The Tumamoc preserve is an island of wild land surrounded by a developing city, and it’s more protected than a park. It is owned and managed by the University of Arizona, yet it belongs to the community as long as we respect it. Everyone is welcome to use Tumamoc Hill for whatever it has to give. But, as in any relationship, we must also reciprocate, give back to the Hill by respecting it. In it’s simplest form, that means stay on the road, walk during authorized hours, and do no harm to the natural integrity of the place. It was here long before we were.
In other terms, Tumamoc is an opportunity to connect to a landscape in a personal way. It gives a sense of place to our community and it’s protection can become a humanistic and cultural value as well as a scientific one.
Read more at Tumamoc Sketchbook.
I have walked Tumamoc Hill for years and been fascinated by the setting, environment, architecture,
and people who work there. But I was only seeing it from the pavement. I welcomed the opportunity to work with Paul Mirocha and other artists, as well as a group of poets, to explore off the “beaten path,” on a project to document the place through words and images.
I was soon drawn to the physical artifacts strewn across the land; looking at, listening, and arranging these objects offers insight into the layers and depths of the history of this place. I see the discarded as valuable evidence, and their arrangements both found and manipulated, reveal a powerful narrative. The concept of Found is a continuing theme of my work; I imagine myself as a sort of urban archeologist, seeing, collecting, and arranging evidence of this place.
Here is one result of the collaboration between Artists and Poets:
This Piece of Earth, 2013-2014
Read Shane’s insightful review: Sonoran Arts Network
Book Signing at Antigone’s June 6
Promises to be a great event! Unfortunately I can’t be there, maybe someone else would read one of my “poems?
Early spring Brittlebush display, looking towards downtown:
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