Santa Fe Art Tour

Last Tuesday, my husband and I had a long day of travel. We were up at 3:30 a.m. to catch our first flight of three to reach our destination of Santa Fe, New Mexico.  For various unexpected reasons, we spent all day Tuesday en route, finally reaching the hotel at 8:30 p.m., not having had dinner yet.

A week later, we know we love Santa Fe and the surrounding area of New Mexico. We spent the first day visiting many of the area’s renowned art museums, starting at Manitou Galleries where we got acquainted with pieces of art and artists that rival those in New York and Los Angeles. Many of the pieces we saw were tens of thousands of dollars! Two of our favorite artists were pieces from Sharon Markwardt and Moore and Endres.  And, then there were the horses of Ethelinda that just reeked of the Southwest and movement.

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum was next on our agenda and unfortunately, this was disappointing. We were able to enter for a discounted price and a sign outside told us that pieces of art were “down” for cataloging but until we were inside, we did not realize how many pieces would be missing.  The best part of this visit was the 15-minute film on Ms. O’Keeffe’s life and view of her art and path as an artist.

Santa Fe is an easy city in which to walk. We easily found places by just walking from our hotel to other areas in the city. There is so much history that comes alive by just viewing the adobe structures in the area. Many of the museums and galleries have the adobe facades. Everyone is kind and polite. There are no skyscrapers, just some lovely old churches. It is a very unpretentious place and that is one of the things we loved about it.

In late morning and afternoon, we strolled down Canyon Road – a road famous for its art galleries. The day was sunny and bright, making the eye-catching kinetic art of Mark White even more vibrant and entrancing.  Across the road, there was another kinetic art garden and accompanying gallery where, when inside, we were introduced to the art of Tim Church, a physician-researcher (M.D./PhD.) turned artists. He uses chemistry and exposure to the natural elements (outside) to create fabulous pieces of art on metal.  Like my husband, he uses both sides of his brain – the analytical side and the creative side – to embody a life that acknowledges the importance of alchemy and transformation of naturally occurring materials.

On our last day, we circled through some of the smaller galleries, shops, and the farmer’s market. The market included many artist’s booths. The one that caught most of our attention was called Raya’s Studio. We spent over thirty minutes chatting with this artist, her process, and how one grows as an artist. She makes fabulous art with hand-dyed tissue paper.  For personal reasons, we chose one of a Bison (Buffalo) to come home with us. But, I can assure you we’ll be visiting her website for more, in the future.

One shop invited us in by our interest in the large bronze sculptures outside, particularly of an eagle with spread wings, catching fish.  It was large and very expensive!  Inside the shop was high quality, handcrafted jewelry. We each left with a piece that was lovely and meaningful, representing the craftsmanship and innovation of the American Southwest.

Two of the four days we were there, we also visited some areas of natural geological and historical significance, White Sands National Park and Bandelier National Monument. Stop back if you want to learn more about those destinations in New Mexico –  they were as fabulous as the art districts. I’ll be posting on them in the coming weeks.

Today is Slice of Life Tuesday! Thank you to TwoWritingTeacher’s Blog for founding and hosting this wonderful community of writers. All are welcome! Check out their page in the link for information on the March Slice of Life Challenge!