A Night in Chimayo

After leaving Truchas I stopped in Chimayo for dinner and spent the night at the Rancho de Chimayo Hacienda.  The inn sits on the hill across the street from the restaurant - same owners.  Compared to the Inn in Taos that I had stayed at - this place was a gem.  The room was large and open, uncluttered with high ceilings.  All of the rooms open to a beautiful garden area where you can enjoy your breakfast.  With no internet or tv, it is a relaxing and quiet place to stay. When I went to bed I discovered that I had left my favorite pillow at the inn in Taos - I debated all night about driving back up or just buying a new pillow.  Since I wanted to go back up to photograph the church at Las Trampas, I figured I could make it back to Taos and still get to Santa Fe before dark.

Garden Courtyard at the Hacienda de Chimayo

Room Cuatro at the Hacienda

Rancho de Chimayo Hacienda

Rancho de Chimayo Restaurant

At the hacienda, Connie welcomed me and had a sweet and gentle spirit.  She called me after I checked out in the morning and had left to let me know I had left my luggage - yikes - good thing I was just down the road at the Santuario.  Hmm, time to pay more attention to where I am leaving things on the road.

Finding Truchas

"Taos Afternoon" - Trish Booth

"Kiva Ladder" - Trish Booth

I had driven the High Road from Santa Fe to Taos in the past and Truchas was one of those towns that always lived in the back of my mind.  I found the work of Trish Booth on Facebook and invited her to participate in the project.  I was drawn to the vivid colors and southwest landscapes that she was painting.  I met Trish and her artist husband at their home/gallery in Truchas and we spent time in her studio and additionally I was given a tour of their home.  Trish will be a featured artist in the Southwest Art Studios project.  Stay tuned.

Ghost Pony Gallery & Studio - Trish Booth - Truchas, NM

Truchas Market

"Camino de la Sociodad" - Sally Delap-John

After visiting with Trish I was able to stop in a few other galleries in town and met with Sally Delap-John in her home/studio/gallery.  Sally is a plein air painter and I found her vibrant loose painting style of the southwest landscapes and architecture of the High Road towns to be exciting.

Chamisal & the High Road

When I left Taos, I headed southeast to take the High Road from Taos to Santa Fe visiting two artists on the way. I found Donna Caulton at her 130 year old adobe home in the very small town of Chamisal. The 2010 census states a population of 310. It is a sweet little town where people have lived in their family homes for generations. Donna is working on a special project along with three other artists called "Creation Migration". Check out the blog site for this project by clicking here.

Visiting with Donna confirmed for me the value of the Southwest Art Studios project.  When you have an opportunity to meet an artist in their studio and talk with them about there work there is so much more of a connection to and an appreciate of the work.  Sure, you can fall in love with art in a gallery but a connection to the artist takes it to a whole other level.  There are a number of things that I loved about visiting with Donna and I will be sharing in more detail on the website as Donna will be the featured artist for July 2013 for Southwest Art Studios.  Seriously, I did not want to leave and could have stayed all day visiting with her and her sweet gentle poodle, Jazzy but had to head further on down the road to meet another artist in Truchas.

Donna Caulton

"Raven's Dream" - Solar plate Etching - Donna Caulton

Chamisal, NM

Earthships

During my time in Taos my new friend Loretta and I took a little road trip out to the Greater World Earthship  Community.  I have wanted to see this place for years.  Michael Reynolds, the architect/builder and founder is brilliant.  I saw his dvd "Garbage Warrior" years ago and found it so moving it brought me to tears.  Again, as I told Loretta about the dvd, I was brought to tears.  Of course, I have to share with you as well.  If you ever have a chance to see this place, you will be inspired.

When we arrived we saw Michael walking away from the visitors center and we thought it was closed.  We wandered for a few minutes and then discovered it was in fact open.  The architecture is amazing but the sustainability in design and life inside the structures is genius!

I also discovered that you can rent one of the properties for a night or few - definitely on my list for my next visit to the Taos area.

How cool would it be to live in one of these!

 

Time in Taos

Mitch Lyons

My first destination spot was Taos.  I had been through Taos before but never spent much time there.  This time I had arranged to participate in a workshop, learn some new stuff and meet some artists.

I have had a love for printmaking for many years and have been interested in alternative or experimental printmaking techniques.  About 5+ years ago I learned about Mitch Lyons and his "Clay Monotypes"  I wanted to take his workshop ever since.  Mitch resides in Pennsylvania so it wasn't very convenient for me to take his workshop until he brought it to Taos this summer.  He reserved all the rooms at an Inn/B&B where they had a workshop space.  The workshop was great, the Inn, not so much.  Although the property was beautiful, a miscommunication between the innkeepers and Mitch left us all feeling unwelcome.  There's a big long story about this that I won't go into other than to NOT recommend this place to anyone I know or who reads this.

Mitch developed the clay monotype process after years of working with clay.  I was intrigued with the technique and enjoyed the process as well as meeting other artists in the workshop.  Mitch is truly a sweetheart and I am grateful to finally have met him.

We have arranged to have Mitch come teach the Clay Monotype workshop at the Tubac Center of the Arts where I work next spring.  I highly recommend this to anyone that works with clay or printmaking or even anyone interested in learning new art techniques.

Along the Way

Along the way to Taos, my first art destination, I longed to pull off the side of the road and get my feet wet in the Colorado River as I saw rafters, tubers and kayakers making their way through the running water alongside the highway.  What I was able to stop for, (I actually had to do a u-turn and tell myself it was ok to stop) was this sweet little winery in Velarde called Black Mesa Winery.  They had a number of wines to try in their tasting option and I selected 6 reds.  The $7 for the tasting and "keep the glass" was right in my budget but under other circumstances, I would have walked away with at least 2 bottles of the Cabernet - it was to die for.

On the Road in New Mexico

Looking Back to Arizona

My journey into New Mexico started on a Saturday morning.  I took the southern route and then on a whim (I'm doing that a lot lately), turned left and went up through the mountains.  Although this added almost an hour to the day's  drive, it was a beautiful adventure.

One of my favorite things about living in the southwest is the wide open skies, crisp blue skies and the clouds - I love the clouds.

Its a subtle change in the landscape between Arizona and New Mexico.  They are very similar but there is a change you not only see, but you can feel. 

As I travel throughout the state and share images and stories from my journey, you will begin to understand.

After a very long driving day through the mountain I landed in Albuquerque just after dark, the entrance to the hotel in a construction zone and a major wind storm that about knocked me over as I managed to get my luggage out of the truck and into the hotel.

What I have learned from previous travels is to always bring my own coffee.  With my french press and a bag of Starbucks, I'll be ready for the days ahead.

Always bring your own coffee

From Albuquerque I'm headed to Taos for some art adventures.  Stay tuned.

Hitting the Road

Last minute packing and a few chores around the house before I hit the road for a 2 week trip through New Mexico.  I will be making a little detour into the Albuquerque airport where I recently learned that a piece of my encaustic work that is part of the permanent collection of the Encaustic Art Institute is on exhibit until August 10th.  Congrats to all of the artists whose work was selected and kudos to you for donating it in the first place and supporting the EAI!

I will post more images from this exhibit after I have a chance to see it in person.  Well for now, time to get busy and get on the road!  See you in New Mexico!