We're starting our mural!

First, introductions: We are Debbie Koppman and Amanda Lockwood, two Dimond neighborhood Oakland artists , both teaching art at Sequoia Elementary School. We've been working for years to create a sustainable art program at our school ( A very special Oakland public school at that) and we want to create a large mural honoring the diverse history, culture, flora and fauna of the Dimond Neighborhood. The Dimond is a great little secret spot in Oakland, nestled against the hills and loaded with wonderful creative people... and it really does deserve honoring.
We've been struggling to find funding in these uncertain times, and recently received word that we are being granted the Innovators' Award from Oaklandish! Which means we've got enough money for one panel of the mural. It's to be painted on the Fruitvale wall of Farmer Joe's at Macarthur... and as of now it looks like we are good to begin painting in September! We'll be collaborating with our students in the classroom, and incorporating their vision of our community into the mural to create an exciting interpretation of one of Oakland's many unique neighborhoods, as seen through the eyes of its youngest inhabitants....

Thursday, October 21, 2010


We've started the mural! You can see us out there painting on Fruitvale & Macarthur on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and some Saturdays. There has been so much positive feedback and neighborhood cheers around the mural project! Check out the link below to see Tim Chapman's documentation footage of the painting in progress , he got some great images that explain a little bit about how we're using Sequoia childrens' drawings in our mural.

http://www.dimondnews.org/index_files/mural.html
Posted by at
Labels:

2 comments:

  1. Michele ThebergeOctober 27, 2010 at 8:52 AM

    What a beautiful project! Congratulations on getting funding and good luck with it.
    Enjoy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dimond NeighborhoodJanuary 21, 2011 at 7:21 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Suggestion Box

We want our mural to be as interactive as possible, not just for our Sequoia students but for the entire community. Tell us something about the Dimond that is special to you ; we'd love to hear your ideas and suggestions! You can put it in a post, or e-mail Mandy at amandalockwood9@gmail.com.
Links to the artists' websites:
www.mandylockwood.com

www.debrakoppman.com

Please contact either one of us if you have questions, suggestions, or would like to make a donation towards one of the "unfunded" panels .