Tile lizards dance with ceramic dogs as stylized sunbursts shine on geometric wildflowers.
Rectangular shards of mirrored glass reflect the positive energy that went into producing Tucson's inaugural kindness mural - the first of what Jeannette Maré-Packard hopes will grow into a "kindness corridor" of mosaic murals stretching along University Boulevard and continuing on Fourth Avenue and into downtown Tucson.
Organizers expected to spend five days putting together the kindness-themed mural on a west-facing wall in a parking lot at North Tyndall Avenue near the University of Arizona Main Gate, but with 40-plus volunteers working in shifts, the mosaic was completed Friday afternoon, said Maré-Packard, founder of Ben's Bells. Another smaller mural on the south side of the same building, near the corner of Park Avenue and University Boulevard, will be expanded after the first of the year.
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Ben's Bells and the Tucson Unified School District's Community Transition Programs, with support from the charitable Marshall Foundation, brought in award-winning Philadelphia mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar, to head the project.
"The vision is to tie the community together with this kindness corridor," said Transition Programs coordinator Dan Perino.
Two days before volunteers began their work, Zagar outlined his vision for the mural in paint. Bits of mirror flow through the mural forming the continuous line that shapes Zagar's comic-book-style faces within. Volunteers then filled the voids with tiles and ceramic pieces - some intact, others deliberately broken. The mural was finished off with tinted grout-like concrete and painted outlines to create a bold and colorful work of art.
Julio Ochoa, from the TUSD program for young adults with disabilities, did prep work, painting and firing some of the specialty ceramic tiles that went onto the mural. It was his favorite part of the mural process "because you get your heart and inspiration into painting the tiles."
Other students from Community Transition Programs, including Joe Cox and Koa Figueroa were filming the mural's progress for a class video project.
The bearded, grandfatherly Zagar, in his colorful knit cap, guided the students and other volunteers, many of whom had no previous experience with mosaic work.
"What really struck me about Isaiah is he's really great at crystallizing it and making it understandable," said volunteer Rob McCright. "It's been a really remarkable process to see how he harnesses all this energy and makes it work."
Tim Minerd found the artist's tutorials equally helpful: "I don't know what I'm doing. He demonstrates and I do it."
Zagar built on Maré-Packard's theme of kindness, with letters painted on tiles to spell out the phrase, "Be kind to others."
With that base, the 70-year-old artist improvised on the theme.
Though guiding such a large group of volunteers has the potential to become chaotic, Zagar enjoyed working with the TUSD students.
"Almost every one of those young people has an older person guiding them and it's very loving, he said. "It's very inspirational watching the love and acceptance."
For more information about the kindness mural project, go to www.bensbells.org or call 628-2829. Go to www.philadelphiasmagicgardens.org to see photos of Zagar's other works.
On StarNet: To see a slide show of Tucson's first kindness mural go to azstarnet.com and click on this story.
Contact reporter Kimberly Matas at kmatas@azstarnet.com or at 573-4191.
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