By Jon Johnson/Gila Herald
jonjohnsonnews@gmail.com
SAFFORD — Paintbrushes flew, and community members of all ages turned out Saturday morning to leave their mark on a vibrant new landmark at the Safford City-Graham County Library.
As part of a Community Mural Paint Day on Sept. 19, local residents gathered alongside internationally traveled muralist Molly Keen to help bring her design, titled “Tracks and Tales,” to life.
The project, in the works for several months and approved by the Safford City Council in March, aims to give the library a distinct, recognizable visual identity while celebrating the local community’s culture and history.
“This has been an ongoing project for several months and really years—something we’ve as a library really wanted to do to make our building known as a library,” said Library Director Victoria Silva. “We went through a rigorous application pool, and all of them are immensely talented artists. The council and the community selected Molly’s mural, ‘Tracks and Tales,’ and we’re super excited that she’s been here.”
Keen, an artist originally from Seattle who now resides in Grand Canyon Junction, began her mural career at age 19 after buying a one-way ticket to South America and painting local hostels in Colombia. Since then, she has created dozens of community-driven public art pieces through her initiative, Team Building Murals.
“When I was about 19 or 20, I decided to buy a one-way ticket to South America and to Colombia,” Keen recalled. “I was only going to stay for like three months. But then I ended up missing painting, so I asked a couple hostel owners to paint their walls, and then it spiraled into like a year and some, and then 25 murals later, I was like, ‘I guess I’m a muralist,’ but I just love painting.”
Driven by her passion for community-driven art, Keen founded Team Building Murals to make public art accessible to everyone, regardless of skill level.
“I love the joy that it brings people, so I started a company called Team Building Murals, where I get other people to paint alongside me,” Keen said. “That’s for children and youth or adults. Anyone with no artistic experience; it’s not necessary to come and paint with us. So there is one rule: you can’t think. Because when you think, it’s like all the time we’re thinking, and it’s just a time to, like, watch the paint on the surface and just enjoy. You can’t really do anything wrong. Like if you were to spill black, you could just fill it with white.”
For Saturday’s session, Keen created a simplified light-and-dark outline system so volunteers could safely paint the lower sections of the design while keeping higher elements like the painted books reserved for later.
Throughout the process, Keen found joy in the physical creation and in interacting with the surrounding town.
“My favorite part is when I get to play with the detailing,” Keen shared. “You basically lay down one coat and then another and another and another, and they build on each other. So that last final one’s so satisfying. It’s like the icing on the cake. But the whole process is really fun. I think one of my favorite parts is meeting the city council, talking to the library, and then the police know I’m around and they say hello—it’s just nice to engage with the community.”
Beyond the trains and books, the mural acts as a visual love letter to the Safford area, incorporating local references, wildlife, and community “Easter eggs.” Featured elements include native plants, local authors, reference nods to the Safford Bulldogs, chips and salsa, a cat inspired by the Essence of Tranquility Hot Springs, and even Myrtle the Turtle from the library’s interior terrarium.
“I’ve met a lot of people in Safford that say they would hang out here every day after school—that it was a big part of their upbringing,” Keen said. “So I was like, ‘What should I add in there? What do you want to see?’ It’s like a little love letter to Safford.”
Keen has been working on-site through early autumn heat and seasonal monsoon storms, engaging with residents, city leaders, and library visitors as the layers of paint build up.
Work on “Tracks and Tales” will continue through next week, culminating in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26. Community members driving by the library along 8th Avenue can watch the progress live as Keen applies the final detailed coats.
