Category: Art

Next time you’re driving through the part of town where Harbor Blvd. kisses 19th Street, you might notice that a heretofore nondescript bench alcove, alongside Triangle Square, has received a fresh (and refreshingly floral) coat of paint. The piece – titled ‘Costa Mesa Bloom’ – is the latest in a recent flurry of new murals to hit the City of the Arts. It’s is a beautiful, abstract, showstopper-of-a-mural – designed and painted by acclaimed artist Aaron Glasson…

Every community has its share of seminal moments. Here in Costa Mesa, 1986 was a biggie. That was the year the Segerstrom Center for the Arts – a sprawling, performing-arts campus located at Bristol and Town Center Drive – first opened its doors to theatergoers, dance groups, theater troupes and more. The debut was pivotal, encouraging our city to slowly dogleg away from its ‘goat hill’ moniker, and grow more fully into a “City of the Arts” future…

The I Heart Costa Mesa team will never stop “hearting” the utter delight of unearthing local finds. Just when we think we know it all, have seen it all, have covered all Costa Mesa has to offer – then something as simple as a trip down Superior Ave. yanks us right back into the arms of wonder and discovery. We were recently flung into amazement’s embrace by a larger-than-life, window-cling portrait of a Shepherd-Chihuahua mix; the sweet, sincere face of a beautiful dog, known to her family as ‘Roxy.’

It’s a gorgeous Saturday afternoon to be taking pictures. And that’s exactly what Melissa Brown is doing. She’s shooting product shots for her friend and client, Andrea of Luna Reece Ceramics. We’re in Andrea’s Eastside backyard, with a backdrop pinned up against the fence and a collection of colorful ceramic pots around us. I wasn’t planning to participate in this photo shoot, I just wanted to see Melissa in action…

Walking up to the Eastside garage studio, I feel a mix of nostalgia and anticipation. It’s been awhile since I was around this much clay, and the fine gray dust that sits daintily on top of everything reminds me how much I love ceramics. I’m also fangirling a bit over meeting Andrea Luna Reece, the artist behind Luna Reece ceramics. I first saw her work at the Patchwork Show in Santa Ana, and I’ve been an avid follower of her Instagram feed ever since. She welcomes me warmly, dusts off a stool and invites me in for a chat…

We love interviewing all manner of Costa Mesans, but must confess, the city’s ‘creative types’ are some of our favorite subjects. Maybe it’s unearthing each unpredictable interest they’re ‘into’ at the moment, or the thrill of pacing the breakneck speed of their ideas. Maybe it’s plumbing their vast depths of self-reflection, or the hilarity of a non-linear sense of humor. Usually, it’s all of the above… and all at once. A swirling whirl of ideas, laughter, stories, show-and-tells (and sometimes, tears) that leaves us utterly inspired and happily exhausted….

When we use the term ‘city’ to describe Costa Mesa, it’s easy to mentally mistake it for a singular, finite entity. An object. A thing. But if I Heart Costa Mesa has taught us anything, it’s that ‘city’ is just a word trying very hard to wrap its arms around a much more complex and undulating aggregate of ideas, concepts and characters. That the true, tangible ‘realness’ of Costa Mesa does not begin and end along the edges of her borders – but with the living, breathing individuals that move about her middle.

The well-known British sculptor, Antony Gormley, is often quoted as saying: “I believe in the city as a natural human environment, but we must humanize it. It’s art that will re-define public space in the 21st Century. We can make our cities diverse, inspirational places by putting art, dance and performance in all its forms into the matrix of street life.” He should know. He’s spent a lifetime creating sculpture designed to adorn public spaces.