MEET ME BY THE MURALS

Scenes of suburban life pepper the construction barriers by California Avenue, each composed of thousands of tiny colorful dots, hand-painted by local artist Judy Lew Loose. Passersby, California Avenue shoppers, and the construction workers overlooking it all take in the reflection of life in Palo Alto.

California Avenue is home to many murals sponsored by the Palo Alto Public Art Commission inspired by its “unique character, [...] diverse community, rich history, and iconic landmarks,” according to their website.

Last year, four murals popped up on the walls in between Park Boulevard and Birch Street. Although they’re all there for the same purpose — brightening the community around them — their artists all had different journeys and goals while creating the works of art.

Judy Lew Loose’s watercolor pointillism gives new life to the mundane parts of California Avenue – her murals, which are located in front of the Sherman Avenue parking garage, center around everything from readers on park benches to hat racks on the sidewalks.

“My experience was about trying to have a feeling of connection, whether it be the people or the stores,” Lew Loose said. “Anything that came into my vision, I wanted to connect with it in some way.”

“If people can have kind of an imaginative experience looking at the paintings, that’s nice to me, no matter who it might be,” said Eva Struble, the artist behind “Sediment Atlas,” a mural on Birch Street that shows various plants that grow around the Bay Area.

“The nice thing about doing a largescale outdoor piece is the possibility of seeing it differently in different views,” Struble said. “One goal I have for my public work is that people can go by it multiple times and discover different things every time.” text and photos by sarina grewal

Lew Loose also wants her mural to inspire a sense of fellowship in the inhabitants of the avenue.

“I want people to think, ‘I would love to come to this avenue [...] and be a part of the community,’” Lew Loose said.

“I want my art to be a platform that shares stories of people whose stories might not be as well known, and and I want to include those stories alongside everyone else’s stories,” said Deborah Aschheim, whose mural “Friends and Neighbors” lines the alley behind Jacaranda Lane.

“The beauty of it all is that anyone who comes to the avenue experiences a moment in time, of connection,” Lew Loose said.

The PAPAC are still looking for new muralists to work on projects in 2023.