Description
This week on Arizona Illustrated: stories of resilience, from an adaptive cyclist riding El Tour de Tucson after losing both of her legs in an accident to an artist returning to her roots after a successful career. We’ll also introduce you to a woman dedicated to saving Arizona bats while dispelling myths about this surprisingly cute species, and meet the woman behind Oops! Laser, who is helping formerly incarcerated people reenter society by removing unwanted tattoos
Adaptive By Design
After a life-changing accident left Norma using a wheelchair, she had to find a new way forward and eventually found it through adaptive sports. Today, she competes in wheelchair softball and adaptive cycling as she prepares to take on El Tour de Tucson. Her journey offers a window into a larger challenge facing people with disabilities: being invited to an event is not the same as being able to fully participate. Through Team Access and its work with athletes, organizers and volunteers are learning to look beyond ramps and equipment to the barriers that can quietly keep people on the sidelines. As Norma prepares to cross the starting line, her story becomes about more than one race, it’s about the freedom, confidence and sense of belonging that can emerge when access is intentionally designed for everyone.
Meditations on Beauty-Janny Taylor
Janny Taylor is a Tucson based artist. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the country, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the National Catholic Museum in New York City. Her art and creative work have also been featured in prominent publications such as The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and O, The Oprah Magazine.
She is the author and illustrator of the bestselling, critically acclaimed Our Lady of Weight Loss: Miraculous and Motivational Musings from the Patron Saint of Permanent Fat Removal. Taylor is also the co-founder of the Arizona Collage Collective and, with support from a grant from The Pollination Project, recently launched Cut, Paste, SCREAM, a Tucson-based collage initiative that brings creativity and community together through the transformative practice of collage.
Taylor studied at the Art Students League under renowned feminist artist Anita Steckel and at Parsons School of Design, both in New York City.
AZ Bat Rescue
Arizona Bat Rescue has been rehabbing bats since 2022. As the only bat-only rescue in the state, they take in injured, ill, orphaned and displaced bats. Their mission is to give bats the specialized care and support they need to rest, heal, and get back to the wild.
OOPS! Laser Tattoo Removal
Oops! Laser was created by owner Jessica Sprague with the intention of making laser tattoo removal affordable and accessible in Tucson. She realized there was a need to serve vulnerable communities and worked with Second Chance Tucson to help formerly incarcerated people remove unwanted tattoos that no longer represent who they are.