Client: Northeast Regional Park and El Paso Public Art

Overview

Desert Bloom is a Signature Gateway sculpture at the entrance to Mundy’s Gap in El Paso. The Gate itself is 20-ft H and 16-ft W, and the adjacent mosaic snakes add an additional 6-ft on either side. The overall width is approximately 40-ft.
Desert Bloom is created out of stainless steel pipe, perforated stainless steel mesh and cast glass. The snakes are concrete and tile over a steel armature.

Goals

Desert Bloom was designed for the entrance to a children's playground. The snakes were intended to be tactile interactive sculptures. The construction of the playground was placed on hold, and a new location, Mundy's Gap was selected instead. We retrofitted the mosaic elements so that they were free standing, and believe the gate and mosaic sculptures work wonderfully in this surrounding.

Process

We worked closely with Adrian Guzman and other members of the Public Art team in El Paso, as well as members of the community. The El Paso Public Art team is terrific, and they have a wide spectrum of exciting public works in their collection.