Beauty of Balboa Park

This project will be a series of five textile designs based on San Diego’s Balboa Park. Balboa Park was established in 1915 as the site of the Panama-California Exposition. While the exposition closed two years later, the architecture, and the park’s status as a public recreation space, remained and the park evolved into one of the true gems of the city.

 

These designs attempt to capture some of the most unique aspects of the park, as well as the sense of joy I experience every time I visit. A couple of prints will play upon cobblestone patterns which mimic the feel, if not the actuality, of the streets of Balboa Park. One will be brightly colored to imitate the cobblestones of the vibrant Spanish Village Art Center while another will be in sunshine-like golds with architectural motifs to pay homage the Spanish Colonial Revival Architecture. Another pair of prints will play upon the arches of the Spreckels Organ Pavilion and will attempt to capture the different moods of the park lit during night or day. A final print will honor the Botanical Garden and the koi pond in front of it, a scene noted as one of the most photographed spots in the city.

 

Utilizing these motifs, I will create repeating patterns printed primarily with photo-emulsion silkscreen techniques, with details created through direct dyeing, resist, immersion dyeing, and discharge dyeing methods. The simple and cheerful attitude will be captured in the color palette built up around the central colors of blue, pink, and gold within my designs.