This artwork was created as part of the East 14th Street Corridor Improvement Project. The Corridor Improvement Project extends from 162nd Avenue to Interstate 238 in the Ashland community in unincorporated Alameda County. Motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and residents in the Ashland community will enjoy a revitalized, safe, and accessible commercial corridor. Artist Miriam Klein Stahl was selected through an open, competitive process by a Selection Committee of community members who live or work in Ashland plus one local artist.
 
The overall theme of the artwork is “Keep Close to Nature.” The artwork is about the beauty of the natural world, resilience, and a sustainable future for communities. The imagery explores how all the living things in the neighborhood live together and are interdependent. The original artworks are handmade paper cuts. The paper cuts were digitized and the designs were laser cut into metal panels, sandblasted on seating, and featured on street banners and utility boxes.

Cut Metal Art Panels: A total of 17 artwork designs were created for the metal panels that are placed in the street medians. The designs feature plants as food and medicine as well as animals that are pollinators. The images illustrate the interdependent cycle of life and celebrate the diversity of our local ecosystems. The designs include a variety of local flora and fauna found in and around the Ashland community. Designs include pairings such as a scrub-jay flying over lavender, a monarch butterfly with milkweed, a hummingbird and bottlebrush bush, a squirrel with tomatillo plants, succulents, and a Stellar’s jay with plants. Additionally, the Ash Tree leaf served as inspiration for the artwork design for the laser cut panels along the sidewalks to improve pedestrian safety.

Seating: ‘Pebble seats’ can be found throughout the project site and feature designs that are connected to the imagery on the cut metal panels. The designs are sandblasted onto to the tops of the seats. Community members will find a variety of images including Ash Tree leaves, butterflies, hummingbirds, sunflowers, apples, lemons, plums, and a bee pollinating a flower amongst other designs.

Art Banners & Utility Box Wraps: The street light pole banners and the utility box wraps feature a series of designs depicting activities that many people in Ashland enjoy and value. The designs were developed with feedback from community members serving on the Artist Selection Committee. The Arts Commission partnered with the Alameda County Economic & Civic Development Department to fabricate and install the banners as part of the ECD’s Banner Program in unincorporated Alameda County. The Arts Commission partnered with the Alameda County Public Works Agency to fabricate and install the utility box wraps as part of the Utility Box Art Program in unincorporated Alameda County. The art banners and utility box wraps are temporary aspects of the project.

"I believe that art in public space enhances and enriches our sense of place. With the artwork on East 14th Street, I wanted to highlight images of the natural ecosystems of our region, especially those in Ashland, as a way of celebrating the environment around us.” – Miriam Klein Stahl, Artist