krisbee and his happy smiley face on top.  Fishes Invasion on the bottom – I see them everywhere I go!

black and white drawing of dirt path with some grass and weeds growing on both sides, small trees near end of path, on an oval sticker, graffiti

below: Pen the Forest, aka Wouter Melis – desolate landscapes and dead trees.

a trail of broken pieces

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…rearranged into mosaics.

Starting back in 1985, “Mosaic Man” Jim Power began covering street poles in East Village (New York City) with mosaics of broken pieces of ceramics, coloured glass, bits of mirror, and other little treasures. The trail follows E. 8th – St Marks Place between Broadway and Tompkins Square Park.

below: Over the years, some of the poles were removed by the city and others were damaged. Back in 2017 a Go Fund Me page was set up to help Power restore the poles.

mosaics on outdoor street lamp posts, East Village mosaic trail

below: At the corner of 2nd Ave and East 8th Street (where it is St. Marks Place).

mosaics on outdoor street lamp posts, East Village mosaic trail, some pieces of broken ceramics have Japanese theme images on them
mosaics on outdoor street lamp posts, East Village mosaic trail, some pieces are made into letters that spell words on the poles

close up of a mosaic made with broken pieces of ceramic including some with pictures of blue flowers, and others with orange and red flowers, also stone like square pieces in blues and greys,

below: At 3rd Ave and East 8th Street

mosaics on outdoor street lamp posts, East Village mosaic trail, picture of a man, Rasputin of the bronx

mosaics on outdoor street lamp posts, East Village mosaic trail, yellow pieces make letter to spell St. Marks

ceramics on a lamp pole, woman standing beside, some of the maosaics spell words in blue, records, taylor, mead, also a red glass star on white

mosaics on two lamp posts, one closer and in focus, the other in the background, some people standing on the sidewalk too

mosaics on a pole, glass beads, squares, pink coloured lego figure that has been damaged,

More information can be found on the East Village Mosaic Trail website.
Photos taken August 2023

Carrer Petritxol (aka Chocolate Street)

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Carrer Petritxol is a narrow street in the Gothic Quarter (Bari Gotic) section of Barcelona. It dates from the 15th century when it was a shortcut through the backyard of a local property owner. It runs from Portaferissa to Plaça del Pi. Today it has many small unnique stores including chocolate stores.

below: Catalan text: “Donatiu de la ceramista M. Guivernau en la reconstruccio dels gegantons del pi segons progecte de Evarist Mora.” Translation from Catalan: “Donation of the ceramist M. Guivernau in the reconstruction of the “Giants of Pi” according to Evarist Mora’s project.
Note: The Giants of Pi – On display at the parish church of Santa Maria del Pi are two wearable puppet costumes, one male and one female, known as the Giants of Pi. They have a long history but the part most relevant to this blog post is the fact that they were restored in 1960 by the artist Evarist Mora. In 1985 they were named Mustafa and Elisenda. They are two of the many “gegants” that are brought out for special events in Barcelona such as the Corpus Christi procession and the Santa Eulalia festival.

picture made from ceramic tiles of two giant figures, the giants of pi, one male and one female

M. Guinervau signed the above plaque but there are many other ceramic pictures on this street, all unsigned.  They tell stories about the street including  famous residents or visitors.  What follows here are photos and a few details about some of them.

below: “Aci la mare de Déu ens diu que el temps passa lleu” , translation: “Here the mother of God tells us that time passes easily (or easily)”

on a throne, mother and child on lap, wearing gold crowns, 8 stars shining around them, with text in Catalan, "aci la mare de deu ens diu que el temps passa lleu"

below: “Amb capa i barret llue cada nit “peius” gener”, translation: “With cape and hat, shine every night “Peius” Gener”. This image shows the Spanish writer, journalist and playwright, Babot Gener Pompey (1848-1920), often known as Peius wandering the streets after dark.

ceramic plaque with painting on it, man in long black cloak out on narrow street at night, dark sky, lanterns and lamps are glowing yellow.

below: “Hi anaven a menjar nata ensaimada xocolata”, translation: “They were going there to eat chocolate cream” Carrer Petritxol has been a destination for chocolate for many years; there are at least 4 stores specializing in chocolate on this short street, two of which have a long history – Granja La Pallaresa and Granja Dulcinea. Granjas (Granges) were once shops specializing in dairy products.

ceramic plaque on concrete wall, picture, interior of a restaurant with two round tables, people sitting at tables with cups of chocolate

below: Upper “De quant encara era nou i romantic el dinou”. The translation could be either “how new and romantic the nineteenth was still”, or “From when the nineteenth was still new and romantic”
Lower: “De llavent ide ponent tot el da hi passa gent”, translation: “From dawn to dusk, people pass by all day”.  This presumably refers to people walking along this street.  

two cermaic plaques on an exterior wall, in small street in Barcelona, one picture above the other. upper picture is three people sitting on a sofa in a room with mirrors, large picture on wall, and two other chais. two women, both in long dresses and one holds a fan. Bottom picture is people out walking in the street in period clothering, top hats and long dresses, boy with a hoop, lady with a yellow basket

below: Catalan text: “Pel balco veus tremolar l’ombra d’angel Guimera”, translation: “On the balcony you see the shadow of Angel Guimera trembling”. Note: Angel Guimera (1847-1924) was a Catalan playwright.

small ceramic picture on a wall, with catalan text Pel balco veus tremolar l'ombra d'Angel Guimera, picture is of two men standing on a balcony, blue shutters beside window,

below: “En un pis no sabem quin hi va viure Moratin” translation: “We don’t know which apartment Moratin lived in” . Note: Probably the writer Leandro Fernandez Moratin, (1760-1828) who lived in a hostel on this street in July 1814.

cermaic plaque on an exterior wall, a painting on it, of a writer at a desk writing with a feather quill pen, book case and window also in the room, above it is a small sign saying number 3 at Petritxol

below: “I la gorra ja no hi es… que duia el Senyor Pares”. Transation: “And the cap is no longer there… that Mr. Pares wore” In other words, Sr Pares took off his hat when he and his family were at the art gallery.

20 ceramic tiles together, with a painting on them, picture of man, woman & girl in pink dress looking at pictures on the wall of an art gallery while the owner looks on.

below: “El bateig i el casament”. Translation: “The baptism and the wedding.” That’s a rather short looking groom? The cutout of the man in the blue and white shirt with the funnel on his head is an added bonus!

top part of a large cutout of a man with a blue and white striped shirt and a grey funnel upside down on his head, he stands in front of a small wall with two ceramic plaques on them. the lower picture is of a bride and a groom.

Photos taken March 2023