The Sonoma List: 5 things you forgot were around the Plaza

Out of the shadows

“History hiding out in the open.” That’s how Karen Barrett of California State Parks described the “shadow cast” murals at the Casa Grande state park site when it made its debut on the back fence of the Spain Street property in 2014. The silhouette-like paintings by Colfax artist Jim Bowers depict several scenes from Sonoma’s past to its present, including Native Americans, missionaries, a merry-making Gen. Vallejo, Mexican soldiers, Bear Flag revolutionaries, quarry workers and a modern-day state parks ranger named “Robin.” The “Shadows Project,” painted over the course of two days using shadows cast by real-life stand-ins, isn’t everyone’s cup of vino, but it’s unlike any other public art in Sonoma. And maybe anywhere else for that matter.

Jason Walsh

Spy cam

Sonoma residents seems split as to whether the live camera feed above the Plaza is creepy or cool. Three years ago, LiveFromSonoma.com helped solve the mystery of who had dumped a body in a barrel in front of City Hall. Last year, during the October fires, the feed was a great resource to anyone who fled town or now lived elsewhere who wanted to keep an eye on the situation downtown. And when the smoke blanketed town during the Butte fires last month, there was another resurgence of interest among those checking air quality from the safety of their homes. Whether you smile and wave or hide under your jacket as you cross the streets on that Southeast corner, don’t forget to be on your best behavior, you’re on Candid Camera.

Lorna Sheridan

Like a rolling stone

Sonoma is arguably a slice of heaven on earth, but beyond its borders, a dark world spins. Pushing back against the tenor and tone of the times is Ann Clark and her “HopeLoveJoy” project. Clark spends her weekends painting good thoughts onto smooth stones, and then slips into the Plaza to leave them for strangers. They are secreted into nooks and crannies all over town, pretty little treasures meant to encourage their finders. Hope. Love. Fidelity. Faith. Values that make life sweeter when embraced. There’s no hidden agenda or motive for profit, just one woman determined to let her light shine.

Kate Williams

The giving tree

Sure, the guy’s got a statue on Spain Street and his own historic house a short walk down the road, but did you know Gen. Mariano Vallejo also has his own tree?

Looming over the West Napa side of the Plaza is the Memorial Redwood dedicated to Vallejo, in honor of his founding the Pueblo de Sonoma in 1835. According to the plaque at the base of its trunk, the tree was planted in 1948 by the Native Daughters of the Golden West, Sonoma parlor 209.

In its 70 years on the Plaza, the tree has grown to a mighty height and is now a favorite spot for picnickers looking for a bit of shade, pedestrians pausing for a rest and, on occasion, a dude spread-eagled for an afternoon nap. Gen. Vallejo, thy legacy carries on.

JW

Spider rider

Putting the “rack” in arachnid, that spider-like metal sculptor off to the west side of City Hall is perhaps the most oddly shaped bike rack in the county. Custom designed in 2010 by local metal sculptor Bryan Tedrick, the city-commissioned rack was the initial result of the city public art program adopted in 2009. The “artistic bike rack” is clearly denoted at its base as being for bicycle parking, yet views of its flowing curves are rarely encumbered by flashy frames or fat tires -- mostly because not every rider recognizes the steely beast as a place to park their Trek.

Rarely have the worlds of art and exercise ridden so perfectly in tandem.

JW