Artists Art Up Loma Linda sbX Bus Stations

Artists Patty and Juan Navarrete from Taos, New Mexico, have spent a few days installing three public art pieces they created for sbX bus stops in Loma Linda. They won a national competition for creating the art pieces, which have been in process for the last two years. The installation at the sbX Park and Ride lot on Anderson Street north of Loma Linda Academy has a large obelisk wrapped with historic photographs of Loma Linda history. The photographs are reproduced on porcelain-steel, for longevity and resistance to vandalism. At the top is a sculpture of antique keys, representing the jumble of keys that John Burden received when he bought Loma Linda Sanitarium in 1905. Another of the Navarrete sculptures graces the sbX stop near the front entrance of the Loma Linda University Medical Center. It is an inverted obelisk with a steel-sculpted orange blossom, representing the long citrus heritage of the area. On the stamens of the blossom are dichroic glass spheres which represent the protons used in treatment at the medical center. "The entire sculpture tells the story of Loma Linda's past going through to the future of medical research," said Patty Navarrete, the artist. The third piece is a stylized American flag, also with dichroic glass stars, which will sparkle in light, at the Veterans Hospital on Benton Street. The three bus stops will also get a total of six engraved glass panels, also designed by the Navarettes. Four of the panels show historic photographs from Loma Linda's past, while the panels at the Veterans Hospital will show the symbols of the various Armed Forces. The glass panels are completed, and should be installed in the near future. "It has been a great experience learning about Loma Linda and its interesting past," said Patty Navarette. The artists received assistance in locating historic photographs from Lori Curtis of the LLU Heritage Room, and from the Loma Linda Historical Commission. They traveled to Loma Linda on Nov. 17 to begin the installation with Mike Valencia, their steel fabricator.