Discover the Road to Taos

Early Saturday morning the traffic on I-25 south through Denver and Colorado Springs was sparse; and by noon we approached Taos. As If stepping back into an ancient European village, the pace slowed and the adobe architecture shown in the sun. Lunch at a local favorite Michael’s Bakery definitely hit the spot as freshly baked cinnamon rolls and apple fritters tempted our senses. Across Paseo del Pueblo Norte the Taos Museum (www.taosartmuseum.com, 575.758.2690) in the Nicolai Fechin home introduced us to the multiply talented artist born in 1881 in Kagan, Russia. Fechin excelled as a draftsman, painter, architect, and wood carver who built his adobe home and studio by hand from 1927 to 1933, while carving the beautiful and unique tables, chairs, beds, doors, columns, stair railings, built in cabinets and cedar lined closets which filled his home. Fechin carved and molded the adobe buildings into a marriage of Russian, Native American, and Spanish symbology. Fechin’s portrait paintings brought to mind John Singer Sargent’s assured bravado brushstrokes combined with Gustav Klimpt’s German Expressionist style. Taos Museum owns a permanent collection of 300 works by fifty artists of the original Taos Society of Artists and modern Taos painters. Plans are underway to construct a 12,000 square foot additional building to house this collection with a major fund-raising black-tie event scheduled in August 2009. Strolling through fragrant gardens of cherry and apple trees, lilies, roses, bachelor buttons and lavender we visited Fechin’s studio which contains a gift shop of art books, hand-made jewelry, pottery, and woven scarves.

Taos Plaza contains several historic Spanish Colonial buildings including the La Fonda Hotel Taos, rebuilt in 1710 and filled with original period artworks by local and regional artisans. A short walk from the Plaza takes you to numerous art galleries. Walden Fine Art was gearing up for a reception for Colorado painter Marie Massey. Next door Michael McCormick Gallery (www.mccormickgallery.com, 575.758.1372) planned a buffet dinner for the Angus McDonald “Summer of Love in Taos” show. On Kit Carson Road, Wilder Nightingale Gallery (www.wnightingale.com, 575.758.3255) featured oversized portraits by Rory Wagner, glowing landscapes by Stephen Day, abstracted landscapes by Kit Lynch, and architectural paintings by Greg Moon. Diane Grimshaw’s Gallery featured architecture paintings by Walker Moore and expressive figures and still lifes by Scott Freeman. Total Arts Gallery (www.totalartsgallery.com, 575.758.4667) celebrated its 40th Anniversary with a courtyard buffet reception for Kim English, John David Phillips, and Spike Ress. Works by renowned painters David Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, and Burton Silverman were also displayed at Total Arts Gallery.

Sunday morning we set out to explore the High Road from Taos to Santa Fe. State Road 518 climbs the scenic route through Carson National Forest with many side roads to hiking and fishing sites. Passing through Talpa take a right on state road 75 through Valida and Penasco, where a right turn takes you to Picuris Pueblo. Take a left on state road 76 through Chamisal to Las Trampas where the old Santo Tomas Church was begun in 1751 in Spanish Colonial alpine construction and dedicated in 1760. Still in use today, the church was rededicated in 1881 as San Jose de Gracia. Continue on through Ojo Sarco to Truchas Mission and Cordova. Take state road 98 toward Chimayo to see the Santuario de Chimayo referred to as “Lourdes of the Southwest” because of the alleged healing powers of the miraculous dirt in the corner of the 19th century chapel. Here we cut across the loop to the more modern city of Espanola, stopping for a fresh Southwestern taco salad for lunch. We completed our loop along the Low Road, Highway 68 North, back toward Taos. Passing Velarde and the historic railroad stop at Embudo we saw lush farms of fruits, corn, chiles, vineyards and wineries. Along the Rio Grande River we spotted rafters braving the rapids resulting from a rainy summer. The area between Ohkay Owingeh and Pilar was known in 1598 as San Juan Pueblo. Reaching the southern border of Taos we visited the adobe buttressed San Francisco de Asis Church built in 1710 in Rancho de Taos and a favorite painting subject of Georgia O’Keeffe and modern artists.

Hacienda de los Martinez (www.taoshistoricmuseums.org, 575.758.4741) is one of the few remaining late Spanish Colonial period “Great Houses” built in 1804 by Don Antonio Severino Martin, later pluralized to Martinez. The carefully preserved fortress-like double courtyard hacienda provides the visitor a glimpse of life in the early 1800’s, when the family made a living through agriculture and commerce on the Camino Real and the Santa Fe Trail. By 1827 the Hacienda had expanded to include 21 rooms enclosing two placitas. Occupied by the Martinez family until the mid 1930’s the rooms included a sala or living room, bedrooms, family chapel, granero, trade room, la cocina, la dispensa, gran sala or meeting room, weaving room, santos display room, blacksmith’s shop, servant’s quarters, tack room, and servant’s chapel. Animal stalls and adobe baking ovens were located outside the main structure.

Sunday evening we dined at Doc Martin’s Restaurant in the Historic Taos Inn built in 1880. The menu included such delicacies as rattlesnake, calamari, buffalo burgers, and a house favorite recipe for chile rellenos. The colorful, fluid stylized landscapes of Kit Lynch decorated the walls of the former home of the first doctor in Taos. As the evening cooled we joined the fire circle at La Kachina Best Western to experience Taos Pueblo Indian dancers and drummers. A Native American narrator described the costumes and the meanings of the dances which he assured us were not spiritual but meant for entertainment.

Monday morning we drove two miles north of Taos to a civilization dating back over a thousand years at Taos Pueblo (www.taospueblo.com), “The Place of the Red Willows”. A Native American cemetery of 1619 held graves of those killed in the revolt of 1680. Drying racks were used to dry grains and meats in the hot summer sun. Outdoor adobe ovens called horno were used to bake bread and pastries over a cedar fire. The native language Tiwa is unwritten and unrecorded even today. Red Willow Creek flows with clear, icy water from Blue Lake high in the nearby Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The North House, Hlaauma, is built of adobe in multiple stories which were originally accessed only by ladders which could be pulled up to prevent entry by enemies. The South House, Hlaukkwima, is smaller and also does not include running water or electricity. Doorways and windows have been added and the pueblo is still inhabited by Native Americans today. The San Geronimo Church built in 1850 has been faithfully tended and continues to provide services.

A short drive west on US 64 will take you to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge spanning the dramatic 650 feet deep chasm to the river. One wonders at the thoughts of early settlers in covered wagons upon encountering such an obstacle on a westward trek. Heading back towards Taos the Millicent Rogers Museum (www.millicentrogers.org, 575.758.2464) must not be missed. Millicent Rogers was an art patron, stunning beauty, and talented designer who settled in Taos in 1947. In five short years until her early death at age 50 she amassed an awe inspiring museum quality collection of Native American turquoise and silver jewelry, hand-woven baskets and textiles, authentic pueblo pottery including the Maria Martinez Family Collection, Hispanic textiles, metalwork, sculptures, and contemporary Anglo-European Southwestern Art. Before heading back home we enjoyed an al fresco lunch at the Dragonfly Café, a charmingly decorated 1911 adobe residence with its own European bakery. Savoring a curried chicken salad croissant, my mind’s eye composed images for painting series yet to come and noted sites to see on my next journey on the road to Taos.

Top Ten Framing Tips

Cindy Cambridge, Account Executive with Larson Juhl, an international framing company, spoke to our artists' seminar at Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum about trends in framing and how quality framing impacts the sale of art. Here are some tips she shared:
There are no rules...only guidelines.

1. Frame to enhance the art, not to match the room.
2. In a completed frame design, the art should be the first thing you see.
3. Moulding width should be determined by the following: size of the art, scale of shapes within the image, visual weight, scale of the room and furniture in the room.
4. Mat width should be: at least slightly wider than the moulding or at least slightly narrower than the moulding width.
5. Neutral mat colors (white, gray, tan and black) allow the artwork to be the focal point, and allow the completed piece to be more versatile if it moves to a different location.
6. Paper as well as textile art should be framed behind glass. In each case, there should be space between the art and the glass, provided by a mat or sspacer.
7. Double matting, fabric mats, a fillet or stacking frames are all ways to increase the perceived value of a piece.
8. Conservation grade materials (including mats, mounting items, glass and acrylic) should be used on everything. the value of protecting the piece far outweighs the minimal difference in cost.
9. Acrylic is the better choice in a child's room, or if the finished piece needs to be shipped.
10. Art doesn't go out of style, but framing trends come and go. Replacing a single element of a framed item, or all of them, can update the look of any piece.

Trust your custom framer to help guide you in finding the best solution for each item you are having framed. When done correctly, custom framing should enhance a single piece of art along with the room in which it will be displayed.

Broomfield artist Ruth Soller exhibits in New York City

Ruth Soller, Broomfield artist will exhibit her oil paintings in the Something Different Exhibition at APW Arts Gallery in New York City from July 17th through August 23rd, 2009. Opening Reception will be July 17th from 7 pm to 9 pm. Soller will be sending the most recent pieces in her Painted Pueblos of Santa Fe series, Canyon Road Corner and Presbyterian Profile, as well as Catalina Fountain and Catalina Planter. Soller previously exhibited in Limner Gallery on Avenue of the Americas, New York City in 2001 and 2002. This year she is participating in a worldwide Sketchbook Project touring exhibition sponsored by Art House Gallery of Atlanta, Georgia, with a stop at Third Ward Gallery in Brooklyn, New York. The Something Different Exhibition will feature 200 artists from around the world. One artist from this exhibition will be selected to present a solo exhibition at APW Arts Gallery. Ten artists will be selected to present a group exhibition. Works in the Something Different Exhibition will be featured on our website www.APWarts.com and for purchase online. General inquiry: info@apwarts.com
Hours: Friday - Sunday 12:00 pm - 6:00 pm Phone: (718)-383-0671 48-18 Van Dam St - Long Island City - NYC 11101


Soller’s oil paintings of the historic architecture and the colorful people of the West, glow from within with southern charm. After twenty years of painting her work has developed a distinct and recognizable stylized realism. She perceives intensified colors, simplified forms and dramatic value contrasts in her compositions. A full-time painter residing in Broomfield, Colorado, she is inspired by the grandeur of the nearby Rocky Mountains. She paints the western landscape in a magical, mystical, surreal style. Her works have been exhibited from New York City to Los Angeles and from Montana to Alabama. She is represented by Solveig Lark of Gallery East in Loveland, Colorado and Rebecca Barrett of The Link Gallery in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
APW Arts Gallery first opened their doors in March of 2008 in New York City's Lower East Side. Since then it has organized and curated a number of exhibitions featuring local and international artists. APW Arts Gallery is innovative in that it showcases works such as custom vinyl toys as well as traditional media from both emerging and established artists. Previous exhibitions included World of Imagination, Custom Toy Contest, Sketch It Out, Art on Record, A Postcard is worth 1000 words, and Deck Deck Deck. Future scheduled shows include New York City Art Book Project, T-Project, and Just Stick It. In March 2009, APW Arts Gallery transitioned into a new 5,000 square foot space in the growing creative community of Long Island City, NYC.

Painted Pueblos of Santa Fe

NEW PAINTINGS SERIES: SANTA FE SCENES-Our recent trip to Santa Fe inspired my new series of paintings. The public is invited to come and see the debut of these vibrant jewels at an open house at Gallery East, Tenth & Lincoln, Loveland, CO, Tuesday-Saturday, gallery hours 11 am-4 pm.

Santa Fe means "Holy Faith" in Spanish. Santa Fe is the oldest state capital city in the U.S. Built in the early days of Spanish colonization, around 1610, San Miguel Mission is considered by many to be the oldest mission in the U.S. It was burned and then rebuilt in 1710. In Spanish Colonial times, this was the church of the working people in the Barrio de Analco. Today this church contains many fine examples of historic Hispanic religious art.

Canyon Road is today the home of dozens of prestigious art galleries, shops and restaurants. This street was once a dirt track used by people to haul firewood on burros to sell in downtown Santa Fe. In the 1920's, artists moved in because rents were the lowest in town. Farolitos (candles in paper bags), little bonfires traditionally called luminarias and thousands of carolers make this a magical place on Christmas Eve. A chile ristra, a string of bright red chiles, is a perfect inexpensive keepsake. They are traditionally hung in kitchens or by a door.

The most familiar of all Native American dwellings are the monumental pueblos of the Southwest, which are believed to have evolved from simple earth lodges. The earthen roofs are supported by massive horizontal timbers placed on top of the thick adobe walls. Because of the difficulty of cutting the roof timbers to precise lengths with stone tools, the ends were normally allowed to project somewhat beyond the wall surface. This is the principal difference between native buildings and related Spanish Colonial buildings built of adobe. Several of the New Mexico pueblos have been continuously occupied since pre-Columbian times and thus have the distinction of being the most authentic surviving Native American dwellings.

Spanish domestic buildings commonly have long, narrow porches (the corridor or portale) that open onto internal courtyards. Porch roofs were supported by hewn logs, usually capped by distinctive carved brackets. Because they faced internal courtyards, traditional porches are seldom evident on the external facades. With the arrival of Anglo influence, however, front-façade porches became fashionable.
Spanish Colonial buildings are unusually durable when executed in stone. In sharp contrast, adobe walls are unusually susceptible to deterioration; if the roofs are not continually repaired, rainwater literally melts them into a formless mass of mud. Regrettably, many of the most authentic examples were abandoned in favor of frame dwellings.

Sources:
A Field Guide to American Houses, by Virginia and Lee McAlester, Alfred A Knopf, Inc., copyright 1997.
The Collectors Guide Santa Fe, Taos, Albuquerque, Vol. 22, No. 2, 2008-2009
Inside Santa Fe, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2008-2009

A Bolt of White Cloth

During our visit in Cheyenne, Wyoming for the Western Spirit Exhibition and Sale, I was fortunate to attend the Artist Development Seminar at Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum. Sandra Starr, Senior Researcher at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, spoke on “A Bolt of White Cloth: Exploring the Flexibility and Adaptability of the American Indian Artist”. Here are a few fascinating facts from her talk. The Treaty of Canadaigua between the Iroquois Confederacy and the United States was signed in 1794. Some terms of this treaty continue to touch the lives of the Oneida today. For example, an allotment of treaty cloth or annuity cloth was given to each enrolled Oneida. Since the Oneida word for “gift” did not include the idea of reciprocity, it is unlikely that they understood that the United States was taking control of their land through the treaty.

The allotment of cloth was determined by an amount of money established in 1794 and has not been adjusted for inflation. Today the cloth continues to be delivered by United Parcel Service and distributed on a per capita basis. Originally gifted bolts of calico and muslin were meant to help with the clothing needs of tribal people. Later, tipi liners decorated with illustrations of events and feats of bravery were made of the muslin given as gifts in treaty negotiations. Women also made quilts from the annuity cloth. The treaty cloth has gone from a fine white cotton muslin to an inexpensive unbleached muslin used for sheets and pillowcases. The quantity of treaty cloth allotted per person has diminished from about four yards by two yards in the early days to a strip 4 inches wide by 48 inches long in 1998. Still Oneida oral tradition teaches each new generation the potent symbol of the annuity cloth.

GALLERY NEWS

I'm excited to announce that Rebecca Barrett of The Link Gallery now represents my work in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Rebecca has owned and operated galleries in Denver and Estes Park, Colorado. Originally born and schooled in Cambridge, England, Rebecca received a degree in photography from the University of the Arts London. She has published work in magazines in the United Kingdom and the United States. Rebecca worked as a house photographer for a jazz club in London, did portfolios for musicians, and designed album covers.

The Link Gallery features fine and applied art from American, British and European artists which encompasses jewelery, paintings, photography, art glass, sculpture, ceramics and prints. As well as quite traditional pieces the gallery carries work that tends to be witty, maybe a little quirky, and definitely different! Rebecca invites you to feel welcome to come in and browse.