San Francisco artist Mark Ulriksen, known for his colorful, often humorous New Yorker covers, has designed a mural outside the new East Bay Jewish Community Campus in Rockridge. Painted by Berkeley muralist Hayley Ferreira, the desert oasis features Israel’s biblical seven species: grapes, wheat, barley, pomegranates, figs, olives and dates. Together, they represent nourishment, abundance, and the connection between the Jewish people, the land, and God.
The picturesque scene reflects the plants and trees growing throughout the campus, and can be viewed along the Claremont Avenue side of the campus.
“Like the thriving oasis depicted in the mural, we are excited to take root and flourish as a community in the new Rockridge Campus,” said Susie Cohen Crumpler, JCC East Bay CEO.
Ferreira is a Bay Area native. She was born in San Jose and now lives in Lafayette with her family. The unusual arrangement was a departure for Ferreira, whose mural commissions usually involve both designing and painting. Still, she was pleased to be part of the project and glad that everyone was happy with the result.
Video by Noam Eshel, www.eshelfilms.com
The mural reunited Ulriksen with his longtime supporter, art buyer Suzy Locke. Mark met Locke nearly 30 years ago at an open studio at his San Francisco home. Crumpler, who is Locke's stepdaughter and also a strong supporter of his work, had previously commissioned several covers from him while leading marketing at the San Francisco JCC.
The commission introduced him to the seven species’ significance in Jewish tradition. Describing himself as spiritual rather than religious, he had not previously known of their symbolic nature. It also presented an artistic challenge: creating a landscape without people, which is a break from Ulriksen’s usual scope of work.
His New Yorker covers often respond to contemporary life with humor. For the mural, he focused instead on color, warmth, and depth, hoping viewers would pause long enough to appreciate the composition. For Ulriksen, a physical painting affirms the value of human creativity where people still make things by hand in an increasingly digital world.
“I hope people experience an inviting, calm, colorful presence on a busy street,” he said.
As a young artist, Ulriksen initially doubted he could make a living through art. Rather than attend art school immediately, he enrolled at Chico State, where he discovered graphic design and visual communication.
“My career has been one big pleasant surprise,” he said.
He spent his first dozen years as a professional publication designer, eventually becoming art director of KQED’s city magazine, SF Focus. At 37, exhausted by monthly deadlines, he turned to freelance illustration. A regular New Yorker contributor since 1993, he has built an award-winning career, with his work now found in the Smithsonian and Library of Congress collections.
The East Bay Jewish Community Campus, opening in stages. The JCC East Bay preschool as well as main building have been open since August, and a grand opening will take place in spring 2027. At the time of this interview, Ulriksen was still anticipating his first visit to the completed mural.
