September,2017

By Chris Faust

This article appeared in the September 2017 Noe Valley Voice

Upper Noe Rec Center has a colorful new addition. On a recent warm summer Saturday, over one hundred children and parents crowded the Day Street sidewalk to transform the park wall into a celebration of joy and community pride. In just a few short hours, under the labor of many tiny hands, the clean but plain, beige concrete canvas had metamorphosed into a dazzling work of art.

The process began early in the morning. Art teachers, using chalk and masking tape, outlined a paint-by-number style design, adding a dot of an appropriate color to each area. Volunteers, using small brushes, neatly applied color inside the lines. And while it seemed that the tiny bristles would be inadequate for the over one hundred foot long span of the design, the focus, enthusiasm and skill with which they were handled made color seem to leap upon the wall. Undulating green hills arose, stylized orange poppies popped out, and big blue waves swelled up like breakers upon the shore.

The theme is all San Francisco: flowers, hills, houses and the sea. California native species, like the poppies, mix with lupine and other wildflowers, while redwoods and Victorian houses dot the hills. The design is the work of  Anna Calonje, director of Little Artistas, an art school for children ages 1.5 to 10 with a location on Church Street in Upper Noe. “We wanted a design that honored California’s beautiful landscape but was fun and stylized, could handle friends of all ages participating and that highlighted native California plants,” says Anna. Visitors will notice that it works well, too, with the bronze native plant sculptures and the large Native Plant garden within the rec center grounds.

The project sparked from the civic notions of resident Sara Fenske Bahat. A mother of small children who over the years have attended Little Artistas, she was impressed with the murals the art school had created at Alvarado Elementary School. They have also painted murals at Cleveland Elementary, Buena Vista Horace Mann and Glen Park School. “I knew it was the kind of thing they were capable of pulling off and well,” said Fenske Bahat. The Rec Center came to mind because “it has great traffic and a ton of blank walls! For community impact, that was a logical location.” She floated the project at an Upper Noe Neighbors party last fall before joining the UNN board in March. Collaborative projects between park groups, businesses, non-profits and neighbors had been the focus of UNN discussion so the board unanimously and enthusiastically approved sponsorship of this mural. It all came together so well.

Working with Calonje, a concept and prototype developed before Fenske Bahat pitched it to Rec & Park where it met enthusiastic thumbs up, a perfect fit for the playground. Park groups Friends of the Noe Valley Recreation Center and the Upper Noe Community Recreation Council had been discussing doing something to the building or courtyard to add more color but had never considered a mural on the perimeter wall. Efforts there have centered on simply keeping it clean and well painted.

While the July 22 event was slated from 10 to 4, the size of the turnout and joyful focus of the artists -the children hardly noticed the free snacks and lemonade on hand- ensured that the work was mostly complete by 1 p.m. With the children dispersed for their naps, Little Artistas teachers continued adding stencils, touching up, and packing up. A few small children, showing up late, were sadly disappointed to miss the fun. With friendly smiles, paints and stencils came out of boxes. With gentle guidance, the teachers helped the tots to contribute their artistic talents proudly.

This was truly a family affair. Moms and dads joined in, too. Some used this as an opportunity to teach skills, while others reveled in the simple joy of painting. Brooke Wheeler, who lives across the street overlooking the activity, had never done something like this before. Since the task was open to one and all, she quickly grabbed a brush and joined in. As the work ensued, many children abandoned the swings and slides in the playground to join in the fun. Thus was the spirit of the event. Says Brooke, “It’s bright and cheery! What’s neat is how the colors are different in each type of daylight. Every time I look at it, it changes.”

Everyone involved in this project agrees that a great big thank-you is due Cheryl, Alvin and all of the staff at Upper Noe Rec Center for their enthusiastic support and logistical assistance.

Faust is chair of Friends of Upper Noe Recreation Center