Potrero Hill, San Francisco

From Sharon Virtue

Funded with a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission, the Spirit Garden project is being conducted at Potrero Hill Neighbourhood House garden at 827 De Haro St in San Francisco.

A proposal was made to renovate and replant the gardens and to build a mosaic bench. There have been several renovations to the design so far because not all the funding requested was received.

The Spirit Garden Bench (or throne as neighbors are calling it) was completed in the last week of August 2006. The Project was to build and mosaic a bench, dedicated to the memory of Enola Maxwell, in the gardens opposite Potrero Hill Neighborhood house. It has been a huge artistic success, although ideas of how to create the bench had to change, the final artwork is well received by the Neighborhood house in whose park it now sits, and all the neighbors who have watched its progressive creation. There were approximately 20 youth enrolled in the summer programs who helped with the program, but as the project grew about 8 neighbors who use the park have also participated in mosaic work and gardening. The project grew, as I envisioned the garden falling under my care and enrolled in the neighborhood parks council to ensure sustained maintenance for the artwork and gardens into the future.

The successful aspects of the project were the community participation. The students of the “Nabe” helped to enlarge the scale drawings and make tiles that were used to decorate the bench. Also the neighborhood participation. Neighbors seeing that there was an art project in the long neglected park were enthusiastic and joined in.The work is not over … now we want to try and create a garden that all the neighbors can enjoy more fully with beautiful plants and more carefully laid gardens. We will be trying to create a neighborhood garden group that can water the gardens on a regular basis, while the new plants are taking root. Also there is an oportunity to create more mosaic pieces for the flower beds.

We would like to raise funds to have some of the old dead trees removed, around $150 for one large shrub cut back and $250 to have it completely removed and plant something more pleasant in its place.

Volunteers are needed to help with the garden and mosaic work so if you’re interested please contact me. Thank you.

Sharon Virtue
www.virtuevision.org