February has started with a bang of fame, a fiasco. It all started because someone had written graffti on our fence and the neighbor’s fence. After a year of the graffiti being there, a month or so ago, the neighbor finally painted white paint on his fence. I tried to find an artist to paint a mural over ours.
During the past year, NO ONE SAID A WORD or DID ANYTHING about the graffiti. Not the city. Not the neighbors. Not the police. No one. Nada, zilch nothing.
A few people said they would paint a mural for me but flaked.
Finally, a few days ago, I found a group
831 Art Walls on Facebook…
https://www.facebook.com/831artwalls
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831 Art Walls is an advocacy group that is pushing for the creation of a public art space where ANYONE can paint legally and freely.
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We would like a legal art wall where anyone can come and paint to express themselves and experience the joy of creation. Our public art wall’s goal is to allow for artistic expression, as well as allow for more experienced artists to be noticed. Our neighborhoods are seemingly stale according to the youth. We feel that these walls can bring some life to the Monterey County. Like our page in a show of support for our cause!
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So I contacted them and said Seaside Artists could come and paint on our wall/fence. And they came to our house yesterday and painted away. I asked for a garden scene, with lots of vibrant colors. Maybe flowers with dogs/pit bulls coming up out of the center. Frank, the head artist said he wanted to ask the neighbor (since their fence is much larger than ours) if they could paint on their fence, too.
All was good. Everyone was happy. A lot of neighbors started coming by and asked Frank for him to come over and paint on their walls/fences, too.
About noonish, a police officer came by. She and I chatted about our dogs. She said that one of the neighbors had called about the graffiti that was going on. She was sent out to find out what was going on. I assured her that I had given Frank permission to paint.
Then about 4 p.m. the neighbor who hates pit bulls was out there bullying and threatening the artists. He said he was going to have 30 police cars and neighbors come out and stop/halt the painting. I told him to go away. His dog was running loose.
About an hour later, another police car came by. We chatted and he said that there was some city ordinance. I explained that the graffiti had been on the fence for a year and NO ONE came by but now that we were trying to make a mural to COVER the graffiti we were in trouble? He said he was just the messenger. That the artists cannot come by today to FINISH the work, and that I need to go to City Hall and get permission.
Seriously?
The neighbor received no such notice as I did so I thought that they cannot have different rules for neighbors. Besides, our fence is about two feet and the neighbors is about 12 feet. Hello. And the neighbor’s fence is almost done while our fence has just begun. And I found out looking thru the fence, they are now keeping poor Lola the mini poodle chained up on a short leash. Lobos, the Siberian husky, found a way to peek his head up out OVER the fence. If he ever gets out, there will be trouble. I wish I could get those two dogs a new loving home. I digress. Both dogs were barking a lot.
Frank should have painted MY wall first, completed it and then done the neighbor’s which I asked him to do and he went ahead and did what he wanted to do. now I’m not happy because my mural/garden did not get done, plus the neighbor who called the police is up in arms, and I got a notice to go to city hall and my adjacent neighbor did not and it was my adjacent neighbor’s fence that the other neighbors objected to. My fence is maybe 2 feet and the adjacent fence of my neighbor is like 12 ft.
The 831 Wall Art folks are going to talk to the Mayor and the Police Chief. I will call a lawyer and we shall hopefully get this resolved.
They did take photos and are supposed to send them to me.
Moral of this tale?
if/when someone asks you to do work for them, paid or not, DO IT… complete it… Give the customer/client what THEY want. That is YOUR job (not doing whatever you want to do).
and
✦✧✦ I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together. – John Lennon
the city, neighbors, media did nothing about the graffiti that was on the fence for a year and it was ugly… f bombs and now all the entities are up in arms because I had artists paint over the graffiti…
I was on TV twice tonight, did an interview, TV crews all day here… the neighbor caved and painted his fence, whitewashed it…
and I got another neighbor to do an interview so at least there were two sane people talking on the interview… and his daughter painted some of my fence too… and he said there should have been a compromise but it was just knee jerk reactions, hysteria.
it occurs to me that what happens when/if graffiti artists come and paint on the neighbors fence AGAIN… how many times will the home owners be expected to paint over the graffiti???
there is a city council meeting tonight and the loud mouths are supposed to be there running their mouths, negatively…
here is our fence… with the mural… am sure my roomie will paint over it… sheeesh…
me on the news… meanwhile Cici was running around wild, barking, wanting to be famous, on the news, too… but alas she is confined sort of. am doing a poor job of keeping her off her leg but at least she is not hopping/limping… what a day !
http://www.ksbw.com/video/30365312/detail.html
Time for our weekly Pet Blog Hop thanks to Life with Dogs,Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume… Grab the code and hop away…
