By Laurie Hill and Jon Chown
Watch where you walk on Capitola Wharf, as visitors are discovering more than 45 bronze creatures recently completed by artist Sean Monaghan.
Shining octopuses, sea stars, pelicans, sea turtles, and rockfish will all catch your eye on the decking.
Artist Sean Monaghan shows some of his work.
You can follow, count, or even make rubbings of them as you walk the entire length of the wharf. Like a scavenger hunt, these realistic creatures lead you to spotting scopes, seating areas, and signage where you can match a sea creature to its miniature on the educational panels.
Monaghan owns the Bronze Works Foundry and teaches sculpture at UC Santa Cruz and Cabrillo College. His large octopus sculpture adorns the Santa Cruz Wharf. “It’s great to know people will get to see the pieces, get to know Monterey Bay better, and see its beauty,” he said.
The Capitola Wharf Enhancement Project Team commissioned Monaghan, who was assisted by Raissa Boysen for the project, as part of the artful enhancements funded by public donations. CWEP, a small team of volunteers, raised more than $480,000 for needed topside amenities.
After hiring Monaghan, he and CWEP members discussed the scope of the project and narrowed down which sea life would be featured. Monaghan said the group wanted good educational examples, looking for animals that were endangered or had a story to tell. “There’s such a range of sea life in Monterey Bay, but we had to pick.”
Marissa Johnson-Csimma and her daughter make rubbings from the sculptures.
He said it took nearly a week to install all the sculptures, which was a bit of a process because they had to be ADA compliant. But that gave him more time to meet people on the wharf, make friends, and hear from the public about their impressions. Literally hundreds of thousands of people will view Monaghan’s art every year — a fact not lost on him.
“It was a really wonderful experience just putting the pieces in and interacting with the public,” he said. “I definitely got a sense of the impact they had on people and their appreciation for them.”
CWEP members are elated with the outcome.
“The bronze elements of our CWEP wharf improvements are some of the most meaningful because they are instructional and can also be used artistically. I’m really excited about a future art project where participants will take rubbings of the creatures,” said Gayle Ortiz of CWEP.
A formal dedication ceremony will be held early next year.
“It was definitely a real pleasure working with the City Council and the CWEP committee,” Monaghan said. “And it was a real pleasure getting to meet all the people in Capitola — the merchants out there, shout out to Myron who rents the boats, the wharf staff out there — really great.”
