By Be Sargent
Three large murals, Work of Mind, Work of Heart and Work of Strength were painted on the McKinley County Detention Center, at no charge, by Be Sargent over a five-year period from 2005 through 2009. The murals were painted to promote green jobs and inspire young career seekers by showing that people in the Gallup Area and on the Navajo Nation are already doing them. All 200 people in the mural are real. This series will present many different scenes from the three murals.
#2 Gallup City Water Board
Middle Left Panel of Work of Mind
The Gallup City Water Board was formed in response to findings of the 2003 Water Town Hall, which were that Gallup could experience imminent and serious water shortages and that Gallup Citizens should be involved in water decisions. The first act of the Water Board was to create a paid position for a water conservationist at Gallup Joint Utilities.
Elizabeth Barriga, top left, was hired. Elizabeth, City of Gallup Water Conservation Coordinator, with guidance from the Water Board and Lance Allgood, shown in the mural Work of Strength, has been the point person for water harvesting, commercial water audits, high-efficient low-flush toilet rebates, xeriscaping, water waste and more.
She is the initiator of McKinley County Youth Water and Energy Awareness Days now in its sixth year currently held at Red Rock Park and Chief Manuelito Middle School on April 26 and 27, 2011. More than 20 presenters bring Water Conservation, Hydrology, Ecology and Solar Energy to hundreds of Gallup elementary and high school students.
Larry Winn located to the right of Elizabeth, is the chair of the Water Board, and also chair of both McKinley County Soil and Water Conservation and New Mexico State Soil and Water Conservation Boards. Larry is Executive Director of Connections, an organization that plays a pivotal role in Gallup’s quality of life by garnering funding for many essential local organizations.
Rosemarie Esquivel, just behind Larry, was executive secretary for ten years for Gallup Joint Utilities until she retired in 2006.
Below Elizabeth is Bill Bright, a key player in the social and environmental concerns of Gallup. He is founder and chair of the Sustainable Energy Board. He is president of Gallup’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity to which he has brought Energy Star standards. He is also process consultant for Gallup Solar.
Mary Jean Christensen, owner of Elite Laundry and president of the Downtown Business Improvement District is explaining the declining bar graph to Bill.
Even with the much-touted new sources such as the G-22 Well and water coming via the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project, Gallup cannot be sure of a sustainable water future. More conservation and water harvesting are essential.
The Water Board meets on the first Wednesday of the month. For more information call Elizabeth at 863-1393. The Sustainable Energy Board meets on the fourth Monday of the month. For more information call Bill at 722-0039. Both meetings are open to the public.
ARTIST’S NOTES
Because these murals are about jobs that protect the environment I wanted each mural to have a pristine environment in the center that symbolizes the jobs depicted.
For Work of Mind I chose a canyon, the analogy is that the canyon with its twists and turns and the river running through it is like the mind illuminated by the light of understanding.
Below are three successive sketches showing the development of this concept.
