Northside Library is now open on Sundays for its patrons and events, such as the “Community Art Exhibition: Celebrating New Artwork by Genevieve Santos,” held on Nov. 3. San Jose native and Artist Genevieve Santos came for the ribbon cuttings to reveal her new artwork at Northside Library’s children’s area. Her art here consists of a bright mural resting within a large circle carved into the wall and a series of cheery canvas wall art.
“We are unveiling our fabulous mural by Genevieve Santos and her three art works over by the magazines,” said Hilary Keith, Director of the Santa Clara City Library. “I’ve heard that the intangible emotion of joy hides in the tangible world of aesthetics.”
“I remember before we opened up the library and we had that circle there, we talked about what was going to go into that circle,” said Kathy Watanabe, Santa Clara City Council Member. “Genevieve has come up with a beautiful piece of art that takes you beyond and…lets you use your imagination.”
Santos is no stranger to the Santa Clara City Library. She designed the art on Santa Clara City Library’s children’s library card as well as the art on the Library Bookmobile. She used house paint to design the new mural and worked with an app called Procreate on her iPad to craft the new wall canvas art.
“This is such a great honor to be here and to have my art on the walls,” Santos said. “I get a lot of questions about where I get my inspiration from. It’s from my childhood and my own imagination and my travels. I’ve traveled all over the world. My goal was to visit 30 countries before I turned 30. I did it. I visited 31 countries. If you’re unable to go travel around the world…books are a wonderful substitute for that.”
Giving an example of how she borrows insights from her travels for her work, Santos pointed to the books floating in the air on her mural. She explained that there is a coffee shop in New York where books are suspended from the ceiling. Using her imagination, Santos added to her mural a unicorn and children reading with their pets. Above the magazine shelves are three pieces of wall canvas art featuring superheroes, deep sea creatures and children, all reading books.
After the ribbon cutting was a reception in the Community Room. The “Daisy Dreamer” children’s books, illustrated by Santos, were raffled off. Displayed here were artwork created by community members. Santos picked her two favorites, which were Shazneen Wadud’s “Butterfly” and “Cusco” by Denise Walker.
