A Brief Look Inside the Paso Robles Public Safety Building

How to Find the Meeting Rooms: Doors

When I attended a workshop at the Paso Robles Public Safety Building, it was a mystery to me where the actual meeting would take place. I have been to many city meetings, but never one inside the Public Safety Building. I've never gotten farther in than the desk at the Police Station. I was trying to imagine where the meeting rooms might be. In case you've ever wondered, I'm going to give you a look inside. In the photo here, you see the outside entrance, which is like a gate.

Here's the same gate from a different perspective. It shows the context of the first photo.

The gate opens into a sort of courtyard. You walk through the courtyard until you come to these doors. It's confusing because it still feels like you are outside. The doors lead to a hallway that leads to the meeting rooms.

The Hallway Leads to Doors that Open to the Meeting Rooms

This is the hallway. Most of the windows and doors are tinted so you can't see through them when they are closed. Either that or it's just so dark each window and door appears to be a mirror and reflects whatever is in front of it. One room did appear to be a staff room with a coffee maker, and what usually goes with it. There were also restrooms, although I did not photograph them. The women's restroom had a shower, as well as whatever else you'd expect. You can click any photo to enlarge it.

The posters below show external views of the public safety building. See the story behind the statue in Sculptures by Central Coast Artist Vel Miller.

 Poster: Paso Robles Public Safety Center Poster Poster: Memorial Statue at Paso Robles Police Dept Poster

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H is for Heritage Gallery West

I thought I'd discovered all the art showplaces in downtown Paso Robles, but I discovered this week I have had one under my nose for two years and not known it. I stumbled across it Wednesday on my walk downtown - right on 13th Street. Unless you are on foot, it's easy to miss  Heritage Gallery West as you drive past on your way somewhere else.

I was not only excited to find a gallery I had not known about, but I also discovered a new artist who painted on a surface I'd never seen used before -- rock. Here is a wall devoted to the work of Susan von Borstel.

The gallery was displaying a lot of her work. You can click any photo to enlarge it to see more detail. My favorite piece was this one with the fish. No photo does it justice. That's probably why it's already sold. I have isolated it to show it the details up closer here.

No photos in the art galleries fare very well in photos taken by hobby photographers like me. Lighting in our local galleries is not ideal, and flash often creates white spots or reflections when work is framed under glass.

The only ideal way to see art is to go to the galleries and see it up close with your eyes. So next time you are downtown, stop by Heritage Gallery West. You can see more of their artists' work and a bit about them on the website I just linked to. Some of the artists whose work was in the gallery were familiar to me, but many were new discoveries.

Although much of the work I saw displayed was painting, I also found sculpture. Vel Miller had a sculpture on display the day I was there, and I saw several others. Since work that is sold is replaced quickly with new offerings, you never know quite what surprises will be there when you come in. That's why you should visit often.

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Sculptures by Central Coast Artist Vel Miller

I first met Vel Miller at the Paso Robles Festival of the Arts in May, 2012. The park was an overwhelming exhibit area and I was trying to see everything in the park and at Studios on the Park. Across the street at the same time, Phantom Project 2, the largest indoor exhibit to hit Paso Robles, was at the end of its exhibit period. I had managed to see that a few times before the Art  Festival started. In the midst of all that was happening, it's amazing I even discovered Vel Miller's exhibit. I'm so glad I  did.

Vel Miller's tags on her art read "Western Interpretations." She is interested in creating art that people will connect to emotionally, as well as aesthetically.  The booth pictured above is part of her 2012 display. In my more thorough article, A Walk Through the Festival of the Arts, 2012, I have a video of the sights and sounds of the festival. One of the scenes in it is a quick look at some individual pieces in the Vel Miller exhibit that shows them a bit more clearly and features some I didn't here.

Vel has created many works featuring horses and Native Americans, as you can see in these photos. She has won over 40 awards for her work. She has also taught oil painting for ten years. Her work is displayed in museums and galleries in many countries.

Therefore, it's no surprise to me that when the City of Paso Robles wanted a special monument in front of the Police Department, in 2000 it commissioned Vel Miller to create it. "Reward for Valor" shows a fire fighter handing a baby to a police woman. It now belongs to all of us in Paso Robles, and it's there for all visitors to the city to enjoy. Find it on 10th Street, near the corner of Park. Next time you are in Paso Robles downtown, pause and take a good look at it.

See more of the Paso Robles Art Scene on my Pinerest Board. Just click below.


Follow Barbara Radisavljevic's board Paso Robles Art Scene on Pinterest.

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