Official Web Site of the City of Phoenix

This ceramic tile mosaic mural (10’ x 14’) was designed by artist Susan Gamble and created at the Santa Theresa Tile Works studio in Tucson, Arizona. The mural whimsically celebrates the first flight of living beings. In the center panel, desert animals (a mountain lion, javalina, and coyotes) shake maracas and dance around Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport as the sun descends and a crescent moon rises in a sky filled with stars, a rocket ship, a satellite, and “heavenly hosts.” Narrative panels on either side note milestones in aviation, from the “first” flight of living beings in a tethered hot air balloon (a duck, sheep, and rooster are represented in the border) to the first untethered space walk.