The 7th Annual People's Art Show

My second year participating in The People's Art Show at the Factory on 5th

Electric Feel II, second from right on the top

12x12 for $144 VI

My 12x12 this year was based on a section of this photograph I took in 2010 on the grounds of Planet Bluegrass during the RockyGrass music festival.

Rock Wall II, acrylic on panel

 6x6's (sold for $36) by the students of Escuela Del Sol

Two of my favorite pieces from the auction exhibition Prelude

John Garrett, Fall Song, paper, metal, wire, trinkets, beads on board

"Fall Song plays with the idea of translating marks in one system to marks in another system. In this case, the marks become objects which are held together in plied wires. It covers a range from the mundane to the poetic."

Reyes Padilla (one of my studio mates), Synesthetic #11, acrylic on canvas

"Synesthesia: a concomitant sensation; especially: a subjective sensation or image of a sense (as of color) other than the one (as of sound) being stimulated.

Using the synesthetic condition that allows me to see sound, my paintings are representations of the music I listen to while I paint."

Four Corners Folk Festival

My first summer music festival experience was the Telluride Bluegrass Festival sometime around age five. Since then I've gone to a festival almost every summer: The Silverton Jubilee, RockyGrass, and most recently the Four Corners Folk Festival which I've attended annually since 2010. I learned to hula hoop at these festivals and eventually got into making my own hoops and bringing them along to dance with. What I love about them is the intimacy and sense of community: as I wrote in a previous post, "There is something magical in the air during these three day events, whether it is being in the presence of so many talented musicians, dancing and hula hooping under the stars, or walking through the campground listening to late-night jam sessions." They aren't overwhelming like SXSW or Bonnaroo can be. It rained nearly all day for two of the three days we were there, but it didn't stop anyone from being outdoors and even dancing during the heaviest downpour on Saturday night. The headliner that evening invited everyone who was outside the tent to come up and sit on stage with them. Some of my favorite new discoveries from this year's festival: Eddie From Ohio, I'm With Her (Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz, Aoife O'Donovan), Ruth Moody Band, and The Novel Ideas.

Camping with a Newborn

My first nephew, William, was born June 6th. A few months earlier my brother called and said he wanted to take the baby camping this summer. None of us thought the idea was anything out of the ordinary considering our parents had done the same thing the summer after my brother was born when he was about the same age (7 weeks), though they chose to camp in their vintage VW bus rather than a tent. So of course he was met with an enthusiastic "yes!" from all of us. We figured as long as Will was warm, dry, and fed, everything would be fine, and it was. My brother found an area in Central Oregon called Camp Sherman, along the Metolius River which is known for great fly fishing in the spring and fall.

The People's Art Show

Along with 200 other artists, I have work in the People's Art Show, a non-juried exhibition put on by the Factory on 5th, where I have a studio space. Both pieces I've posted about here previously: Earth From Space, my 12x12 I for the Harwood Art Center's annual fundraiser, and Spring Winds from the series "Right In Tune."

Welcome to Indian Country II

This is a version of a post from a few years ago when I first wrote about feast day at the Indian pueblos. Feast day at San Ildefonso Pueblo was Friday.


One of the things I love about New Mexico is the culture, particularly that of the Native Americans, whose spirituality I have been fascinated with for quite some time. A couple times a year the various pueblos open their villages to the public and welcome people to share the experience of honoring their ancestors, the land, and the spirits. Tribal feast days celebrate the birth of their patron saint; each pueblo's feast day occurs on a different day throughout the year. Dances are performed and traditional food is served; smoke from juniper-burning fires fills the crisp air like incense. You are not allowed to photograph, nor make any audio or video recordings during ceremonials (there are signs everywhere reminding people of this). The feast days are not advertised other than a short listing on some of the tourism and cultural websites because the Indians do not intend their celebrations to be tourist attractions. Most of the people who come are Natives from other tribes who have been invited or have family in the pueblo. In part this is what makes the experience so special.

San Ildefonso Pueblo is just north of Santa Fe and the home of the famous potter Maria Martinez. Two different dances were performed in the north and south plazas which are divided by a huge cottonwood tree. The first one we saw was the buffalo deer dance in the north plaza; as the dancers left the kiva (where they rest between performances), they bent over and began dancing on "all-fours," holding a long stick in each hand and tapping them on the ground simultaneously with their feet. They wear traditional clothing, antler headdresses, and bells attached to belts around their waists. Following the dancers was the group of drummers, who played a continuous, pulsing beat along with their chanting; the whole procession lasts about 15 minutes. In the south plaza was the Comanche dance. These dancers wore large feather headdresses similar to the Plains Indians; they were also accompanied by a group of chanting drummers. Every 20th beat or so the dancers would stop and make a loud bird-calling noise like an eagle. Although just as I thought I had the timing down, it would change with the next round... 20...23...19...30... 

For a number of years I have had the privilege to go to feast day at this pueblo and it has always had some personal meaning. When my mom was young there was a woman from San Ildefonso who came to clean her house and became good friends with my grandmother. It is always nice to know someone in the pueblo if you are going to their house to eat, and due to the nature of their connection the family was invited to Angelita's house on feast days. Angelita and my grandmother have since passed away, but whenever we go to the pueblo we make a point of stopping at the house which her daughter Eva now occupies. According to my mom, the house looks almost exactly the same as it did when she visited as a little girl. Eating at any of the Indians' homes is a communal, family-style activity. We wait in the living room until space opens up at the kitchen table and when we are called to eat there is set before us a plethora of traditional dishes to choose from. People are constantly coming and going so within the 20 minute time period we sat at the table, there were half a dozen different groups of people who joined us. The women also cook for the dancers and periodically take food to them while they are resting in the kivas.

12x12 for $144 V

This year, my 12x12 was inspired by a knot on the right side of the wood panel, which I've left untouched throughout the process of creating the artwork. Looking at the organic shape led to me thinking about satellite images of the Earth and the mixture of patterns and colors we don't realize are there when we are on the ground.

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6x6s by the students of Escuela del Sol