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When is a door not a door?

  • October 11, 2012

By Ilana DeBare

“When it’s a jar,” was the answer to that old joke.

But we have a new answer – when it’s a mural!

Over the past few weeks, Berkeley artist STEFEN has been busy creating a Bay Area Birds mural on the (formerly beige, formerly boring) door to the Golden Gate Audubon office on San Pablo Avenue.

The mural features seven endangered species that have been the focus of Golden Gate Audubon conservation campaigns.

As the project got underway, we were so excited that we decided to document STEFEN’s process and share it with you. So here’s a step-by-step view of the transformation:

The door before
Starting the landscape -- looking west across the Bay from the Albany Mud Flats
STEFEN adds the Golden Gate Bridge
The water and distant shores take shape
GGAS Executive Director Mark Welther and STEFEN in mid-mural
The Albany bulb, more vegetation and some.... birds!
STEFEN leaves space for the birds - can you tell what they will be?
Yep, this one is a Clapper Rail

One of those we included is the California Clapper Rail, which shelters in the native marsh plans that our volunteers and Eco-Education students have planted at Martin Luther King Jr. Shoreline Park in Oakland.

Stefen adds a Golden Eagle

We also included a Golden Eagle, one of the species that have been killed in large numbers by wind turbines at the Altamont Pass. Thanks to GGAS advocacy and legal action, the wind companies are starting to replace those turbines with new ones that are less dangerous to birds.

The finished door! But wait... what's that in the upper lefthand corner?

STEFEN painted the same birds from the mural in flight, on pieces of wood that he attached to the hallway wall. So there is now a trail of birds leading down the hall to our office. Cleverly, the wood images can be detached when it is time to repaint the hall.

Line of birds leading to our office
Can you identify this li'l fella?
And this one?
And this not-so-little one?

Pretty cool, huh? If you’re in the neighborhood, come by our office at 2530 San Pablo Avenue (at Blake) to see it yourself! Our office hours are 1 to 5 pm on weekdays.

Or come by on Friday October 19 for our Open House and calendar launch party. From 1 to 5 pm, we’ll be celebrating the talented Bay Area wildlife photographers who donated their work for our beautiful 2013 Birds of the SF Bay Area wall calendar. Check out STEFEN’s work… enjoy snacks and beverages… shmooze with other Audubon members and our generous photographers… and pick up a calendar or two or three as holiday gifts.

Thank you to our landlord Walter Wright for funding and supporting this project! Thank you to Development Director Lisa Owens Viani for coming up with the idea and making it happen! And of course thank you to STEFEN for his precision, creativity and appreciation of birds. You can find more of his work at www.stefenart.com. 

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Our Mission

The Golden Gate Audubon Society engages people to experience the wonder of birds and to translate that wonder into actions which protect native bird populations and their habitats.

Home page photo of a Bald Eagle by Rick Lewis. Home page photos rotate on an occasional basis. If you have a Bay Area bird photo you would like us to consider, email us at rnakano@goldengateaudubon.org.

Home page bird illustrations by Tex Buss. We are grateful for her generous donation of time and talent!

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Contact Us

Golden Gate Audubon
2530 San Pablo Avenue, Suite G
Berkeley, California 94702

Phone: 510.843.2222

Office hours: Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Golden Gate Audubon Society  is a
not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Our federal tax ID number is 94-6086896

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Now you can manage all your GGAS business online — renew your membership, update your contact information, view past donations, or sign up for events such as classes, Birdathon or the Christmas Bird Count. Click here to access your account. (You’ll need to create a login name and password if you don’t have one already. If you forget your password, click on the “forgot your password” link.) You can also sign up for our new GGAS Chat to get updates on trips, talk with other members, and more!

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All photos on this site belong to the photographers and may not be used without written permission.
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    • Job Opportunities
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    • Eco-Ed for Kids
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