O:SHAD RETURNS
“O:ṣhad Returns” is a collection of snapshots from my wildest dreams. This concept came to me after seeing a photo of the new (to us) jaguar who was spotted in the Sky Islands in Spring of 2024. He was named O:ṣhad Ñu:kudam, which means “Jaguar Protector” in the O’odham language, by students and elders on the Tohono O’odham Nation.
I’m inspired every day by the resiliency of the natural world. Even as hundreds of miles of border walls have gone up and massive mines tear away at the earth, O:ṣhad has found his way here, reclaiming his historic range. I’m inspired by the idea that we can, in fact, adapt and share this earth more equally with one another. I hope this work provokes those who see it to ask themselves what it means to cohabitate (and yes that includes the carpenter ants).
If the roles were reversed, if it was the wildlife who took our resources, stepped without thought on our beloved spaces and places, would we think twice before bulldozing the woodpecker’s saguaro?
Dimensions: 45” x 72” x 24”
Location: Downtown Tucson
Material: digital drawing, vinyl wrap
Commissioned by: Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
Photo credit: Ammi Robles, Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona
YOU ARE HERE
You Are Here is a collaboration by artists Maxie Adler & Troy Neiman to enhance the entrance of the Mesa Dobson Ranch Public Library through sculpture and mural installation that welcomes every visitor to the library while providing context of the greater neighborhood, city, and landscape of Mesa.
This place-based artwork is inspired by the topography of Mesa and the Dobson Ranch area. The design of each panel was stylized from topographic maps of the region, zooming in on Dobson Ranch Library as the viewer walks closer to the library doors, marked with a "You Are Here" symbol to orient visitors.
The final two pillars, closest to the entrance, are painted as visual markers to the library’s entrance. One continues the maps from the sculptures, drawing viewers even deeper into the neighborhood that the library is located in, Dobson Ranch. The column closest to the door has a “You Are Here” symbol surrounded by playful, map-style icons—books, computers, and other hints of what’s inside. It’s a nod to the library’s role not just as a building, but as a hub for imagination, learning, and possibility.
This work is a celebration of Mesa and the Dobson Ranch community, contextualizing the library within the greater region.
Concept & Design by Maxie Adler & Troy Neiman, 2025
Mural Design & Installation by Maxie Adler
Sculpture Fabrication and Installation by Troy Neiman
Materials: powder-coated steel, perforated aluminum, exterior paint
Location: Dobson Ranch Library - Mesa Public Library
Dimensions: 14’H x 6’D x 40’W
Commissioned by: Mesa Public Library
Photo credit: Bill Hatcher
BANK LIKE YOU LIVE HERE
This mural is a tribute and love letter to Tucson—a blend of desert landscape and black-and-white illustrations that map local landmarks, wildlife, restaurants, and locally loved businesses.
Commissioned by Vantage West Credit Union, Bank Like You Live Here uplifts and seeks to reinvest in the community we love by celebrating Tucson’s businesses, creatives, and bright future.
Designed and painted by Maxie Adler, 2025
Dimensions: 9’2” x 21’
Location: Historic 4th Ave, Tucson, AZ
Commissioned by: Vantage West Credit Union and BRINK MEDIA
Photo credit: Michael McKisson
THE PARTY UNDERGROUND
This mural displays some of the burrowing creatures of the southwest, particularly the black-tailed prairie dog, accompanied by a coyote, cicadas, and the western diamondback rattlesnake. Inspired by the way books allow us to peek into worlds that we usually can’t see, this design is a peek into the amazingly complex underground world where many southwest wildlife take refuge. For all of us, and particularly for cyclists moving fast, it is important to remember who else we share the trails with (above and below).
Designed and painted by Maxie Adler, 2022
Dimensions: 40” x 46” x 90”
Location: Tempe Public Library
Commissioned by: City of Tempe
Photo credit: ©Michael Williams, All Rights Reserved
WHEN WE DO IT TOGETHER
This mural honors the Three Sisters–from seed and sprout, to mature plants, to fruits. This cyclical story represents the history of the land and the passing of time, a process that’s been happening and nourishing people for thousands of years at the base of S-cuk Ṣon/Sentinel Peak. We played with scale and perspective, making the seed and pollinator bee as large as they are important to this process. Each section of the wall explores the plants from a different vantage point, perhaps you are a bug playing on the leaves.
This mural was designed and painted with help, guidance, and inspiration from youth artists of the Pascua Yaqui Clubhouse – Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson, 2024.
Dimensions: 6′ x 72′
Location: Mission Garden, Tucson, AZ
Commissioned by: The Santa Cruz Valley National Heritage Area in collaboration with Mission Garden and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tucson’s Pascua Yaqui Clubhouse
Photo credit: Michael McKisson
RAPTOR
This mural was commissioned by my neighbor for their backyard wall, celebrating their beloved chickens and the neighborhood hawk who likes to watch from afar.
Designed and painted by Maxie Adler, 2024
Dimensions: 6’ x 30’
Location: Dunbar Spring Neighborhood
Material: exterior paint, polytab
Photo credit: Michael McKisson
TUCSON HOLIDAY ICE
This seasonal mural celebrates the Sonoran Desert’s iconic winter critters and scenes — Phainopeplas munching the desert mistletoe that grows on palo verde trees; a rattlesnake, desert tortoise, and gila monster burrowing underground; snow-guaros melting before your eyes, and a male mule deer walking through snow-dusted prickly pear. On display at Tucson’s outdoor ice rink downtown from November to January.
Designed and painted by Maxie Adler, 2023
Dimensions: 40’L x 8’D x 8’6″ H
Location: Tucson Holiday Ice Rink, Downtown Tucson, AZ
Commissioned by: City of Tucson
POLLINATORS OF THE SONORAN DESERT
This mural features migratory pollinators of the Sonoran Desert including the rufous hummingbird, Sonoran bumble bee, lesser long-nosed bats, western white-winged dove, and monarch butterfly.
Designed and painted by Maxie Adler, 2022
Dimensions: 6.5’ x 49’
Location: Jackie Kinman Butterfly Garden, Blenman Elm Neighborhood, Tucson, AZ
Commissioned by: Blenman Elm Neighborhood Association
Photo credit: Michael McKisson
WILDLIFE KNOW NO BORDERS
The yellow-billed cuckoo, Sonoran pronghorn, Sonoyta mud turtle and jaguar are among the endangered species of the U.S./Mexico borderlands whose survival is threatened by the border wall. They deserve our protection.
Designed and painted by Maxie Adler, 2021
Dimensions: 6.75’ x 33’
Location: Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center
Sponsored by: the Center for Biological Diversity & Tucson Jewish Museum & Holocaust Center
WEAVING
BLOCK PRINTING
WEAVING THE WALL