Heath Ceramics – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

Lincoln Park Steps

Posted by Cindy on August 10, 2015

Aug 102015

Lincoln Park
End of California Street

Lincoln Park was dedicated to President Lincoln in 1909. At the terminus of California street just past 32nd Avenue sits the Lincoln Park Steps. These steps date to the time of the park and were the access for the surrounding neighborhood. If you simply sit on the benches at the top of the hill you can enjoy views of downtown and fog permitting, the East Bay hills.

A photo from the early days of the area

In 2007 Friends of Lincoln Park began a campaign to have the stairs structurally supported and brought back to their glory days.

With the help of the San Francisco Parks Alliance, William Duff Architects and BV builders the stairs sit more elegantly than ever.

Artist Aileen Barr, who has been on this website many times for her tile stairways and other tile work around San Francisco, was the lead artist on the project.

From left: Riley Dotey, Phylece Snyder and Aileen Barr

From left: Riley Doty, Aileen Barr and Phylece Snyder

She was aided in her efforts with tile setters Riley Doty and Phylece Snyder. The tiles, stamped periodically with the names of the project’s donors and sponsors, came from Fireclay Tile and Heath Ceramics.

The project was done in two parts.

Phase 1 consisted of the structural improvements and art tiles for the top bench and retaining wall. This phase was completed in 2010. You can see pictures and read about that phase here.

Phase 2 included the structural repair and tile placement to the stairs, pillars and midway benches. The cost of the structural repairs was funded in part by a grant given to Friends of Lincoln Park for $180,000 from the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department, Community Opportunity Fund. The grant was contingent on the success of Friends of Lincoln Park to raise private funds of at least $250,000 to cover the cost of the art tiles and installation

Visit Aileen Barr’s website for a larger view of her work.

Eduardo Pineda and Ray Patlan Grace the Jose Coronado Playground

Posted by Cindy on September 14, 2012

Sep 142012

Jose Coronado Playground and Clubhouse
21st and Folsom
Mission District

Raizes/Roots, Ray Patlan and Eduardo Pineda, Jose Coronado Playground Clubhouse

The entire exterior of the Jose Coronado Clubhouse is sheathed in eleven hundred terra cotta-colored tiles, designed and hand-painted by artists Eduardo Pineda and Ray Patlan. The tiles depict Aztec-inspired images of birds and frogs in a repeated, checkerboard pattern. The pattern is interrupted periodically by large tile figures of animals and plant forms. Over the Center doorway are two highly stylized king buzzards (Cozcacuautli), in shades of terra cotta, near a blue coyote (Itzcuintli). A polka-dotted deer cavorts on the east wall, along with images of a hummingbird and flower, in yellow, orange and blue. The richly-textured and colored surface, with its warm, deep colors and stylized indigenous images, was created in recognition of the Mission District’s still predominantly Latino community. Artists Ray Patlan and Eduardo Pineda met with the local community and worked with the project architects before identifying a theme and materials for their art. They chose images of flora and fauna in order to highlight nature in this very urban park, as a reminder of the impact of civilization on the natural and indigenous worlds. They chose tile as a way of integrating their art into the architecture and in reference to the great Pre-Columbian ceramic tradition. In addition to designing the artwork, the artists hand colored the tiles, working over more than a dozen weekends. They were helped by Sausalito’s Heath Ceramics, which manufactured and fired the tiles, and ceramic artist Horace Washington, who advised them on the technique of spray painting and stenciling on tile. Eduardo Pineda and Ray Patlan have a long history of involvement with the mural movement, the Mission District and Jose Coronado Playground in particular, in fact, their work at Jose Coronado goes back more than 21 years. Ray Patlan began working with young people to paint murals in the park in 1979, as a way to combat the gang activity in the area. He and Eduardo Pineda worked with a second generation in 1986, and led a third group, including the granddaughter of one of the original artists, to complete the murals in the early ‘90’s. Both artists have committed their working lives to the community, as artists, educators, and administrators. As leaders in San Francisco’s Mural Renaissance they were instrumental in the creation of Balmy Alley, at 24th Street, where you can see their work today. Raizes/Roots was commissioned by the San Francisco Arts Commission for the Recreation and Park Department. It is now part of the collection of the City and County of San Francisco.