Redlands City Art

Back to my day in Redlands for a moment. Lots of beautiful things to see (besides the clocks, the library, and the Lincoln Memorial Shrine.

Here is the newly-restored Millard Sheets mosaic titled “Redlands Heritage.” The building was originally a Home Savings and Loan, but now there is a restaurant in that space.

Like other streets with umbrellas which decorate (as this one in Zürich), Redlands has Umbrella Alley with cute shops and other artworks.

There are also many murals throughout the downtown. I spotted this one in an empty lot near the freeway.

Clocks, and Something New!

One of the things that drew me to choose a day in Redlands was the clock tour. Downtown has seven beautiful clocks. You can pick up a brochure with locations and information (and a little quiz with a treat for answering the questions) here.

The main clock is the Sister Cities Clock which show the times of Hino, Japan, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, and Linli, China. It is a kinetic clock, and on the hour balls roll down the tracks. Here’s a YouTube video of the clock in action.

This clock is on a brick building from 1891 which was first a harness store and a YMCA library.

This clock is on a building that used to be a speakeasy. It is now an event venue called Speakeasy on State.

Here is the SOMETHING NEW!

Over the past two and a half years, I have been writing a children’s fantasy novel for ages 8-12 (called middle grade in the industry). It was inspired by my times in Zürich, Switzerland and my love of the train stations and clock shops. Here is the pitch:

Eleven-year-old Kyra feels as though she came from another world. Her purple cat-like eyes are like no one else’s in Turicum where she was abandoned as a baby at the railway station’s newsstand. When she finds a broken pocket watch and note from her ma, she knows that fixing it must lead to finding her parents and discovering who she is.

Kyra apprentices with curmudgeonly Mr. Horace, and the watch starts ticking. Her ma, Ilaria, appears, though briefly. Kyra learns that Ilaria is a Time Spryte who cannot stay in one time for long. Mr. Horace uses Kyra’s new-found knowledge of the watch to trap Ilaria. However, his knowledge is incomplete, and he creates a temporal anomaly threatening everyone in Turicum, including Kyra’s only friends, the Bain family. Her impossible position: create a future with her ma or save the Bains and the city.

At the moment I am querying agents to see if anyone wants to represent this book. My working title (which could change) is AMETHYST MOON: A TALE OF TURICUM.

I have started a new Instagram account called turicum_tales. I would love it if you are on Instagram to follow this account. I will be posting photos of clocks, trains, books, bookstores, libraries, and more.

A. K. Smiley Library in Redlands

What a beautiful space! I could spend many happy hours in this library. It is next to the Lincoln Memorial, so you only have to park once.

There are so many lovely architectural details. Like stained glass,

carved wood,

and lovely atriums.

The Friends of the Library bookstore has many, many shelves of organized books for great prices!

Lincoln Memorial Shrine in Redlands

How does a blogger celebrate a birthday (the Beatles birthday, if you know what I mean)? Find a new place to take photos! It’s nice to have a June birthday when the weather is usually good.

In my music-teaching days, I went to Redlands 3-4 times per year for workshops. Afterwards some of us would go to lunch in the cute downtown, but I had never really looked around town. My good friend, Atlas Obscura, (and a friend) pointed me to the Lincoln Memorial Shrine, the only museum and archive for the president west of the Mississippi.

The original center of the building is a hexagon with lovely art in the cupola.

If you are interested, the nice docent behind the desk will tell you the history of the building in less than 10 minutes. The side rooms (newer additions) have some art including this:

and the original Norman Rockwell’s The Long Shadow of Lincoln.

There are many things to see in this free library which is open many afternoons from 1-5.

ICCAOSA Workshop

I love to take photos at an Orff Workshop – a time for classroom music teachers to learn new and fun ways to teach music to kids. The Inland Counties Chapter of the AOSA had a workshop on Saturday at the University of Redlands presented by Andrea and Joey Coleman. Here are a few of my favorite shots.