TURNING A NEW LEAF TO CHULA VISTA HISTORY

Metal Designer Michael Leaf

It was a dream come true for Michael Leaf when Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox contacted him about a monumental project that would immortalize a dismantled iconic landmark--the South Bayfront Power Plant.  Commissioned to create a power-generating monument from the metal scraps, Leaf will become a major part in the biggest revitalization plan in San Diego County.   

When so many artists still struggle to establish themselves in their respective genres, at age 29, this boyish world-renowned metal art designer has already etched his unmistakable fingerprint in the competitive art world. 

Never in his wildest dreams had Leaf imagined such a feat happening to him while growing up in Chula Vista under the shadow of the power plant.  All his life, he was accustomed to seeing the stacks billowing smoke into the sky. “Watching it go down and reduced to rubbles was very sad for me,” he said. Like him, many people were used to seeing the massive structure as they visited the Bayfront area for recreation; and now, the landmark is gone—a noticeable absence from the landscape.

Artist Rendering for the new South Bayfront Development

The power plant is now history, but the future is a vision of grandeur as the 535-acre underutilized real estate will be transformed into a thriving residential and industrial world-class resort destination.  It will house a 1600-room hotel and conference center, a seaport village with retail stores, restaurants, new public parks, marina, promenades, bike trails and other amenities. Thousands of jobs will be created, and $12 million annual tax revenues will be generated, resulting in more than a billion dollars in revenues during the first twenty years. 

Leaf with the original Power Plant plaque

A few days after the demolition, Leaf returned to the site to rummage through the huge pile of debris for the materials he needed for his project, such as, sections of turbine blades, grate covers and valve handles.  This juncture proved to be critical for his project when someone walked up to him with a buggy cart, uncovered something wrapped in a rug, and presented it to Leaf.  It was the original plaque to the power plant, and it weighed at least 120 pounds. 

“It was suspenseful,” he said.  “When I saw the plaque, I felt as if he was handing to me the torch to the Olympics.” The individual had initially planned to hang it on the wall at his house, but upon hearing of Leaf’s project, he thought it deserved to be a part of the public art instead.  The idea of incorporating the emblem as the centerpiece to the monument, sent shivers down his spine.  “That was a very crazy moment for me, and I got all choked up,” he said. 

Like so many gifted artists, Leaf is primarily self-taught in many ways.  He possesses an uncanny ability to understand, analyze and interpret art, science and technology.  In high school, he learned how to wire electricity on his own, and taught televideography better than his teacher did.  He learned how to draw at a very young age, and has amassed more than a thousand drawings in his life, so far.

"It started with a dream...."

Creative, imaginative and artistic people take their dreams seriously, and in the case of Leaf, he was quick to share the moment in time when the first seed of sculpting endeavor was planted in his mind.  He has always been a dreamer, so it was no surprise that his inspiration to create metal art would come to him in a dream. “I saw something hanging on a wall that had caught my attention," he explained. "It was a hand, reaching out through a hole in the wall."  The dream felt so powerful to him, as though it was an omen -- something that held the key to his future in the world of art. The following morning, he transposed his dream into physical art. That was six years ago, and today, the image is still as vivid in his mind as it had appeared in his sleep at the time.  The hand-through-the-wall art piece is perched prominently on a virtual pedestal of creativity in his studio—a constant reminder of how it all began . . .how dreams do come true if you believe.

“My first metal art was of a fish,” he said.  “I couldn’t believe it when someone, a fishing aficionado, offered to buy it.  I sold it to him for $175.”  Not too bad for any artist’s first sale.  That was followed by a bigger sculpture, which sold for $2,100.  Leaf was on a smooth path to success.  From small to life size to monumental scale, Leaf fabricates pieces from welded metals either for indoor or outdoor wall art, table or freestanding sculptures. He employs a unique combination of various techniques in his work, from old and new technology, including those that he had developed on his own. Although his studio is located in the huge family metal scrap business in Chula Vista, he works alone, unassisted, operating separately from the family business as a one-man metal design company.

While originality might be deemed as novelty in today’s art market, many artists, like Leaf, still create original art with artistic depth, attracting the attention of a lot of people and critics. He loves what he does, and is always inspired by the aesthetic structural challenges and infinite possibilities presented by any project he undertakes.  In just a few years, he has garnered plenty of accolades and collected an impressive number of commissions and one-man feature shows, such as the 2011 exhibit at the Hotel Parisi in La Jolla, and another held in 2012 at the Alicia Armstrong Gallery in Palm Desert.  He’s been featured in different publications, including the San Diego Magazine, the San Diego Home and Garden Magazine, the San Diego Union Tribune, and the Curator Event--A Global Luxury Event.  He has also completed and installed customized artwork for various public and private places throughout San Diego County.  Some of his most recent major works include the designing and building of the 2012 San Diego International Film Festival Awards, along with a Gus Van Sant Tribute Award. Currently, Leaf is the featured artist at SpaceSmart Art Gallery (4455 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 100). His artwork will remain there through the remainder of the year. 

To see his sculpture prominently displayed at the new Chula Vista South Bayfront landscape would definitely instill an overwhelming sense of accomplishment unlike anything Leaf has achieved so far. “I hope it will inspire people,” he said. “It would be nice to let the people in the community know what has powered the movers and shakers and give the younger generations inspiration.  I think something that generates power should generate inspiration.  If they could be balanced, that would be a perfect piece of art.”

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(Maria Panlilio is a fiction and non-fiction writer and artist.  You may send your comments directly to her at writeartista@yahoo.com)