Category Archives: Art in Arizona

A Superior Visit

20 Sunday Jul 2025

Posted by in Arizona, Art in Arizona, Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Murals, Public Art, Superior Arizona, Uncategorized

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Not long ago Hiking Buddy and I returned to Boyce Thompson Arboretum and the little town of Superior. We got off to an early start because these days it gets very hot very fast. In spite of the climbing mercury, we enjoyed a very pleasant visit to BTA, walking the main loop (fear-o-snakes kept us off the more rugged paths) and visiting the Wallace Collection. This extraordinary collection of over 5,800 plants and trees, originally situated in Scottsdale, began its move to BTA in cars, trucks and semis in late 2015. It was a mammoth undertaking; many of the plants and trees were well established and old, which means moving them was risky and tricky. Well over 90% of the specimens survived the 75 mile journey, a remarkable achievement. Hiking Bud and I had visited the collection shortly after the new 13-acre garden was opened; it was… well, new-seeming. The plants had not yet settled, the shade was spotty. To be blunt it was underwhelming. What a change a few years has made. The new garden is a delight, tempting trails lead hither and yon, signage is okay, and the whole garden has a welcoming feel. The plants are well-established and have filled in the former gaps. The Wallace Collection trails are in blue on the lower left of this map of the entire Arboretum.

After the exertions of our walk, we headed into one of our favorite places, Superior. One of the delights of Superior is driving around and admiring the murals painted on the buildings. The last time we visited Superior we were there to take a hike, and didn’t spend much time downtown. The last time we really looked at the buildings together was 2016, when we took a Superior House Tour, so we were due for a good bounce and gawk.

The Tucson Mural Project visited Superior in 2020 so their photos are a bit out of date. The murals change from time to time – weather takes a terrific toll on paint in the desert, new folks come along with a need to express themselves. It means that a repeat visit to this little town will always have something new to offer.

The food bank is covered with cheerful veggies:
I particularly like this painting, which was new to me. A quote from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, it’s a great reminder for those of us on a Superior amble.
We’d not seen this very large mural, an homage to the famous Southwestern painter Frida Kahlo.
Hiking Buddy once considered buying a pied-a-terre in Superior. I don’t know if this is an ad for a realtor (there are many serving Superior) or if it’s something else. I’m guessing realtor. Sold! BANG!
This whimsical and faintly disturbing mural fascinates me because I have no idea what it’s about, other than that F=ma is Newton’s second law of motion (Force = mass X acceleration). I don’t know what the other formula is – if you do, can you tell me in comments?

Back in the day we used to enjoy stopping at the Sunflower Cafe, which closed sometime around Covid. We were so happy to see that a new, charming restaurant/bar/cafe has taken its place, Bella’s. Being Italian in decor and flavor, it spoke to me right away.

An appealing menu, clean decor, good food and a well-stocked bar – what’s not to like? (photo from Yelp)

Hiking Buddy had a minimal breakfast before our exertions, so she had a real breakfast. I had had a hearty breakfast, so opted for ‘only’ a crème brûlée, from which, I was assured, all the calories had been removed.

HB’s fresh spinach omelette (made from real eggs, if you please), some kind of potato fry and something else. She ate every last scrap, even the ketchup, and declared it all delicious.
This was the best crème brûlée I ever had in my whole life. The custard was cool and creamy with just the right amount of firmness, the sugar caramel crust was warm and beautifully brittle, and spoke words of love to the custard beneath. I’m so glad they took out the calories!

We had further adventures awaiting us on our jaunt (*antique malls*!) so it was time to toddle off. As we left, though, we paused to admire and take a photo of one of our very favorite Superior murals, painted by our dear buddy Anne Coe.

Anne is a quintessential Western painter (4-th generation Arizonian). Her work is both serious and whimsical. Take a look at her link to see more of her paintings.

Boyce Thompson Arboretum is well-known and much visited. Superior is arguably not as well known, but is more than worth the time, not only for the charming downtown and murals, but for the nearby hiking trails. Put it on your list of places to visit, you won’t regret it.

The MAC

22 Tuesday Apr 2025

Posted by in Art in Arizona, Arts and crafts, Uncategorized

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Every month or two a small group of friends meets to eat mid-day. Yes! We are the Ladies Who Lunch, and we offer no apologies.

Recently we have taken ourselves to the Mesa Arts Center for a look at the exhibits in the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum (we prefer to think of it as ‘the MAC’ rather than the MCAM; our way rolls more happily off the tongue). As museums go it’s small, intimate even, with just a few exhibit rooms. The shows lean towards local and regional artists, though the Museum casts a wide net when seeking exhibitors. What amazes me every time I go is how many very talented artists there are, producing interesting and stimulating pieces, year in, year out.

A couple of weeks ago we caught the end of the 46th Annual Contemporary Craft exhibit. These are not crafts the way you see them at the local Craft Fair, these are more along the lines of the Arts part of Arts and Crafts. We did not see a single gourd bird-feeder or framed photo of the Superstitions (no shade on gourd art, that’s just not what the MAC exhibits). Instead we found glass, fabric and ceramic pieces that demanded attention and, if you’ll excuse some artsy-fartsy talk, dialog with the viewer. Here, in no particular order is some of what we saw. If I’ve erred on titles, I apologize in advance to the artists.

This piece cracked me up – at first I thought it was a bunch of bananas, but no. It is 81 porcelain cactuses, suspended from the ceiling over a representation of ground. Titled What Comes After, most of the cactuses are illuminated by LED lights. It was made by Tucson artist Joseph Sivilli in 2024.

Roisan Rubio’s Breaking the Social Contract, 2022 was another quite large installation:

The artist, in his statement, said, “This installation reflects on the broken social contract between society and its instututions, focusing on the often overlooked epidemic of violence within Black communities. Each ceramic bullet represents a life lost to violence in a single year in cities like Detroit, St. Louis or Baltimore.” This work made me feel sad and helpless.

Heidi Dauphin used paper lists, thread, watercolor and fabric in Circle Squares with Lists, 2023.

I make my lists on my phone now. How much more fun it would be to stitch up a quilt of lists before heading out to the grocery store! How envious the other shoppers would be.

Jim S. Smoote II from Chicago showed several works in quilted textiles. Damon portrays a ‘typical young man,’ through painting and traditional quilting techniques.

I wish I could quilt so well! The above is from another of his quilted and appliqued works:

Richard Ansaldi, from Tucson, used clay and horse hair rope to make Roping Skills and Pot Sherds Beneath the Fabled Red “Sipapu,” 2023. And no, I don’t understand the title fully. A sipapu is a small hole or indentation in the floor of a kiva. Pueblo mythology (Hopi, Zuni, Acuma) suggests that people first emerged onto earth from the sipapu.

John Randall Nelson had us all chuckling again with his Bellhop to Bishop, 2024:

What are these beings? The are, “manifestations of the Fool and Trickster figures of deep-rooted mythos.” As the artist statement and the printing on one of the figures suggests, “The artist sees himself in them and winces with recognition.” This piece won the 2025 Juror’s Award.

Two of the smaller pieces captured my heart the moment I saw them. Steve Hagan’s pithily titled Lime Wedge, 2024 is a glass creation that simultaneously made my mouth water and my gullet crave a margherita. How does a glassmaker achieve such detail??

I’ve saved my favorite of the exhibit for last. I can’t tell you exactly why I like it so much, perhaps because of its simplicity. It is made of handwoven linen, cochineal dye, cactus spikes and a found object. It is called 31 over 110, 2023, and refers to the summer of 2023 when those of us in the Valley survived 31 days with temperatures exceeding 110 F, a result of the climate change that is affecting the entire planet. As Ann Morton, the artist, cheerfully concludes, ” Our days are numbered.”

There were many, many more objects in this excellent juried exhibit; in fact, I have tons more photos on my phone of pieces that appealed to me, but I fear your patience may be wearing thin.

Yes, these pieces were made of materials that are frequently associated with the more homely ‘crafts,’ but they transcend merely pleasing objects. They invited us to engage with them, to think about what they represent, and to react, viscerally and intellectually. It was a delightful exhibit in the true sense of the word, and I came away invigorated and… delighted. Of course it didn’t hurt that I was with congenial friends and that lunch awaited, just around the corner.

16th Street

09 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Art in Arizona, Eating out in Arizona, Food, Mexican food, Restaurants, Uncategorized

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Faithful readers of this blog (thank you!) know that Speedy and I don’t go out to eat very often. Speedy’s skill at stove and oven makes almost everything else seem pedestrian at best and second-rate at worst. A visit from a dear Swiss friend was the impetus for us to break our usual practice and venture forth for a meal, in this case lunch.

Our friend needed to be at the airport at 3, so we decided to look for a place near Sky Harbor (I love that name for an airport – don’t you? So friendly, but somehow exciting too). Speedy did his research and came up with La Santisima on 16th Street in Phoenix. It is well-reviewed on Yelp, somewhere north of four stars. Not many places do that well, so we felt pretty optimistic.

santisima-restaurant-exteriorIsn’t that a beautiful door? And a mighty fine bench, too. My purse fits right in with the color scheme. Bellas Artes de Mexico has provided all the furnishings and decorations of this pocket-sized eatery.

Our meals certainly exceeded our expectations. I had two house specialty veggie tacos, and they were sublime. Clearly the veg were all fresh and had been sauteed just before being generously heaped on two soft double tacos. I chose the plate, so my tacos were accompanied by a 1/3 sized cup of rice – just the right amount – and a splash of refried beans with Mexican cheese melted on top. My plate was hot, though the food on it was tepid – but it was so delicious I didn’t mind. Our friend had the same taco I had; here are poor photos of our two plates (this was actually a photo of the two of us, I’ve deleted us and enlarged the food):

ellys-taco my-tacos

Clearly I wasn’t thinking about taking good foodie pics. But I’m sharing them for two reasons – one, to show you how intelligent the portions are and how truly beautiful the tacos are; and two, to show you just a couple of the salsas from the restaurant’s salsa bar. In addition to the usual pico di gallo, salsa cruda, salsa chipotle, etc., there were salsa di guacamole (top photo on left), salsa di cilantro, and salsa di fresa (strawberry, top photo on right), as well as others I don’t remember.

Speedy ate a pork and beans burrito and reports that it was “very good.” That’s high praise. Our friend declared her taco, “the best taco I have ever eaten in my whole life.” This is a woman with a fair amount of travel, not to mention tacos, under her belt, so you can take her word for it. This was delicious food, and we saw some enticing plates being delivered to nearby tables (very nearby – it’s a small restaurant and they don’t waste space).

Our host, who flew around non-stop, was very kind when we asked him to turn down the music a tad – he immediately complied, which meant we could actually have a delightful conversation with our long not-seen friend.

But I’m not here to write only about the restaurant, as you may guess from the quality of the food photos. I’m here to write about the neighborhood. We’re definitely returning to this top notch restaurant, and I’ll write more about it when we do.

16th Street north of McDowell is on the edge of a largely Hispanic neighborhood (interesting article on cultural diversity of Phoenix here. It includes a map giving percentages of various ethnicities and where they reside). It is not the most elegant neighborhood in Phoenix, but it is surely one of the most artistically interesting that we’ve visited.

art-on-outside-of-shopAfter lunch we took a short stroll – it was in the mid-90’s, too hot to enjoy much of the post-prandial thing. The building above (the sign says Thai Body Healing/TaSen Buddha) houses a little shop that carries woo-woo items, used clothing, and some fun toys for kids. In addition there is a small coffee shop, an art gallery and, in back (beyond the small elevated stage which was surrounded by children’s toys) what might be a sculpture garden or, perhaps, just a place to dump stuff. There was also a bathroom, of which I was in great need at that very moment.

sign-in-the-toilet-stallThis was hanging over the toilet. I’m ashamed to say I did not comply with the upper command. Maybe I was in the wrong room?

Over the sink was this anatomically vague figure, carefully labeled with such diseases as wrenched ankle, broken heart, water on the knee. I don’t know if it’s art or a children’s game. Note the Scrabble tile holders and a basket of tiles; I couldn’t find all the letters I wanted, so my message read “T_AN_  U. I hope it was clear enough.

1008161353other-bathroom-artI’m not sure what this signifies, but I stared at it for a while.

Outside we continued our stroll, and came upon several more wonderful murals. I got good photos of only one of them. I’m sorry to say I don’t know who the artist is – research needed!

ellie-and-louis-in-front-of-muralSpeedy and our friend give scale to the left side of this mural. The rest of it is below. (I know, there is such a thing as a ‘landscape setting,’ but I neglected to use it (not my best photo day, I guess).

rest-of-that-muralThis area definitely demands a return visit to seek out more of the graffiti and mural art. It is not the only part of Phoenix that sports such excellent examples. Katrina Montgomery has documented her 40 favorites in the New Times. I can’t wait to go hunt for some of them. A picture is fine, but to see such a large piece of art in person is really much more fun.