Carolyn Law

Tonalea Landmarks

Artist Carolyn Law designed 19 medians, roundabouts and bulb outs for Tonalea. The Tonalea neighborhood defines itself by a sense of individuality. With well-built homes and neighbors who look out for each other, there is a true sense of community.

Her artistic palette consists of low, curving, painted walls, ranging in height from five inches to twenty-four inches, forming rhythmic, gestural lines that represent stylized mountains and valleys. Desert-sensitive plants placed within each Tonalea Landmark accentuate color, form and texture. Earth infilled within the low walls furthers the topographical character of the small landscapes. Simple geometric sculptures coated in multi-tone paint appear as bits of water or sky floating in the landscape and add a sparkle both day and night.

Each traffic-calming device is a miniature landscape with its own personality, creating distinctive elements across the neighborhood, acting much like the familiar mountains that we see around town. Motorists and pedestrians, driving or walking through, perceive the splashes of colors, textures, and shapes as moving or undulating—like hills rising, valleys dropping and patterns shifting.  This project is in conjuction with Rippling Water Bridge, also designed by Carolyn Law.