Rael Slick

Stories of The Magic Desert

Tempe, AZ

2024

The Sonoran Desert is full of Flora and fauna that has adapted over millennia to depend on each other for survival.

Nectar eating bats pollinate cacti and agaves. If the bats disappeared, food and habitat for almost all desert creatures would die out and disappear.

Bats, bees, bugs, and snakes are often feared and misunderstood. It is important to understand that we need to support all desert creatures, not just the ones we enjoy seeing.

Every interaction between flora and fauna is a story of The Magic Desert.

A collection of ten stories in metal.

Rachel Slick and Timothy Schirack have worked together creating public art across the Nation for over two decades. Rachel was born and raised in San Diego, California, educated at San Diego City college and Gerrit Rietveld Academies in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

She has lived in Tucson, Arizona since the 1990s. Rachel is a disabled artist who specializes in research and design and is the creative leader of the team.

Timothy is a graduate of Cleveland Ohio Institute of Art. He contributes his fine attention to detail as the team's fabrication and installation manager. They each maintain their own private studio practice and painting and are married and raising their three sons in Tucson, Arizona.

Recent budgets span from $20,000 to $275,000. They are currently working with Phoenix Valley Metro to create new station work for the capital expansion.