Local Politics

I blogged about this sculpture not long after moving to Santa Fe.  Now it is the subject of some local politics.

The New Mexico State Land Office has a new Land Commissioner and he plans to remove the Brickhead: Hope, a sculpture created by James Tyler, and replace it with an oil pump jack to acknowledge the revenues generated by oil and gas royalties on leases of state land.

The Land Office building is located near the center of Santa Fe, a short walk from the Plaza. In this historic area, an oil pump would seem to be so incongruous with the art and architecture here.  Why not commission some public art that pays homage to Big Oil instead?

It is apparently not the first time an oil pump jack will appear on the site ... and it was quite controversial the first time around, too.

You can read more about it here: Sculpture Debate Echos 1979 Pump Jack Controversy

I wonder if the Land Commissioner is doing away with the art inside the walls as well?  A couple years ago, the halls inside were covered with wonderful photographs of state lands (most do NOT include oil well imagery, but rely on pastoral images of lands leased for grazing and other purposes). There is also a gallery with rotating art by New Mexican artists in the lobby of the building.  It will be interesting to see if that program continues during Commissioner Dunn's reign.

Public Art and a Little Mystery ... Solved

Monday afternoon, before the quilt guild meeting,  I spent some time walking around the plaza in Las Vegas, NM.  I appreciated the warm sunny day, interesting architecture and public art.  After driving for an hour across the miles of open space, entering the town of Las Vegas felt like a return to civilization.

Thread Bear is located near a corner of the Plaza.

 It's one of the many buildings with interesting architecture that wrap around the square.

(Yep, that's a windblown me reflected in the window.)






The plaza itself is a rare expanse of green grass, trees and public art.

A young family were enjoying ice cream cones as I walked around and enjoyed the day. It was already beginning to feel like summer–it seemed impossible that there had been snow there less than a week ago.

Here are photos of three of the sculptures on the plaza: El Campesino by Peter E. Lopez; A madonna by Margarita R. Mondragon and what looks to be a yet unidentified work in progress (carved from a downed tree?)





Political signs aren't art, but they were an indication of the upcoming election.



This abandoned building made me curious about what Navajo Textiles, Inc did there.

I poked around online and found only a reference to packing parachutes here during World War II in the description of someone else's photo.

I asked the quilters I met with later that day and they didn't have any local history to share, but they did have the answer to another question I had after walking around the plaza.

Next door to Thread Bear, there's a doorway, with beautiful oak details and this lettering.

What was a door, complete with gold lettering, from Wyoming doing in Las Vegas, New Mexico?

My aha moment came when, at the end of the guild meeting, someone asked if, "they had started filming again."

I don't watch Longmire, but I knew it was filmed in New Mexico and so I put 2 + 2 together and my little mystery was solved.  I did find this photo–a still from the show–on IMDB that shows two of the characters standing just outside the door

Apparently Longmire's Sheriff's office is next door to the quilt shop, which also has appeared in the show.  I've added it to my Netflix queue, to check it out. I may be quilting with Sheriff Longmire soon.

Cool Doggie

You can see this dog sculpture from Cerillos Road, a main commercial drag in Santa Fe. He always makes me smile when I drive past.

The last time I went to the Farmer's Market, I decided to take time before I hit the market and to smell the roses in the rose garden in Railyard Park and enjoy an up close look at the cool dog that catches my eye every time I see him.

The first surprise was the bench swing hanging beneath him.

I also liked his dog tag, which identifies the artist and the work.

Here's one more photo, with people, to give you an idea of the scale of Yard Dog. I don't know what breed of dog he is meant to be, but I love him.

He's located in Railyard park, a little urban park built on a former railyard.

I love how they filled in the rails to create paths.

I actually did take time to check out the rose garden in the park and enjoy the last roses of summer as well as some of the other native plants in the park ... even though I have a sneaky suspicion that I'm quite allergic to the pollens produced by those yellow flowers on the Chamisa in the foreground.

Radio Silence

Crocheted Smart Car
Originally uploaded by StartTheDay

I know. I've been quieter than usual. People who know me well, know that this is the quiet that comes when I'm thinking about making changes.

Since my lease is ending on the itty bitty (leaky) loft, I've decided to leave Dallas. Making a second speculative move without a job may end up being a disaster, but since "this" isn't working for me, I felt I had to do something. I'll be moving to Austin this month.

In the meantime . . . I surfed past this incredible work of crochet and had to share. A Smart Car does seem like the kind of car that cries out for a car cozy, doesn't it?

Cattle Drive on my Walk to Work

Yes, I did say cattle drive.





And like many interesting things, it's beautiful when you drive by, but when you walk past, you have the opportunity to notice more, like just HOW MANY of those big, life-size bronze longhorns there are.


I didn't have a lot of time–did I mention I was on my way to work, an idea which truly makes me happy–and I realized after doing a search about this Monument to the West at Pioneer Plaza, created by Robert Summers of Glen Rose, Texas, that I may not have even seen it all, because I only saw two of the three cowboys. Here's one of them.



And a closeup of one of his longhorn steers:



After a few quick photos, I left the plaza, just as the first few of them were emerging onto the sidewalk ;-)

In a Gallery Far, Far, Away . . .

In Lauderhill, Florida, the Bear and Bird Boutique and Gallery has an exhibit opening on Saturday, called Stitch Wars of more than a hundred hand-stitched Star Wars figures. Doesn't it sound like fun? Follow the link for the slide show on the Miami New Times website–here are a few of my favorites:

Hans Solo by Dennis Rodriguez


Jawas by Cutesypoo


"Jabba: The Early Years" by Kit Lane

A Visit with Andy & GRAM

Last week, I went to the Grand Rapids Art Musem for the last days of their exhibit Rapid Exposure: Warhol in Series.



You can read more about the exhibit (which closed yesterday) by following the link to the exhibit page on the GRAM site or watch/downlad the podcast video of the curator's tour here.

I really enjoyed the slice of American life as seen and reflected by Andy Warhol.

It was my first visit to the GRAM. The museum itself is beautiful, named one of the world's six best new buildings of 2007 by Newsweek's architecture critic Cathleen McGuigan. It's not only beautiful, the museum was awarded LEED Gold Status by The U.S. Green Building Council, making us the first purpose-built green art museum in the world. (Unfortunately, the museum does not allow photography, so I cannot share it's beautiful lines and natural lighting with you.)

It made me smile to walk through permanent collection, round a corner and see this painting, Ingleside, by Richard Diebenkorn. He's a favorite of mine.



They also have a couple nice pieces by Robert Motherwell and a new acquisition of work by Mary Cassatt.

After my visit, I walked over to San Chez, a restaurant I think Amy may remember from a long lunch spent there a couple years ago. I enjoyed tapas and lemonade and art talk with the waiter who noticed my museum gift shop bag. (He'd been to visit Andy quite a few times during his stay with GRAM.)

I couldn't resist picking up a copy of the restaurant's cook book while I was there . . . expect to see Spanish influenced recipes blogged in the future ;-)

Susana Allen Hunter, Quilting Genius

Today, I went to the Henry Ford Museum.



It was the last day of their exhibit, Quilting Genius 2, The Improvisational Quilts of Susana Allen Hunter. Here's one of my favorites from the exhibit.



And some more of Susan's quilts (click for larger images)





The exhibit also included items and photos from Susana's life. I especially liked the two hats that were included--her work hat and one she wore to church.



You can see more photos of quilts, detail of quilts and other items in the exhibit in my Flickr set Quilting Genius 2.

More Car-inspired Art

This Ferrari sportscar was knit by Lauren Porter for her honours degree at Bath Spa University.The classic red bodywork consists of 250 squares of garter stitch made by Lauren and 20 family members and friends.

The windows are V-shaped stocking stitch, while the details are crochet and the badge is embroidered.

It's all supported by a steel frame which Lauren welded herself.

Found on Ananova.

Dirty (Car) Pictures

Scott Wade creates art in Central Texas on the dusty rear windows of cars like this one. Check out the Dirty Car Art Gallery on his site for more interesting, temporary art.

Hail, Columbus

I had to smile when I saw Debra's photos and description of the fabulous destination hotel where she spent last weekend. I definitely went in a different direction for my trip to the NQA show in Columbus, Ohio. I found this Bed & Breakfast in the Short North neighborhood a few blocks walk from the convention center and decided it was perfect for me.



The Short North neighborhood was a delight. It claims to be the Art and Soul of Columbus--easy to believe as you walk past galleries, interesting restaurants and lots of art. There are several murals besides Mona. This one reminded me of the Art Image Challenge and all those takes on American Gothic by Grant Wood.



Here's another mural, next to a parking lot. I loved the contrast of modern vehicles parked in front of the ancient scene.



I encountered a couple interesting sculptures, as well.



From the left, Up To Our Ears In Art, In Dreams Again and Detail from In Dreams Again. Both pieces are dedicated to the artists of Short North.

On the edge of Short North and only a block from the NQA show at the Convention Center is North Market--a wonderful, colorful produce and food market. It was the perfect lunch destination.



I wasn't able to do it all while I was there--I missed out on the Art Fair and the Yarn show and didn't make it to the show connected with QSDS, but I thoroughly enjoyed my long weekend in Columbus and the classes and quilts at NQA 2007.