Herb Dang brings art glass to Bridgeview

Joel, Herb, Mary and Josh at Bridgeview.

"G is for garden," Herb Dang said as he chose a letter to pose with in front of the Bridgeview Teaching and Learning Garden. He is pictured, above, alongside project leaders Joel and Mary McClure and neighbor Josh (right).

Herb knows a thing or two about letters after spending months handcrafting many of them as part of an extraordinary contribution to the Bayview community. He stopped by to share his progress with community-involved neighbors who have made the Bridgeview Garden a labor of love.

Herb's first attempt to use scrap glass to forge a garden sign quickly failed to pass his own quality standards, and sent him back to the kiln in search of a new process that has since produced sturdy and beautiful results. His art glass letters are luminous, each one boasting unique colors and patterns. When the final two are complete, the letters will be arranged above the garden entryway as part of finishing touches to the new public gathering space at Bridgeview and Newhall.

Once installed, the Bridgeview Garden sign will come to life with all the nuance of the food producing garden itself, changing in appearance along with the season, time of day and quality of light. Bayview contractor, Vidal Perez, is working with Herb to frame the letters so that they are secure and open for light to pass through.

Herb has deep roots in San Francisco's Bayview Hunters Point neighborhood through his work at the Public Utilities Commission, and his involvement with Public Glass, Art 94124 and other community groups. His work will join Quesada Gardens Initiative's collection of community-generated artwork by Dierdre DeFranceaux, Santie Huckaby, Malik Seneferu, Heidi Hardin, Rhonda Winter, Mark Baugh-Sasaki and other uber-creative locals.