Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I continue to be inspired by the Land of Enchantment, and particularly by the the area closest to my heart: Medanales and Abiquiu. Truly, it's no wonder that Georgia O'Keeffe was continually drawn to return, and to eventually stay there until her final days.  
Thanks so much for visiting this blog! For updates on current works and exhibits, be sure to visit my facebook page!

If you get to the Denver area, be sure to check out an the exhibit of my work in the new Brighton City Hall building.  The exhibit runs through mid January, 2012.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Miss Robin's Art Class

Hey, kids, if you've found your way here, congratulations!

If you're not one of my students, but want to see what we're up to, anyway, check out our virtual classroom:

Miss Robin's Art Class :)

Monday, August 3, 2009

SOLD!

We recently sold our land in Medanales. The folks who bough it are from Australia, and the whole process went very quickly. A day or so after the sale was finalized, I watched the film, Australia. Seeing the gorgeous landscape and scenery there, it's no wonder they chose this particular spot in the U.S. to settle. I'm sure it seems a bit like home.

Wishing Gerald & Barbara Becker much happiness in their new little piece of Paradise.

Thursday, December 18, 2008

New Blog!

Hello, Friends! Since moving, I no longer update this blog. Instead, please check out my

Latest Artwork


See you there! Thanks!
Robin

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Land for Sale!

Tsankawi Ruins is about a 30 minute drive from our property. Here, you can visit the ancient cave dwellings, and hike the paths that have been worn into the rock.


Tsankawi is near Los Alamos and White Rock. It's definitely worth the drive, too, and offers a good half-day hike once you arrive. Be sure to pay close attention to the rocks, and you'll see an excellent assortment of petroglyphs.


And don't forget to look down, too, as you hike the ruins. Pottery shards are in abundance there.


Between Tsankawi and Medanales (where we have ~12 acres for sale!) is the Pojoaque pueblo. There are a number of things to see and do at Pojoaque, but my personal favorite is Roxanne Swentzell's Tower Gallery. She doesn't charge for admission, and the gallery was built by her and her family. It's absolutely gorgeous. Best, though, is a chance to see her artwork up close. She's my favorite living artist, so I often took advantage of the opportunity to stop in and see what's new.


Just north of our property, about a 5 minute drive away, are the Poshuouinge Ruins. This is another fun hike (take your hiking stick!), and very rewarding once you get to the end of the trail, which sits atop a mesa. From this point, you're able to look down and see the remnants of the pueblo walls from long ago.


Also at the top, is a place that Erica and I call "the quiet place." It's a circle, where the signs indicate that tools were probably made. But that's not the cool part. What's really amazing is that when you step inside the circle, it's completely quiet and still. The wind can be blowing and howling, and when you step inside the circle, there's complete silence--no wind whatsoever. This is a favorite place of mine.


And if you drive a little further north (approximately 10 minutes from our property), you'll come across Abiquiu Reservoir. It's spectacular, and has a number of places to stop for a picnic. Take your boat, too, if you have one; or a canoe. There are also designated swimming areas, and the water is crystal clear. Yes, that's Georgia O'Keeffe's beloved Pedernal rising up from behind Lake Abiquiu!


Snow was a rarity during the time we lived in northern NM. We did get one "good" snow, though, so it was worthy of a trip outside to take photos. Within a couple of days, it was history.


The most beautiful skies I've ever seen are in New Mexico. Every day, every evening, is like a Maxfield Parrish painting!


Nearby, in Abiquiu (which is about 10 miles from Medanales), is the Penitente Church. To get there, turn into Abiquiu (across from Bode's General Store), and take the first left up the hill. Go past Georgia O'Keeffe's old house (on your left) and continue around the corner. You can't miss it.


During the "rainy season," which is in the Spring, I took lots of photos. There's nothing more beautiful than a late afternoon rain in the high desert.


That beautiful landmark is Sierra Negra, which I like to think of as my own "Pedernal." I loved looking at it from my office window, or while I lounged on the front porch of our home. Incidentally, the land that's for sale is visible there to the left. Right where the driveway takes that strong turn to the right (behind the vehicle), is where you would put the driveway to the land. There's actually a drive there now, but it's not visible because we didn't use it.


If you drive over to Las Parras de Abiquiu, be sure to pick up some fresh horno-baked bread. Nothing tastes better! There's a lady who lives at Ohkay Owingeh (formerly known as the San Juan Pueblo) who gives horno cooking lessons. Her name is Norma Naranjo. She's the one who made these beautiful loaves below. She often bakes at Las Parras during the Abiquiu Farm Tour.


These hoodoos are nearby, too. From the property in Medanales, take 142 toward Abiquiu, cross over the "El Rito road" and continue on 142. These will be on your right, near the Abiquiu Mosque. They're even more amazing in person!


Most people are familiar with the celebrities who live in New Mexico, and there are a couple who are local to the Medanales & Abiquiu area. Shirley McLaine is just a short drive away (though I've never been to her house), and Marsha Mason lives even closer. Mason has a gorgeous, organic farm next to the Rio Chama. She makes all kinds of organic herbal products (her "Magical Soap" is my favorite!), and sells them online. She also opens up her home once a year during the Abiquiu Farm Tour. In addition to her beautiful gardens, she also keeps bees. Isn't that just the prettiest bee hive you've ever seen?


When my girls would visit, we enjoyed hiking the arroyos and land around our home, where we would pick up interesting looking rocks, and animal bones. What fun!


Another view of the area that's for sale. 12 acres of paradise!


From Highway 84, you must pass over the Rio Chama before arriving at the property. On this particular day, the water was low. We have some friends who live next to the river. They have all kinds of "wild" visitors at their home, and we would often drive down to see them and enjoy the wildlife.


Another mesa-top view. It's really hard to do the area justice in photos. There's just nothing like seeing it in person.


Aside from the junipers, cacti, and pinon, there's lots of beauty that grows up on the mesa . . .


But at the end of the day, there's nothing better than the Sunset. I used to make a special trip outside, every day, just to watch the Sun go down . . . .


Well, it's been a year since I last posted here. My, how time flies! We're living in Colorado now, after selling our gorgeous home here. There's still 12 acres of land for sale here, though, and it has a well (about 400 ft.), so if you're interested in building a vacation home, or retirement home atop a mesa--on horse property (!!) with breathtaking views, now's your chance!

Email my dear friend, Don Cavness (don@doncavness.com). Or visit his website at:
http://mls.gildedvillage.com/featured.htm

Monday, August 6, 2007

It's All About the Process

Last month I got the opportunity to take a workshop with Clarence Cruz. He teaches at both UNM and at the Poeh Center (at the Pojoaque pueblo), though I took his Summer class at Ghost Ranch. It was great fun, because Clarence is a patient teacher and also a very nice person. And he has a great sense of humor. He kept us all in stitches the entire week.

Pinch pots from my July workshop at Ghost Ranch

During the workshop, every day brought a new set of challenges. Everyone's pots cracked, and continued to crack the entire week. I brought my pots home, wrapped them tightly, and let them dry very slowly. They were fine for a couple of weeks, but then they, too, developed large cracks. I decided that they weren't meant to be, so I'll crush them and add them to the outer layer of my horno. However, a handful of my tiny pinch pots survived (above), if only for now. I don't generally photograph a work until it's complete, and these little pots still need to be fired. But since I don't know whether or not they'll make it through the firing, I wanted to photograph them as a reminder of my workshop with Clarence.

Rocks and clay soaking in water

Occasionally, someone would lament the cracked pots or some other problem, and Clarence would reply, "Process. It's all about the process." And he's right. We can't get from here to there withouth the journey. And the journey is process.

I love the color of clay. And something that I've enjoyed working on the past month is turning dried clay, and other rocks & minerals into slip. I'll use this slip to decorate my pots.


After soaking the rocks for many days, I crushed them and added more water to make a paste. The paste was then soaked some more to make slip.

The orange rocks (above) came from Hayden Quarry. They were quite pretty, as is, with their little bits of quartz crystal. After a good soaking, and some brute force, I was able to break them up and then crush them. A little water added to the mix yielded a thick paste, which I then added to more water to make slip. This had to soak for a few days before I sieved it.

Chunks of clay from the Late Triassic Period await processing

I followed this procedure with some white and red clay that I picked up from the same quarry. These are the rocks and clay that surrounded the dinosaur bones we excavated back in June, so I like to imagine that I'm working with materials that were once touched by pre-human fauna.

White, tan, orange, and red slips are ready for use.

And finally, the finished product (above). Today I'm going to make some test tiles, paint them with my new slips, burnish them to a high gloss, and then put them into the next firing. I already know that they're going to be gorgeous.

One of the slips (above, second from left) was made from the clay that Clarence gave me. Whenever I use it, or any of the others that have kept me busy for the past month, I'll fondly remember my time with Clarence, and his reminder that it's all about the process.


During the process, a road runner visited my garden



Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Rest in Peace, Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman
July 14, 1918 - July 30, 2007


Bonniers Hylen/Agence France-Presse -- Getty Images

Ingmar Bergman died yesterday at the age of 89. He was, easily, one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of cinema.

Bengt Ekerot, left, and Max von Sydow in the 1957 film "The Seventh Seal." (Everett Collection)

Goodbye, Mr. Bergman. You've left an incredible legacy. And you will be remembered.