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.

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.

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."

The place to go for beautiful last minute gifts

I stopped by the Art Center at Fuller Lodge this morning, and it is a great place to go if you're still looking for last minute gifts. I got (OK - it wasn't a gift, I bought it for myself!) a gorgeous Lobelia necklace made by Jennifer Moss, which was really cool because she was there, volunteering, and when I bought it she said, "I made that!"

There were a lot of southwestern Christmas ornaments, many wonderful little jewelry boxes under $10, hand knit hats and scarves. There were some intricate wooden boxes with southwest scenes and planets (made by Regina Dingler) that really caught my eye (hint hint to Santa Claus).

Things Fall Apart

Last week I was cleaning out my closet and found an old straw beach bag that my mom used all the time, but it was falling apart.
I have a lot of memories attached to the bag. My mom carried it with us whenever we went to the beach up at Leech Lake, or spent the day at the dock at our family's cabin, the 5-A. It was full of beer, pop, a John Grisham novel and Cheetoes.

Anyway, I had been using it myself this summer and was feeling attached to it, and when the colorful braided straw started to unravel, it was a major bummer. It just seemed like a waste to throw it away. I wished I could make a project out of it, but I didn't have any ideas, so I sent it to Carol Mullen.

When I met Carol this summer, I was amazed and inspired by her artistic process. It begins with ongoing junk collecting, constantly combing antique stores and junk yards, finding things that catch her eye and then she creates little "people" with them. (She will have some of them at the Affordable Art exhibit next week at the Fuller Lodge). I've been watching a lot of Fraggle Rock lately, and her studio is like Margorie, the all knowing Trash Heap oracle.

Anyway, seeing her in action makes me want to toss things into the mix and see what happens. I gave her a black and white photo of my dad when I first met her, which she copied and put into her photo file/ She sent me a note saying that she would put the bag to good use.

I was really happy to know that the bag will have a new life as a piece of art. But it's not just about that particular bag. For the past six years I have been going through some stage of grief, and it's hard for not to get really attached to things that my parents owned, and get really depressed when they get old and fall apart. I've got this red sweater that my mom wore in high school and then she gave it to me and I wear it all the time. But the buttons have fallen off and there's a snag in the elbow. It's like a metaphor for death.

Anyway, I'm trying to learn from Carol, and not try to let the things I have just sit and rot, but if they get old I can see if I can turn it into something else that I can use, or find a way to display it in a meaningful way.

Sunday afternoon in Tesuque

Yesterday we took a drive down to Tesuque village to for the afternoon. It was a beautiful drive. The fall colors were peaking, and it was a warm day. First we went to the Shidoni Sculpture Garden and sat in the shade and read while Calvin took a nap. When he woke up we had some fun, eating the apples from the tree, walking under the legs of the giraffe sculpture and looking around. Calvin especially liked a piece in the shape of a star.

I saw an original bronze gate with two egrets standing in tall reeds. ($25,000) It seemed like that would be the kind of yard art that I would like to get. Something beautiful that is also functional. I could see it in the fence around an adobe house.