Courtesy photo

Alamedans who regularly travel into Oakland or to San Francisco, will be able to view "Emergent-Sea," a mural recently completed near the 23rd Avenue onramp to I-880 in Oakland.

Muralists Dan Fontes and Caroline Stern completed the project for the Oakland Redevelopment Agency which recently launched several graffiti abatement projects throughout the city.

Various building owners requested their walls be listed as locations for murals that would discourage graffiti.

In this case, Eandi Metals requested the mural. Once a design is approved, grant money is provided to the artists who are required to involve a youth group in the process. Fontes and Stern, along with assistant James Swinson, taught art and mural painting classes to Girls Inc. in San Leandro to earn the grant.

Fontes definitely enjoyed the experience. He said the kids at Girls Inc. were "the best I've ever worked with." He also mentioned that once the mural was underway, graffiti stopped altogether.

"To Oakland's credit," Fontes said, "they installed a camera and signage to protect the mural as well." Many local residents appreciated the facelift to their neighborhood. "The kids in the area have almost made it into a playground," said Fontes.