BACKSTORIES
The “Mother Myth” mural on the backside of Lumberyard Brewing Company tells the overall Route 66 story with astonishing detail. Mark Di Lucido, administrator of Flagstaff’s Beautification and Public Arts Commission, reveals that you read the mural from East to West (that’s right to left) because that’s the direction taken by Dust Bowl migrants, who fled the Great Plains for California on the “Mother Road.” Also see if you can find The Beatles’ Abbey Road parody with the Fab Four walking Phoenix Avenue, the original Route 66. Northwest corner of San Francisco St. and Phoenix Ave.
SOUND OF FLIGHT
Birds fly out of a piano — representing the climactic moment of a song — on the Orpheum Theater’s mega mural, that’s believed to be one of the largest in Arizona. Surprisingly, something so grand is almost hidden in one of downtown Flagstaff’s side alleys. The 3-D illusions earned the prestigious Viola Excellence in Visual Arts Award from the Flagstaff Arts Council. “The Sound of Flight” was the vision of Sky Black, who teamed up with the Mural Mice team — R.E. Wall and Margaret Dewar — on the two-year, 4500-square-foot project. 15 W. Aspen Ave.
ESCAPE ARTIST
Escape the hubbub when you spend time inspecting “The Veridic Gardens of Effie Leroux” in the center of historic downtown. This 20-by-45-foot canvas wraps around the spiral carpark ramp just outside of Diablo Burger in Heritage Square. Noteworthy artist Joe Sorren (his illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone and Time magazines) takes you to a dreamy place of moon-faced people floating in Art Nouveau landscapes. See if you can spot Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss,” hidden in the whimsical garden, and Pablo Picasso’s horse, the central figure in “Guernica,” which makes an appearance as a floating pool toy. 120 N. Leroux St.
LOOKING AT LITTLE THINGS
Gigantic peppers greet shoppers at Flagstaff Farmers Market on Fourth Street. The painting by “Mural Joe” Cornelius and Daniel Zilbertstein depicts the awe of a young boy, who looks through a colorful garden to watch a butterfly emerge from a cocoon. A gray-haired man looks on. “A very important theme is about family,” explained Cornelius. “The older looking at the little things with the young boy illustrates something we are all hungry for. It makes us think, ‘what about it?’ Everyone can relate to the beauty of butterflies emerging from cocoons. For the church [the mural is painted on Canyon Chapel’s wall], it’s about being born again and being transformed. For the Farmers Market, it sets the mood for enjoying the produce.” 1919 N. Fourth St.
ABSOLUTELY ALIVE
As you drive east on Route 66 from downtown Flagstaff, it’s hard not to miss the half-block-long mural embellishing the side of the Absolute Bikes building. The piece depicts a bicyclist with Band-Aids on his knee cruising by a car stuck in traffic. In the backseat, a boy gazes at the freedom of the cyclist. The mural — “All From a Moment Alive” — was created by Lyle Motley in 2007. The artist, whose work has been shown in galleries from L.A. to Chicago, cleverly integrates the plugs by drawing the eye to the plugs rather than camouflaging them, which would be bad for safety reasons. See if you can find the foot, which squashes a toy car, alluding to advocacy for bicycle commuting. 202 E. Route 66.
THIS MONTH IN FLAGSTAFF
SEPT. 13: Stand-up comedian Brent Pella, Orpheum Theater, orpheumflagstaff.com
SEPT. 13-15: Pickin’ in the Pines Music Festival, Fort Tuthill Park, pickininthepines.org
SEPT. 20-29: Flagstaff Festival of Science, venues throughout town, scifest.org
Stacey Wittig is an award-winning travel writer and author located in Flagstaff, Arizona. For more travel & world-wide adventures visit Stacey’s website at unstoppablestaceytravel.com.
