Friday, December 31, 2021
New Year, New Mural
The repainting got a lot of attention in the press from Tucsonans, and especially the neighborhood around this 200-yard-long mural. A number of the articles who first painted it 20 years ago came back: Pasqualina Azzarello, Adam Cooper-Terán, Matt Cotten, Paloma Jacqueline, yu yu shiratori, Serena Tang, and Gavin Troy. Pasqualina was the lead artist; she flew in from Massachusetts. The Arizona Daily Star section #ThisIsTucson tells some of the story in their December 21 article This Tucson mural was restored by its original artists 20 years after its creation. Pasqualina tells the story of the mural and more in a 34-minute-long podcast on KXCI community radio on December 22: Pasqualina Azzarello – Painter, Public Artist, Educator, and Community Advocate.
Painting wrapped up on Thursday, December 23. Donations from Tucsonans, and especially from the neighborhood around the mural, paid for high-quality paint that should last even longer than the amazing 20-year life of the previous paint. (West-facing murals tend to fade quickly in Tucson's strong summer sun.) The first plan was to recognize major donors with personalized stars on the mural; now donors will be thanked on placards that will be attached to the mural in the coming weeks.
Ten years after this blog started, we posted photos of the entire mural, from north to south, in Ten years of Tucson murals. (That post also includes a video of the whole thing.) The mural is painted on 16 sections of the long wall. Below are our 2016 photos followed by photos of the same sections — from the north end to the south — taken on Christmas, December 25. Our next post — January 4, 2022 — will show highlights of the mural before and after repainting. Parts of the mural have been simplified… I'm guessing that makes sense because there's no way just a few artists could re-paint every detail of the mural in two weeks!
As I mentioned, our next post — January 4, 2022 — will show before-and-after closeups of parts of the mural. The section numbers above each group of photos will be used to locate each close-up. See you then, and Happy 2022!
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Monsoon in a Bottle
Friday, December 24, 2021
An unusual shopper
Here are some close-ups: I shopped until I dropped on November 20th.
Tuesday, December 21, 2021
Untitled
I chose 'Untitled' over 'Large Round Object'. Without knowing the intent of the artists I can only guess whether it's a sunrise or sunset or even a partial eclipse.
The mural was found and photographed on Nov. 23, 2021. It's located on E. 1st St. on the north wall of 1000 N. Park Ave.
By Brady Fellows and Mike Cochiolo |
Click on the photo for a larger image.
Saturday, December 18, 2021
Community mural dedication today!
I hope to see you this afternoon!
Update (December 19, 2021): Quite a few people turned out yesterday to see the mural. Police blocked off the lane of Stone closest to the mural to give more space. Here are two photos: Some parts aren't finished yet. Artists will be working from time to time this week.
Friday, December 17, 2021
Learning Bee is buzzing (sorry :)
Here's the mural along 22nd Street, then two closeups and the artists' signature:
Tuesday, December 14, 2021
Untagged Treasure
On Jan. 15, 2014, Jerry Peek posted a mural that had been heavily tagged. You can find it here: Tagged treasure. I came across this same mural on Nov. 23, 2021. All of the tags have been removed yet the underlying mural remains unchanged. Thus, the new name, "Untagged Treasure". Here's my photo:
Artist Not Known |
It's along N. Los Altos Rd., on the west side of the building at 502 East Ft. Lowell Rd.
Click on the photo for a larger image.
Monday, December 13, 2021
Huge community mural repainting: help needed!
Can you imagine how much paint it takes to cover a 200-yard-long mural? (It's a lot.) The team of artists is in the final homestretch to meet their fundraising goals. Their GoFundMe page North Stone Avenue Mural Revitalization Project has details and a place where you can donate. For donations of $50 and above, they'll also hand-paint a star with your name or someone's you choose.
Thanks for your help. I'll hope to see you on Saturday!
Update (December 14, 2021): KGUN 9 TV news ran a story today (with video): Tucson mural along Stone Avenue in need of some restoration.