Beaver Visibility Project: Part I
Tonight’s presentation to the Parks, Recreation, Marina, and Cultural Commission will include a presentation on the proposal for children’s tile art on the Escobar bridge. Alhambra Creek’s “troubled waters” has been the subject of much consternation and joy for the past two years. Let’s build a monument to mark the journey! The tiles were created with the help of artist Frogard Butler at our beaver festival. Others were added under supervision of Jill Harcke at the John Muir Mountain Day Camp. They are waterproof, weatherproof, and weary-proof. They are delightful to look at every time I see them.
The idea is to use the blank wall of concrete along the Escobar bridge as a base and to install three 6 foot long panels framed in cobalt blue. Each panel will have three blocks of nine tiles each, which will allow the images to be broken into visually pleasing palates, like patches on a quilt. The surface will be treated with a graffiti protection, so that any unwanted marks can be easily removed. We have already consulted with a general contractor who outlined the necessary steps and is willing to help with the project for cost.
It is interesting to consider that other than the beavers themselves and some little images on the kiosk, there is no visual reminder of the beavers in the entire city of Martinez. Information come from the media, the website, and the brochures we hand out at the library and train station, but don’t represent the city itself. Martinez, who has picked up the tab for the necessary flow device, (and that unnecessary other thing), has not taken credit in a proud visual way for an accomplishment that is recognized as far away as Tampa and Memphis. The bridge project would acknowledge the hard work done by our city and our residents, and the truly remarkable achievement we have accomplished.
Think about it: Martinez took a very conflictual issue and wove it into a trademark. Not only a trademark–but one that is still continuing to renew our urban creek and generate new interest in our city. How often when you tell people where you are from do they ask, “Oh you mean where the beavers are?”. I can’t remember the last time someone responded by asking me about the refinery blowing up.
The tile project would be a monument to the work we have done to beat our swords into plowshares…(our fears into flow devices?). It would be paid for entirely by Worth A Dam, and could be supervised by the city. And it would be really cute.
Part two of the Beaver Visibility Project would be interpretive signs, but we’ll talk about that later. Come see more at tonight’s presentation, or join us for moral support. The meeting is at 7 pm at city hall. The beavers have may have made “troubled waters” for Martinez, but only a fool would fail to see that they’ve been the bridge as well.
