Creative Manna

They say you are what you eat. But that would mean I should be a giant puff of delectable stove popped popcorn! I’ve eaten at minimum a gazillion popped kernels since I was a wee one and I’m still going strong on the cusp of my 62nd year consuming that a”maize”ing food.   It’s my go to snack, my food addiction.

It’s also been said that “Man shall not live by bread alone …” but I believe man cannot live by bread alone. My taste buds crave other flavors, textures and varieties of nourishment, not just popcorn, both for my body and creative soul. Feeding the spirit makes life more full and scrumptious. I believe we all need manna, that divine or spiritual food that enriches lives and excites all the senses.

There are some that have told me my art has a West / SouthWest feel.  Could it be true then that your essential nature becomes what you eat, at least what you eat soulfully, the spiritual manna that feeds the psyche?  I nosh on and savor the magic of the West and SouthWest, their unique, raw, flavorful and vast beauty. It’s where Steve and I go to feed our senses and ingest the power and spirit of place that part of the country consistently provides. No matter how often I’ve been there, the West remains near impossible to describe how different, compelling, overpowering and humbling it is. It holds a powerful medicine for me. The West, then, must have an influence on my art. I love it there. I feel I belong there.

We recently spent 11 full days in the sensory laden greater Santa Fe area of New Mexico. While there I discovered a quote by Georgia O’Keeffe that also helps explain why my art has a West / SouthWest feel.

     “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way-

      things I had no words for.”

It follows, therefore, that because I eat up that part of the country, my art reflects what I savor while there and because, like O’Keeffe, I have no words that adequately describe that love for what I see, art becomes the way. Besides color and shapes it’s also the texture, the rawness and grit of those places that finds its way into my art.

Since it seems I’m want to utilize cliches and quotes by others in this post, I may as well continue on that vein by employing the banal “A picture is worth a thousand words.”  Why stop when you’re on a roll. The paradox being, however, there was hardly anything banal or mundane with what we saw, or at least took pictures of. There was, instead, a profusion of visual and gastronomical stimulation in Santa Fe and other areas we roamed in the north central part of New Mexico. Ideas aplenty and inspiration for creative home projects, foodie fare, landscaping and art ideas kept flooding in as well as vast, jaw dropping scenery. To get a better idea of all the creative manna we imbibed I’ll let some of the pictures I took do most of the talking, sprinkled with my occasional commentary.

Hop on board my virtual travel bus to do a little of your own noshing on the creative manna that the Land of Enchantment that is New Mexico provides.

Santa Fe is called the City Different. It’s adobe style homes on the outer fringes of town are nestled in and among the the low growth of pinon and juniper. It’s architectural camouflage that melts into the scenery.

Along a mile length of Canyon Road are nearly 80 galleries and several restaurants that run from one into another providing Santa Fe with the claim to fame that it has the most densely concentrated area of art galleries in the world. There are no two buildings alike and a profusion of detail everywhere you look from art, to architecture and landscaping. It’s an exciting, beautiful and inspiring place to explore.

Poteet Victory is an artist I learned about in Cowboys & Indians Magazine. I liked what I saw and made a point to see his work in person while in Santa Fe. Poteet is the resident artist at the McLarry Modern Gallery. We were fortunate to meet and talk with him and his wife, Terry, in his studio at the gallery.

Below are some of Poteet’s Abbreviated Portrait Series, an idea he hatched because so many people now tweet and use cyber shorthand to communicate. He decided to do a series of portraits of famous people using abbreviated visual symbols. For example, the portrait on the bottom left is Willy Nelson (red bandana), the second from the left on the top row is Elton John and the second from the right on the bottom is the Beatles!

I was amazed that most galleries we were in allowed us to take photos, which we always asked before doing.

The horse below is a closeup of a huge piece by the artist, Ethelinda.

The next three photos are at the Hollander Gallery just off Canyon Road. I read about Gino Hollander in Western Art & Architecture Magazine and wanted to see his work in person. The sculptures are by his daughter.

Gino has a raw style that I love.

The face in the portrait by Hollander below reminded me somewhat of Modigliani’s style.

It was a special treat meeting artist Rebecca Haines, a Wyoming native, and seeing her work in person at the Tom Ross Gallery. She is such a warm, down-to-earth, real person.

This mixed media sculpture is by Geoffrey Gorman, also showing at the Tom Ross Gallery.

There was so much visual stimulation, especially in Santa Fe but also in Taos, and the spaces in between.The food was phenomenal … if you’re into New Mexico roasted green chilies which we are. It’s one of the memories that had us return to the area after our first visit 25 years ago, remembering the exciting heat and flavor of their green and red chilies.

The images that follow are in no particular order. If you’re intrigued by what you see, book a flight and experience all the magic in person. There’s plenty of creative manna for anyone that wants to feast on the Land of Enchantment.

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument

Bill Worrell Gallery in Santa Fe near the Plaza, one of Steve’s favorite sculpture artists. Worrell also writes moving prose poetry pieces for each sculpture he creates.

One of the views at Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu where Georgia O’Keeffe had a home.

This style of wooden post fence is common in New Mexico.

The Santa Fe Railyard District where the Farmers Market is held on Saturday mornings.

Caffe Greco on Canyon Road was one of our two favorite dining spots in Santa Fe where we could eat green chile stew and watch the world go by.

Don’t miss the detail of the figures in the railing to the right of the Sazon sign below.

The Rio Grande Gorge near Taos.

A spectacular Santa Fe sunset and the end of this blog post. I hope you enjoyed the trip!

Posted by carol@mylifewithcreativity.com & filed under Inspiration. This post has 12 comments.