"As my artist's statement explains, my work is utterly incomprehensible and is therefore full of…read moredeep significance."―Calvin San José has a long line of, shall we say, questionable Public Art (PA) projects; everybody knows about the giant dog turd statue Quetzalcoatl―or as I like to call him Quetzacaca ( goo.gl/lvswBr )―in the Plaza de César Chávez. Let's also not forget the Fallon Statue debacle ( goo.gl/wKEv0g )―and don't get me started on the mangled shopping carts (goo.gl/vbB6NE) passing for a statue on the corner of Alma Ave and Almaden Rd. Need I go on?! So, whenever CSJ does something right I love to point it out. I first read about Ursa Mater (aka Mama Penny Bear) in the Merc from my buddy Sal Pizarro's column. Ursa Mater is a gigantic piece of coin art that was put together by Hayward-based artists Mr & Mrs Ferguson. She first made an appearance at last year's Burning Man festival and is now prominently displayed in Paseo de San Antonio―just east of Plaza de César Chávez, right by Bijan Bakery. The statue of Mama Bear and her two cubs sits at least 10-12' tall and is completely covered in 200,000 pennies ($2,000 worth) to make up the bears fur. It's pretty cool to look at from afar, and even cooler up close. I suggest getting here quickly to check her out, as she will only be on display until the end of May. And then we'll be back to staring at Quetzacaca forever. FOL...

I like to think that these represent the bear on the California flag. The name Ursa Mater…read more Is an excellent play on words by the artist. Ursa Major is Latin for "greater she bear" So Ursa Mater translates roughly to "She bear of matter" ( I only understand a very small amount of Latin so this may or may not be the exact translation). The bear and her cub are made of pennies so it seems the artist's intention was to make a realistic mother bear out of " matter" , hence the name. Also behind the pennies is a concrete core. It's as if these bears have a real fur made out of metal. As the previous reviewer said, there are are a lot of bad San Jose art pieces, but this one is fantastic. Just an edit: it seems to be gone now. Very sad.

Wasn't able to go due to a schedule conflict and had to cancel the day before. Sandy, their Senior…read moreGuest Relations Host, not only got the tour canceled and refunded, but she emailed me right away to let me know everything was handled. Appreciate the wonderful customer service, looking forward to being able to go visit sometime!

I have come here for the Halloween special and their regular guided tours…read more For their Halloween event, I highly enjoyed it! They make a lot of effort to decorate and set up a spoooky ambiance. The cast were really into character and it was really fun. I also enjoyed their Halloween styled drinks - it truly set the mood! For the regular tours, I was pretty disappointed. For the following reasons: - tour was WAY too big (could not hear and it was hard to follow along) - tour content was a bit lacking. I came in with a rough idea of who Sarah Winchester was and didn't learn much beyond that. Might be different if you don't know anything about the area though - tour guides were kind of cranky. Our tour guide seemed pretty annoyed throughout the whole thing and I saw multiple other tour guides (ours included) yell at guests which was super awkward Nonetheless it is amazing to have such a historic landmark nearby. The staff do an amazing job of preserving it and it is very well maintained. You can tell they all take pride in working their and in conservation of the house, which was nice to see

I have been going to Christmas in the Park pretty much all of my life. It has changed a lot, little…read moreby little every year. Some people might not notice the little changes but I have. It's free and a San Jose tradition and always a treat to walk around and get into that festive Christmas spirit. There are hundreds of decorated Christmas trees around the park and also wonderful lights strung around the park as well. I love checking out the different organizations that have their trees there and also the wonderful displays. I love how some of the displays have been updated year after year with new modern versions. They also have added lots of more food, drink and merchandise vendors and a lot of them are pretty good as well. I do miss having the little replica of the San Jose Light Tower and also the snow machines in the park. I hope they bring both of those back at least. But I know Christmas in the Park keeps on evolving and having new and exciting things every year. I look forward to visiting the San Jose tradition year after year and making more new memories. By the way, there's free parking in the city-owned parking garages for the first 90 minutes. Or you can park on the street for free after 6:00 p.m. as well.

We had a large party staying across the street to see the lights and experience Christmas in the…read morePark. Myself & my BF had never been before; however it has been a tradition for some of our family. We had a total of 13 people from more than 1 state staying to experience this. There was street vendors, pretty lights, a tavern, many trees decorated all located near the ice rink and local hotels. It was a nice experience to take the kids to walk through the Christmas spirit and see all the different decorations.

5 stars because it's free and I enjoyed my time…read more Pretty chill art museum I liked all the variations of soccer balls and one painting really caught my attention. I appreciate that it is free. They close early so go before 5pm. I was late and only had 30 minutes to end it that was enough time. I ended up sitting outside and just journaled about my day. Such a relaxing evening.

This was actually my second time ever at this museum, I came a couple years back when they had a…read morechalk festival. If you ever get the chance to come show up both days so you can see the artist outlines, and when they start everything, and then day two to see the finished product!! This particular day I went with my dad and Brother to check out what new art pieces they had. We spent about an hour walking through and looking at everything. My brother, major in art and could tell us about different types of oil/paint that was used and how it would last over certain decades or fall off and crack ! Lol so I found the history of how well each artist project with withstand the time of life very interesting as well. I will definitely come back when this gallery changes to another theme! It also has a very nice park. I just wish there was a coffee shop or Matcha shop nearby! Hee

Lupe the Mammoth is a cool (not so) little structure on the Guadalupe River Trail about 4 miles…read morefrom Alviso. There's not much around the area, so unless you are biking or jogging on the trail, it might seem out of the way to view such a simple little-known monument. But it has a neat little story behind it for anyone interested in art, science, history, or nature, or even just cool quirky attractions that are free of cost. A guy came across the collection of bones while walking his dog along the trail back in 2005. How awesome is that, it's like finding a dinosaur in your backyard! The actual remains can now be found at the Childrens Discovery Museum in San Jose where they can inspire kids to "dig for fossils" and explore the past, but the unique sculpture on the Guadalupe River Trail marks the setting of this magnificent discovery. And it is far from ordinary. It's beautifully crafted out of bent steel pipes, and almost twice the size of the actual baby mammoth remains. The area and the exhibit itself are not run down by trash or graffiti or shady characters, so it makes for a pleasant experience and worth checking out. The area is actual pretty quiet and scenic, besides the Trimble Road highway (there's an underpass that connects the trail if you're looking to cross the busy street). It's surrounded by business parks, with private parking only. So there is no parking at the exact location of the mammoth statue. However if you're driving, there is free street parking on Seaboard Ave (6am-10pm), next to the nearby 76 gas station, within walking distance... Though the sculpture can easily be viewed from Trimble Road, please don't stop on the street (illegally) and block traffic. This isn't the most exciting attraction in San Jose so you shouldn't have too high of expectations. But if looking for a low-key outing that won't cost you a penny, this is a great option (to appreciate this work of art in person, not just through photos).

Columbia mammoth spotted along the Guadeloupe Trail! Ok, actually it is only the whiff of a memory…read moreof a memory locked in a skeleton fossil over 12,500 years old. A sculpture of a mammoth made of what looks like curved metal bars sits under a tree waving at commuting cars trundling along the street. It is massive and I think quite cool. I hope the city makes it a habit of putting more sculptures and works of art along the trail. There is a small information board that gives you the low-down on Lupe, her discovery, and how old it is. A cool snippet of one of the coolest cousin to elephants that used to wander in Silicone Valley in the Pleistocene period. Tres cool! The large metal structure isn't in the best location, but can easily be visited by joggers, walkers and bicyclists wandering along the Guadeloupe trail where is passes through the city of Santa Clara.

Desire is a public art installation located in the Willow Glen District of San Jose. It is one of 3…read morepieces purchased as part of a downtown beautification effort. Desire, created in 2014, is the work of San Jose artist Jeff Owen. From the artist "My sculptures combine the past and the present. I have a deep affinity toward the materials I work with, a wonderful sense of emotion, feelings, and dreams for what the material was once used for and now what it will become in my hands. These feelings direct me on my path. My processes emerge with patterns. Taking one piece of steel; adding to it, deleting from it, constantly discovering the metal's unique appeal. When a sculpture encompasses all of my creative energy, it is finished. My technique is brute force, decide-at-the-moment. The interesting shapes of metal; the patterns, textures, and grains; all entice me. I am fascinated with form. My aspiration is to create sculpture that is completely unique; that no one has done before. I resist conformity and mass production. My art is as individual as I am." The sculpture is both complex and simple with the rust of the corten setting off the red orb in the center. Desire is best part of a larger trip and there are plenty of shops and restaruants in easy proximity to it.

My friend took me here to celebrate my bday and it was such a cute and fun experience!! We did the…read morecandle making and pressed flower candle holder class! First we chose our scents and blended color and scents into our two candles and then from our leftover we got to make a special mini candle combining all of our candle wax! The color came out cute for the combo one! Then we glued on pretty pressed flowers into the glass to hold our candles!! It was so fun and a great place to yap away and craft together! Emir also holds other craft classes in the studio as well which all look fun and interesting!

This was a great experience. I got to spend some one on one time making these cute little frames of…read morepressed flowers! Plenty of flowers and leaves to choose from. The facility was clean and warm. The restrooms were separate but also clean. Emir was awesome! He made us feel welcomed and explained everything thoroughly. I'd take more of these classes. :)

This sculpture has an intricate seek & find pattern showing elements of Asian positivity. Enjoy…read morefinding the hidden imagery! The Key shown in the attached photo allows one to locate everything within. Have fun in celebrating Asian culture!

This is a fairly new sculpture by Roger White Stoller, a 2021 art piece that looks brand new…read moregleaming in the sunlight, located at Heinlenville Park in Japantown (a park that's new as well). I'm familiar with one of his other artworks, Tetrahelix, in Mountain View, and the similarities are easily recognizable, yet the meanings behind the works are unique. The stainless steel Sheltering Wing combines different images beautifully in its design, including bamboo, lotus, butterflies, wind, and clouds, in honor of the Chinese and Japanese cultures, as well as John Heinlen, a German immigrant and landowner who welcomed Chinese immigrants from one of SJ's 5 Chinatowns that burned down in the 1880's. He helped them rebuild their community and established Heinlenville, SJ's longest lasting and final Chinatown, which ceased to exist in 1931 due to anti-Chinese immigration laws and the Great Depression. The site is located in what today is Japantown. Sheltering Wing is more than just a sculpture, it's a wonderful display of art, culture, and history.