I wake up in a house about ten miles north of the town of Taos, New Mexico, and step outside, wrapped in a blanket, clutching a mug of steaming coffee. Stretching in every direction is flat, scrubby landscape under a few inches of snow, sparkling diamond-sharp in the early-morning sunlight. To the west are dark mountains, dusted and capped with more snow; in the distance, roughly to the east, are still other peaks, gentler in shape because farther away. Above it all is a canopy of impossibly blue sky, nary a cloud in sight, giving the whole scene that kind of picture-postcard radiance that makes city dwellers like me blink our eyes in disbelief.
I love reading about Taos, where I lived for a number of years, starting with the Wurlitzer Foundation. That landscape changed my art and my life. Strange as it sounds, I returned to New York for financial reasons -- I needed a job! If it were possible, I would live in both places, but as fate would have it, I live in NYC and dream about Taos;-)
Another great read and colorful description of your life/changes/travels. I think you're brave as well. I've only been to Santa Fe once many years ago , and though I've lived in CA most of my life, I grew up in NY, RI, CT and have it in my blood. I remember Santa Fe and environs as SO wholly different and dramatic! I'd like to paint there!
I loved reading this reality check and can definitely relate to the city-to-country experience and culture shock. Having said that, as I am heading to Santa Fe next week for the first time ever, I am so intrigued by your description of the land, that I may pack a little extra in case I end up staying ;)
I want to raft the Rio through that gorge. Skied Taos once in the late 90s. Before that, visited Taos once while touring with my college theater troupe during a January interim "semester". My third and last visit was about 3 years ago when returning from an exhibition I curated in Houston. In all three visits, my stay was brief. There is a pull toward it and the high desert. Perhaps, if I take a road trip to L.A to dive the kelp forests of Catalina, an Eastern turn could bring me to Taos to ski once more. Or maybe a call for an exhibit. Or maybe buying a bit of land and building an Earthship studio. Peace. Love. Art.
Ann--I didn't know you were in Hondo! --the upper valley or lower one? I lived in the lower Arroyo Hondo in the early 1970s at a then-commune called New Buffalo. I imagine the old people you see there and around town now are ones who've lived there ever since. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Watching the sun come over the Sangre de Christos with coffee in hand is a pleasure I (also) still remember.
Having spent a lot of time there as a plein air painter the history of the early Taos painters and the Mabel Dodge Luhan Circle including DH and Frieda Lawrence is quite compelling.
I love reading about Taos, where I lived for a number of years, starting with the Wurlitzer Foundation. That landscape changed my art and my life. Strange as it sounds, I returned to New York for financial reasons -- I needed a job! If it were possible, I would live in both places, but as fate would have it, I live in NYC and dream about Taos;-)
Another great read and colorful description of your life/changes/travels. I think you're brave as well. I've only been to Santa Fe once many years ago , and though I've lived in CA most of my life, I grew up in NY, RI, CT and have it in my blood. I remember Santa Fe and environs as SO wholly different and dramatic! I'd like to paint there!
I loved reading this reality check and can definitely relate to the city-to-country experience and culture shock. Having said that, as I am heading to Santa Fe next week for the first time ever, I am so intrigued by your description of the land, that I may pack a little extra in case I end up staying ;)
I want to raft the Rio through that gorge. Skied Taos once in the late 90s. Before that, visited Taos once while touring with my college theater troupe during a January interim "semester". My third and last visit was about 3 years ago when returning from an exhibition I curated in Houston. In all three visits, my stay was brief. There is a pull toward it and the high desert. Perhaps, if I take a road trip to L.A to dive the kelp forests of Catalina, an Eastern turn could bring me to Taos to ski once more. Or maybe a call for an exhibit. Or maybe buying a bit of land and building an Earthship studio. Peace. Love. Art.
This so good I'm forwarding it to a dear friend in Pensacola.
Ann--I didn't know you were in Hondo! --the upper valley or lower one? I lived in the lower Arroyo Hondo in the early 1970s at a then-commune called New Buffalo. I imagine the old people you see there and around town now are ones who've lived there ever since. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. Watching the sun come over the Sangre de Christos with coffee in hand is a pleasure I (also) still remember.
Having spent a lot of time there as a plein air painter the history of the early Taos painters and the Mabel Dodge Luhan Circle including DH and Frieda Lawrence is quite compelling.
DYING to read the next part! This feels like a great novel!
so enjoying, Ann. When is the next installment?
I love reading this. And I love New Mexico. I have been fantasizing about spending a month there sometime.
I love all of these stories! ….run with the poodles..😂😂😂