Saturday, January 23, 2010

What it means to be a New Mexican artist

I caught the last half of a presentation at the Fuller Lodge about what it means to be a New Mexican artist.

James A. Vigil was sharing a little about how his upbringing in the Jemez Pueblo influenced his art. What really struck me was how he didn't even realize that he was learning about art. He was just living his life, and absorbing the rich culture and traditions of his family.

In New Mexico, it wasn't long ago when most people were making a living through subsistence farming, and making everything that you need. When he was a young boy he lived on ranches where they were out in the fields all day and came home to the smell of fresh tortillas on the wood burning stove. His memories involve all the senses, and it comes into his work because he wants to capture his memories and the stories that his mom tells him of the past.

He showed an example of just such a story with one of the sculptures in the gallery. It was of a little girl holding a squirrel like a doll. His mother, and a lot of girls her age, used to have a doll that was made out of a stuffed squirrel found in the mountain. Since he completed the piece a lot of women have been coming up to him to tell him that they used to have a squirrel for a doll too. I wonder if that's the New Mexican equivalent of a corn cob doll.

He started sculpting in the 80's when there was a surge in Native American sculpture being done. He started helping a friend, Clifford Fragua, with his art and the relationship ended up being an extended mentorship. After a few years he started coming up with his own ideas for stone sculpture and by then he had the skills to complete the projects from his imagination.

It's easy to take radio for granted in the Midwest...

But here in Los Alamos, with mountains to your left and cliffs on all sides, things get a little more complicated. Gillian Sutton, one of the owners of KRSN, explained to me the real problem behind getting a radio antenna for the station.

There used to be an antenna on Hawks Landing, but the previous owner sold the land to for a residential development. At first, when I started hearing that they were trying to get an antenna, I thought it was just a matter of money. Maybe they are extremely expensive, I don't know.

But it turns out that the real problem is that an AM/FM tower needs to be in the middle of 2 1/2 acres to work and to follow FCC regulations. It has to do with the AM part. The tower goes as deep into the ground as it does in the air. AM waves are low frequency and travel in the ground. I think. (If there are any physicists reading this....Please leave a comment if you understand how this really works)

The only place that has 2 1/2 acres of flat land in Los Alamos is owned by the county itself. Gillian said that the Council is thinking of renting a space in the golf course, where the unused water tower is, that they can use to put in the tower. First they have to appraise the land, and make a contract. I hope it will work out for them. I think it's important for our community to be able to broadcast our own shows.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Fran Stoval



Last week I met Fran Stoval while visiting her gallery, which is located in her home at 650 Canyon Road in Los Alamos. She was in her garage working on a valance to put over the stained glass French door that she made for her studio. Each panel of the door had a different pattern of glass.

Projects like her French door, and doing commissioned stained glass projects for clients who may want a piece done in a certain color, are especially enjoyable for Fran, who said, "I like working with my hands directly."

She learned to do stained glass by taking a class at the Fuller Lodge. She said, "With Stained Glass I was really surprised. It had never occurred to me that I would like it."

She now teaches the stained glass class, which gives you a basic idea of how to start and provides the basic tools. "Once you've tried it I show you where to go to get supplies."

In her stained glass studio, she gave me a quick demonstration of how you lay a pattern down, cut out the glass, foil it with copper and, when all the pieces are foiled, you solder them together. It did look easy and fun.

In addition to stained glass she also has mosaics and pastels, which she does on high quality sandpaper. She likes to work in places like Taos and Black Mesa, taking pictures in the early morning and evening, when the colors are most exciting, and then working from the photos. "Usually people can recognize them," she said.


Monday, January 11, 2010

The New Village Arts



When I heard that Ken Nebel (along with his partner Jim O'Donnel, who also runs the movie theater) bought Village Arts, that it would be more than just a store. The new store, now located at 216 DP Road, will be a valuable local resource for all kinds of creative people.

Ken said, "I never saw myself as a business owner, but already I'm living out some dreams....I have al sorts of ideas forming in my head. It will take awhile to get to some of them."

Just walking into the store you can tell that he's approaching the business with a sense of fun and creativity. Monsters, hand made by Nebel and his co-workers Alicia Gore and Kelly Riebe hang in the front window.

The front of the store is currently featuring the photography of Peter A. Csahadi. Nebel is thinking of buying one of the photos of animals for the store and is asking people to vote on their favorite.

The cash register sits on the original bar from the historic Fuller Lodge - O'Donnel found in someone's basement and bought it. Behind that you can where they do the framing, and behind that there is the "one-fanny workshop," a woodworking shop, and a practice room for musicians. In February or March they will start to have classes there. The classes will be short workshops where people can complete the class in one day.

He's not going to sell home decor like they did in the old store, but instead broaden the art supplies section. He said, "There's a lot of things people do in town." He wants to be able to accommodate as many art forms as possible. He even wants to start yarn, needles and embroidery supplies. "If there's something you don't see, or need, just let me know."