Ettore

Currently In:  El Paso, TX
Next Up:  Alpine and Del Rio, TX on our way to Rio Grande Valley

Our friends Bob and Celeste Bird suggested we check out the art museum Gallery in the Sun in the north part of Tucson.  It was built by Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia in 1965, who was born in the mining town of Morenci, Arizona and moved to Tucson to attend the University of Arizona.   He had a very creative mind and boundless energy.

All of the artwork was done by Ted, including the entryway here.

He built several ramadas (open shelter using branches for the roof) dedicated to various Native American tribes.

The entrance to the gallery was unique and is supposed to be reminiscent of a mine entrance.  The doors were modeled after the doors to the prison in Yuma.  I think DeGrazia was successful here.

He not only designed the gallery, but he and a crew of friends actually built it, too.  He wanted it to have the feeling of the southwest, so he used adobe and wood.

DeGrazia created a technique using cholla cactus inlaid into the flooring.  It's stunning.

Although Ted considered himself primarily a painter, he worked in several other mediums as well.  He focused Hispanic and Native Americans themes. I liked his paintings of the Mission San Xavier which was just a mile from our RV park.

We saw many paintings with these types of figures.

We took a walk through the garden that has these cool sculptures.

Next to the Gallery is the Mission of the Sun also built by the artist.  It is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.  There was a fire in the Mission over a year ago and the Mission continues to be closed for repairs.  We took a peek inside a window and saw the open air ceiling, and we also saw a lot of damage.

Next to the Mission is a small gallery for visiting artists.  These small windows have stained glass in them - not sure I captured the colors in this photo.

Next to the Little Gallery is the Medicine Man Mosaic.  I'm a sucker for a good mosaic.

We took a quick look at his first house built with his wife in the early 50's.

Just 3 rooms - here's the fireplace in the living room in the southwest style with an old photo of the room.

 The tile in the kitchen was a beautiful southwest blue.  It's hard to see in the photo.

After the museum visit we were hungry!  As our last tourist activity in Tucson, I wanted to experience the 23 miles...

There are signs all over Tucson promoting 50 "generational" Mexican restaurants.  They lie within 23 square miles of Tucson.  These establishments were chosen because of authentic flavor and  strong ties to the region.  I chose Aqui Con El Nene (Here With The Baby) because it was close to where we were staying.

We weren't brave enough to try any of their specialties - Sonoran hot dog or stuffed potato.  So we stayed with tried and true street tacos which were awesome!

A delicious end to our stay in Tucson.