Beginning Entry
January 22, 2010

I've always wondered what it would be like to be part of the Blogosphere. Since I'm a card carrying member of the "Life's Too Short" club, I decided it is time I stopped wondering and started blogging. In all honesty, I'm not even sure what the heck a blog IS! Do I just write stuff and hope someone out there in Cyberland writes back? Or do I just keep on talking to myself? That shouldn't be an issue, as I do it all the time. More and more lately. Such is the life of an artist with a studio that is shared only with 4 cats and a dog. More on them later, no doubt. But today I am beginning with wondering what to write about. I take a track walk with Nitro, my dog, every morning and during that time I am filled with wisdom. I solve all the problems of the universe, actually. Unfortunately, like those middle of the night dreams, there is no memory of them by the time I get home and shower. So maybe I can get started here, and just see where it goes.

The life of an artist is unique, I suppose. And I can think of no better way to go through life, truth be told. My chosen profession has unlocked all kinds of doors, taken me to places a lot of people dream of. I'm not talking about the exotic ones. I've traveled a lot, but only in so called civilized places like Europe and Canada, and lately in the good old USA. Which I find infinitely more interesting than a lot of places I've visited world wide. As I age (EGAD!!!!) I appreciate my homeland more and more, and all we have been blessed with. But lots of problems too. And if I continue this, whoever finds this website other than the people selling Viagra and offering to give me a million dollars if I'll just wire them the mere $30,000 in taxes and transfer fees will no doubt here an awful lot of complaining. I invite your replies. As long as you're not trying to sell me something else I don't need. But back to my original comment a few lines back about places traveled in dreams. And by that I mean places of warm solitude, peace, spectacular beauty, and power and strength. But that will be expounded upon in blogs to come.

For today I am going speak of the art of being positive. There's something to be said for that. There's not enough of it in my opinion. It is why I push spiritual art on my website. Not just mine, but all my friends' work too. That's what we need more of. POSITIVITY. I am personally getting a little bit tired of the daily reports of doom and gloom hovering over our heads. My Fellow Americans, have you LOOKED at our country? I mean REALLY looked at it? We have an incredibly bunch of people living here in the US. Kind, generous, peaceful, industrious, brilliant, creative people who do good things all the time. But other than on the Oprah Show, who gives them mention? And how, I ask you, is constant negativity going to get us moving in the right direction? Who out there who has kids sends them to school the day of an important test and says, "You're probably going to fail?" But a reporter thinks nothing on coming on the air and saying that very thing on a daily basis. Do we really need to hear that crap?

My wonderful, sweet, generous husband has a bit of the old political negativity in him. A dark side.... He's a TV screamer. You know what they are---the ones who put on the political shows (which for me they are kind of like watching a train wreck---multiple times) and screaming at the guys who don't happen to agree with him. I try to point out that stress isn't good for us.... A sudden surge in blood pressure isn't good for us... He ignores me and screams a little louder. Oh, well. I give up and go feed a cat. They're happy. I'm happy. Life is simple.

God help us when he gets together with a friend of his over a weekly diner breakfast and the two of them recap all the political shows and get themselves worked up over every little thing that happened on the country's political front for the week. I keep reminding them they are wasting their time yelling at each other and me (the designated scape goat because they see me as not agreeing with them politically, though truth be told, they don't have a clue what I'm thinking because they are shouting over top of me). I remind them after elections whose outcomes do not please them that the thing they seem to never remember mid their rising stress levels is that we live in the GOOD OLD USA! That means, dear boys, if things don't work out this time around, there will be another election coming to turn things around and give the next party a chance continue to do nothing right. That's the joy of a DEMOCRACY I keep reminding them. They never listen. They just scream a little louder. I go home and feed a cat. It's more productive. My blood pressure is at a better level.

I am reminded of the students in my calligraphy class who work on their final project of creating calligraphy with favorite personal quotes. Every semester at least one or two chooses the quote "Be the change you wish to see." I smile. There is hope after all!

January 25, 2010
My Reflections on The Spanish Market, Santa Fe, New Mexico

My love affair with the work of the santeros and santeras of New Mexico began on my first trip to Santa Fe 16 years ago. Having been raised a Catholic, I had seen the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe more than a few times in my years at Catholic schools, but I was never really aware of how beautiful the image was until my trip. For those who have been to Santa Fe there may already be an awareness of how popular She is as a devotional figure in the Spanish-speaking culture. Shortly after that trip, I began a small collection of images of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe with the help of a Mexican art gallery in Philadelphia called "Eyes" run by Isaiah and Julia Zagar who were probably the first to introduce the religious art of Mexico and South America to the Philadelphia area. But it wasn't until my recent visit to Santa Fe a few years back that my devotion to Our Lady reached a new level. At left: A purchased treasure, Guardian Angel retablo by Colorado santero, Frank Zamora at his booth at Winter Spanish Market, December 2009 My quest for more images of Our Lady of Guadalupe for my personal altar collection at home led me into an exquisite shop off The Plaza called Móntez Gallery. It was here that I met the owner, who was also a santero (saint-maker) with a devotion to Our Lady of Guadalupe. The conversation that followed led to an eventual friendship which has provided me with knowledge about a culture about which I knew nothing, the Spanish settlers of Santa Fe who had been saint-making in the traditional style for over 400 years in this very country. I am continually amazed at the knowledge of Rey Móntez on the topics of the history of the region, and of the santeros and santeras past and present who lived and worked in New Mexico, devoting their lives to this incredible art form. Rey also introduced me to The Spanish Market, held in Santa Fe twice a year, when the saint-makers of Northern New Mexico and Colorado come to the town with their art for market, and told me more about the ceremonies that surround the show. I am still shaking my head in disbelief that in all my years of traveling abroad to see art, I never knew it existed in this form in our own country! It amazes me that in all my college art lectures no mention was ever made of the richness of art and culture in our own land! My first Spanish Market in July of 2008 proved to be more than I ever could have imagined. The sheer quantity of devotional art being created in a traditional way in so many different materials---wood, straw, tin, paintings and iron work to mention a few, was astounding. Santa Fe is an incredibly beautiful destination filled with fine restaurants, museums, different cultural events and oh, my---the shopping!!!! on any given day, but to see it transformed for Spanish Market was an experience I will never forget. The entire center of town was filled with a celebration of art, music, food, and religious devotion. None of the 5 senses was left untouched. The Spanish seem to have celebration down to a fine art. But the part that touched me the deepest, overwhelmed me beyond belief, was the spiritual devotion unique to the region. The procession to The Plaza for the blessing of the art On Market Sunday, there is a special procession by the participating artists which begins in The Plaza and proceeds down San Franciso to the famous Cathedral of St. Francis, completed in 1884 by Father Jean Baptiste Lamy (Some of you may have read about it in Willa Cather's Pulitzer Prize winning, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Vintage Classics, 1927). I can not imagine how one can watch the procession accompanied by the tolling of the cathedral bells through peaceful Santa Fe streets without choking down a few tears as they view the multi-generations of Spanish descendants of the original settlers who create this breathtaking transporting it with such humble devotion. Personally, I used my entire stash of tissues. Artwork is placed on the altar, and in a moving Mass by the current Archbishop of New Mexico, the celebration begins. And it is indeed a cause for celebration! The Cathedral is filled with the sounds of a lively band, a concert of voices which rival angels, and a homily dedicated to the people who continue to devote their life to spiritual art. The procession continues after the Mass with the Archbishop in the lead, blessing the booths brimming with artwork in The Plaza as he goes. Bands continue throughout the day, making the event an experience to remember. Also noteworthy is the display of children's artwork in the very heart of The Plaza. I was in awe of the talent which they had devoted to the traditional art of the Spanish culture at such a young age.   The art and Santa Fe reminds me in a way of my now second favorite city, Venice. My fascination with Venice exists in the fact that it is a city of exquisite beauty which was born in a place where logically nothing other than sea life should thrive. In so many ways, neither should this extraordinary art exist in an environment so unforgiving and remote as the deserts of New Mexico. Yet, like the art of Venice, it thrives. There is a spiritual passion that is so strong it has blossomed like a flower in a land so harsh and to the East Coast eye, so uninhabitable. The art grew from necessity... a necessity to reflect spiritual devotion and to create art in an extraordinary way with relatively no raw materials available (which gave birth to the unique art forms of straw and tin work) nor guidance to aide their artistic direction beyond that which was in held in their own hearts.

Since that first trip to Spanish Market in 2008, I have returned for two more Markets. Last summer I took along an entourage of friends and family to introduce them to what lies in our own backyards. They were all as awed by the experience as I. This winter in December of 2009 I went to my first Winter Spanish Market, which, though not as large, had its own set of benefits. One was that it was easier to talk at length with many of the artists since the crowds weren't so overwhelming as they can be in summer. Another is that it was an opportunity to experience Santa Fe's magic in the snow at Christmas time. Not to mention, I did all my Christmas shopping in one place! I left The Spanish Market with a feeling of great joy, awe and renewal of my own spirit. And naturally, I also left with more than a few new images of Our Lady of Guadalupe, my forever guide. I gained an incredible appreciation and respect for the artists of the region who bring spirituality and beauty into a world that needs it more than ever right now. And we can all use a little more of that! SPANISH MARKET IS HELD THE LAST WEEKEND OF JULY AND THE FIRST WEEKEND OF DECEMBER EACH YEAR. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

FEBRUARY 5, 2010 I really feel like I have to write something on the subject of love since Valentine's Day is approaching,....but just what exactly? I certainly feel blessed with it and by it. I am surrounded by an incredible gang of friends who exude love from every pore. Not just the mushy, Hallmark card greetings kind, but real love, for all their brothers and sisters on the planet, for their own real families, for their friends... These are people who who drop everything if you needed anything at all and be at your side before you could whistle. Most are artists, and they love their work. They are also spiritual people and love God above all, and it shows in all they do. They make my life joyful. Like I said, I am blessed!

COMMENTS? E MAIL ME! PLEASE WRITE "BLOG" IN THE SUBJECT LINE