Murals: 2000-2009
"Abundance and Prosperity For All"–2009
Location: 24th Street at Florida Street, San Francisco
Directed and designed by: Susan Cervantes
in collaboration with: Jason Gilmore
Private commission
Location: 24th Street at Florida Street, San Francisco
Directed and designed by: Susan Cervantes
in collaboration with: Jason Gilmore
Private commission
"Seeds of Peace"–2008
Size/Medium: 17’ x 46’
Directed and Designed with: community and in collaboration with Miranda Bergman.
Sponsored by: Precita Eyes Muralists
Funded by: Peace Center of Marin.
Location: Good Earth Natural & Organic Foods , 1966 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Fairfax
Size/Medium: 17’ x 46’
Directed and Designed with: community and in collaboration with Miranda Bergman.
Sponsored by: Precita Eyes Muralists
Funded by: Peace Center of Marin.
Location: Good Earth Natural & Organic Foods , 1966 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Fairfax
"Google Mural"–2008
Location: 345 Spear Street, San Francisco
Location: 345 Spear Street, San Francisco
"Children Connecting the World Through Knowledge and Understanding"–2009
Size/Medium:10’x40’ exterior mural
Location: China National Children’s Center, Beijing, China
Directed by: Susan Cervantes with 20 Beijing art teachers.
Funded by: the 1990 Institute Foundation.
Size/Medium:10’x40’ exterior mural
Location: China National Children’s Center, Beijing, China
Directed by: Susan Cervantes with 20 Beijing art teachers.
Funded by: the 1990 Institute Foundation.
“Determination”–2008
Size/Medium: 21’ x 19’
Location: Interior lobby, East Oakland Community Project Homeless shelter, Oakland
Designed with: Community and Catalina Gonzalez
Size/Medium: 21’ x 19’
Location: Interior lobby, East Oakland Community Project Homeless shelter, Oakland
Designed with: Community and Catalina Gonzalez
"Vamos Gigantes" San Francisco Giants Mural–2007
Location: PG&E Bldg. 19th & San Carlos, San Francisco
Location: PG&E Bldg. 19th & San Carlos, San Francisco
"Green Olympic Spirit"–2007
Size/Medium: 10’ x 40’ and 4’x 65’
Location: The China National Childrens Center, Beijing, China
Directed by: Susan Kelk Cervantes, Brenda Miller, and Fred Alvarado
Designed and painted in collaboration with: over 150 9th grade Chinese students for The Grand Mural Festival
Size/Medium: 10’ x 40’ and 4’x 65’
Location: The China National Childrens Center, Beijing, China
Directed by: Susan Kelk Cervantes, Brenda Miller, and Fred Alvarado
Designed and painted in collaboration with: over 150 9th grade Chinese students for The Grand Mural Festival
“Be the Change You Want To See In the World”–2007
Size/Medium: 15’x 70’
Location: 25th and Bryant Streets, San Francisco
Directed by: Precita Eyes Community Mural Workshop
Size/Medium: 15’x 70’
Location: 25th and Bryant Streets, San Francisco
Directed by: Precita Eyes Community Mural Workshop
"Dante's Divine Comedie: Inferno"–2007
Size/Medium: 30’ x 10’, acrylic on sheetrock
Designed and painted by: Susan Cervantes and Ellen Silva
Location: Dante Building, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA
Size/Medium: 30’ x 10’, acrylic on sheetrock
Designed and painted by: Susan Cervantes and Ellen Silva
Location: Dante Building, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA
DEscription
The dark forest in the background at the top of the design is where the story begins of Datnte’s journey through the nine circles of hell guided by Virgil. Leaping out of the wood on the far left are the beasts representing temptations symbolized by the lion, a leopard, and a she wolf. There he has lost his way symbolized by the dim sunlight behind the mountains This place also represents the first circle of hell known as Limbo where there are fields and a castle where Minos dwells who judges all souls of sinners. This is where Dante and Virgil take a ferry across the river Acheron to Hell proper piloted by Charon. Dante falls asleep in the ferry and does not wake until he is on the other side. In the center of the design is the Gate of Hell with the words over it Lasciatae ogne speranza, voi ch’intrate” (“Abandon all hoe, ye who enter here”). The Gate of Hell is formed by a single tree on top whose roots turn into the stonewalls of hell. Above the tree is a horrific storm cloud that is blowing everything over, pelting rain, fire and lightening constantly. The circles of hell are concentric, each one going deeper and deeper toward the center of the earth where Satan is held bound up to his waist in frozen ice. Satan is the central figure in the mural. He is described as having three heads and six eyes. You view him from the back therefore only seeing two heads a yellow one and a red one with boils and ooze through matted and rough ragged fur all over his body. His six bat like wings are dark red and transparent so you can see the circles of hell through them. He constantly flaps his wings to try and get loose from his bondage that causes everything to get colder and more chaotic. The Second circle shows lustful souls who are constantly blown around by the storm above. The Third Circle guarded by the three-headed monster Cerberus is gluttons forced to lie in the mud under continual cold rain and hail. The Fourth Circle are the avaricious who have to push weight against weight of their material possessions. The Fifth Circle is the swamp water of the river Styx where the wrathful fight each other on top of the surface. Dante and Virgil cross the river to the lower circles of hell. The city of Dis is visible here where lower hell begins. The Sixth Circle is the heretics trapped in their flaming tombs. The Seventh Circle housed the most violent divided into three rings. People in the first ring are immersed in boiling blood. The middle ring is the suicidal that are turned into gnarled thorny bushes. The inner ring are those against nature and art in a desert of flaming sand and fiery rain from the sky From here Dante and Virgil descend into the last two circles of hell by riding the back of Geryon a winged monster with a head of a man and body like a scorpion stinger. The Eighth Circle is made up of 10 ditches with bridges between them. The First Ditch is made up of seducers walking in separate lines in opposite directions. Ditch Two of flatters steeped in human excrement. Ditch Three are placed head first in the rocks with their feet in the air with flames burning on their soles. Ditch Four – Ten. The Ninth Circle is where the giants reside and among them the largest being Satan himself in Zone 4 Here the two poets escape by climbing the ragged fur of Satan and passing through the center of the earth emerging in another hemisphere beneath a starry sky.
"Dante's Divine Comedie: Purgatorio"–2007
Size/Medium: 30’ x 10’, acrylic on sheetrock
Designed and painted by: Susan Cervantes and Ellen Silva
Location: Dante Building, St. Mary’s College, Moraga
Size/Medium: 30’ x 10’, acrylic on sheetrock
Designed and painted by: Susan Cervantes and Ellen Silva
Location: Dante Building, St. Mary’s College, Moraga
Description
Virgil guides Dante to the outskirts of Purgatory and arrives at St. Peters Gate, which is represented in the center of the mural design illuminated in golden light symbolic of the celestial Air. On the right side of the design Dante enters Purgatory where an angel strikes him 3 times on the chest and paints 7 P’s on his forehead entering the element of Fire. After completing a terrace on Mt. Purgatory an angel will remove a P from his forehead and he becomes lighter and lighter. The base of Mount Purgatory is surrounded by Water. At these shores Dante and Virgil are attracted by a musical performance, which is symbolized by the sound and speech glyphs that surround Virgil on the left of the design. Virgil guides Dante through the seven terraces of Purgatory. It is a bright mountainside on the outskirts of heaven where they see people recovering and improving their lives. The First Terrace shows the Proud who have to carry heavy weights on their backs. They cannot stand up straight and have to keep their eyes on the carved stories in the pavement below. The Second Terrace of the Envious is faces of souls with their eyes sewn shut. The Third Terrace is the Wrathful who are walking around in acrid smoke shows how their judgment has blinded their vision. The Fourth Terrace of the Slothful is continually running a marathon to be forgiven. The Fifth Terrace of the Avaricious are found lying face down on the ground unable to move learning to turn away from material things. The Sixth Terrace of Gluttons who cannot have any food or drink to master their desire to eat. The Seventh Terrace is the Lustful burning in an immense wall of flames where they are purified. The journey up Mt. Purgatory ends at the top where the Garden of Eden stands before Dante. A large procession of souls circle around the garden. This is where Virgil’s guidance ends and Dante meets his new guide Beatrice. The river Lethe and the river Eunoe are in the background behind Dante and Beatrice under the Tree of Knowledge and the Tree of Life. They look toward the stars and anticipate the ascension to heaven.
"Dante's Divine Comedie: Paradiso", 2007
30’ x 10’, acrylic on sheetrock
Designed and painted by Susan Cervantes and Ellen Silva.
Location: Dante Building, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, California
30’ x 10’, acrylic on sheetrock
Designed and painted by Susan Cervantes and Ellen Silva.
Location: Dante Building, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, California
DESCRIPTION
Beatrice guides Dante through the nine spheres of Heaven. The mural represents this vision in the center with the Cosmic Rose created by angels in ten layers of petals in white and gold light. The Beautific Vision emanates from the Tree of Life behind it representing the earth with circles of air and fire. This is the culmination of their ascent to the highest heaven. At first they entered the Sphere of the moon whose cycles are seen moving around the Tree of Life. The Second Sphere to the Ninth Sphere in concentric circles are heavenly souls of the planets and corresponding colors, Mercury (orange), Venus (yellow-orange), Sun (yellow), Mars (yellow-green), Jupiter (green) where the angels create the words DILIGITE JUSTICIAM, Saturn (blue-green), Fixed Stars (blue), Premium Mobile (violet) Beatrice and Dante are in awe of the glorious vision. The Blue Madonna appears to Dante on the right side of the mural. God is represented as three large rings of light, the center orange, then yellow-orange to yellow-white on the outside.
"People Creating a Better World Through Art"–2006
Size/Medium: Acrylic on stucco
Contributing Artists: Mural designed and painted by the Precita Eyes Community Mural Painting Workshop participants directed by Susan Kelk Cervantes and assisted by Brenda Miller, Cory Calandra and Ernesto Aguilar in collaboration with the Urban Youth Arts Mural Program students directed by Fred Alvarado and Joshua Stevenson.
Location: 50 13th Street, San Francisco, CA.
Size/Medium: Acrylic on stucco
Contributing Artists: Mural designed and painted by the Precita Eyes Community Mural Painting Workshop participants directed by Susan Kelk Cervantes and assisted by Brenda Miller, Cory Calandra and Ernesto Aguilar in collaboration with the Urban Youth Arts Mural Program students directed by Fred Alvarado and Joshua Stevenson.
Location: 50 13th Street, San Francisco, CA.
Description
Ten students formed a core group of artists with several volunteers helping to create this mural. Some students took the theme literally, while others looked to metaphorical images to tackle the theme "People Creating a Better World Through Their Art". This mural represents people from different cultures and places coming together to make their world better through their art. On the left side of the mural there are two large hands painting the background. The palette is also made of clouds and the paintbrush is painting energy and fire. Below the paintbrush are children holding up their artwork and surrounded by art materials. Above them is an African woman painting her house. Above the woman are animals inspired by cave paintings that turn into flags from all over the world. Next to the door is a man in prison, he is working on a piece on a potter’s wheel, but the focus and energy that he is putting into his art releases him from his prison. In the middle of the mural is a group of woman playing music and dancing. One of the women is weaving a tapestry of color that is being lifted up to the sky by an angel. Some students choose to depict early human artifacts like cave drawings from Lascaux France, Egyptian pyramids, and Giant Olmec sculptures from Mexico to represent that spark of imagination from our ancestors that continues to inspire people to create a better world. As the painting unfolds to the right, we notice an image of a man playing a trumpet. His music creates a ribbon that floats behind the mural adding a light-hearted rhythm to the the painting the sky. Nearby is a giant hand, painted in intricate patterns, Mehndi; a ceremonial art form from ancient India. The artists also highlight story telling as art form. We see a tiger and scorpion in battle and cosmic stories representing two different zodiac systems. These young artist also turn to contemporary art forms to express themselves. They include comic book art, aerosol art, dancing, and DJ'ing. On the far right side we see a giant oriental style dragon exploding out of speakers. A DJ mixes it up on the turn tables as an aerosol artist hides his face while establishing his identity in urban San Francisco. The mural serves as a mix of cultures and thinking that push people to make the changes in their environment that create a better world.
"Pasado/Futuro"–2005
Size/Medium: Acrylic on brick
Mural Directors: Susan Kelk Cervantes with the Precita Eyes Community Mural Workshop.
Location: Jerry's Java and Tattoo, 24th and Potrero Streets, San Francisco, CA
Size/Medium: Acrylic on brick
Mural Directors: Susan Kelk Cervantes with the Precita Eyes Community Mural Workshop.
Location: Jerry's Java and Tattoo, 24th and Potrero Streets, San Francisco, CA
DESCRIPTION
Jerry’s Java and Tattoo Mural Project
The mural honors this place and its people during many phases of change throughout time. We respect diverse cultures and the people who bring these cultures together. A community is nurtured by and connected with the Earth and the generations from the past, current, and future. Preserving and celebrating Mother Earth and our cultural traditions sustains, feeds, and strengthens our souls and ensures the same for future generations.. The proposed mural design reads from right to left starting with an Ohlone dancer who is the original native and preserver of the area. He moves through a portal (the window on the building). It is a gateway connecting two neighborhoods (24th Street and Potrero Hill) and their attributes (garden, businesses, people) and their histories, present, and future.
The Ohlone figure is moving from past indigenous roots to the next culture and people who inhabited the area, the current Latino culture that has planted deep roots here. We walk into Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary - who is playing the guitar. This also emphasizes the importance of music celebrated by all cultures. The next figure is a pregnant African-American woman from the seventies with a sign expressing the needs of her community that is still relevant now. She too is looking through another portal (the other window) and the other side of the window represents our current neighborhood. Below are a group of children planting and harvesting in an abundant garden and dancing in a circle. The next figure is a mother pushing a stroller, joining the present-day café scene. The café is alive with people from different cultures and times. The African drummer is an important representation of the pulse of the community. We greet the Aztec inspired figure who has stepped out of the past experiencing yesterday’s and today’s landscape. Potrero Hill, known as goat hill, is in the form of a breast – where nourishment provided food for the surrounding community.. You see the view from Potrero Hill over the bay and prominent institutions such as SF General Hospital and the housing projects. In the cloud above the hill is a custom low-rider bicycle, part of Mission District culture, emphasizing our need to seek ways to preserve our environment and encourages this as a modern alternative to other modes of transportation. The clouds enveloping the sky move on to become cultural motifs. The Aztec is sharing a cup of java with a beautiful Cambodian princess. Her dress and body art compares other traditions and shows elements of different cultures and how they express their appearance. This figure reminds us of all the Asian refugees who also helped build our communities in the bay area. The woman with the outstretched arms with a coffee/heart tattoo is a modern symbol of the origins of coffee (past and present). Her tattoo becomes tattoo flowers growing in the foreground. Finally, our eyes rest on the sun. The sun is a very strong and colorful image symbolic of this place. In the center is a hawk inspiring and encouraging us to remember and go back to a vital place where we feel our connection to the Earth, the seeds, the water, the creatures.. The circle is divided into the four directions, north, south, east, and west. The rays of the sun are the colors of a sunrise - a new day. The rays are also decorated with a treble clef and staff. The musical notes and birds (dove and cranes– peace; humming bird – spirituality; albatross – freedom) symbolize harmony, hope, and creativity. These ideals are also vital to a growing and changing neighborhood. By Precita Eyes Community Mural Workshop participants Lauren Quock, Schahera VanDyk, Ana Szumonski, Justine Ferguson, Adrian Cotter, Zandra Urbina, Marian Ring, Bodil Schmidt, Erica Kent, Fred Alvarado, Cory Calandra, Cynthia Roman, Brtenda Miller, Ernesto Aguilera, Kristen, Naomi Miller-Wave. Directed by Susan Cervantes, Founder Precita Eyes Muralists.
The mural honors this place and its people during many phases of change throughout time. We respect diverse cultures and the people who bring these cultures together. A community is nurtured by and connected with the Earth and the generations from the past, current, and future. Preserving and celebrating Mother Earth and our cultural traditions sustains, feeds, and strengthens our souls and ensures the same for future generations.. The proposed mural design reads from right to left starting with an Ohlone dancer who is the original native and preserver of the area. He moves through a portal (the window on the building). It is a gateway connecting two neighborhoods (24th Street and Potrero Hill) and their attributes (garden, businesses, people) and their histories, present, and future.
The Ohlone figure is moving from past indigenous roots to the next culture and people who inhabited the area, the current Latino culture that has planted deep roots here. We walk into Zapata, the Mexican revolutionary - who is playing the guitar. This also emphasizes the importance of music celebrated by all cultures. The next figure is a pregnant African-American woman from the seventies with a sign expressing the needs of her community that is still relevant now. She too is looking through another portal (the other window) and the other side of the window represents our current neighborhood. Below are a group of children planting and harvesting in an abundant garden and dancing in a circle. The next figure is a mother pushing a stroller, joining the present-day café scene. The café is alive with people from different cultures and times. The African drummer is an important representation of the pulse of the community. We greet the Aztec inspired figure who has stepped out of the past experiencing yesterday’s and today’s landscape. Potrero Hill, known as goat hill, is in the form of a breast – where nourishment provided food for the surrounding community.. You see the view from Potrero Hill over the bay and prominent institutions such as SF General Hospital and the housing projects. In the cloud above the hill is a custom low-rider bicycle, part of Mission District culture, emphasizing our need to seek ways to preserve our environment and encourages this as a modern alternative to other modes of transportation. The clouds enveloping the sky move on to become cultural motifs. The Aztec is sharing a cup of java with a beautiful Cambodian princess. Her dress and body art compares other traditions and shows elements of different cultures and how they express their appearance. This figure reminds us of all the Asian refugees who also helped build our communities in the bay area. The woman with the outstretched arms with a coffee/heart tattoo is a modern symbol of the origins of coffee (past and present). Her tattoo becomes tattoo flowers growing in the foreground. Finally, our eyes rest on the sun. The sun is a very strong and colorful image symbolic of this place. In the center is a hawk inspiring and encouraging us to remember and go back to a vital place where we feel our connection to the Earth, the seeds, the water, the creatures.. The circle is divided into the four directions, north, south, east, and west. The rays of the sun are the colors of a sunrise - a new day. The rays are also decorated with a treble clef and staff. The musical notes and birds (dove and cranes– peace; humming bird – spirituality; albatross – freedom) symbolize harmony, hope, and creativity. These ideals are also vital to a growing and changing neighborhood. By Precita Eyes Community Mural Workshop participants Lauren Quock, Schahera VanDyk, Ana Szumonski, Justine Ferguson, Adrian Cotter, Zandra Urbina, Marian Ring, Bodil Schmidt, Erica Kent, Fred Alvarado, Cory Calandra, Cynthia Roman, Brtenda Miller, Ernesto Aguilera, Kristen, Naomi Miller-Wave. Directed by Susan Cervantes, Founder Precita Eyes Muralists.
“Espiritu y Corazon”–2004
Size/Medium: Exterior south facing wall 17’x 80’
Location: Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose.
Directed by: Susan Cervantes
In collaboration with: the Mayfair District, artists and residents
Size/Medium: Exterior south facing wall 17’x 80’
Location: Mexican Heritage Plaza, San Jose.
Directed by: Susan Cervantes
In collaboration with: the Mayfair District, artists and residents
“Community Wisdom”–2004
Size/Medium: 14’x 18’
Designed and painted by: Susan Cervantes
Location: Eeast facing wall of the Leonard R. Flynn Elementary School,, at Harrison and Cesar Chavez Sts., SF Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant.
The first “Poly fresco” mural publicly demonstrated, a new innovative approach to mural painting.
Size/Medium: 14’x 18’
Designed and painted by: Susan Cervantes
Location: Eeast facing wall of the Leonard R. Flynn Elementary School,, at Harrison and Cesar Chavez Sts., SF Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant.
The first “Poly fresco” mural publicly demonstrated, a new innovative approach to mural painting.
"Alemany Farmers Market Community Murals"–2003
Size/Medium: 80 stalls over 4,000 square feet, acrylic on stucco
Directed by: Susan Kelk Cervantes
In collaboration with: the farmers market community, youth, artists and volunteers.
Contributing Artists: Marcella Ostrovsky, Diallo Jones, Ellen Silva, Luz Cervantes, Jaime Wynn, Henry Sultan, Molly Marino, Susan Cervantes, John Santos, Jason Gilmore, Christy Majano, Suaro Cervantes, Cynthia Roman, Joseph Norris, Josh Stevens, Richard Purcell, Paco Alvarado, Diane Parkhill, Yarrow Lutz, Rebecca Peters, Patricia Rose, Molly Nardone, Crystal Lim, Emily Lackman, Fred Alvarado, Jennifer Low, Gosha Chen, Kenneth Malcolm, Mashiro Okasda, Ruben Antonio, Leanna Blankenship, and the Youth Mural Workshop
Location: 100 Alemany Blvd., Alemany Farmers Market, San Francisco
Funded by: the Mayor’s Neighborhood Beautification Fund.
Size/Medium: 80 stalls over 4,000 square feet, acrylic on stucco
Directed by: Susan Kelk Cervantes
In collaboration with: the farmers market community, youth, artists and volunteers.
Contributing Artists: Marcella Ostrovsky, Diallo Jones, Ellen Silva, Luz Cervantes, Jaime Wynn, Henry Sultan, Molly Marino, Susan Cervantes, John Santos, Jason Gilmore, Christy Majano, Suaro Cervantes, Cynthia Roman, Joseph Norris, Josh Stevens, Richard Purcell, Paco Alvarado, Diane Parkhill, Yarrow Lutz, Rebecca Peters, Patricia Rose, Molly Nardone, Crystal Lim, Emily Lackman, Fred Alvarado, Jennifer Low, Gosha Chen, Kenneth Malcolm, Mashiro Okasda, Ruben Antonio, Leanna Blankenship, and the Youth Mural Workshop
Location: 100 Alemany Blvd., Alemany Farmers Market, San Francisco
Funded by: the Mayor’s Neighborhood Beautification Fund.
“Whole Food, Whole People, Whole Earth”–2003
Size/Medium:14’x25’, exterior mural, acrylic on wood and stucco
Location: Whole Foods Market, Berkeley, CA,
Directed and designed by: Susan Cervantes
In collaboration with: the market community
Privately funded
Size/Medium:14’x25’, exterior mural, acrylic on wood and stucco
Location: Whole Foods Market, Berkeley, CA,
Directed and designed by: Susan Cervantes
In collaboration with: the market community
Privately funded
“Garden of Friendship”, 2003
Size/Medium: Exterior 17’x70’
Location: Childrens art center, St. Petersburg, Russia
Directed and designed by: Susan Cervantes
In collaboration with: Children, parents teachers and guest Russian artists and Precita Eyes
Size/Medium: Exterior 17’x70’
Location: Childrens art center, St. Petersburg, Russia
Directed and designed by: Susan Cervantes
In collaboration with: Children, parents teachers and guest Russian artists and Precita Eyes
"Millennium Mural"–2002
Size/Medium: 10’x 90’ stucco wall
Location: 30th Street Senior Center, 225 30th Street, San Francisco
In collaboration with: more than 50 seniors.
Sponsored by: the San Francisco Arts Commission Special Projects Grant
Size/Medium: 10’x 90’ stucco wall
Location: 30th Street Senior Center, 225 30th Street, San Francisco
In collaboration with: more than 50 seniors.
Sponsored by: the San Francisco Arts Commission Special Projects Grant
"Maitri: Compassionate Friendship"–2001
Size/Medium: 14’ x 44’
Location: Maitri Aids Hospice, Church and Duboce Streets, SF, CA, exterior façade, east facing Church Street
Direction and design: Susan Cervantes
Assisted by: Jaime Wynn and 30 community volunteers.
Funded by: Rebuilding Together
Size/Medium: 14’ x 44’
Location: Maitri Aids Hospice, Church and Duboce Streets, SF, CA, exterior façade, east facing Church Street
Direction and design: Susan Cervantes
Assisted by: Jaime Wynn and 30 community volunteers.
Funded by: Rebuilding Together
“Soul-Journey”–2000
Size/Medium: 34’x187’
Location: Exterior facade, Bayview/Hunters Point Foundation, 1625 Carroll Ave. at 3rd Street, San Francisco
Directed and designed: in collaboration with other artists from the community
Size/Medium: 34’x187’
Location: Exterior facade, Bayview/Hunters Point Foundation, 1625 Carroll Ave. at 3rd Street, San Francisco
Directed and designed: in collaboration with other artists from the community