Weekend Reflections - Happy New Year

I saw this reflection in the window of a small shop downtown:

It turned out to be a decorative street lamp with a colored glass shade and whimsical metal butterflies.

And there was even a little caterpillar just beginning its journey!


New Years is a time of reflection and also a new beginning...enjoy!

For more "Weekend Reflections" posts, click here to visit James at Newtown Area Photo.

Skywatch - at the gardens

under autumn sky
hunting for sunny colors
the bee and i

To enjoy skies from around the world visit Skywatch Friday.
Thanks to the Skywatch Team: Klaus, Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy, Louise and Sylvia

Ruby Tuesday - Sonora

Sonora is a monumental steel sculpture which stands in front of the main library in the heart of downtown Tucson. Completed in 1991 by artist David Black, the piece is an example of proto-architecture that blends sculptural and architectural elements with abstract imagery from native cultures and the environment.



The pavilion-like roof and arches are designed for people to walk under and the curved benches are for sitting on.
Southwest Native American basket designs are found around the top of the structure.
The huge central ring of the sculpture rests on arrow-like columns.
Sonora also features abstractions of streams, wind and mountains from the desert landscape. The bright red color represents Tucson's mountains at sunset.

I like this reflection of Sonora in the windows of the library. You can see books inside as well as buildings, cars and a red bicycle parked outside.

The sculpture reminds me of a dinosaur. It is a coincidence that the artwork is named Sonora because in 1995 the fossilized remains of a dinosaur were found in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. The genus was named Sonorasaurus which means "Sonora lizard."

Unfortunately, I was viewing Sonora when the sun wasn't right for casting shadows of the structure onto the ground. Next time I visit downtown, I'll look for Sonora's shadows.

For more Ruby Tuesday Posts featuring red things, visit Mary at Work of the Poet.

Cactus Monday - Downtown

Our recent trip to Downtown Tucson made me realize how little I know about the city's center. I'm learning that "The Old Pueblo," as Tucson is nicknamed, has many facets that are worth exploring. We did stumble upon some cactus and other plant forms on our quick trip, but we barely scratched the surface.

This is one of two matching metal basket towers on Scott Avenue at Broadway. It appears the bottom of the obelisk has information about the architecture of the area. Something to check out on on another visit.
The top looks like a Hohokam basket filled with prickly pears and some other plants.
A saguaro harvest is taking place on the lower portion of this wall treatment.
Notice the similar shapes of the basket tower and the Native American figure on the tiles.
A saguaro cactus echos the shapes of the archways in the superior court building.
A purple saguaro bus stop shelter:
This was my favorite bus stop:
At first I thought the big flower was a cactus blossom, but the trailing vines and leaves look like they belong to the rose family.
The flower's filaments are twisted steel rebar. I liked their shadows.
Another giant metal flowering plant sprouts out from the ground beside a sidewalk:
More plant forms on walls of buildings:
The artwork below is hard to see because of the busy reflection. The window has a wrought iron saguaro cactus with a bird and a human figure. It's across the street from the Chicago Store on Congress Street.
I'm kind of curious how the muscle man relates to the cactus here. Looks like they might be saying, "cheers!"

Happy Cactus Monday!

For more cactus posts, visit Teri at Teri's Painted Daisies.

The Griffin of Scott Avenue

By definition, a griffin is a fabled monster, usually having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a lion. So what is this 12-foot glittery orange half-lion, half-eagle doing in downtown Tucson?






Rumor has it that this creature is a reincarnation of one of four griffins that once guarded the nearby 1901 Carnegie Library on 6th Avenue.

As the story goes, in 1941 when the library was burning down, one griffin fled by foot. The old library building is now the Tucson Children's Museum. Today, one can follow griffin footprints embedded in the pavement from the children's museum to the new griffin sculpture.

Part of the Scott Avenue revitalization project unveiled in May, the steel griffin sculpture by local artist Joe O'Connell can be found on Scott Avenue at Corral Street. If you're anywhere in the vicinity, you can't miss it. It's big...it's orange...and it sparkles in the sunlight!

And after dark, red lights on the griffin's ribcage light up its raised wings.

Spiny Metal