a much needed break

john and i headed down to taos this weekend.  it seemed that the tree full of cherries might need some attention.  

it's a good thing we made the drive, as the magpies had discovered our crop, and were eagerly chomping cherries, leaving a scattering of pits under the tree.  they scolded us whenever we were in the yard, and at times we saw up to four of them noshing happily. i didn't get a picture of them in the tree, but here is a shot of one waiting patiently for me to leave the yard.  you have to look a bit closely, he's sitting on the far fence a bit right of center.

this is only part of the harvest:

we had to leave almost half of them on the tree.  we think we brought home at least 50 pounds.  it was certainly a good year for cherries.  we also let anyone we knew that there were more cherries for the taking.  and we suppose that the magpies will also have a nice feast in the coming days!!

it was a bit smoky in the valley this weekend.  there are still several fires burning, the newest in ruidoso, which is south of santa fe.  our thoughts are going out to those affected by the fires in new mexico and colorado.  we are sending our most powerful positive thoughts into the universe, wishing they will help those who are fighting and those who have lost.

more birds!

memorial day weekend is our traditional "plant the garden" holiday in new mexico.  this year, my husband john couldn't make the trip.  he stayed home getting our son ready for finals.  without them, it was girl's weekend this year.   my sister-in-law, her partner, and i shoveled, hoed, and hauled our way to a fully planted plot of veggies and flowers!  our fruit trees are also brimming with peaches, plums, cherries, apples, and pears!  it is the first year in almost a decade that all of the fruit trees are bearing.  i think taos may not be the fruit capital of the world...we inherited the trees from the former owners, who were from the east coast.  the warm spring was good to us this year.  we are looking forward to this season's yield!!

we also tackled a long overdue project out front.  we finally replaced the old, ugly, and faded address post.  the former indicator of our house number was a simple steel fence post stuck in the ground.  wired to it was a piece of plexiglass bearing digits on mismatched stickers.  not a great sight.  so the ladies went shopping for a replacement.  we ended up with a 4x4 wooden fence post, iron numbers, and a handmade iron crow to mark our space.  we had to drill, dig, and mix/pour concrete for the job.  and we are very proud of our results:

birds are definitely on my mind these days.  so upon my arrival home after a glorious long weekend in sunny NM, i made this print.  it's a variation on my last post.  i think i like it better.

sorry.  a bit out of focus.  it's still wet, so i took the image with my phone.  

taking a break

i haven't really done a lick of work this week.  we left last saturday for taos (see photos above), and were welcomed with some new fallen snow.  it was beautiful.  since john has been out of snowboarding so far this winter due to his back, we hung out at the house for 4 days.  my son ben and his friend scott ended up being the ski area residents without john.

the good news is that john and i can't possibly sit still for 4 days.  so we painted our bedroom, which has been on the "to do" list for years.  so the pink walls are now taupe-y (ben says we traded light beige for dark beige.)  for those of you who are color oriented, that small change from light (and warm) beige to dark (and cool) beige is a game changer.  the room feels cozy now, and the new mexican details in the room now pop instead of blend in like before.  i only took one photo, and it's not too great, but here is a picture of the pink-turned-taupe in action:

hopefully i will get some better photos one day.  i'm not too great in the room documentation department.

if you look closely, you can see that the vigas (beams) on the ceiling used to be almost the same tone as the walls.  so even though they were up there, and beautiful, they were almost lost.  now the contrast allows them to shine.  i love that!! by the way, we learned if you move the ladder without remembering there is a whirring fan on the ceiling, it makes quite a large clatter!

okay, time to get back to art making.  all of this home improvement is taking me away from my "real" job!!

a week of printmaking

yours, truly

cool cat

i spent almost a week in taos, and much of that time making prints.  i would have made even more prints, but ran out of white ink.  i wasn't too worried about running out, as there is a fabulous art supply store in taos, and i was sure that finding what i needed was no problem.  sadly, the art store has closed in taos.  i guess the faltering economy has one more victim.  

tomorrow i will begin painting again.  i have decided to take some classes with a local (very talented) painter named mark nelson.  my friend kelly has been studying with him, and i think she is doing some great stuff.  we will paint for 3 mondays in a row, and then go to moab, utah as our culminating activity. in moab, we will paint for 3 days outdoors.  i need this.  i love to paint, and it was my first love artistically.  it taught me so much about drawing, value, color, texture, and having people looking over my shoulder.  i haven't really painted seriously for 2 years.  other stuff has peaked my interest, and painting has played the "ignored toy in the corner" role.  i do need to pick it back up and play again.  i just hope that i can still do it.  i hope it's like riding  a bike or ice skating--a skill you put into muscle memory, and just know how to do once you try again.

if you are so inclined, a little prayer of confidence would be appreciated.  i selfishly don't want to suck in front of a whole new group of people.

taos

i got back from new mexico today.  it is always a constant source of beauty and inspiration.  here are a couple of photos (thanks, tina) to let you see some local color.  the drive is about 4 and-a-half hours from denver, and i always think it's long.  that is, until i get out of pueblo, and the sky opens up my body and soul to another place altogether.

i went to new mexico for the first time about 20 years ago.  and the magic has not faded.  sometimes i feel like this northeastern white girl should feel like a stranger in a place so far removed from my upbringing.  but somehow i feel so at home with the landscape.  so i am selfish, and i soak it in.

here you go:

santuario de chimayo

offerings at santuario de chimayo

rancho de chimayo

san geronimo chapel, taos pueblo

cemetery, taos pueblo