Second of a five-part series exploring public art sculpture in the city of Santa Clarita.
In 2009 the Santa Clarita City Council demonstrated its commitment to public art when it founded the Santa Clarita Arts Commission.
In a further vote of commitment to the arts the Santa Clarita City Council approved the Arts Master Plan in 2016 which has become the Arts Commission’s guiding document to provide arts, entertainment and cultural development throughout the city.
As part of the plan the following vision statement was issued:
“The city of Santa Clarita will be recognized as a ‘city of the arts,’ where the lives of residents, artists and visitors are enriched through artistic and cultural experiences.”
The plan mandated that public art planning and selection utilize peer review and community input to ensure that public art pieces meet the goals of providing enjoyable and attractive public spaces that reflect the character of the community.
Susan Shapiro, a member of the Arts Commission, said the implementation of an Arts Master Plan was a milestone for the commission.
“The Master Plan made it possible to show the city’s commitment to public art,” she said. “In addition, the Arts Master Plan is an important way to show support for artists in the community.”
Focusing on Sculptures
This five-part series will mostly focus on public art sculptures which reside within the city limits of Santa Clarita. Many of the sculptures are located in city parks.
Public art sculpture in Santa Clarita includes 46 installations, some include more than one sculpture piece, listed on the city of Santa Clarita Public Art Tour, of which five are temporary sculpture installations.
To see the full tour visit https://scpublicart.goodbarber.app/art-pieces/c/4.
This second exploration of public art sculptures in Santa Clarita starts in north Valencia at the northwest corner of West Creek Park and ends on Newhall Ranch Road at Heritage Park. You will visit seven public art sculptures on your journey.
Along the way you will visit two of the six “art bears” that grace sites around Santa Clarita.
The California Bear Project, developed in August 2004 by the city, installed life-sized fiberglass representations of the famed California Grizzly Bear from 2005 to 2018 throughout Santa Clarita.
Each life-sized replica is more than 10 feet in length and more than 5 feet tall.
Many Santa Claria residents have heard stories of a large grizzly bear killed in the Santa Clarita Valley in the 1800s.
The grizzly was reportedly killed by John Lang in 1875 near Lang Station in Canyon Country.
The model for the bear on the California state flag was a bear named Monarch, a grizzly, captured in an 1889 publicity stunt orchestrated by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. The 1,100-pound bear was captured in Ventura County, or the San Gabriel Valley, according to conflicting reports. He spent his remaining 22 years in captivity on display for thousands of Californians to see in Woodward Gardens, Golden Gate Park and the San Francisco Zoo.
Monarch is the model used not only for the bear appearing on the state flag of California, but also the blank model used for all the bear sculptures in the California Bear Project.
To begin the second public art tour visit:
Endangered Fossils
24247 Village Circle Drive
Valencia, CA 91354
Artist: Judith Modrak
Date: 2022
Material: Aqua-Resin Cast
Placement: Northwest Corner of West Creek Park
Endangered Fossils represent an imagined archaeological excavation and the discovery of a new organism. The sculpture pays homage to our beloved mother earth at a critical time requiring everyone’s involvement.
Meet artist Judith Modrak in this video from SCVTV:
Street Gates is located at Fire Station 156. The artist currently resides and works in Berkeley, where he was commissioned by the Berkeley Arts Commission to create the Mandala Gates for the city of Berkeley Corporation Yard. His work has been featured in various museums and galleries and he is well known for his metal gates which he says “are among the most noted and public aspects of my work. I have made gates for cities including Madison, Wisconsin, Oakland and Berkeley, California and also for many historical buildings and private homeowners.”
Fire Pit
24525 Copper Hill Drive,
Valencia, CA 91354
Artist: Matt Dehaemers
Date: 2011
Material: Concrete, glass (material), stone (rock)
Placement: Fire Station 156
“Fire Pit” is located at Fire Station 156. The fire pit is placed in the station’s exterior courtyard. The surface is richly colored and patterned in lithocrete and the “pit” is a carved-out boulder. Dehaemers projects were recognized four consecutive years (2004-2007) by the Public Art Network’s “Year in Review,” a prestigious, annual selection of the best new public artworks in the nation.
Transit Bear
28250 Constellation Road,
Valencia, CA 91355
Artist: Mike Burton
Date: 2007
Material: Fiberglass
Placement: Transit Maintenance Facility
The Transit Bear depicts the various forms of transportation that can be found in the Santa Clarita Valley.
This trailside art piece by local sculptors Idelle Tyzbir and Dianne Foderaro serves as the focal point of the entrance to the trail, greeting trail-goers as they enter the area.
The 15-foot-tall monument showcases three vertical steel beams, each with two arms pointing in the general direction of an assortment of historical landmarks around the Santa Clarita Valley, including The Oak of the Golden Dream, Newhall Ranch, Mentryville, Lyons Station and the Golden Spike.
Basics #56
San Francisquito Creek Trail
Parking and restrooms for the San Francisquito Creek Trail are available at Valencia Heritage Park, 24155 Newhall Ranch Road, Valencia, CA 91355 and West Creek Park, 24247 Village Circle Drive, Valencia, CA 91354.
Artist: Matthias Neumann
Date: 2022
Material: 2×4 Wood
“Basics #56” is part of an ongoing series of temporary public art installations realized throughout the country over the past nine years.
While each sculpture within this series is unique to its site, all installations share certain features, such that they are made from 2×4 dimensional lumber, that they are located within a public setting and that they are conceived to be temporary.
Beyond its formal beauty, the work may ask: What does it mean to live in time? To participate in public space? And to be part of the most basic material culture that surrounds us?
Birds of Valencia
24061 Newhall Ranch Road,
Valencia, CA 91355
Artist: Douwe Bloomberg
Date: 2008
Material: Aluminum
Location: Bridgeport Marketplace
Featuring 65 cast aluminum birds, each with a wingspan of more than five feet, this sculpture rises above a lake surface to over 17 feet in the air. Set amongst several sails, the piece was a unique engineering challenge.
The Heritage Bear
24155 Newhall Ranch Road,
Santa Clarita
Artist: Scott Groller
Date: 2005
Material: Fiberglass
Placement: Heritage Park
The Heritage Bear features a photographic collage of Santa Clarita history and events. Half of the bear is covered with historic pictures, while the other half is covered with pictures depicting modern day Santa Clarita.
More than 400 photos were used to create the Heritage Bear.
Meet the artist Scott Groller and learn about the Heritage Bear in this video:
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With an excessive heat warning in effect this week, the city of Santa Clarita strongly urges residents to prioritize heat safety and preparedness during the Fourth of July Parade and the holiday weekend.
The city of Santa Clarita’s Film Office has released the list of six productions currently filming in the Santa Clarita Valley for the week of Monday, July 1 - Sunday, July 7.
Once again, the Santa Clarita Speed Skating Club will be hosting the Annual Western States Short Track Speed Skating Championships Saturday, June 29 at 1:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at The Cube – Ice and Entertainment Center, Powered by FivePoint Valencia, at 27745 Smyth Drive, Valencia, CA 91355.
Come elevate the drinking experience with a touch of eco-friendly sophistication as you fashion a repurposed wine bottle into a customized drinking glass.
With an excessive heat warning in effect this week, the city of Santa Clarita strongly urges residents to prioritize heat safety and preparedness during the Fourth of July Parade and the holiday weekend.
California State Sen. Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) hs announced his bill to make wildfire settlement payments tax-free cleared its first hurdle in the Assembly, passing out of the Committee on Revenue and Taxation.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) recently presented deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department with the highly esteemed MADD Award. This award recognizes their unwavering commitment to road safety and dedication to preventing the devastating consequences of drunk driving.
The First Presbyterian Church of Newhall is hosting an eight-week grief and loss recovery group, scheduled to run 2-3:30 p.m. on eight consecutive Sundays, Sept. 15 through Nov. 3.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has introduced a new online case management system that provides faster response times. The modern digital system provides drivers, as well as their attorneys, with a more convenient way to interact with the Driver Safety office at the DMV.
As an excessive heat warning descends upon portions of North County this week, including the Santa Clarita Valley, Los Angeles County officials remind SCV residents of county resources that bring free or low-cost heat relief.
The Santa Clarita Valley opera company, Mission Opera opens its seventh Season Oct. 26-27 with "Cold Sassy Tree" by Carlisle Floyd, an American opera in English, based on the 1989 historical American novel by Olive Ann Burns.
Thanks to the cooperation and diligence of Santa Clarita Valley area residents and local agricultural officials, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, working in coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner, has declared an end to the Tau fruit fly quarantine following the eradication of the invasive pest.
The Hello Auto Group has announced its third annual Back-to-School Backpack Drive. This year, the Hello Auto Group will partner with three Santa Clarita Valley school districts, Sulphur Springs Union School District, Newhall School District and Castaic Union School District, to support students preparing for the upcoming school year.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Missing Persons Unit investigators are asking for the public’s help locating At Risk Missing Person Tim Paul Hood.
The Los Angeles County Health Officer has issued an excessive heat warning for the Santa Clarita Valley Wednesday through Monday, July 8 as high temperatures have been forecast.
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, the largest and most diverse amusement park operator in North America, announced Monday the successful completion of the merger of equals between Cedar Fair, L.P. and former Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, effective July 1, 2024.
Organizers for the Santa Clarita Shakespeare Festival summer camp were so blown away by the performances from its young actors in the Comedy of Errors, that the camp has decided to lower the age range of its next camp, which begins July 8.
In preparation for the Independence Day holiday, the California Highway Patrol is launching a statewide enforcement effort aimed at keeping the public safe on our roads.
Santa Clarita-based Lief Labs, a premier formulation and product development innovator and manufacturer of dietary supplements, welcomes Randy Rosinski as Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), leading Lief’s Sales and Marketing departments and joining the Executive Leadership team.
Saugus High School Instrumental Music Booster Club is inviting the community to help those in need with its Clothes for Cash campaign beginning Saturday, July 6, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The city of Santa Clarita’s Film Office has released the list of six productions currently filming in the Santa Clarita Valley for the week of Monday, July 1 - Sunday, July 7.
By day, the sounds of music and laughter fill the streets as we celebrate Independence Day in true Santa Clarita fashion with the annual Fourth of July Parade.
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