Artist corrects her infamous spelling mistakes in Livermore mural

Miami artist Maria Alquilar works on her art piece outside the front entrance to the Livermore library. Miami artist Maria Alquilar arrived in Livermore Sunday to correct the $40,000 ceramic mural she created outside Livermore's new public library. She replaced the tiles containing misspelled names of Einstein, Shakespeare, Vincent Van Gogh, Michelangelo and seven other historical figures. Photo by Michael Maloney / San Francisco Chronicle less Miami artist Maria Alquilar works on her art piece outside the front entrance to the Livermore library. Miami artist Maria Alquilar arrived in Livermore Sunday to correct the $40,000 ceramic mural she created ... more Photo: Michael Maloney Photo: Michael Maloney Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Artist corrects her infamous spelling mistakes in Livermore mural 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

(08-09) 14:02 PDT Livermore (SF Chronicle) --

Whats in a name? Shakespere asked.

Make that Shakespeare. Miami artist Maria Alquilar, much maligned for 11 misspellings that popped up in the educational mural she designed for the Livermore public library last year, spent today under the hot sun correcting her mistakes.

In addition to fixing the bards name, she changed Eistein to Einstein, Gaugan to Gauguin and more.

But Alquilar, who at first claimed artistic license and said she wasnt going to return to fix the faux pas because people were being too mean about it, was giving no media interviews as she worked under a broad-brimmed straw hat and blue tent. She sliced and diced the tiles with power tools, protected from the public by a barrier.

She wagged her finger at a television cameraman and threatened to throw a rock at a print photographer.

No pictures of me! she yelled. If Im in it, Im going to sue you.

Apparently, Alquilar wanted to return quietly to do the edits, for which city officials are paying her $6,000 plus travel expenses. Thats on top of the $40,000 she received for creating the 16-foot circular mosaic, made up of 175 historical names and cultural words.

But after she arrived Sunday, word spread, and today she had a consistent audience for her work, which she expected to complete today or Wednesday.

Assistant City Manager Jim Piper assured reporters that city officials were spell-checking Alquilars replacement tiles.

We certainly believe they are spelled correctly, he said.

Livermore officials selected Alquilar in 2000 to create a mosaic at the entrance to Livermores new library, which opened in May 2004. Icons representing science, art, literature and history surround a tree of life in the center.

Library patrons were of varied opinions about whether a name by any other spelling smelled as sweet.

A woman named Betty, who wouldnt give her last name for fear of reprisal from her stickler school-teacher chums, said she didnt mind the imperfect art.

I feel sorry for her out in the heat, she said. It was kind of fun to have something unique. I thought it was very nice.

But Jarod Vash, 17, who was borrowing videos with his girlfriend and her family, said he thought the misspellings were embarrassing.

When the story first broke, I thought, Oh, Livermore, the town that misspells stuff,  he said. The only thing weve got in Livermore, and its misspelled.

But he added, Everybody makes mistakes.

Not this bad, said his girlfriends 13-year-old brother, Eric Smyth.