In the Park's Permanent Collection

From time to time Tohono Chul Park will showcase pieces from the Park's Permanent Collection. Our Collection houses more than 250 mostly Native American fine crafts, including pottery, baskets, weavings and carvings.

"Struggle"
Artist: Donna Gaylord
39 1/2'' tall and 29 1/2" wide
Donated by Patio Garden Club of Tucson
85.2.1

This drawing depicts a Saguaro growing and intertwining with an Ironwood nurse tree, a tree that can be found in our own Spanish Colonial Garden . This piece was made on paper with Prismacolor pencil in 1990. Gaylord titled the piece “Struggle” because the desert environment is a continual struggle to survive. Saguaros are delicate when first growing, and can be eaten by animals, dried by the sun, or befall other disasters. It is said that only one out of every 1,000 survive. Their greatest hope of survival is to seek the shelter of a large rock or a “nurse plant.” Nurse plants protect young cacti by giving them shade and a source of water. Cacti have shallow root systems, and tree roots are often deeper, meaning that if the tree has enough water to survive, surely the small cactus will as well. The Ironwood shelters the young cacti from the intense summer sun. It decreases extreme heat, retains moisture in the soil, buffers against frost, and prevents the cacti from being trampled by animals. This is a nurturing environment for the Saguaro and it thrives. It takes many years for a Saguaro to become the tall cacti that we know so well: after about 15 years, they are only one foot tall. When it reaches maturity though, the nurse tree competes for water. The water often times never makes it to the tree’s root system and it may die. Whichever plant wins the fight for survival, they will always be intertwined because the cacti grew up under and around the tree’s branches.

Saguaros, plants and animals that live in and around it have a “family” relationship. Since the cactus and the nurse plant are intertwined, animals like owls, small rodents and reptiles are sheltered from heat and danger, just as the Saguaro is.

In a conversation with the artist, she recalled the inspiration of the drawing came from a friend who is active in wild life rehabilitation. She showed Donna the two plants, which were growing near the intersection of Thornydale and Overton roads, years ago. It was in undeveloped open desert, with a Saguaro at once depending on and competing with the Ironwood tree. Donna’s daughter took pictures, and inspired by the scene, Donna returned to see which plant would win the struggle. Unfortunately, they were growing on lands that were destined to become roads and buildings. Donna’s drawing captured their moment in time, though, and reminds us that even open desert land has many stories to tell.

Donna Gaylord is a Tucson artist who is inspired by nature. She most often uses pen and ink or Berol Prismacolor pencils on paper. Pattern and textures are her biggest concern in a piece. She achieves this by using contrasting patterns and line variety. Gaylord is also interested in negative and positive space, and uses it to create an expressive quality to her work. She strives to depict the natural world through line, pattern and color. The Park is privileged to have four of her pieces in our Permanent Collection. She also has designed two posters for the Park. Donna earned a master’s degree from the University of Colorado and teaches mixed media, colored pencil and pen and ink drawing classes at the Art Institute, which is connected to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum . She is also a Charter Member of the Colored Pencil Society of America, a non-profit organization which was founded in 1990. The CPSA is dedicated to artists working with colored pencil. Donna served as President for the Arizona state chapter for four years.   

From December 7, 2006- January 22, 2007 ,  Donna Gaylord’s work will be featured in a TCP gallery in a show entitled, “Fur and Feathers, Spines and Scales, Pods and Petals.” The shops at Tohono Chul Park also sell posters that Donna has created from her inspiration in the Park.

References:

Helms, Christopher L. The Sonoran Desert . Las Vegas : KC Publications, 1983

Humphreys, Anna, Lowell, Susan. Saguaro the desert giant. Tucson , Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2002

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