Remembering Margo Lovelace by Logan Davidson Randolph

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She has never had the notoriety or instant recognition among the public that other puppeteers like Jim Henson or Fred Rogers have known, yet she is a world class, international award winning, puppeteer that ran her own theater here in Pittsburgh for years.

The purpose of this mural was to introduce Margo Lovelace and her legacy to those of us who were unfamiliar with her, and to bring back the childhood memories for those who experienced her shows first hand.

Margo Lovelace Visser began her lifelong relationship with puppets in 1949. She traveled the world studying and acquiring a diverse collection of masks and puppets of every style. In 1957 she opened a studio in East Liberty, but it wasn't until 1964 that she converted a garage in a house on Ellsworth Ave into the Lovelace Marionette Theatre Company (LMT Co) – the country’s first privately owned puppet theater. Over the years the LMT Co not only entertained local children with both classic and original stories, but they also trained and apprenticed them through schools and workshops.

In the late 70’s they moved to the Carnegie Museum of Art theater. There was also a three week engagement at the Smithsonian. When she donated her collection to the Pittsburgh Children’s Museum in 1985, the 284 puppets represented 35 cultures.

We stopped by the Children’s Museum to see some of those puppets. We did not see the ones depicted in this mural, but we thought you might like having a taste of what else is in the collection anyway. Not all of the puppets at the museum are from the Margo Lovelace collection. Many of them are not identified one way or the other, but we've included a sampling of what was on display here. You can visit the museum to see more.

Salvador, German hand puppet.

Horse Marionette

Karagoz, Turkish shadow puppet.

Mexican Judas Figure

Minister Wu from Nightingale.

Puss in Boots

Red Riding Hood

Scandanavian hand puppet of a princess.

Below are some of the ones that were not labeled. We don’t know if they were from the Lovelace collection or not.

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Blowing Bubbles mural artists unknown

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A mural of pure, simple fun on the side of the Loyal Order of Moose Lodge 581. They’ve created a small park area with flower boxes and picnic tables and this colorful mural as a backdrop.

We’re told the mural was a part of the 2013 Love Your Block event, which is a servePgh initiative. The idea being to beautify the city one block at a time, servePgh offers grants for supplies and equipment for volunteer block improvement projects. In 2014 there were 18 organizations that received grants for projects to mobilize community volunteers to transform blighted lots into community assets. This was the sixth year of this program.

Update 2015: This mural is gone.

AKA Doris by Laura Jean McLaughlin, Bob Ziller

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We had heard there was something new happening in this small, neighborhood garden in Bloomfield, so we rode over to see what we might find. To our great pleasure we discovered that Laura Jean McLaughlin and Bob Ziller were in the process of creating another mosaic piece for this beautiful spot.

We noticed how the creature’s back looked like it might be perfect for kids to sit on.

Curious about the small prisms we saw scattered around the tall tail, we looked closer we found kaleidoscopes! How cool is that? The best part is that they’re positioned for both the young and the young at heart – so we didn’t have to kneel down to try them out.

We plan to return once the sculpture is completed to get updated photos and information. It’s a wonderful addition to the garden and the neighborhood.

UPDATE:
We contacted the artists for more information and Mr Ziller told us

"There will eventually be a bird house and a weathervane on top of the tail, and the top of her head contains a basin which funnels rainwater out of her mouth, which will go into a mosaic birdbath in the shape of a big teacup (which has yet to be made/funded)."

He also directed us to the Facebook page for The Octopus Garden where there’re photos of the construction from the beginning. They also show you how to make your own kaleidoscopes like the ones embedded in Doris’ tail.

In an interview with this Sea Dragon on that FB page, we learn that Fabulousa Lochnessa Kaleidoscopa Mosaica comes from Loch Ness in Scottland. Her famous sister (Nessie) calls her Bessie, but her friends call her Doris.

Doris is being worked on every afternoon except Sundays and the public can participate with placing the tiles. This is a very cool project and we recommend you stop by if you can. Even if you can’t stay to help, it’s worth it to see the process.

UPDATE:
We rode by in late December to check on Doris. It appears that Doris herself is complete. The birdhouse has been started, but no sign of the weathervane or birdbath yet. We noted some other additions to the garden and are looking forward to seeing it in the spring again.

UPDATE 5 May 2014
The birdhouse is finished. No sign of the birdbath or weathervane yet, but Doris and the surrounding garden appear ready for spring.

Welcome to Braddock by New Guild Studios

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The artists at New Guild Studios in Braddock worked on this new welcome sign for a long time. Installed on the opposite end of town from James Simon’s mosaic welcome sign, this one is completely in tune with the other side of Braddock. While the mosaic celebrates the fun, whimsical side of this tough, little borough’s personality, this one celebrates the history and backbone of the town.

Five hand–painted layers combine with a neon element that simulates the pouring of molten steel into a mold of the town’s name. All of the images are straight out of the steel history of Braddock. It’s a tribute crafted with love by artists who have made their home here.

You can see the three dimensional construction with the different layers in the above photo. We haven’t seen it at night, but the neon is on during the day also. If you look closely you can see the difference in the lighting between the first two photos.

International Children's Art Gallery mural

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We found this mural while riding up Penn Ave during a Flock Of Cycles monthly ride. We couldn’t stop then. The Flock was on its way to an evening picnic at Point State Park and some things just take precedence. We returned about a week later to see what this was. Located on the side of the International Children’s Art Gallery it appears to be a bit of a disjointed sign for that business. They have no other signs indicating what’s in this building. You really have to stare at the design to figure out what it says though. Not really a clear message for the average passerby. It’s bright colors do, however, get your attention.

We’ve located no artist information yet and very little about the gallery itself so far.

UPDATE:
7 Apr 2014
Our friend and fellow cyclist, Paul Heckbert, sent us this photo showing revised artwork at this location:

photo by Paul Heckbert

UPDATE
The mural has changed again:

A Scene from a Garden by multiple artists

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This is one of two Oakland murals done in 2013 by the Green Team of the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation, in partnership with the MLK Community Mural Project.

An article in the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation’s newsleter said residents decided the tone of the murals. They wanted a tranquil feel that reflected their vision for a greener Oakland. The newsletter quotes one of the young artists as saying I think the mural represents how the Oakland community has become more natural. The tree within the mural represents life and growth in Oakland.

In that same article we read that lead artist Olga Brinda used photos of her mother’s garden to create the final design.

Mural of a Park Scene by multiple artists

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One of two murals done in this neighborhood in 2013 that was sponsored by the Green Team of the Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (OPDC), and executed by local youth with the leadership and guidance of the MLK Community Mural Project.

According to the OPDC newsletter, the residents wanted a tranquil scene, and this design produced a very peaceful view. A snapshot of a day in a park. Perhaps Schenley Park?

Allentown Mural Asteroid Way by Lucas Stock

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This mural was along the route for the 2013 Pedal Pittsburgh ride, but it was positioned so it was behind you as you rode past it – so it was easily missed. On the return leg of the ride, which passed about a block north, the bright colors jumped out immediately from across a vacant lot. When I stopped at an intersection, a lady standing there with her son noticed where my attention was focused and told me that it was a new mural. She said they had gone over to look at it and thought the subject of it was Puerto Rico.

We had received an email about this mural so I already knew that the themes (provided by the artist, Lucas Stock) were historic landmarks, unique architecture, stained glass art, ethnic and religious symbolism and neighborhood diversity. The artist hadn’t mentioned anything specific about Puerto Rico, but now looking closely at the mural, I could see what looked like the Puerto Rican flag on the right side.

One of the perks of getting directly in touch with an artist is hearing or seeing some of the insight on the design process. In this case, Mr Stock shared some photos he took to document that process:

A pencil sketch of the original design. Photo by Lucas Stock

The filled in sketch. Photo by Lucas Stock

The final product. Photo by Lucas Stock