Tile panels for Kathy Roberson

Randolph Park Pottery Studio has that new mural on its east outdoor wall — made of tile, what else? — in memory of Kathy Roberson. I was surprised not to find more online about Kathy. Tucson City Council Ward 3 Council Member Kevin Dahl had the best summary of Kathy and the mural in Kevin's Ward 3 News and Updates: Friday, August 11, 2023. In case that page disappears, here are highlights:

The six panels of tile celebrate the life and work of Kathy Roberson, who worked as a City of Tucson Leisure Class Pottery Coordinator for more than 25 years (and was a Ward 3 resident). It is the loving work of more than 100 clay students, instructors, artists, colleagues, and friends of Kathy.

The project began in December 2022 with tile making workshops taught by Julie Szerina Stein and Paloma Jacqueline. The tiles have a Sonoran Desert theme, some grouped as the four seasons.

Here are the three panels in the top row, left to right, followed by the three panels in the bottom row:

But that's not all. This fun downspout nearby has a vine that runs along it and also spills out onto the wall around it:

I was there on April 6, 2024.

On the way to San Xavier...

Turn off I-19 southbound at exit 92. At the bottom of the ramp is:

Here's a screenshot of a Google Map. San Xavier del Bac Mission is near the left edge:

(As always, you can click on the image for a larger view.)

I hope the directions above make the mural easy to find. If those aren't enough, Google gives the approximate address 1420 W San Xavier Rd, Tucson, AZ 85746. To open the map yourself, here's a link: https://maps.app.goo.gl/GxGrT6HypMUkv9NZ7.

I was there on April 3, 2024.

Murals being made, part 80: Canyon Restoration

A former Allstate insurance office became Canyon Restoration — probably sometime last year. (The business isn't restoration for canyons. They repair things like water damage.) The formerly boring white building now has a big mural, and a couple of small ones, by Alejandra Trujillo.

Let's start with the building on April 2, 2024. At the end, we'll show photos of the painting in progress and also the building before the mural.

The photo above shows the north wall, along Bellevue Street, with a big mural. At the top left is a former Allstate sign that the artist turned into a mural:

Two more closeups, from left to right… the first one is followed by a cropped version showing the artist's signature:

As you can see in the closeup above, this might have been an interesting job for Alejandra because because the back (west) side of the building is a lot lower than the front (east) side.

Here's the front (east) side with an former Allstate sign that's now a little mural:

Next, the mural in progress on February 13, 2024:

As always, to see more detail, click on the photo above.

This Google Maps Street view from April 2023 shows a Canyon Restoration sign on the east side and an Allstate sign on the north side:

Construction fence downtown, 2012

On June 25th, Guy Brunt (click there to visit his Facebook account) posted that 12-year-old photo to the Facebook group Tucson Murals and Street Art. It's of murals/paintings on a construction fence downtown. He wrote:

a "step back in time" — July 2, 2012 (almost 12 years ago) — the intersection of Congress & 5th…the streetcar line was under construction and downtown was "torn up"…this didn't inhibit the "Meet Me At Maynards" participants…we still walked and ran thru the streets every Monday evening…and someone had the vision to adorn some of the fencing with art to help brighten up downtown…quintessential "street art"…

I like to share old Tucson murals here so people can see them for years to come. Thanks much, Guy!

Speedy SES on Sixth Avenue

Monty “SES” Esposito painted three small murals on boards with classic Tucson subjects. There's also a larger mural, the last one below, at the corner of 6th & Congress. They were attached to downtown storefronts just north of Congress along the west side of 6th Avenue (across from Ronstadt Transit Center).

I snapped these photos on April 7, 2024. Three months later, I'm not sure if the murals are still there. Check them out while you can!

Mission View Elementary blasts off

Mission View Elementary School has lots of murals outside. Most are on the main building. (You can see them in our previous post, “Mural View Elementary” is a better name.) There's also a building one block west, on the school grounds. We showed it on October 8, 2015, in the post Around the corner at “Mural View” Elementary.

Here it is on May 25, 2024 — taken through holes in the chain-link fence, near the building's northwest corner:

The “Dream it. Achieve it.” is the English version of the mural in our previous post, at the corner of 37th Street and 8th Avenue: “Sueñalo. Logralo.”

"Mural View Elementary" is a better name

This school's real name is Mission View Elementary. Back on May 11, 2010, we showed three murals near the corner of 37th Street and 8th Avenue in Mission View (or Mural View?) Elementary. There are several murals I didn't photograph in 2010 — probably because they weren't there then. Since the end of 2023, I've made two trips to try to catch all of the murals around the outside walls.

South wall (along 37th St.)

Let's start at the school entrance along 37th Street, a ways west of 8th Avenue. To the right (east) of the entrance is a mural that's been there since at least 2010. I snapped it on May 25, 2024:

A bit farther east is a patio with a mosaic bench along the west side and a mosaic hanging on the east wall. The photos are from May 25th:

Just east of the patio is this mural:

At the right edge of the mural is what looks to me like a tall chile or gourd. It's titled Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum Amigos del Desierto (friends of the desert). Near the bottom is 98-99 (1998-1999), Artist: Russell Kahn and Consultant: Axhel Muñoz.

Southeast corner (37th St. @ 8th Ave.)

Maybe partly because of their wide-angle setup, Google Maps Street View had a more complete photo than I could get of the southeast corner:



I chopped the left and right sections of the first mural into two photos so it's easier to see details. Here's the left:

Next, the right section of that mural. The banner has faded a lot, so I've tried to make the closeup easier to read:

It says:

NUEVOS HORIZONTES ART AND ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAM ~ 1994

A CELEBRATION OF OUR DIFFERENCES ~ A TRIBUTE TO OUR ANCESTORS

The Sueñalo Logralo mural was added long after the mural to the left. (Google Maps Street View shows a blank white space from February 2008 to January 2021, and the mural in April 2022.) In English, that's: Dream it. Achieve it.

Northeast corner (36th St. @ 8th Ave.)

On the northeast corner of campus, December 16, 2023, were a round wall that looked like a sitting area to me and a mural on the north wall:

When I came back on May 25, 2024, parts of the round area were broken into chunks. I didn't take photos. Here's the December version:

Next, the mural. The tree at top right is a real tree, not part of the mural:

The mural has several names of people and families. These closeups show most of them:

Just west (to the right) of the mural, lying in a nook of assorted fence parts and other stuff, is what looks like a mural panel. I spotted it on May 25th. The top (at left, in shadow) has some names and a deer dancer:

Two last notes:

• The center and corners of intersection just northeast of the school are painted. See our August 10, 2021 post 8th Avenue & 36th Street from above.
• Next time, we'll show a little building farther west from the main building.

Painted intersection near Corbett's

Just northeast of Corbett's Beer Garden (you can click there to see murals) is the intersection of 5th Avenue and 7th Street. BG Boyd Photography took this aerial photo:

The data hidden in that photo file says the drone took it on February 18, 2024.

I took photos of two corners from the ground on March 29, 2024. First, the northeast corner:

And the northwest corner: