Harriet is originally from Munich and moved to the Bay Area about 14 years ago. She’s been a painter her entire life and her artwork is in collections all over the world, from Germany, to Japan, Australia and the United States. Her newest series is called “Yellowstone.”

The Visual Arts Committee decided last year that the artists featured in the lobby may also sell their artwork if they would like to do so. There are prices on the artwork if it is for sale. A small percentage of the price goes to the Center. It’s really nice for the community to get to look at beautiful one-of-a-kind artwork and to know that they can purchase the items as well. The exhibit changes every 8 weeks. Artists from all over the United States submit their work for this show. The Visual Arts Committee spends a great deal of time studying the images and deciding who will be selected. We’re lucky to live in a community that cares this much about art.

The lobby is open Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12 pm to 1 pm and one hour prior to every public performance. The artwork that is for sale may be purchased at the ticket box office Wednesday through Saturday, from noon to 6 pm. For information about upcoming theater productions, please visit the Events Calendar for the Center for the Performing Arts.

 Some of the more recent pieces of public art include the art glass window above the CVS drugstore at the intersection of California and Bryant Streets, and the fence to the Childcare Center on Escuela Avenue. If you go to the city website you can connect to a map of all the public art in Mountain View. Click on each number on the map and a photo will pop up of the art that is in that location on. This map was created as a community service project by several students in the Leadership Mountain View program a few years ago.

 The art in the photograph above is number 24 on the map and it’s called “Boy and Girl in the Calla Lilies.” It is between City Hall and the Center for the Performing Arts. It’s a favorite of many people who work and play downtown and it’s definitely one of the most colorful pieces that we have.

 It is the responsibility of the Visual Arts Committee to send out the “Call for Artists” and then to select the artwork that would be most appropriate for the city to purchase. Their selections are then presented to the members of City Council for the final selection. Last week City Council viewed two pieces that were selected by the Visual Arts Committee for the new Fire Station. City Council voted and the artist selected was Vadim Goretsky. His tall bronze Geese-in-Flight piece will be in front of Fire Station #5 at the intersection of Shoreline and Charleston. Here’s an article about the City Council meeting when the selection was made.

 The Visual Arts Committee also selects that art that hangs in the Center for the Performing Arts. The next round of artists will be selected in the spring and the “Call for Artists” will probably be sent out in February. The request for submissions goes out to everyone on the city’s Artist Registry.  If you are an artist, or know someone who is, and would like to have your name(s) added to the artist registry, please send an email to Michelle.Coral (at) mountainview.gov. Please include your name, contact information, website and media.

 Next time you’re downtown and have a few minutes to spare go inside the Center for the Performing Arts and look at the latest art to adorn the walls. If the Center is closed, but the Bean Scene is open, you are free to go through the coffee shop to get into the Center. Each artist’s work is on display for about 7 weeks and is viewed by thousands of people that go see performances at the center. All over town we have incredible public art to enjoy so take a minute to look at the map in this article and then walk or ride your bike by a few pieces that you might not have known about.

Mountain View Reads Together has selected The Mailbox by Audrey Shafer as the book for 2009. We heard that there will be numerous exciting events planned around this book including a speaking engagement with the author, who is a proud

On a similar note is the City of Mountain View October Arts Challenge. We’re so lucky to live in a community that promotes appreciation and involvement in the Arts. To get involved in the October Arts Challenge simply create some art, appreciate some art and tell others how the art affected you and your name will be entered in a drawing for some great prizes. For more information and for the entry form, go to the Mountain View Arts Challenge website. This is part of a month long celebration for National Arts and Humanities Month. So let’s all be extraordinarily creative for the next few months…