Thompson Peak Parkway Earth Wall, Living Wall Joan Baron		Print This Page Email This Page

Location

Thompson Peak Parkway north of 100th Street in Scottsdale.

Description

Completed in 1999.

This noise abatement wall and multi-span bridge crosses the CAP Canal and the CAP Retention Basin Equalization Channel, approximately 1200 feet north of the CAP dike. Designed by Joan Baron and contructed by Rammed Earth Solar Homes of Tuscon. Earth Wall, Living Wall  promotes the beauty of the dessert and is comprised of rammed earth, ceramic, concrete, tinta stain and glass block.

Rammed earth is inherently organic, possessing irregularities and imperfections that change with time. Despite its fragile organic appearance rammed earth is extremely strong and requires very little maintenance. Rammed earth is comprised of natural resources, including clay, sand and shale, (rock, wood and charcoal may also be used) often harvested from building sites, in conjunction with approximately 4% concrete. It is simple, sturdy and environmentally sound. Red and blue colored stain was applied to the walls using an outdoor stain technique called tinta, developed by an architect in italy, perfected by Dennis Hopper of Hopper Company. Tinta is high quality penetrating stain that allows colored pigments to absorb into the cemented mixture. Joan Baron made her color choices based on primary colors found in the natural environment: reds inspired by desert flowers, blues by water.

Throughout the construction of the wall the artist conducted a number of workshops, which included participants of various ages, wherein contributors designed ceramic tiles shaped like hands. These hands symbolize a vehicle used by many different cultures to communicate connections between ones place in time and in the universe. Rows of these tiles are now embedded on the surface of the walls and will serve as part of a collective memory.They are also reminiscent of fossils brought together to tell a greater story. The formation of the tiles within the walls suggests crystal veins that might appear within natural rock formations.

Artist

Much of educator and artist Joan Barons work focuses on stimulating and healing experiences conveyed through art within the public realm. She lives and works in Scottsdale, Arizona where she does many site-specific installations for residential and commercial situations. Baron has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri and a Master of Fine ARts degree from the Art Institute of Chicago.

She now facilitates workshops, seminars and field trips that promote "environmentally sensitive 'art. Baron feels that art can have a very therapeutic effect on the human spirit. She says, "It is the collective healing of our communities and environments that I passionately continue to explore."

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