A Sofia Maldonado has a mural up in Times Square, NYC that has made some locals hopping mad, although you wouldn’t be able to guess why if you only saw the part we’re featuring here. Sonia is of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent. She was also involved in a project called Skate My Patria that brought skateboard equipment donations to Cuba in 2009.

– Thanks to David Illingworth for the tip

Since we’ve already discussed the merits of natural and synthetic wine corks, I feel we can confidently add modern landscape design our list of high brow topics. I’m not talking about skate plazas or the appropriation of public spaces. I’m talking about how Thomas Dolliver Church, the acclaimed author of Gardens are for People and the father of modern landscape architecture (California Style) who was widely credited with influencing garden and pool design with his influential free form pool in his most famous work, El Novillero. Truth is, he didn’t invent the kidney pool though. He most he was inspired by a visit to FInland’s Alvar Aalto Villa Mairea, which also featured a free form pool. That’s El Novillero above left, and Villa Mairea on the right. So there you have it. Kidney pools were invented in Finland in 1937, not in California, circa 1948.

[Source: Intercontinental Gardener] – Thanks to Jarno Väisänen for the tip.

BCSA ART & MUSIC 2010 at the Vue, 517 SW 2nd St, Corvallis, OR on March 13. All proceeds from the silent auctions go towards the Eric Scott McKinley Skatepark improvements. Contact the BCSA for more information (bcskateboardingalliance@gmail.com). My lame ass will be in the Seattle burbs this weekend. On top of that, I didn’t get my art done in time. However, I did take five minutes out of my busy life to make this post, so I care… a little. (Next year for sure!) I believe MC is going to make good though.

There was some brouhaha about virtual reality skating on the Viet Nam Veteran’s memorial in Tony Hawks Project 8. I can’t be sure about reactions to skating on the monument to fallen defenders in what the locals call the Homeland War in Croatia. Of course, it’s a different kind of memorial. The Wall is more like a giant tombstone, while this one is more of an undefined usable public space. I mean, you wouldn’t get mad at that little kid for laying on it, so skating on it isn’t that far of a stretch. Reminds me of a monument to capitalism in Michigan. More pictures at Big Creative Industries.

– Thanks to Urban for the tip.

Call me old fashioned, but friend requests on FaceBook still kind of freak me out when I don’t have any idea who the person is. I always end up scoping out the person to make sure it’s skateboard related. I checked out Michel Skart Poulin and found some really cool cabinets he made by applying fancy veneers to a garden variety skateboards. More pictures at No Damn Good Skate outta Montreal. Congratulations, by the way. You can see some in person at Monde Ruelle gallery in Montreal.

The Wall Street Journal Online has a story about skateboard art, or more aptly, art on skateboards. Gotta give them props for the title “Skateboards Now Hang in Galleries, But Are They Wheelie Art?” Are they wheelie art? Good one. Not so much on the subtitle: “Painters Give Old Toys New Tricks—Teen Angst, Nude Portraits, Broken Bones.” Check out the Wall Street Journal for the article and accompanying video.

– Thanks to Brian Susk for the tip.

We’ve covered this before, but there are better pictures this time at ArchDaily.

– Thanks to Boy at Skatemalaysia.com for the tip.

Yeah I know the A scale doesn’t really go up that high. Technically, it doesn’t even goo up to 101, but that never stopped wheel companies from marketing them as such. These old Kryptos are made out of cement, and so is the deck. It’s a piece called Irony that was in the PUSH benefit auction for the Division Street Skatepark Project in Bend, Oregon. At least I think it was, because it’s not in any of the photos of the work. It’s kind of hard to tell what’s going on with the project. There’s a blog that was last updated in 2008, and there are pictures of DIY concrete action happening somewhere, but key areas of the site have missing images, and it’s unclear whether or not construction has actually begun. And seriously, guys, I would have loved to promote this auction, give us a heads up next time.

I’m getting off track here. Drew West of the talented Real Concrete Design, cast these. There are more pictures available are on Facebook. Those wheels fit bearings, don’t ya know?

– Thanks to Kevin Porterfield for the tip.

There are art boards galore, but these hand carved whimsical creatures are meant to be ridden. Ridden carefully, of course, but ridden. Doug McKee AKA Naty Shred rides his, and repairs them too. They aren’t cheap, but they are one of a kind. The bird actually flaps it’s wings when it rolls. Impractical? Sure, but it takes a joyless soul not to smile at these.

[Source: Make] – Thanks to Eric Cherry and Janis Salnajs for the tip.

Skateboarding is a big deal in Japan and like most skateboarders in the world, Japanese artist Haroshi had a pile of broken decks lying around. Too attached to the boards to toss them in the trash, he collected his boards and unless he breaks a few boards a week the ones of his community and turned them into sculptures and accessories such as necklaces and key chains.