Sahuaro Ranch Park Mural

Cerulean blue peacocks and blood-red roses, cut from hand-painted tiles, stud the block wall at Sahuaro Ranch Historic Area in Glendale, a reflection of the real birds strutting the grounds and the live flowers blooming fragrantly in beds. The figures are part of a mural that GED and elementary students in Glendale are working to complete to celebrate the preserved ranch's rich history. Citrus trees bow gently with fruit next to skinny date palms in the mural. Fat-leaved agave, whose sap was traditionally used for tequila and fibrous flesh for twine, grow in front of dusky purple mountains. Today the ranch, called the crown jewel of the city's park system, continues to teem with those same animals and plants. Martin Moreno, a prolific Valley artist and teacher, launched the project with his students at Las Artes de Maricopa, a school that emphasizes art for youths age 16 to 21 as they earn their GED (high school equivalency) and build job skills.