Theo's first mural walk

One of the fun things I did during my last month of maternity leave was go on a mural walk through the mission in SF.  On art matters, I tend to remain ignorant until someone *literally* implants information into my head.  For this reason, I thought a tour was in order, as I’ve lived in the bay area for 8 years and never learned about the history of murals in the mission.  This tour was a U of C alumni event, and while I was a little skeptical about spending time with fellow alums, we managed to successfully maintain our distance (and therefore create some gentle padding).  My first observation (as it has always been in regard to U of C alumni gatherings) was:  “Why is everyone wealthier than me?”.  Then I pondered whether they were actually super wealthy or if that’s just the impression one gets around well-educated and worldly old people. 

But (as usual) I digress!  We started off with a lecture on the mural as art.  I learned that acrylic paints were developed from the collaboration between an artist and a chemist in Mexico because the muralist wanted a better outdoor paint.  I learned that the only difference between and mural and graffiti is “permission”.  I also learned that murals have sort of an organic life.  They stay up until they no longer can (because of environmental wear) and then there is an attempt made to honor the original muralists theme in replacement.    
Most of the murals we saw depicted the struggle of the working class, whether from government oppression or economic challenges (which are usually entangled in government affairs).

Here are some pictures from Balmy Way.

 

Baby's first docent-led art tour (setting him up for a lifetime of extreme popularity!)

 

This one was of mixed media and obviously spoke to me at this point in my life (minus the missing arm).  

 It's a very colorful and quaint alley...

Of course I liked this one the best--its cartoonish quality and a robot made of Victorian houses (Victorion)! The robot is protecting the mission from gentrification. 

Let's look at it close up:  The protector robot is squishing a would-be developer who wants to buy the old homes and turn them into condos.

This one is good for some chuckles:  "Hipsters: unique together"

 Finally, Victorion thrills the young children.

The description of this mural made me teary eyed as those are the eyes of a 4 year old girl who lost both of her parents in war (parenting now makes me cry when not only children have pain, but also other adults.  I watched the movie Drive the other night and got emotional over the death of a grown man character because I thought, "he's someone's baby").  Also, the door was created after its surroundings (the owners decided to get a new garage door), and therefore a lot of thought went into how to make it blend in with the backdrop.

This is currently the oldest mural in the mission (it's from the 60's).

Who doesn't love the sight of fruit/veggies on the sidewalk.  We are so lucky that this is abundant, easy and cheap!

We ended the tour in this amazing little park with a mosaic snake.

We finished the day with a meal at El Metate (where a fellow diner told me to cherish my time with Theo as they grow up so quickly.  The fact that this is often said to me is really scary/bothersome.  It's like there is a culture of regret surrounding the early years of children. Is the regret over not spending enough time with them?  Over taking them for granted?  I really want to look back at this time and feel like it was awesome and complete.  How do I make this happen?  PARENT WORRIES!)