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SamTrans > News Archive > SamTrans Bus Driver Creates Artwork About Work
SamTrans Bus Driver Creates Artwork About Work
Oscar Melara, a veteran bus driver for the San Mateo County Transit District, has
found a way to combine his career as an artist with his day job. Melara and his wife
Kate Connell have turned five SamTrans buses into traveling galleries for a mural
illustrating the history of labor in the Bay Area.
“Our Work Life,” uses quotations, paintings and drawings to tell the story of labor
history in the first person. The colorful mural, which debuts on Labor Day, is
mounted inside the buses in the overhead space usually used for public service
announcements. The art work is augmented by brochures in the bus racks which provide
a list of resources to encourage people to continue their “journey” and learn more
about the local labor movement.
Melara, who has worked for SamTrans for 15 years, said, “I hope the riders see their
own lives reflected and celebrated in the mural.” Melara drives Route 130, a
community route serving South San Francisco, and Route 390, an El Camino Real route
running between Palo Alto and Daly City.
“SamTrans is proud to be a partner in this salute to Bay Area workers,” said Mike
Nevin, SamTrans board chair. “Thousands of workers use our buses to travel to and
from their jobs every day. Exhibiting ‘Our Work Life’ on our buses brings this unique
public art experience within reach of the people who inspired it.”
Melara and Connell collaborated with the Labor Archives and Research Center at San
Francisco State University to interview more than 40 workers for the project. “People
really welcomed the chance to speak about their work,” said Connell. “I think they
don’t get asked about it enough.”
Four of Melara’s co-workers are included in the mural. Portraits of SamTrans mechanic
Ajit Mann of Fremont, bus operator Kitty Mansfield of Sunnyvale, Customer Service
Representative Carolyn Husakow of San Lorenzo and storeskeeper Mike Avila of Daly City
appear on panels illustrating transportation workers.
The husband/wife artistic team used a variety of media including gouache, watercolor,
ink, colored pencil, pastels and scratchboard to produce 24 panels. Each panel has
four color schemes representing different historical periods. Selected quotes were
added before the panels were digitally reproduced.
The “art buses” will be in regular service on Routes 130, 390 and 391 until Nov. 7.
Melara said he hopes to have the chance to drive one of the buses during the course of
his regular work day. “After all,” said Connell, “how often do you get to ride a bus
where the driver is the artist?” For more information about the art project, go to
www.ourworklife.org.
The San Mateo County Transit District operates a network of buses, shuttles and
paratransit vehicles throughout San Mateo County and into parts of San Francisco and
Palo Alto. It also is the managing agency for Caltrain and the San Mateo County
Transportation Authority and a partner in the BART extension to Millbrae.
9/3/04
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