A local artist is bringing a shiny and funky twist to art influenced by the Sonoran Desertβs iconic green giants with her disco ball inspired saguaros.
The handmade double-sided hanging mosaics feature numerous five-millimeter square mirror tiles meticulously placed on a piece of wood shaped like a saguaro cactus and topped with a UV coating to seal the deal.
Oh yeah, did we mention they spin? (There are also wall hangings, in case a spinning saguaro isnβt your thing, but who wouldnβt want a shiny spinning saguaro?)
One of Tully's hanging discoguaros pictured at the Grand Canyon.
The magical creations are designed and handcrafted by sixth-generation Tucsonan Karen Tully, also known as Diosa's Discosaics, who began making the discoguaros in late 2020.
βEverybody's happy when a disco ballβs on,β Tully said. βThe disco ball goes on and everybody lights up, you know, they get that twinkle in their eye. I've had a vision my whole life of getting disco balls into people's lives. Like ever since my early 20s, I've been helping people buy disco balls and I've always said I was gonna have my own disco ball business. I didn't realize I was actually going to be making them.β
Much like everyone else in 2020, the raging COVID-19 pandemic forced Tully to pivot from her full-time career as a massage therapist, to an artist reigniting her passion for disco ball art.
Before making discoguaros, TullyΒ made other mirror art, such as mirrored party hats and costumes. Although she is a native Tucsonan, Tully spent nearly 20 years away from the Old Pueblo and lived in San Francisco and New Orleans, hence the fun mirrored clothing and accessories for Mardi Gras.
βI just started appreciating the desert so much,β she said. βYou know, once you leave home, you realize where you're from and so I just started really getting into the saguaro cactus. ... The (discoguaro) idea didn't really come from, like, a certain saguaro, it's just kind of a love for Tucson.β
Karen Tully poses with 3D and traditional discoguaro hanging mosaics. She's also rocking a pair of discoguaro earrings!
Since the early days of making a discoguaro from a piece of cardboard, Tullyβs creations have come a long way. The work, Tully says, is tedious because she wants the creations to be perfect.
The spinning artwork, along with new 3D discoguaros, discoguaro earrings and wall hangings, is now available at local shop Arizona Poppy, 150 S. Fourth Ave., for purchase.Β
βI just got my stuff into the Arizona Poppy shop that just opened,β Tully said. βAnd that's been fun because I've been wanting to get my stuff into the shop. That shop really felt like it was the type of shop I wanted my stuff in.β
A sign from the universeΒ π΅
When Tully was forced to leaveΒ message therapyΒ full-time after 16 years due to COVID, she picked up many freelance jobs such as DJing, art commissions and delivering for Instacart.
Although Tully was happy to try something new, she says the Instacart gig was βthe worst decision I've ever made.β
While Instacarting, a car crashed into hersΒ (while she wasnβt in it) and the incident made her car un-drivable β something that she took as a sign from the universe that she wasnβt doing what she was supposed to be doing.
βI was just like, βOh my God, I'm not supposed to be doing this. I'm supposed to be making art,ββ Tully said. βAnd that was like the same day that Arizona Poppy contacted me and was like, βHey, you want to get your stuff in our shop?β And that's like, could the universe be more clear?β
A handmade discoguaro hangs next to a tall saguaro cactus. The artwork is inspired by the cacti of the Sonoran Desert.
Tully also credits her switch toΒ art to one of her best friends β a fashion designer who died a few months before she started making discoguaros.Β
βAll I could think about was like, βWell, at least she followed her joy. At least she was making fashion her whole life and, you know, spreading joy into people's lives by making them feel beautiful,ββ Tully said. βI was like, βI need to do that. Like, I need to stop everything I'm doing and I need to make sure I'm following my joy.β Iβm (now) following my joy and like I said, it's just been so fluid and organic. I haven't had to do anything, like people are coming to me. So I feel like I'm doing the right thing.β
Tully has no plans to stop creating her signature discoguaro, but she hopes to implement her mirrored style into bigger projects, like discosaic murals and, hopefully, a life-size discoguaro somewhere in Tucson.
One of Tully's newest creations β the 3D discoguaro.
βI'm like a sixth-generation Tucsonan and talking about my love for Tucson goes back through my ancestors, so this is deep-rooted,β Tully said.
βI think it's cool that now that I'm back in Tucson, Iβm finding a lot of pride in being a sixth-generation Tucsonan. When I was a kid, it's kind of like, βOh, I gotta get out of here.β And now that I'm here, it's like, βOh, my God, my grandparents walked these streets. My grandparents looked at the saguaros. And my great-great grandparents did and my great-great-great grandparents did.β Like, how cool was that? Iβm falling in love with Tucson again.β
For more information about Diosa's Discosaics, follow her Instagram page or check out her work at Arizona Poppy or through Tully'sΒ Etsy shop.
