Sitting in East Oakland’s Maxwell Park, it’s difficult to imagine that it was once a nexus of illicit activity.

The small, undulating park, centered around a children’s play structure, once attracted more drug dealers than children. The derelict bathroom structure was tattooed with graffiti and served mostly to secrete clandestine doings.

Most people don’t stroll down High Street, but that’s not for lack of public art.

In the last 10 months, 16 mosaic trash can murals have surfaced in East Oakland thanks to a ceramics inclined quintuple.