During the 2025 SoundPedro sound art event, we painted "Roots and Demons" with 100 festival attendees on two large Japanese folding screens, Our performance merged visual art and sound, fostering collaboration and interpretation. Two Japanese screens stand as canvases and stage. Musicians positioned behind these backlit screens responded spontaneously to brushstrokes painted by participants [...]
Another wonderful warm afternoon painting with kids in Griffith Park for this year's P-22 day, celebrating the mountain lion who lived in the Park until this past December. 90 primary sketches of the puma running were painted on by kids and families, who got to take the final work home. Thanks to the Friends [...]
Two paintings/drawings of ink on silk, an artistic interpretation of Moby-Dick the monstrous white whale, to be utilized as backdrops for a site-specific play, Whalers Triptych I, produced by MoreTheaterSB in Santa Barbara. Drawing from Melville's literary masterpiece, the paintings/drawings are ink on large silk pieces, which was chosen to mirror the fluidity and [...]
This large 6ft x 3ft painting is a collaborative effort by friends and family members of all ages to create an expressive artwork gift about Auntie Sock, who turned 99 years old in 2023! Approximately 30 adults and kids painted with sumi ink onto a pre-painted colorized sheet, filling it with meaningful objects and [...]
This collaborative painting event hosted by Urban Crop Circle at the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter annual banquet was a vibrant celebration of community and creativity. Attendees came together to contribute their unique artistic touches, guided by the expertise of Urban Crop Circle's team. This collective effort resulted in a stunning piece of art that [...]
We set up the yarn coffin installation for two events in 2021: a group show, DulcePalloza (with the theme of "COLOR and LIFE after a year of COVID lockdown") at The Neutra Gallery in May, and a Dia de los Muertos celebration in Silver Lake, Los Angeles.
We had a wonderful time working with the Friends of Griffith Park during the P-22 Day Festival in 2022, painting on prepped paper with families and artists of all ages! 108 paintings were sent home with their art creators, some of whom stayed for hours to complete their pieces.
The 24th Street Dia de los Muertos festival is a wonderful free neighborhood-family gathering, 4.5 hours filled with food and crafts and dancing and music... we draped our altar fabric up on canopy and tree and parking sign and yarn coffin and painted goodbyes with many families. Thanks to coordinating artists SharonP and MargZ and [...]
https://youtu.be/PIBFwyEtHgY We had a great time painting with everyone over on the Avenues during the music fest this year, creating big bold shapes across the 5 lines of a musical staff on a colorful 30-foot-long scroll. Hope you were all able to get the sumi ink off your clothes! Visit the West Adams Avenues Jazz Fest [...]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZONo2i3M2Rc&feature=youtu.be The Scroll of Japanese Yokai and Korean Dokkaebi Spirits description: In Scotland, Edinburgh FringeFest attendees and participants alike collaborated on our Scroll of Japanese Yokai and Korean Dokkaebi Spirits artwork during the vast Edinburgh Festival Fringe! 9.5 hours, hundreds of collaborators, 3 artist coordinators, 1 manic transgender street performer, 1 ghost! View our favorite Instagram images from the event! [...]
Yes, it's a St. Patrick's Deer! Painted by a crew including MadelineW and TonyaJ and GlenyS....
The annual Day of the Dead event took place in the streets of the University Park area near USC and downtown Los Angeles, as local community members wrote letters and painted pictures on long muslin fabric draped around the branches of a sprawling tree. Hundreds participated in adding their remembrances of loved ones who [...]
Larger than life face-hole cutouts recreating the Christmas Nativity served as inviting props for participants to photograph themselves as the characters of the Three Wise Men, Mary, Joseph, and an attendant shepherd, for a Christmas Posada in the Pico-Union area of Los Angeles. The images were painted on cardboard and embellished with mosaic-like paper [...]
We collaborated with Shared_Studios facilitators who were managing a Shared_Studios Portal project which connects communities around the world through interactive technology. Transforming a shipping container into an art studio at the Los Angeles County Fair in Pomona, artists drew portraits of a live facilitator whose image was live-streaming from a Portal art space in Mexico [...]
The scenic skyline of the San Pedro ports was the backdrop for a collaborative project with live musicians Doug Bland and Tom Penrod of The Dirty Chaps, at the former Army barracks site located throughout Angel's Gate Cultural Center during the SoundPedro 2018 Festival. Urban Crop Circle participants created an effigy of St. Sebastian commemorating [...]
The Humanitas Academy of Art and Technology (HAAT) at Estaban E. Torres High School invited us back for the 4th year to their Open House day in East Los Angeles. Approximately 45 students, teachers and family members created a folding book-box which when opened, became a long scroll painting of animated human and animal faces. [...]
One in a series of altered scrolls, a painted diagram of Getty Center horizontal cut-away view of the famous grounds on the top of the hill. Approx. 25 J. Paul Getty Trust staff alumni added their artistic insights. Thanks especially to MarlinM, AdrienneL, MargaretK!
A series of 4 altered Japanese scrolls was created in celebration of Chinese New Year, on February 8, 2018, the Year of the Dog. 5 visual collaborators were accompanied by 5 singalong artists, who cut out silhouettes of bright red dogs and set them against a swirling black background with imprints of artist’s marks along [...]
Last year at Hollywood Forever Cemetery's Dia de los Muertos festival, painting skeletons and skulls and warm loving goodbyes to friends and family on a big fabric altar #86. This year in honor of the theme of printmaker artist Jose Posada, we built a stuctured Catrina doll figure in front of our fabric altar, so [...]
In June, Urban Crop Circle created a book-scroll in conjunction with sound artists The Dirty Chaps, at 2017 sound art festival Sound Pedro, held at Angel's Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro. Working on the scroll into the night, pages were initially etched with 5 music staff lines, surrounded by lights, lined with rocks, and [...]
Developed a web site promoting political collaborative efforts: WeWatchandWeVote
Urban Crop Circle sponsored the Salon du Urban Crop Circle, a very small public painting project at Art Basil LA 2016, hosted by Mr. let's Paint, John Kilduff, in his backyard (article on Art and Cake blog here ) [most photos below by Kristine Schomaker from Art and Cake ] [...]
Abandoning a treasure trove of art books, across Los Angeles. 30 books and continuing. In conjunction with the Art Abandonment project and Flood the Streets with Art day.
At Hollywood Forever Cemetery's Dia de los Muertos festival, painting skeletons and skulls and warm loving goodbyes to friends and family on a big fabric altar #86. 9 coordinating artists (MargaretK, BeatrixZ, GlenyS, MarquitaT, AnnZ and DanZ and MargaretZ, DougB, JohnM), with approx. 2000 collaborating public art-makers and celebrants. Margaret Kruszewska's photo gallery: [...]
Collaborative painting in Marietta Ohio during their annual Ohio River Sternwheel Festival. Prepped the length of paper scroll to with blue/green watercolor and we painted a river together! Scroll rolls up and lives inside a collaged box.... These painting projects take a life of their own: the end-products look crazed and unruly, elbows are thrown, [...]
A big book painted at the July 2016 Mixed/Remixed festival, held at the Japanese American National Museum in downtown LA! The folded scroll inside was gold-on-black at one end, blending to black-on-white on the other end. Mixed and Remixed! 2 coordinators and approx. 25 artist collaborators. Book cover by Wallis Bland and Ann Zumwinkle. [...]
May 2016, the Humanitas Academy of Art & Technology at Esteban E. Torres High School in East Los Angeles again asked us to coordinate their open house public painting event. We created a big book, and folded their collaborative mural from 2014 into pages. 100 collaborators enhanced the original work with gold and black paint! 2 coordinating artists (AnnZ [...]
March 2016: We pulled out our sumi ink and brushes and painted this washi paper lamp in Dublin Ireland....
Oct 24, 2015 - Saturday 12noon to 12midnight Come and be a dead person in our awesome yarn coffin, at Hollywood Forever Cemetery's Dia de los Muertos festival, tomorrow Saturday! We'll be at Altar space #86 noon to midnight, painting together to honor our family and friends' passings this year.... We lay out many tables [...]
Big Book Painting Fun on a beautifully sunny day in Altadena for their Best Fest.... 2 artist coordinators; 202 collaborative artists! 40 feet of folded pages on one long scroll. In partnership with Sharon Ward, Altadena Best Fest, and the Altadena Public Library, who kindly put the book on display after the event. And in [...]
For San Francisco's Sunday Streets program, tacked drawing paper down onto the asphalt of the Tenderloin District, and painted a vibrant portrait of the town with approx. 70 kids and families and local shopkeepers! Thanks Sunday Streets SF, and JaneB and MargaretZ!
We joined the Oakland Museum of California Art for their Friday Nights event, only we neglected to tell them, so they kicked us out. We moved half a block down the street and painted with tons of folks on 2 Japanese scrolls. 7 coordinating artists (Margaret, Ann, Jane, Dan, Adelle, Emily, Zak), 2 unhappy Security [...]
Painted on 3 bright Japanese Washi paper lamps at the 2015 Vivid Sydney Festival in Sydney Australia; we were right near the ferry docks and got lots of attention! Thanks much to SueK, AureliaK, WallisB, DougB, SteveK and JoshuaK for setup, breakdown, and coordination help.
The Humanitas Academy of Art & Technology at Esteban E. Torres High School in East Los Angeles again requested we coordinate a public painting event at the school's open house. 2 coordinating artists (YoungS and JohnM). 80-100 collaborative artists. 2 feet x 17 feet scroll of drawing paper.
Guerilla-attempt at joining Billy Apple mega-exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki in New Zealand. Was assigned a spot in the Cafe... with very little pass-through traffic. 7 artist collaborators, 1 agreeable cafe manager, 1 disagreeable cafe assistant manager. Thanks to Doug and Wallis and Matthew Laurenson for setup and breakdown!
Christchurch NZ, hard hit by two earthquakes 2010 and 2011. Their center of town is completely destroyed and there's tons of new building and renovation development projects, huge cranes, empty buildings, temporary structures, and stark, empty lots, all throughout downtown. This is what LA will look like after our earthquake. Interspersed throughout are [...]
Three coordinating artists (JohnM, YoungS, AnnZ) worked closely with the Music Center Education Department in LA, to present an experiental event for their 2015 Downtown BookFest, held in Grand Park. Long scroll of pages folded our of a big book; scroll had 5 undulating music score lines that impacted painting. An intersection between the Music [...]
An installation of a large tree painting for the "From Her" group show; public collaborators paint with branches and rip the paper and paste it onto the root system below. Initial artist coordinators: Young Summers and Ann Zumwinkle. More photos of this event here. In collaboration with Pico House,El Pueblo de Los Angeles Historical Monument. [...]
3 Coordinators! 119 Artists! 1 Kitty!
Hollywood Forever Cemetery's Dia de los Muertos festival in 2014: 12 hours, over 2000 collaborative artists, 35 brushes and only two broken brushes, at Altar #86! Coordinators and skeleton panel artists: Gleny Schultz, Beatrix Zilanskas, Marquita Takei, Margaret Zumwinkle, John Marchena, Will Jimenez, Doug Bland, Young Summers, Ann Zumwinkle. Check out this event's DAYTIME Flickr [...]
For the Sacred Memories 2014 group exhibition, an installation of our Comfort Women painting, watched over by Dokkebi monsters painted by the general public at Perform Chinatown. This altar was placed on the wall, and public participants helped paint 2 long "table runner" scrolls, with new monsters and messages for our girl. Thanks to Pat [...]
166 participants, drawing lines as straight as they can, on a 50 foot length of blue paper. End result is a river of activity, mirroring the excitement of the motion of bicycles taking over the streets of Los Angeles on CicLAvia Sunday. The obstacles were sometimes rocks, sometimes pieces of candy, and sometimes [...]
On a long scroll of brown kraft paper, Urban Crop Circle [Young Summers, Ann Zumwinkle & team] created individual personal "Dokkaebi" goblins, painting jointly with festival attendees, who then wore their own Dokkaebi scrolls on their backs, protecting them from all evil. Each scroll painting got an exhibition label on verso, with a little red dot [...]
The LA Times Festival of Books @ USC book was displayed at the Artists' Books and Cookies group show, held at Ooga Twooga gallery in East Downtown LA. (It sat on the fragile books table.)
