David Craighead is a master of seeing beauty in decay. He walks his 10 acres of desert daily with his dog searching for what he calls “desert driftwood” — the flotsam and jetsam that lies forgotten on the ground. His prizes are saguaro boots (the curved part of saguaro skeletons), pieces of barrel cactus that somehow get detached from the mother plant, old cholla sticks, seed pods from unknown plants and other reminders of what was once growing in the sandy soil. From this seemingly dead matter, Craighead makes art that speaks to a new life.

“If there’s a metaphysical or spiritual notion that might be hidden in the work it’s redemption or reclamation, second chances,” Craighead said. “I know I’ve had my fair share, and I’m bringing this debris back to life and making it beautiful.”

He cleans and dries the pieces he finds, then paints and lacquers them. After that, Craighead starts adhering this piece to that until finally, he has made a bouquet, or perhaps a bonsai tree, or even a bird taking flight. It just depends on what the pieces suggest to him.

“It’s like playing with Legos again,” Craighead said. “What can I put together out of all of this stuff?”

Craighead sells his work at arts and crafts shows, both in Tucson and in Phoenix. He also shows from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays on the patio outside the main office of the White Stallion Ranch, 9251 W. Twin Peaks Road in Marana.

Craighead explained that he never expected to be a full time artist. He only started to make things casually after he separated from the Air Force.

“It was a hobby in the garage on the weekends that really took on a life of its own,” he said.

Still, once Craighead began to make art, he couldn’t stop. He found, at least for himself, creating beauty was the path to happiness and spiritual satisfaction.

“Early on I made a deal with myself that I’ll do whatever it takes to remain a self-employed artist,” Craighead said. “I’ll eat as much ramen and peanut butter as I have to to stay this happy. … I have a very overactive subconscious and imagination, a very busy mind, and this is my Zen, my yoga. This is very freeing for me.

“I never took a class,” he added. “It was a lot of experimenting, a lot of trial and error.”

Now his work, or at least the pieces that make up his work, span three outbuildings. At least one is filled with his version of canvas and paints.

“I’ve got what I call a dead cactus warehouse, sort of a filing system,” Craighead said. “Some folks might have stacks of firewood, I’ve got pallets and stacks of cholla branches and saguaro ribs and trunks, but it’s the boots and the little twisty, curvy bits that have more character that I’m really looking for when I scavenge. It’s like panning for gold out in the desert.”

For Craighead, art is all around — anything can be art and anything can be beautiful. He would like viewers to find that in his work.

“There is a joy in discovery and creation in my work that I hope (people) can connect with and share,” Craighead said.

Desert in Decay

INFO: 520-336-6938, desertindecay.com, dave@desertindecay.com

Dave Craighead will be showing his work at the following places:

White Stallion Ranch

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays through May

WHERE: 9251 W. Twin Peaks Road, Marana

California Pizza Kitchen Scottsdale

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 13, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 14

WHERE: 101000 Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale

Adjacent to Frontier Town

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday, April 26, and Saturday, April 27

WHERE: 6245 E. Cave Creek Road, Cave Creek

This article appears in Apr 4-11, 2024.