For a medium sized city Tucson has a lot of very talented artistic people. Every once in a while they have a ‘Made in Tucson’ market. Like many of the other markets it is located near Fourth Avenue, this time a few blocks along 7th Street.
This market was restricted to 300 vendors, with over 500 applying to participate.
There were all sorts of wares offered for sale.
Rightfully so, the artists are proud of their work and more than happy to explain their craft.
The food court included a number of trucks and one ‘food horse trailer’!
The 3 week long Tucson Gem, Mineral and Art Shows is done for 2023, but not without looking back at some of the colorful and interesting people from all over the world we met at the shows.
Many of them were working on their art onsite.
Some offered sounds to go with the incredible sights.
A few insisted I take their photos!
We end the shows with some good karma provided by crystal vibes. See you next year.
As mentioned in an earlier posting the Tucson Gem and Mineral Shows are far more than just gems and minerals. One of the more colorful, and larger shows, is the African Art Show.
There were rows and rows of vendors with all sorts of colorful items.
First up – a Ghana Djembe.
A Benin bronze statue.
A grouping of wooden giraffes.
A Bembe carving from the Congo.
Many of the booths had walls of masks.
Senegalese woven grass baskets.
A collection of masks from the Congo.
According to the all knowing Google Images these small carvings are most likely from the Ivory Coast. Once again proving I should take better notes.
This bust has a great mix of carving and bead work.
The same booth had these amazing full bead work sculptures.
People from all over the world come to Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. There are more than 40 different locations throughout the city where more than 4000 vendors have booths and tents set up. This posting is for a visit to the Kino Gem and Mineral Show.
With the show running for more than 2 weeks, more posting will follow.
Some of the vendors are wholesale only.
Most however are geared to the general public. All have an eclectic collection of items for sale, starting with the minerals and gems.
The majority have collections of more finished items.
Others aren’t even gems, but still make for great photos.
The figurines were traditionally given to the young during ceremonies to teach them of the culture and history, as well as hope for the future. They were not designed to be played with, rather studied and celebrated. The wikipedia page for Katsina/Kachina’s provides a good overview of the history and meaning of the designs. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopi_Kachina_figure
I welcome any corrections to the identifications of the individual figurines.
The first two are actually Ezra Brooks Whiskey decanters. The company started producing these in the 1970s but had to stop as they were violating the copyrights that the Hopi had on them. This then caused the ones that did exist to become valuable.
In days past most cars had hood ornaments used primarily to communicate the brand. Most of the very early ones also served as radiator caps.
Our look at this art form on the hood start with a 1930s Cadillac. It was known as the Flying Goddess, and was available on Cadillacs up until the late 1950s.
Having failed to note what car this is on, this ‘coiled cobra’ hood ornament only shows up on a 1931 Isotta Fraschini using a Google Images search.
Another Goddess, this one is the Packard Goddess of Speed.
Another great Packard hood ornament. Supposedly patterned on the family crest, it has been called a pelican or sometimes a cormorant.
The 1930 Cadillac LaSalle ornament is leading the way.
The emblem below the ornament indicates this is a 1932 Cadillac LaSalle.
The Cadillac LaSalle series continues with this 1938.
A similar look to the Cadillac, this art deco style ornament is from a 1930s Packard.
The Quail from a 1930s Ford.
This Chevrolet of he same time period has this ornament known as the Confederate
As we move into the 1950s Oldsmobile the ornaments are much more streamlined.
Our final ornament is a swan from an unidentified car. Feel free to identify.
Tucson is home to the Mini Time Machine Museum of Miniatures, which by the name gave me the impression that it would be a slightly interesting, but kitschy Roadside America type of a place. I was surprised to find the building, and contents to be a high quality museum.
The museum is a result of the passion of Patricia Arnell and her husband Walter. Pat started collecting miniatures as a small girl in the 1930s, up until she passed away just last year.
The collection, stated to number more than 500, including some from 200 years ago, and features a fantastic collection of displays over the years, hence the name Mini Time Machines.
The details are amazing – notice the tiny loom has an actual rug being weaved.
Many of the displays feature well known people or items. When close up’s are taken it is difficult to realize these items are just a few inches tall.
As an Addams Family fan, I spent considerable time checking out the entire family, each in their own room.
It is only when you see a collection of them with people in the background do you get a sense of the small scale, and intricate detail.
The collection is wide and varied, all with great detail – note the bottles on the table.
The artist and his collection of tiny paintings.
A library full of individual books.
The Mini Time Machine Museums of Miniatures is a highlight of Tucson.
On the far west side of Tucson is one of those fantastically quirky shops that is a must stop. Just driving by says STOP.
The store and museum has been in Tucson for over 50 years. They advertise they have over 100,000 minerals and gems in the store. They were more than happy to let me take some photos, which I have done my best to identify here (no guarantees on accuracy of the identifications). In addition looking up the details on each has given me an education (thanks to Wikipedia and others).
Amethyst – A lilac variety of quartz.
Citrine – A yellow quartz thought by some to have self healing and inspirational qualities.
Quartz – The second most abundant mineral in Earth’s crust.
Malachite – A copper carbonate hydroxide mineral most often found deep underground.
Hyalite – An opal with that can have some color to it.
Yellow Muscovite – A hydrated phyllosilicate mineral of aluminum and potassium. More silicate.
Azurite – A soft deep blue copper.
Scolecite – A tectosilicate mineral in the zeolite group. To go further a tectosilicate is a silicate that have three dimensional framework of silicate tetrahedra.
Rubellite – A red or pink variety of tourmaline. Tourmaline is a crystalline silicate.
Pyrite – An iron sulfide, aka – fools gold.
In addition they have a number of unique pieces of art. If you are in the area you must check out this place, it is a hoot. And they are just down the road from Tucson Mountain Park and Saguaro National Park West.
The deCordova Sculpture Park is located in suburban Boston, and features one of the largest rotating collections in New England. Situated on the former estate of Julian de Cordova, it covers more than 30 acres.
Nathan Mabry – Heavy Handed.
Isaac Witkin – Jacob’s Dream.
Dennis Kowal – Migration Series Number 7
Jaume Plensa – Humming.
Bianca Beck – Untitled, but meant to represent the human body.
A true Arizona legend and character was the artist Ettore ‘Ted’ DeGrazia. Born in the mining town of Morenci, Ted grew up the son of Italian immigrants. When the mine closed the family eventually moved back to Italy, where Ted spent his informative years, before returning at the age of 14 when the mines reopened.
He made his way to Tucson at age 23 and enrolled in the University of Arizona, working as a musician and landscaper to pay his way. It was here he became an artist, eventually becoming renown enough to work as an apprentice for Diego Rivera.
He had a studio in the city of Tucson, but decided he wanted to escape to the desert, so he bought 10 acres in what was then remote land along the mountain foothills. That land now makes up De Grazia’s Gallery in the Sun.
The main building houses much of his life’s work.
The gallery is much more than just the works of art in the main building. Ted built numerous buildings and other structures on the property.
One courtyard has a desert garden.
The day of our visit coincided with the Fiesta de Guadalupe. This festival included music and dancers, we were fortunate enough to see the Ballet Folkorico.
The Gallery in the Sun is a unique place well worth the visit.
RDZ Photography 