Phooey and phooey. The new install wiped out my stats and a bunch of comments and replies. We found the comments in the database and I have tried to restore them; meanwhile, it looks like I was ignoring everybody. And I’m afraid everybody has given up and found someone less insane to read. NO NO NO. The subscriptions to comments were also wiped out. So if you were subscribed, please forgive and do it again? I am putting a thousand pictures in this post because we leave for California tomorrow and I won’t be posting for a week or so – PLEASE miss me – so I’m force feeding you the middle of the Santa Fe saga. Few words. Mostly pictures.
More alien landscapes.
This looks like a weird giant dog. It’s like seeing shapes in the clouds, only seeing them in red rock.
Fists and fingers, faces, people – just the suggestion of living shapes.
Great slab walls; people lined up along the cliffs, watching. Huge people.
Wide skies; sweeps of raw rock thrust up out of the earth during what kind of upheaval – all at once, or inches at a time?
It struck me suddenly that some of these structures look like ruins – ruins of ancient cities – walls and battlements – great cities.
Broken cities.
A pugnacious cartoon dog face? Or a sort of sphinx?
Wise men? There was a group of three who really did look like robed eastern wise men, journeying along. But they were on the wrong side of the car when we were going in, and I must have missed the perspective going out again.
These, of course, are egyptian gods –
And the last person in this grouping is Janice, from the Muppet Show band. Odd, I think, that she would be found here. Spooky. Could she have actually been an ancient alien, later celebrated in some of the greatest art of our time? If so, where is Kermit?
There are things at the side of the road. Mostly we rocket by them. But I saw this man’s odd work above us as we zoomed down the highway, and realized that this was MY life, and if I wanted to see what all that was about, I could just stop and do it. So I turned into his drive in a side sliding turn at about 40 miles an hour and found this collections of wonders:
These are the first things we saw. The cat was only $350 dollars – and quite long – which is why he is still on that railing if you’d care to visit him. But we loved him and wanted to take him home.
Note that his tail is a piece of found wood, naturally shaped. All his stuff is basically found shape, carved into detail – some very lifelike, some very cartoony. I promise, when I get back, I’ll find his card and post the carver’s name.
An even bigger cat. Below: more detail of cat number one.
Monsieur carver. I have to pack now, or I’d dig up his name. Like I say – give me a couple of days to get back.
Is this the awfullest picture ever? “I say, would you care for a persimmon?”
Crazy people in the back seat. The craziest one took a picture of himself with his tongue pretending to be his bottom lip. I did not choose to share that at this present time.
And now starts Part 4: SHOPPING in Santa Fe. A Dangerous and Seductive business.
Hint: this is not about clothes or bags or shoes but about things people here make with their own hands. One of a kind things you can’t just grab off Amazon. The kind of thing you pay less than you should for, while it’s more than you can afford – but you can’t leave the thing behind because look at its character. If you come to this place, have someone tie you to the mast and stick wax in your ears.
On reaching Gin’s house, we were greeted by this person.
Outside the Governer’s palace, native American artists throw down blankets and present their wares. This is the Plaza, the center of the great tourist trap that is Santa Fe.
Shopping for fetishes at Keshi. Stay away from this place. FAR AWAY.
More work from Peter So Happy, who did my stone deer. If anybody wants an idea for Christmas? For me? I mean, just in case somebody should inherit a lotta money?
The people in this place know their stuff and are SO NICE.
What follows here are shots of furniture we took at a gallery that carries Sticks Furniture. We asked permission to shoot this. Rachel and I found this stuff at a ski town up north of us and fell totally in love – determined to make our OWN furniture look like this. The thing that really drives me nuts about this stuff is that they use motifs like the ones I’ve been doing on greeting cards and quilts and all kinds of things for years – hills and skies and trees very much like this. Leaves, hearts – whatever.
This furniture reminds me of a mix of Mary Englebright and me and – wait, what else was it? Why didn’t I think of it first? Some of their stains are opaque, so you get the feel of a painted surface. Some of them are light, so the wood grain shows through – glowing. That’s my fave.
And this is the end of this week and next week’s offering. Wish us luck tomorrow! PLEEEZE?
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