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!

 

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!