In the Spring of 2018, Nolagirl and I went to Mesa, Arizona for the spark! Festival of Creativity. On our way to and from the festival at the grounds of the Mesa Arts Center, we looked at some of the city’s other public art.
Don’t know much about Mesa, AZ? I didn’t either until I lived and worked in the area on a couple of different occasions and explored the downtown alone and with Nolagirl.
[l]ocated in Maricopa County and just 15 miles east of Phoenix, Mesa covers 138 square miles, is the third largest city in Arizona and the 36th largest city in the nation.
Who knew?
If you weren’t paying attention, you could drive into Mesa and never even knew you’d left Phoenix.
In my experience, Mesa is full of meth, Mormons, subdivisions in which the houses look like they were produced with the same cookie cutter, and plenty of places to shop. Mesa’s downtown hosts many pieces of public art, and that’s lots of fun. Some of the pieces in Mesa’s public sculpture collection I’ve written about include The Big Pink Chair, Booked for the Day, Scrap Book Boy, Teaching Children Since 1878, Humpty Dumpty, and Two Horses.
On the warm afternoon Nolagirl and I were in Mesa, we saw a lot of art and a clock. I thought the clock was interesting, so I took a photo of it.
Town Center Clock in Mesa, AZ
I thought I’d find a lot of information about the clock online. I thought I’d use the photos I took along with the info I found in my research and write up an informative blog post.
Not so much.
There just isn’t that much information about the clock online, or at least not much that I could find.
…the 1926 Town Center Clock located at the NE corner of W. Main and Macdonald. This clock was originally across the street at 61 West Main but, was moved to this corner in 1932. The clock mechanism has been updated.
Hey! Ok! That’s something. (This information, along with a photo of the clock when it said “The Valley Bank” above the face, can be found on the Mesa Historic Downtown Walking Tour brochure.)
This clock replicates one that stood on the corner outside of the Valley National Bank from 1928 [sic] to 1958. It was a landmark and a gathering place for the downtown area. In the year 2000, the clock was rebuilt by the City of Mesa.
I think that information comes from the plaque at the base of the clock.
This plaque leaves me with more questions than it answers. Why was the clocked moved across the street in 1931? Why was the clock on Main Street for only 32 years? Where was the clock from 1958 until it was rebuilt in 2000? Is this the same clock that stood on the corner until 1958 with only the mechanism updated, or is this clock a replica of the clock that stood there until 1958? Who built the clock? Where was it built? Who gathered at this clock and why?
If the answers are out there, I couldn’t find them.
Little Free Libraries are part of the gift economy of books. Anyone can leave a book in a Little Free Library and anyone can take a book too! Some LFLs are “official.” The Little Free Library FAQ says,
This photo shows a renegade Little Free Library in Phoenix, AZ
The LFL on 5th Street was what I call a renegade Little Free Library. It didn’t have an official sign, much less a charter number. Someone built a box, added a door and a peaked roof, then mounted it on a pole, filled with books, and gave it to the world. The words on it (“Little Free Library, “Take a book…,” and “Leave a book…”) were painted by hand, and its yellow paint was peeling, but this was just as much a labor of love as a registered LFL that shows up on the organization’s official map.
Don’t get me wrong. I totally appreciate registered Little
Free Libraries too. I appreciate what the Little Free Library organization does
to help get more LFLs out in the world. I appreciate the support the Little
Free Library organization gives to LFL stewards. But I’d be less than honest if
I didn’t admit right here that there’s a special place in my heart for renegade
Little Free Libraries. I so appreciate these DIY projects that don’t cost more
than materials and the time it takes a person to put them together, these
manifestations of gift economy erected so neighbors have access to free reading
material.
These are the books that were in the renegade Little Free Library.
Most of the LFLs I’ve visited have been registered and have
charter numbers, but there are definitely other renegades in the world. I bet
many towns have official LFLS and renegades too.
Honestly, if I were going to build a Little Free Library and
keep it stocked (in other words, be a LFL steward), I would go the DIY, renegade
route. That’s just the way I am. I definitely have love for the people who do
LFLs the official way, but I’ve got a special love for the LFL renegades.
(As for why I don’t build a LFL and be its steward, I live in a very rural area. There is only one homestead on the road past our house, so not many people would see my Little Free Library if I had one in front of my place. Also, there’s a Little Free Library only a few miles from my house, just past where the dirt road hits the pavement. It makes a lot more sense to offer the books and magazines I don’t need any more to that LFL and others around town.)
Here is some of the art Nolagirl and I encountered at the 2017 Grand Avenue Festival in Phoenix, AZ.
Nolagirl and I were at the Grand Avenue Festival in November
of 2017. As we walked down the avenue looking at public art and popping into
galleries to see the cool pieces on display, we came across a Little Free
Library (LFL).
If you don’t already know from reading my blog or from your own experience, Wikipedia says,
Like other public book exchanges, a passerby can take a book to read or leave one for someone else to find. The [Little Free Library] organization relies on volunteer “stewards” to construct, install, and maintain book exchange boxes. For a book exchange box to be registered, and legally use the Little Free Library brand name, stewards must purchase a finished book exchange, a kit or, for a DIY project, a charter sign,[23] which contains the “Little Free Library” text and official charter number.[24][25]
The addition of one letter can change a Little Free Library into a Little Freek Library
The LFL we encountered on Grand Avenue was not your everyday
Little Free Library, not at all! It was a Little FREEK [sic] Library. Someone
came along and with one letter changed this registered Little Free Library
(charter #5315) into a Little Freek Library.
I know I’ve said in the past that anyone who would steal or vandalize a Little Free Library has problems
and needs prayers, but I’m not upset that someone with a Sharpie turned a
Little Free Library into a Little Freek Library. In fact, I think it’s
hilarious. I guess I’m a hypocrite. Oh well.
This “vandalizing” doesn’t upset me because I don’t think this “vandalizing” hurts anyone. It’s not like the “vandal” wrote anything vulgar or offensive on the LFL. There’s no hate speech here, no drawings of Nazi swastikas, no racism or misogyny, just the request to “celebrate freakier neighborhoods.” I just can’t argue with that. I think freakier neighborhoods (and freakier neighbors, for that matter) do need to be celebrated, especially in places like Phoenix that can seem very mainstream and somewhat boring (at least to me).
This LFL needs some good books in it.
There were only a couple of books in the Little Freek
Library, and they seemed old and in poor condition. I wished I had a few books
with me to contribute to this LFL. It really needed some book love.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to revisit this LFL before I left town.
I’ve visited Little Free Libraries in Los Gatos, CA; Santa Fe and Taos, NM; Flagstaff and Mesa, AZ; and others in Phoenix too, but this was my first Little Freek Library. I was pretty excited to have stumbled across. Let your freek flag fly, Little Free Library on Grand Avenue. Let your freek flag fly.
Today is Nevada Day. If you don’t know the first thing about Nevada Day, see the post I wrote about the holiday last year.
To celebrate Nevada Day, today I will share with you photos I took of Nevada Car at spark! Mesa’s Festival of Creativity that I attended with Nolagirl in the spring of 2018. Interestingly, Nevada Car hails from Bisbee, AZ. The Art Car Agency website says the art was created by David Best and is owned by Patrick Dailey.
It turns out that David Best is a big deal when it comes to art cars. In the 2015 article “David Best: the Man Who Builds Art – and Burns It” author Geoff Dyer writes that Best got into doing art cars
in the early 1980s, in Houston, right at the beginning of the art-car craze but – in a way that is typical – is careful to emphasize that he was just one of a number of people involved at the time, that the first art car was actually done by Jackie Harris.
Here’s a front view of Nevada Car.
It was really difficult to get a photo of the full view of this car with my camera. In my opinion that’s actually ok because the beauty is in the details.
Here’s some sort of gaming device attached to the car. In the same photo I see about a hundred tiny white buttons, a plastic sea turtle, a stack of smaller-than-life traffic cones that were maybe once bright orange but are now faded and dingy, a toy baseball batter, a combination lock, and a dozen rusty bottle caps. What do you see that I’m missing?
In this photo it looks like a dozen gumball machines and a kindergarten class worth of Happy Meals upchucked onto a relatively small area of the car. All of these crappy plastic toys merge into such a cohesive whole that it’s hard to pick out individual objects. Look! There’s Buzz Lightyear! To the right, a dozen plastic crabs! I see a leg! I see a lion! I see creatures I can’t identify.
In an article on the KQED Spark website, Best’s process is described like this:
… Best strips vehicles down to the core before reconstructing them, striving to make the car’s original form unrecognizable. Rather than merely gluing objects to the body of a car, Best, who religiously goes to the dump, likes to use found object materials that ultimately take on their own personality. After making 30 art cars and 2 buses, Best has worked with over 10,000 people.
It’s easy for me to imagine an artist finding these items at the dump and being delighted to add them to an art car work in progress.
I’m not sure why this is piece is called Nevada Car. Because of the gaming devices? Because of the gaming device that says “Nevada Club”? I wish this exhibit of art cars had included statements from the artists.
I like the juxtaposition of the statues of saints next to this old gaming device. Is it a commentary on praying for luck? An observation of the degree to which our society treats money as divine? A mere putting-together of objects in a way that looked pleasing to the artist’s eye?
I found my favorite feature of Nevada Car, and it didn’t have much to do with Nevada. I’m not talking about the BMW emblem either.
I’ll leave you with a wish for a Happy Nevada day and a self portrait with dancing bear in chrome.
The public land around Flagstaff, AZ has offered me and The Man (and Jerico the dog) places to stop over (for a night or a week or even two weeks) on our way to new adventures. In April of 2017, we left Ajo, AZ and spent a night outside of Flagstaff on our way to Taos, NM. Later that year in late June we spent a few days and nights near Flagstaff on our way to jobs in the mountains of California. In April of 2018 we again found ourselves in Flagstaff area for a couple of weeks before we went to our Cali jobs. We stayed until the prospect of an early May snowstorm sent us packing. We found ourselves in the area again in late September of 2018 when our jobs in the California mountains ended. We hung out near Flagstaff until the temperature dropped and it was cool enough go back to our fifth wheel in Why, AZ.
During one of our 2018 stays, The Man decided he wanted to try to sell some of the pendants he’d made in Heritage Square. According to the Heritage Square Trust website,
We arrived fairly early on a Saturday morning and stopped
the van close enough to drop off a table as well as The Man’s jewelry and
jewelry-making supplies. Then The Man parked the van farther away where we
wouldn’t get a ticket while I stood guard over his belongings. After setting up
his table and arranging his pendants, The Man began working on a new piece. I
wandered around Heritage Square taking photos.
“Asset #15 – Positive Peer Influence” Apparently that’s how big a mountain lion really is.
There’s a cool statue of a colorful cat in Heritage Square called Asset #15. According to the Encircle Photos website, it is part of the PAWS project.
This is one of the eventual 40, life-size painted mountain lions found around Flagstaff…The PAWS project is sponsored by the Coconino Coalition for Children and Youth. Each sculpture portrays one of the developmental assets essential to raising a healthy and successful child. For example, this is “Asset #15 – Positive Peer Influence.”
Actual rocks from the actual Grand Canyon.
I also like the exhibit of the Grand Canyon strata. It’s a nice display of information about the natural wonder only 81 miles away. According to the aforementioned Heritage Square Trust website,
The base of the flag pole contains actual rocks from the Grand Canyon placed carefully to reflect the geologic strata of the Canyon, with Vishnu schist on the bottom and Kaibab limestone on the top.
My favorite part of Heritage Square was the Little Free Library (LFL) I was pleasantly surprised to find there. Little Free Libraries are grassroots gift economy projects. LFLS are places where people can leave books they don’t want; anyone is allowed to take one or more books from the libraries. According to the Little Free Library organization,
A Little Free Library is a “take a book, return a book” free book exchange. They come in many shapes and sizes, but the most common version is a small wooden box of books. Anyone may take a book or bring a book to share.
This is the Little Free Library I encountered in Heritage Square.
I thought this was a registered Little Free Library with a
charter number, but after looking at the photos I took of it, I see that it is
a renegade LFL! I do love me a renegade! The LFL is a project of Oasis
Flagstaff and the Downtown Business Alliance. It goes to show that a Little
Free Library doesn’t have to be “official” to be built well and look nice.
I appreciate its sturdy construction, which surely makes it less attractive to thieves and vandals.
Let me say here, anyone who steals or vandalizes a Little Free Library has problems and needs prayers. According to the Little Free Library FAQs,
Small incidents of vandalism are common. Things like having a guest book stolen or a few books damaged are going to happen at one point or another. Bigger problems, like having all of your books “stolen” or your entire Library damaged, are much less common. In our annual survey of Little Free Library stewards, more than 80% of stewards reported never dealing with significant vandalism.
This Little Free Library had plenty of books to offer.
I didn’t take any
books from the LFL that day or leave any behind either, but I paid another
visit to it before we left town. I dropped off one book (The Unincorporated Man) and took one to replace it (a historical
romance set in Chicago during World War II, the title of which I cannot
remember).
I love visiting Little Free Libraries, even if I don’t take or leave books. I’ve visited LFLs in Los Gatos, CA; Phoenix and Mesa, AZ; Santa Fe, NM; and Taos County, NM. The LFL in Heritage Square was my first (but not my last) in Flagstaff. I’m so glad I had the opportunity to see it.
The Man made this pendant. He gave it to me for my birthday.
As for The Man’s jewelry sales, it was a bust. He didn’t
sell a single thing. Hardly any people walked through the square, and the ones
who did didn’t even stop to look. Maybe we were too early. The last time we’d
gone there and found traveling kids making jewelry, playing drums and guitars,
and generally hanging out, it had been later in the day.
There’s no shade in Heritage Square, and we hadn’t brought an umbrella or an awning. By noon the sun was beating down, and we were quite hot, so we packed up and drove a few miles back to the woods.
Two weeks ago, I wrote about the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Long-term Visitor Areas (LTVAs) located along the Colorado River in Arizona and California. La Posa (North and South, on either side of Highway 95) is the LTVA closest to Quartzsite, AZ. As I stated in the LTVA post, it costs $180 for a seasonal LTVA permit, good from September 15 to April 15. If you just want to stay at an LTVA for two weeks, you can get a permit for $40. (To learn a whole lot more about LTVAs, read my post about the Long-term Visitor Areas.)
Wait a minute! you may have thought when you read the LTVA
post. I heard there was free camping on BLM land near
Quartzsite.
Well, you were right about that! There is free camping on BLM land all around Quartzsite. Sometimes people get confused because both LTVAs and free camping are on BLM land. The difference? After paying the permit fee, one can camp at an LTVA all season (or move among the LTVAs at no additional charge), while camping is allowed on the free spots for only 14 days within a 28 day period.
Although there is no cost to camp on the BLM land near Quartzsite (other than La Posa North and South LTVA, of course), a permit is required. Getting the permit is no big deal. Each camping area has a camp host who issues permits. Simply stop at the camp host’s campsite and ask for your permit. The camp host may ask to see your driver’s license or ID. The camp host will write your name, address, and license plate number on the permit. You will get one copy to adhere to your windshield and the host will keep the other copies for the BLM’s records.
A BLM ranger might hassle someone camping on any of these
free camping areas without a permit. I believe a ranger could even issue a
ticket to someone camping without a permit, but I don’t know anyone this has happened
to. But why risk? The permits are free and easy to obtain.
Once you get your permit, you are allowed to camp in the
area for which the permit was written for up to 14 days. In the past, people
have stayed on free BLM land near Quartzsite for much longer than two weeks,
but in the last few years rangers have started cracking down on these long-term
stays in the short-term camping areas. After two weeks, some people simply move
to a different free camping area near Quartzsite and get a new permit, but technically,
doing so is not permissible.
One can camp for free on most BLM land that is not an LTVA for 14 days within a 28 day period at no cost. One can move 25 miles away and camp on BLM land for free (if allowed) for 14 days. One can return to the original camping spot on the 29th day since the first day of camping. A BLM website explains it in detail this way:
Dispersed camping is allowed on public land for a period not to exceed 14 days within a 28 consecutive day period. The 28 day period begins when a camper initially occupies a specific location on public lands. The 14 day limit may be reached either through a number of separate visits or through 14 days of continuous overnight occupation during the 28 day period. After the 14th day of occupation, the camper must move outside of a 25 mile radius of the previous location until the 29th day since the initial occupation.
(Camping rules for BLM land may vary according to the ranger district. Always check the camping rules for the particular BLM ranger district in which you want to camp.)
The free BLM camping areas near Quartzite are totally undeveloped. Like on most other BLM land in the Southwest, these public lands open to free camping require boondockers to provide for their every need. (If you don’t know the first thing about boondocking, see my post on the “10 Fundamentals for Boondockers“.) You may find a fire ring made of stones left behind by previous campers, but otherwise you are on your own. You will not find a trash can or dump station in any of the free BLM camping areas in this part of Arizona. Plan to pack out anything you pack in. Don’t look for picnic tables, pit toilets or electrical hookups because there are none. The lack of running water means you can forget about flush toilets or hot showers. (To find out where you can find a hot shower and other amenities see my post “Where to Go for What You Need in Quartzsite.”)
All sorts of folks camp in the free BLM camping areas in
Quartzsite. I’ve seen plenty of RVers in motorhomes, travel trailers, and fifth
wheels of all different sizes and conditions. There’s no shortage of
vandwellers out there either, in everything from Roadtreks to minivans,
converted cargo vans to old-school conversion vans. Skoolies make an appearance
too, both full-size and short buses. Travelers stay there in truck campers, and
I’ve witnessed literal car camping out there too. Some hardy souls brave the
wind and chilly night to camp in tents.
Whatever one’s living situation, there are rules to follow while staying on the public land. Be quiet during quiet hours, typically 10pm to 6am. Comply with any fire ban and do NOT gather any native wood lying on the ground. (Hopefully I don’t have to tell you not to cut down or in any way damage plants growing on BLM land.) Keep your pets leashed and under your control. (This is for your pet’s safety, as coyotes in those parts have been known to snatch unattended dogs.)
If your rig does not have toilet facilities, it is allowable to dig “cat holes” for your elimination needs. According to the Tread Lightly! website,
Human waste should be disposed of in a shallow hole six to eight inches deep at least 200 feet from water sources, campsites or trails. Cover and disguise the hole with natural materials. It is recommended to pack out your toilet paper.
However, there’s hardly any privacy on the BLM land set aside for free camping near Quartzsite. You’re in the desert out there, not the forest, so it won’t be easy to find a tree to hide behind. You can set up a privacy tent, but be aware that the winter wind can be fierce out there. I recommend you set up some sort of elimination facility in your rig. (If you have never camped in the desert before, check out my post “10 Tips for Surviving and Thriving in the Desert” to get more advice on doing it right.)
If you don’t mind being a little farther away from Quartzsite, you have a couple of other options. According to the Free Campsites website, there is dispersed camping on BLM land on Gold Nugget Road east of Quartzsite. It doesn’t seem like a permit is required to stay there. You can also camp for free in the Crystal Hill area of the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge, about 8 miles south of Quartzsite on Highway 95 at milepost 95. Camping there is limited to 14 days during any 12-month period.
What if you don’t want to camp on the public lands near
Quartzsite? Do you have other options? The answer is yes!
There are two truck stops in Quartzsite, a Love’s and a Pilot. I have stayed overnight at both Quartzsite travel centers. One year after the Rubber Tramp Rendezvous (RTR) I wanted to stick around for a few more days for the PowWow gem and mineral show. I’d already reached my 14 day BLM limit, so I stayed in my van at the Love’s for a couple of nights with no problems. On another occasion I stayed in town using the internet to schedule blog posts until after sunset and didn’t want to try to find my campsite after dark. I spent that night in the Pilot parking lot, again with no trouble. I’ve seen plenty of other vans and truck campers parked overnight in those travel centers too.
So yes, it’s true, you can camp for free on BLM land near Quartzsite, but technically only for two weeks before you have to move down the road, at least for a little while.
It was November 2017. Nolagirl and I were on an excursion through Phoenix, AZ. We had set out to see Little Free Libraries, and by golly, we were seeing Little Free Libraries.
anyone may contribute or take books [from a Little Free Library]…If you take a book (or two) from a Library, you do not need to return that exact book. However, in order to keep the Little Library full of good choices for the whole neighborhood, the next time you swing by the Library bring a few books to share. Little Library book exchanges function on the honor system; everyone contributes to ensure there are always quality books inside..
The first LFL we visited was Helen’s Little Free Lending Library on 28th Street. The second one we visited was on Cheery Lynn Street. This second visit was really special because we got to meet the Little Free Library steward. She was the first LFL steward I ever met, and out of all the Little Free Libraries I’ve visited in three states and six cities (Los Gatos, CA; Santa Fe and Taos, NM; Flagstaff, Mesa, and Phoenix, AZ) she is the only LFL steward I’ve ever met!
When we pulled up in front of the Little Free Library on Cheer Lynn Street, there was a car in the driveway, and a young-mom type of woman was taking groceries out of the trunk. She totally saw us pull up, so Nolagirl and I decided we should get out of the car and say hi. We explained to the lady that we were on a Little Free Library tour and asked her if she was the steward of this one. She said yes, we said it was really cute, and she went into her house. It was a totally pleasant, brief exchange. (It would be surprising and horrible if a Little Free Library steward were a grouchy, mean person who hated talking to strangers.)
This LFL was constructed of wood that had been stained so
the natural grain showed clearly. I think the upkeep on this one is probably
pretty easy because no paint touchups are required. The sign on the bottom of
the door says that this is a registered LFL with a charter number (65262), but
it doesn’t have an official name like Helen’s Little Free Lending Library.
Only children’s books were available at the Little Free Library on Cheery Lynn Street.
This LFL held only children’s books, so I didn’t take any. I
didn’t leave any either, since I didn’t have any children’s books to donate. I
felt ok about my role in both situations. I didn’t need any books, and the LFL
was plenty full even if I didn’t leave anything.
Sometime after our visit to Cheery Lynn Street, we went to 11th Avenue, where we found another registered, wooden Little Free Library (charter #10682). This time we did not have the pleasure of meeting the steward. There weren’t many books in this LFL, and I felt sorry I didn’t have a stack to stock it with. What a fun endeavor it would be to drive around with stacks of good books, going from one Little Free Library to another, making sure each one was well stocked with reading material for the people.
Self-portrait in Little Free Library on 11th Avenue. There weren’t very many books in this one.
The Friendly by Nature Little Free Library. The top and side are mosaics.
My favorite Little Free Library (LFL) Nolagirl and I visited during our Phoenix Little Free Library excursion was the second one we went to. This one has the name “Friendly by Nature,” and the charter number is 5974. This registered LFL is decorated with beautiful, colorful mosaics and sits at the front of a yard decorated with more mosaics.
If you don’t yet know about the gift economy of the Little Free Library movement, here are a few things you should know. According to the Little Free Library organization’s FAQs
Little Free Library is a registered nonprofit organization that inspires a love of reading, builds community, and sparks creativity by fostering neighborhood book exchanges around the world.
The left side of the Friendly by Nature Little Free Library shows a saguaro cactus and a hot hot sun.
As soon as Nolagirl parked in front of the house this LFL
belongs to, I was attracted to the library’s bright colors. I was really
excited when I got out of the vehicle and moved closer to the library and
discovered the brightly colored scenes were composed from irregular tiles. WOW!
I also greatly appreciated the desert scenes featured on this LFL. Pictured on
the LFL are a saguaro cactus, the hot midday sun, and the starry night visible
when one leaves the city behind. Beneath the moonlight, there is a row of
books, much like those found in the actual Little Free Library.
The other side of the Friendly by Nature Little Free Library shows the desert night and a row of books ready for reading.
The outside of the Little Free Library was not the only thing on the property sporting bright mosaics. Several round poles just beyond the LFL were also decorated with colorful tiles. I didn’t want to infringe upon the privacy of the steward of the little library, but I did snap a few photos of other pieces of mosaic art.
I was so impressed with the artistic work that I wrote out a
quick note expressing my appreciation. I left the note tucked in the LFL. I
think it’s really important to tell people when we like their work. I know from
experience that artists often don’t get enough positive feedback, so I like to
rectify that situation when I can.
This mosaic is visible without going too far onto the property of the Little Free Library’s steward. I love that the lady’s nose is made from what appears to be a cup handle.
I left my email address on the note, and several days later I was pleased to find a message from the artist in my inbox. She wrote,
Thank you for the postcard regarding my Little Free Library and my other mosaics. I retired from Intel about three years ago and started making mosaics. I have done many commissions.
My adobe house, courtyard and casita are my inspiration!
The artist then invited me to come over and see more of her mosaics! Wow! I was so flattered. Unfortunately, I already had plans for all of my days in Phoenix and I was unable to visit the artist and see more of her work. So disappointing! I’ve dropped the ball during my subsequent visits to Phoenix and never made plans to go over to this gracious woman’s house. My bad. Maybe someday I can still pay her a visit. I sure hope so because I want to see more of these splendid mosaics!
I was in Phoenix visiting Nolagirl in November 2017. She knows I love Little Free Libraries, so she suggested we visit the ones we could find in town. I thought it sounded like a fun excursion, so I readily agreed. I’d visited Little Free Libraries in Los Gatos, CA , Mesa, AZ, and Santa Fe and Taos, NM and was really excited to see more of these awesome manifestations of gift economy.
A Little Free Library is a “take a book, return a book” free book exchange. They come in many shapes and sizes, but the most common version is a small wooden box of books. Anyone may take a book or bring a book to share.
The first Little Free Library (LFL) we visited that day was
on 28th Street. Nolagirl said she passed it all the time.
I love the color scheme of Helen’s Little Free Lending Library.
When we approached the LFL on 28th Street, the
first thing I noticed was the great color scheme. I love the dark blue main
color, especially with the lavender accents. I also like the four little
windows that let you look into the library and the door that swings open to
offer access to the books.
The next thing I noticed about this LFL is that it is “official.” There is a charter number (44511) on the left hand side of the sign that comes from the Little Free Library organization. Having a charter number means this LFL is registered with the Little Free Library organization and should pop up on the organization’s internet map of LFL locations. The LFL organizations says other benefits of registering a Little Free Library include
receiving a steward’s packet of tips and advice,…access to a private Facebook support group, and more.
Before I started writing this post, I had another look at the photos I took of this library. When I looked at the photos, I realized this LFL has its own name. It’s not just some generic Little Free Library. It’s “Helen’s Little Lending Library.” This realization leads me to ask many questions. Who is Helen? Yes, she’s probably the library steward, the person who maintains this LFL, but who is she really? Why did she decide to start a LFL? What’s her favorite part of having one? Also, how does a Little Free Library get its very own unique name? Does it cost extra to name your LFL?
These were the books offered the day I visited Helen’s Little Free Lending Library.
There were several books to choose from in Helen’s Little Lending Library, but nothing I really wanted to read, so I left them all behind. I also left behind a couple of books I had to donate. I felt good about being a contributor. After all, we can’t expect Helen to do all the work to keep this Little Free Library going. I was glad to help.
As you might have guessed, this car is a tribute to the rock band Queen. The art was done by Rebecca Bass and her students at Reagan High School (now known as Heights High School ) in Houston, Texas. This high school is so cool, it has an art car club on its official list of activities available to students!
Freddie Mercury lets his freak flag fly. Oh wait! That’s the Union Jack!
Rebecca Bass is famous in the Art Car community. She’s created about 30 art cars in her lifetime, almost all of them with kids.
Bass leads the art car club at Heights High School. She and her students were even in a movie! The 2011 documentary Art Car: The Movie follows Bass and her students as they prepare a car for the Houston Art Car Parade.
That’s a full size keyboard on the side of that car!
largest free public event [with] more than 250 rolling works of art …
I think this woman is holding bicycle handlebars. Perhaps she represents the Queen song “Bicycle Race.” That song was really popular during my childhood. “I want to ride my bicycle/I want to ride my bike!” I didn’t realized until I was writing this post that there’s an official video for the song and it features naked women!
I think it’s really cool that high school students did the majority of the work on this car. While I do like Queen, I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan of the band. What I am a huge fan of is the meticulous embellishment work done on Bohemian Rhapsody. Wow! So much bling! I don’t think there’s one inch of space on this car that’s not covered in shine, sparkle, or flash. This is my kind of three-dimensional collage.
There’s a guitar to go with the keyboard. The band is almost complete.
Bohemian Rhapsody seems to have found a permanent home with ArtoCade out of Trinidad, Coloroado. The ArtoCade website calls itself
a parade!…a festival!…a party!
Bohemian Rhapsody seems to belong to ArtoCade out of Trinidad, CO.
ArtoCade also has an art car museum. The information was a bit unclear, but from what I could ascertain, the museum once known as the Bizarre Car Garage had to vacate its space prior to September 2018. It seems to have relocated and been rechristened as Art Cartopia. I think admission to Art Cartopia is free. That’s my favorite price! (The information I found about Art Cartopia was on ArtoCade’s Facebook page.)
If you’re ever anywhere near Trinidad (a small town just off Interstate 25 near the Colorado/New Mexico border), I suggest you stop at Art Cartopia and take a look at Bohemian Rhapsody. There are so many details to look at on this car! I could have stared at it for hours.
I’m pretty sure that’s a fat bottomed girl on the left. And look! There’s the drummer Roger Taylor on the right!
