THE TAOS NEWS
ARTES T radiciones 2018
TRADICIONES The creative spirit of Taos
C O N T E N T S
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‘THAT CHURCH IS TAOS’ The artistic inspiration of San Francisco de Asís
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ART CHARACTER
Ray Vinella: rulebreaker BY ROSE MARY DIAZ (SANTA CLARA PUEBLO)
BY ROBERT CAFAZZO
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‘I WAS HOOKED’
David Anderson, living master of metals BY SCOTT GERDES
COME ONE. COME ALL.
Since Tradiciones inception in 2000, the Artes series
has profiled about 90 imaginative visionaries, offering a peek into the creative germinations, processes and environments of some of our most gifted artists. Highlighting traditional to contemporary works in jewelry, textiles, painting, theater and the artistic inspiration of San Francisco de Asís Church, this year’s stable of artists continues to embody the remarkable talent that brims in Northern New Mexico.
Scott Gerdes
The creativity and compassion of the Peñasco Theatre Collective
special sections editor
BY LAURA BULKIN
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A STITCH THROUGH TIME
S T A F F
Taos bordadoras preserve colcha culture
OWNER ROBIN MARTIN
BY SCOTT GERDES
PUBLISHER CHRIS BAKER MANAGING EDITOR STACI MATLOCK
Northern New Mexico Center for Cosmetic Dentistry
Committed to Taos & Northern New Mexico
Anniversary
SPECIAL SECTIONS EDITOR SCOTT GERDES
COPY EDITOR MARY BETH LIBBEY
CREATIVE DIRECTOR KARIN EBERHARDT
PHOTOGRAPHER MORGAN TIMMS
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR CHRIS WOOD
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS LAURA BULKIN ROBERT CAFAZZO ROSE MARY DIAZ
PRODUCTION MANAGER WILLARD AVERY II
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‘That church is Taos’ The artistic inspiration of San Francisco de Asís by robert cafazzo
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S
an Francisco de Asís Catholic Church has been mouth-watering subject matter for painters and photographers for over 100 years. Most artists choose to make imagery of the back apse end where lie the major buttresses of adobe bricks covered in a plastering of mud and straw. A who’s who of artists have visited Ranchos de Taos to capture images of the iconic church. Most, if not all, of the Taos Society of Artists have made paintings of it. Others include R.C. Gorman, Fritz Scholder, Gustave Baumann, Gene Kloss, Joseph Imhoff, Emil Bisttram, Nicolai Fechin, Laura Gilpin along with far too many to mention here.
Asís Church unique and awe-inspiring, a mecca for photographers.
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The imagery of the church by Ansel Adams and Georgia O’Keeffe are often thought of as the epitome of iconic photography and painting of this structure. Every one of the artists who have come to Taos to capture the spirit of this building have honored it. Each artist has their own unique take on how to capture an image of the church and what it means to them. There is great history here of the church itself, and the images that have drawn the imagination of so many to see for themselves. Subject matters abound in and around Taos for artists, from hollyhocks to walking rain and, of course, the buildings of straw and mud, none more fascinating than San Francisco de Asís Church. There’s also been inspiration for artists, such as Mark Rothko for his Rothko Chapel paintings and Larry Bell’s “Gus’ Berg” with a glass panel reminiscent of the church’s buttress. As artist Thom Wheeler put it,
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In the early 1930s, Paul Strand pointed his camera at the Ranchos church time and time again. His use of light, shadow and space are some of the most dramatic images of the church recorded by any photographer to this day. Most of Strand’s inspirational photographs of the church are contained in the book “Paul Strand: Southwest” by T. Willner-Stack & R. Busselle, 2005. “The church was all I photographed my first year (2001) living in Ranchos,” said photographer Adam Schallau. “I was broke, couldn’t afford to travel and I could barely afford to develop a roll of film, but the church was there and I fell in love with it. Just about every day I would walk to the church to study the texture, light, shadow and color. If things felt right, I might create a photograph. It is a great place to make mistakes and learn.”
‘One can see the love it takes to maintain it. The Ranchos church is one of the iconic wonders of the Southwest.’ The many paintings of the church by Georgia O’Keeffe tend to be voluminous and sparse, exaggerating the contours and using the sky above to add dramatic color. In “Georgia O’Keeffe, (A Studio Book),” 1976, she had this to say: “The Ranchos de Taos Church is one of the most beautiful buildings left in the United States by the early Spaniards. Most artists who spend any time in Taos have to paint it, I suppose just as they have to paint a self-portrait. I had to paint it — the back of it several times, the front once. I finally painted a part of the back thinking that with that piece of the back I said all I needed to say about the church.”
Asked whether he’d ever made paintings of the Ranchos church, Tony Abeyta was excited to speak about his new work: “I started a painting of the Ranchos Church right after Dennis Hopper died and when I went to his funeral. It became apparent to me that the church has been a landmark for the community of Taos, for Hispanics, Native Americans and Anglos alike. Baptisms, marriages, deaths. Everything has transpired on that plaza. The church has served so many people, including myself. I opened my first gallery just to the backside of that church, and have helped plaster the church years ago. I’ve felt so much a part of its plaza. I have been working on this painting for several years and have just finally finished it to include in my upcoming exhibit at Owings Gallery in Santa Fe.”
The artists Harold Joe Waldrum and Margaret Nes have chosen to represent the church through some of the most colorful celebratory paintings. Former gallery owner Tally Richards said, when referring to the many church paintings of Harold Joe Waldrum, “The churches unite the literal with the mythical, the illusive and the essence of an ideal.” Waldrum’s paintings are an exquisite orchestration of color.
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Today, Nes creates a compositional fullness through her unique use of color. She uses a bright color palette, with a shading technique that keeps the forms from becoming blocks of color, giving her church paintings a sense of volume. Artist Marvin Moon was truly taken with the church as subject matter. He’s made close to 200 paintings of it. He said, “That church is Taos, a spiritual icon. It has a spiritual and magical quality that speaks of Taos. I’ve been fascinated with the spirituality of it. A lot of people see paintings of the Ranchos church and have no idea what it is.” For Moon, it is a special place that has been drawing him back to Taos since the early 1950s.
Ansel Adams’ classic photograph, “Saint Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico,” taken from a low angle creates an illusion of the church being pushed by its buttresses toward the heavens. In this photograph, the church has the appearance of a massive Meso-American pyramid or altar to the sky. Adams single-handedly made the San Francisco de
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1. “Church — Ranchos de Taos,” color woodcut by Gustave Baumann, 1919 Taos News file photo. 2. “Ranchos Church I (Lenny's View),” oil painting by Taos artist Jim Wagner, 2010 Taos News file photo/Courtesy Parks Gallery. 3. Some contemporary artists like to take advantage of the church's unique lines and play with color, such as Margaret Nes’ pastel “GreyGreen Skies at Ranchos.” Courtesy Ventana Fine Art, Santa Fe. 4. Gene Kloss, “Centuries Old,” 1979, etching, drypoint and aquatint on paper; anonymous gift to the Harwood Museum collection. Courtesy Harwood Museum of Art. 5. A painting of San Francisco de Asís Church donated to Holy Cross Hospital by “Taos Master” Charles Collins. Taos News file photo 6. One of the most well-known oil paintings of the historic church was created by Ernest Blumenschein, (1921-29) a Taos Society of Artists founding member. Taos News archive.
Whether you’re an artist or an architect, the church in Ranchos has been inspiring visitors for generations. Recently, someone asked why people make imagery of the church. “Do they paint the back or the front? I think the back would be rather odd to paint, but maybe I’m missing something only artists understand. It just looks like odd architecture to me. Oh, I see, it’s almost like ancient Stonehenge. I see it now.” Sometimes visitors to the Ranchos de Taos Plaza ask, “Where’s that famous church?” while they are standing at the back of it. It’s always tempting to respond with, “We’d better check and see if they’ve moved it!” Others ask, “Where are the paintings that O’Keeffe made on the church?” When answered with, “Most of them are in museums,” visitors become withdrawn and disappointed. Expecting something else entirely their thinking is that O’Keeffe had painted the church, meaning that she painted murals on it or perhaps inside of it. Taos art galleries where you can view paintings and photographs of the Ranchos Church include Parsons Gallery of the West, Wilder Nightingale Fine Art, Greg Moon Art Gallery, Kimosabe, Taos Print & Photography, Magpie, DAFA, Thom Wheeler Gallery and Ed Sandoval Gallery to name a few. A bit of advice for photographers: Plan to take photographs early in the morning as the sun rises, or after 3 p.m. Most days these are the quieter time periods of activity around the church. For painters, set your easels in areas that keep you
A modern, expressionistic painting of the famous church by Taos artist Bren Price. Taos News file photo.
out of the way of traffic. The parking area is active throughout the day and there is an active church community. Inside the church wondrous retablo paintings are part of two altar screens in the Spanish Colonial style known as reredos. One of these reredos is the largest surviving altar screen attributed to Antonio Molleno. Fine examples of Spanish Colonial bultos
(carvings of saints) and furniture are also inside. The icon painting “Nuestro Padre San Francisco de Asis” by Father Bill McNichols hangs above the front doorway interior. Please note that photography of the interior is not allowed. Mass on Sundays is at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. For more information about the San Francisco de Asís Church parish the website is san-francisco-de-asis.org. CONTINUES ON PAGE 6
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1. Fritz Scholder's “Incognito Artist at Ranchos de Taos,” 1978, color lithograph. Courtesy Harwood Museum of Art/Romona Scholder.
2. Marvin Moon's “Winter on the Plaza,” 12" x 28" acrylic on panel. Courtesy Greg Moon Art.
3. Adam Schallau photograph, 2013. Courtesy Adam Schallau.
4. Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986); “Ranchos Church, New Mexico”; 1930-1931; oil on canvas. Courtesy Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, Texas; 1971.16
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5. Harold Joe Waldrum, “La Sombra de la Iglesia de San Francisco de Asís en Ranchos de Taos,” circa 1983-1985, aquatint on paper; Gift of Gerald P. Peters, Collection of the Harwood Museum of Art. Courtesy Harwood Museum of Art.
6. “Old Church of Ranchos” (circa 1940), Nicolai Fechin's interpretation of the iconic structure. Courtesy Taos Art Museum
7. Geraint Smith, “Reflections,” 2018.
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‘I WAS HOOKED’ David Anderson, living master of metals by scott gerdes Quintessential Taos views surround the sprawling Anderson family cattle ranch in Arroyo Seco. The proper home was once filled with impressive paintings, tapestries and sculptures. The middle Anderson, David, along with his older brother and younger sister, were regularly taken to museums and art shows. He remembers going to local events with his parents, Chilton and Judith, noting the adults all decked out in their finest attire with eye-catching jewelry dripping off their fingers, wrists, ears and necks. His well-known and respected grandfather, Claude Anderson, built a hacienda in Taos, which was later donated by the family and became the site of the Millicent Rogers Museum. His father started the Taos School of Music when Anderson was 3 years old. Functions afforded him the chance to be around some of Taos’ greatest artists such as Andrew Dasburg, Dorothy Brett and Ted Egri. (He is influenced by Egri — the man and his work — to this day.) Little did he know how those experiences and observations would one day mold him into a master goldsmith.
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Goldsmith and jewelery-maker David Anderson's first jewelry instructor was Ralph Lewis at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Before taking that class, Anderson wasn't settled on a career path. When they first met, Anderson showed Lewis a belt buckle he was working on. He recalled the ensuing conversation: “This is your first class?” “And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And he said, ‘Wow, do you have a major?’ I said, ‘No.’ He looked at the belt buckle again, looked me right in the eye and said, ‘I want you for a student.’ Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard, ‘OK.’ I didn't realize I had even said it out loud. And that was it.” Morgan Timms OPPOSITE:
Anderson inspects a ring he is repairing for a customer. He is very adept at repairing anything from vintage to contemporary jewelry and is the official repair person for Millicent Rogers Museum. Morgan Timms ABOVE:
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Looking back It was a broken silver and turquoise bracelet that planted a seed. “My best friend growing up was Herman Chavez, a Navajo, who was the same age. He lived across the field from my house with his uncle, Lambert. We hung out a lot and did a lot of stupid things,” Anderson recalled with an impish grin. Two claws that held the turquoise stones in Anderson’s favorite bracelet had broken. One day, he mentioned it to Herman. It surprised Anderson to hear that Lambert used to make jewelry. “Herman says, ‘Come on over and I’ll show you how to fix it.’ ”
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“I said, ‘You know how to do that?’ ” Herman answered, “My uncle is a silversmith.” Anderson took his broken bracelet to Herman’s house. Under Lambert’s watchful eye and specific instruction, the junior high-schooler began his first jewelry-repair lesson. Once, Anderson hammered out a copper ashtray with guidance from his father. He had a history of taking things apart to see how they worked. But he had never attempted anything that required so much precision using such foreign tools. Inside the shop on the Chavez’s property, Anderson removed the turquoise stones. He took the claws out. He took a piece of cloth to the
silver. “There was a teeny wire that went into the band and so I cleaned it up and sanded it down,” Anderson recalled. “I got it smooth, got the ends put together and then Lambert told me to put some plugs on it with some white slurry stuff.” Then he soldered the piece back together and quenched it, following every one of Lambert’s words to a T until the piece was completely intact. “So, then I had this bracelet back again, and it was years later when I realize that what he just showed me was really difficult,” Anderson said. “For a beginner, being my first project, I shouldn’t have even tried it. Lambert talked me through it, got me to do it and it was intriguing.”
Anderson's steady hands and well-trained eyes fix a ruby and diamond-encrusted ring in his Arroyo Seco workshop. Over the years, his original creations have garnered many awards and his repair work gets rave reviews. Morgan Timms
Goldsmith and jewelery-maker David Anderson sketches drafts of a ring he is redesigning for a customer in his Arroyo Seco workshop. He looks at the world in shapes and structures, and dutifully studies the quality of a pencil line on a piece of paper — “the curved line can look really ugly or it can look really beautiful.” Anderson views his job as a jeweler as making stunning works of wearable art. Morgan Timms
Getting hooked It wasn’t until 1981 when Anderson took his first jewelry-making class. He was a student at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and “had no clue” what career path he wanted to take. He had never forgotten fixing that old bracelet, so he took some jewelry courses and learned how truly difficult it is to solder, especially on a thin wire. “Doing that again made me so happy. I was hooked.” At the time, Ralph Lewis was the head of the department at UNM. One day he came in to talk to the beginning jewelers. Anderson was working on a belt buckle. “He gave this little lecture and I just fell in love with the guy. I said, ‘I’ve got to go up and talk to him.’ So I grabbed my belt buckle — it was half done — and walked up to him, introduced myself and we started talking,” he shared. Lewis looked at Anderson’s belt buckle, looked at Anderson, looked again at the belt buckle and inquired, “This is your first class?” “And I said, ‘Yeah.’ And he said, ‘Wow, do you have a major?’ I said, ‘No.’ He looked at the belt buckle again, looked me right in the eye and said, ‘I want you for a student.’ Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard, ‘OK.’ I didn’t realize I had even said it out loud. And that was it.” Anderson immersed himself in jewelry, painting and drawing courses for the next six years, working with Lewis for five of them. His metalwork began with silver and some gems. The first piece he sold was at a small holiday fair he happened to join on a whim in Albuquerque. The
design for the shield-like pendant came to him in a dream. “It had this black agate stone with white stripes and I recessed it down into the bottom of a shell structure with a flat back. It was almost like the shape of a kite. It had some piercings in it so you could look through the outer shell and see the stone underneath.” A woman approached his table and was instantly taken with the chain-less pendant. She bought it for $35. “I was thrilled,” he said. After graduating from UNM, Anderson returned to Taos and took a couple of classes with Phil Poirier at the Taos Art Institute who taught him how to work with gold. “Gold, at that point in time, was terrorizing,” he confessed. “I was so scared because of its cost. Back then silver was $4.80 an ounce and gold was $270 an ounce and that’s a big difference.” Later, he got a job working with Taos jeweler Emily Benoist Ruffin who showed him how to work with platinum.
Evolution Anderson looks at the world in shapes and structures. He dutifully studies the quality of a pencil line on a piece of paper — “the curved line can look really ugly or it can look really beautiful.” He views his job as a jeweler as making stunning works of wearable art. It’s about creating pleasing shapes that people are drawn to. That was something learned that came with time.
“After making jewelry for a while,” he explained, “I got really complex and tried to reproduce leaf shapes and flowers and petals and make them structurally perfect. I reproduce nature pretty accurately, but people didn’t want to pay the money for it. All of a sudden I realized, ‘Oh my God, make it simple.’ ” He turned 50 lines into six, which dramatically changed the structure of the leaf. All of a sudden, people liked it. That lesson took 10 years and hundreds of leaves. He gets a lot of inspiration from nature, but his favorite pieces to make are rings born from a Japanese woodgrained metal technique called Mokume Gane. “Basically, it’s a series of laminated metals. When I carve into it, I expose different layers and colors.” Over the years, Anderson’s work has garnered many awards including the “Living Masters Exhibition” at the 20072009 Taos Fall Arts Festival and “Peoples Choice,” “Best of Jewelry” and “Best of Show” honors at the annual Millicent Rogers Museum Miniatures Show. Anderson’s work can be found at Tresa Vorenberg Goldsmiths in Santa Fe and in Taos at the Millicent Rogers Museum Gift Shop. Anderson and his wife, jeweler Gail Golden, also sell out of their home studio by appointment and accept commission work. His pieces are for sale online at davidbandersongoldsmith. com and etsy.com. Beyond fabricating original pieces, Anderson is very adept at repairing anything from vintage to contemporary jewelry and is the official repair person for Millicent Rogers Museum. It’s all come full circle from that first broken bracelet.
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THE TAOS NEWS
ARTES T radiciones 2018
A STITCH THROUGH TIME
Taos bordadoras preserve colcha culture by scott gerdes
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Nancy Lay, of Taos, stitches in colcha style during a July gathering at La Hacienda de Los Martínez in Taos. Traditional designs are simple. They typically depict flowers, birds and animals. Morgan Timms
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t’s only one simple couching stitch; you’re just making an anchor, pulling a single thread back to the righthand side of where your design is and tacking it down. For centuries, this uncomplicated sewing technique has defined Spanish embroidery in Northern New Mexico. Its beginnings were born of necessity.
Paula Claycomb, of Taos, makes Sharon Arellano, of Peñasco, laugh as they embroider in colcha style during the July meeting of their stitching group at La Hacienda de Los Martínez in Taos. Morgan Timms MIDDLE LEFT:
MIDDLE RIGHT: Colcha artist Nestora Sisneros Bringas, of Taos, models a jacket she embroidered with a floral pattern using the colcha technique.
Morgan Timms BOTTOM LEFT: Detail of “Un Ensueño Morisco” (A Moorish Fantasy) by Irene Brandtner de Martínez. Scott Gerdes
Paula Claycomb, of Taos, and Sharon Arellano, of Peñasco, help each other unravel thread during a July monthly meeting of their colcha group at La Hacienda de Los Martínez in Taos. “In our colcha group, it is not a job” says Connie Fernandez. “We just love what we do. We do not critique. We want relaxation. We want the ability to implement, to create and to learn.” Morgan Timms BOTTOM RIGHT:
In Colonial times, and even earlier, many people living in the Río Grande Valley were isolated and had limited materials for patching blankets. “Colcha (“bed covering”) really lends itself to working in low light, maybe by fireplace at night,” describes colcha embroider and workshop instructor Connie Fernandez of Taos. “It is so easy once you start. It’s repetitive. You don’t have to think about it. You don’t have to go and check where you placed the last stitch. How many rows over? None of that. You can work five minutes, put it down, do what you have to do, come back to it again later. It made sense to stitch this way in Colonial times.” The origin of Spanish colcha embroidery has various interpretations. All forms of needlework are found on every continent, in every country. It’s universal. The colcha stitch is similar to the ancient Romanian “bokhara” couching stitch. But when we come to Northern New Mexico, we’re talking about the churro wool and natural dyes that were available in Colonial times. Vibrant colcha embroidery could be found throughout the entire boundary-void area of Spanish colonization from Southern New Mexico to Southern Colorado. “The most logical story about the beginning of colcha embroidery in New Mexico,” informs local colcha embroider Irene Brandtner de Martínez, “is that the wool blankets developed holes, which were caused by moths or wear. The ladies would embroider a flower or an animal to cover the hole. With time, the blanket became a thing of beauty.” “The use of the word colcha (in the Río Grande Valley) for these embroideries started in the 1930s with Anglo women’s interest in the colorful embroideries,” adds Brandtner de Martínez. When you trace its global history, Fernandez says you will find pieces of what would be colcha-style embroidery in Spain and Portugal. “You can look at pieces in other countries going out from there. Then you look at central South America, you look at Mexico, you look at people from Spain, Portugal and from other areas going into Mexico and eventually coming up the Camino Real and settling here,” she explains. “They’re bringing memories with them. They’re bringing practices and designs that were taught to them.”
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Detail of “Alma de Mi Corazón,” a contemporary colcha wall hanging by Vicky Chávez. Scott Gerdes OPPOSTIE:
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Both of Fernandez’s grandmothers did embroidery, but not colcha. “It was just part of life. All my dresses were made from flour sacks when I was little,” she recalls from her years growing up in Connecticut. Using her knowledge of other forms of embroidery gleaned from her grandmothers, Fernandez really began to experiment with colcha in the early 1990s after retiring from a 43-year teaching career in California and Colorado. She picked a lot of it up on her own and after moving to New Mexico, had more time to devote to her new passion. “I was struggling with it. The very first time that I was able to sit with somebody and receive encouragement was actually in San Luis, Colorado,” she says. “Josie Lobato, who had done a revival there, and her daughter were demonstrating during a kind of community day. I actually sat down and worked on a piece and brought some stuff I had done. Josie told me, ‘You are fine. Continue.’ ”
Connie Fernandez, right, shares her knowledge and passion of colcha embroidery during the opening reception at this summer's exhibit at La Hacienda de los Martinez. Scott Gerdes
The materials Traditional Northern New Mexico wool-on-wool colcha dating from 1800-1850 mostly came from churro sheep. It was handwoven as sabanilla (the backing) and as naturally dyed yarn for the embroidery. Today, this process is used for “good pieces” — it would have to be used if you wanted to show your work in say, the Spanish Market. For everyday purposes, women later used other materials that became more available, such as linen and cotton. But for traditional colcha, it’s churro wool or nothing. “The churro sheep is the all-important animal that provided sustenance,” Fernandez says. “It provided its wool, and the wool became your yarn and that became your cloth and that became bedding and clothing. That, and then using natural dyes, are all traditional when looking at it. The churro sheep is what makes colcha unique here.” For the backing on her contemporary creations, such as framed artwork, Fernandez has repurposed a skirt from a yard sale. She’s used men’s pants and other types of cloth from fabric stores and second-hand shops. “I love using Mexican shawls. The sabanilla does not always have to be clear and white (as in traditional backing). It can be different.” Her cousin Carmen Velarde grew up using burlap although that’s very hard on your hands, Fernandez cautions.
The designs Traditional designs are not complex and could be done more quickly. Scenes and extensive detail were not done in the past. Common traditional patterns became widespread and consisted of flowers, birds, animals and the Tree of Life. When you look at any kind of embroidery or materials from New England, Fernandez says, you’re going to see similarities in the designs of things from Mexico, “because you’re talking about the trade routes.” Colcha wasn’t used just for bed coverings or for patching a pair of pants. In the 17th through 19th centuries, says Brandtner de Martínez, embroideries were used in churches as altar cloths, altar carpets and wall hangings. “I think some people — maybe outside of here — and even in the Catholic religion, forget about the religious heritage that was traditional to the area. In a sense, people had deep ownership of those little capillas of those churches,” Fernandez expresses. And although rare, Fernandez adds, in Colonial times colcha was sometimes used to make curtains.
Traditional colcha patterns often feature simple flowers and leaves.
Modern colcha can be found on pillows, purses, suit jackets, wall art and wearable art. To Fernandez, colcha embroidery — whether in its traditional or contemporary form — reflects the heart and imagination of its maker, the bordadora.
Taos News archives
Grooming bordadoras Keeping this tradition alive is what Fernandez loves most about doing colcha. She holds a workshop from 10 a.m. to noon the third Monday of every month at La Hacienda de los Martínez. The Hacienda Martínez group started three years ago. “In our colcha group, it is not a job,” she stresses. “We just love what we do. We do not critique. We want relaxation. We want the ability to implement, to create and to learn. I always tell anyone I teach, ‘Keep your mistakes. Put it aside, write down what you did because then you’ll know how it turns out.’ I’m still learning. We all are.”
What else she loves about the colcha group are the various recycled materials the women bring in: “Most of the women here, not everyone but most of the women, do not have immediate access to big stores, and we don’t have oodles of money to spend. We reuse.” In today’s chaotic world, for Fernandez and many others, colcha embroidery provides a respite of meditative peace, while simultaneously creating something beautiful, reflective or intriguing whether they sell or display their works or not. “It is a joy to preserve and pass on this cultural treasure.”
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Art character Ray Vinella: rule breaker
by rose mary diaz (santa clara pueblo)
The venerable Tony Reyna captured on canvas by Ray Vinella. Courtesy image
Taos Pueblo and its people are some of Ray Vinella’s favorite subjects. Courtesy image
Ray Vinella’s “Butterfly” Courtesy image
Ray Vinella from his early days in Taos, where he became a full-time painter and a founding member of the Taos Six, an informal alliance of realistic painters who all became successful artists. Taos News file photo/ Courtesy L. Harper Publishers
‘I
moved to Taos because of the great light and subject matter in the landscape,’ explains artist Ray Vinella.
“I’d been working as an illustrator at an advertising firm on La Cienega (Boulevard, in Beverly Hills, California). I saw a painting by Nicolai Fechin and it blew me away: the color, the composition! I said, ‘Where does he live?’ When I learned he lived in Taos, I was inspired to move here.” That was in 1969, many landscapes ag o, when Vinella’s own eye for color and composition was met with infinite inspiration for both: endless sprawls of summer and fall foliage blooming in yellow and gold set against sharp-peaked, dark blue mountains (“Taos Chamisa”); reflections of tall, sparkly leafed trees in spring’s cool forest ponds (“Forest Pond,” “Trout Stream”); winter’s snow-dusted plains and gray cottonwoods in front of the smooth adobe walls of Taos Pueblo (“Taos Pueblo”).
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Vinella, who was born in Bari, Italy and grew up in New York’s Lower East Side, started painting at 14. His natural gift for drawing drew praise from family and friends and was encouragement for the young artist.
Vinella, who “never procrastinates,” is passionate about getting things just so in his work and about getting his oil-, acrylic-, pastel-, charcoal- and sometimes sculpture-rendered messages delivered.
“I got a lot of pats on the head,” he happily recalls, “and I wanted more.” After joining the Air Force during the Korean War, Vinella attended the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, where more pats came in the form of an advanced degree in illustration, followed by employment at Lockheed Martin as an industrial illustrator and at Disney Productions. Then, the vision-changing Fechin exhibit.
“If I fail at something, I go back and try to figure out why it didn’t work and try to solve the problem,” he says. “If I want to say something about snow or wind or rain, I try to express the essence of that. It’s not just about painting the picture; it’s about capturing an idea, capturing the essence of what I want to say.”
Vinella’s move introduced him to fellow artists and new Taos arrivals Walt Gonske and Ron Barsano to whom he proposed the idea of forming a group. They agreed, and the three extended invitations to Robert Daughters, Rod Goebel and Julian Robles, whose acceptance completed the Taos Six. The sextuplet thrived from 1973 until 1977 and is best known for its rule-breaking use of light and color in representational works, mostly depicting the desert Southwest.
The artist’s eponymous coffee-table book holds much of his art story and is a grand addition to any collection. A sense of mystery lingers when one beholds his paintings in person — a not-quite-placeable memory in the blowing rain and swirling air, a sense of belonging to the land in familiar and yet-to-be discovered ways. Vinella’s work is represented by Village Gallery at Taos Retirement Village, where the artist resides. For more information, contact rayvinella@gmail.com.
One of many faces put on canvas by Ray Vinella. Courtesy image
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Come one. Come all. The creativity and compassion of the Peñasco Theatre Collective by laura bulkin
Since its inception in 2001, the Peñasco Theatre Collective offers performance-based arts education. Through calculated risk-taking, creative exploration and physical skills development, participants learn to empower themselves, negotiate difference and trust their abilities and each other. Courtesy video image. MIDDLE : Every summer, the Peñasco Theatre Collective hosts youth arts workshops for performers aged 5-17. The culmination of the "camps" is a free-admission show. Courtesy video image. BOTTOM LEFT: “We try to run it, as our collective, with an awareness of empowering young people to use art as a vehicle for transforming themselves and the community,” expressed artist, writer, educator and Peñasco Theatre Collective co-founder Rafa Tarín. Courtesy image. BOTTOM RIGHT: A presentaion of learning at La Jicarita Community School by the Peñasco Theatre Collective. The arts represented span an eclectic spectrum of circus skills, movement, theater, music, dance, visual arts, puppetry, poetry and much more. Courtesy video image. TOP:
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MIDDLE LEFT:
T
ourists cruising State Road 75 on a mission to check the “High Road to Taos” off their sightseeing lists might all too easily mistake Peñasco for a mere signpost along the way, but those with the wisdom to stop and look around will be rewarded with a wealth of scenic and cultural treasures. The Peñasco Theatre Collective may be one of the most surprising of those treasures. The decades-old adobe structure (the only solar-powered, hand-built adobe theater) has, for the past 18 years, been home to a core group of artists with stellar résumés. Revolving caravans of artists-in-residency add their talents to the mix. The arts represented span an eclectic spectrum of circus skills, movement, theater, music, dance, visual arts, puppetry, poetry and much more. After-school classes offer young people an opportunity to study and create with world-class creative artists. A monthly “Open Stage” invites local talent of all experience levels to perform in a nurturing environment. Every summer, the collective hosts youth arts workshops for performers ages 5-17. Collective members also travel, bringing arts instruction to schools all over Northern New Mexico. Circus artist and lifelong activist Alessandra Ogren acquired the PTC building in 2000.
“It drew me,” Ogren said. “I had this vision of an artistic community in the mountains.” “I went to Peñasco and took a look at it, and right away it was incredible to be in the space. Before I knew it, I found myself buying a theater. From that beginning, it took a lot of energy to create the space we have now. We’ve had an incredible 300 artistic residencies in the last 10 years, people coming from great distances to create and share their skills here.” Ogren was a founding member of Santa Fe’s legendary Wise Fool New Mexico. In her years with Wise Fool, she directed projects around the globe: Circus Across Cultures, a performing and teaching tour reaching over 10,000 young people in India; Rosebud Giant Puppet and Stilt Camp with elders and youth from the Rosebud Lakota Nation; a circus tour to flood-damaged areas of Nicaragua; and a circus arts program for underserved youth at the Miami Performing Arts Center. CONTINUES ON PAGE 22
— 20 YEARS —
OF PERFECTING THE ART OF CHARITABLE GIVING
Photos by Terry Thompson
Call us today 575-737-9300 • taoscf.org
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CONTINUES FROM PAGE 21
“I think that my interest in theater was always about wanting to use it as a way to express a message, to make people think about things,” says Alessandra Ogren, circus artist and lifelong activist who acquired the Peñasco Theatre Collective building 18 years ago. Courtesy photo
"At the collective, everything we are doing is put through that critical lens of conscious, messy deconstruction process. In our own way, we’re creating space for people of color, for all kinds of queer communities, for communities in marginal spaces,” says multidisciplinary artist Nikesha Breeze. Peñasco Theatre participants express what the place and its message mean to them. Courtesy video image
‘I think that my interest in theater was always about wanting to use it as a way to express a message, to make people think about things,’ Ogren said. “Even as a child, that was what was interesting to me as an outlet. My whole childhood was making up shows. It was my passion. I feel grateful that as an older person I get to keep making shows, and get to share that joy with younger people. In our summer camps and workshops, the most critical part is learning how to work in service to creative expression. Learning about consent, and how to work together in a group to do anything, how to disagree, how to collaborate — people aren’t given that in the school system or in life. This is what we’re teaching through these art forms.” Artist, writer, educator and PTC co-founder Rafa Tarín spoke of the theater’s rich history in Peñasco. “The collective has been here for 18 years, but the building has been here for over 75 years, made by the (Amado) Roybal family (in 1940). Over the years it’s been a place to hear music, to see movies, a place to go to find out what was going on. People from the surrounding areas would walk or ride their horses over. We have people coming in and telling us stories their grandparents told them about their times here, people who recall having their first kiss in this space. It makes it all the more important to us that what we offer here is accessible to the community. We charge the minimum amount we can, nothing exorbitant. We try to run it, as our collective, with an awareness of empowering young people to use art as a vehicle for transforming themselves and the community.” Tarín’s powerful, thought-provoking paintings were presented this past summer in a solo exhibit titled “For Now,” at Taos’ Harwood Museum of Art. Serena Rascon was born in Las Cruces and began dancing at the age of three. By 17, she was off to San Francisco for a year-round program with LINES ballet. After extensive travels, Rascon returned to New Mexico and began teaching at Moving Arts Española with its co-founder Roger Montoya. “Working in the arts-in-schools program, working with kids — that was life-changing. I recognized the importance of being a grown
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Working with kids during the Peñasco Theatre Collective summer camps is life-changing for the youth and the adults. A student performs what she learned during the July 2016 “A Show With No Name.” Courtesy video image
person that believed in them. I wanted young people to really see themselves, that they’re valuable and important. That’s where I met Alessandra and Rafa. All the things they were talking about as empowerment, they offered those things to me as a young person. All the things entrenched in the mission statement for the collective are things that are real. Not some fantasy ideal, but actually a practice. I’ve learned a lot about myself and how I can really contribute to the world in a productive and effective way, putting it into practice more and more.” That practice for Rascon has included teaching and performing with PTC and Wise Fool, and recently creating a solo show with the multilayered title, “As I Rite Myself.” Multidisciplinary artist Nikesha Breeze is known and loved by Taos audiences for her work in theater, movement and visual arts. Breeze has been doing theater and acrobatic work since early childhood. “I grew up in a poor rural family,” she said. “As soon as I could work, I was modeling, acting, film and TV, helping to support the family. At 18, I left home and began to focus on visual arts and photography.” A show of Breeze’s original oil paintings and sculptures, “Within This Skin,” garnered rave reviews at the Harwood’s Studio 238 earlier this year. “I heard about the Peñasco collective while
I was in Chiapas, Mexico doing street theater,” she said. “Someone there told me about this amazing group. I’d been living so close by in Taos and hadn’t even known about it. I found Alessandra as soon as I got back to the States and it was love at first sight.” Breeze spoke of her dedication to working with PTC. “What I love the most is the constant emphasis on deconstruction of the master narrative, that narrative structured on white supremacy and ‘hetero-normativity’ that is constantly being fed to us. At the collective, everything we are doing is put through that critical lens of conscious, messy deconstruction process. In our own way, we’re creating space for people of color, for all kinds of queer communities, for communities in marginal spaces.” Most recently, the theater has hosted a showcase of new work by aerial artist Sandia Delavibora, and a weekend workshop in tumbling and acrobatics with San Francisco circus artist Oriana Doria-Quesada. Upcoming projects include a revival of the collective’s 2016 production of “The Gaza Mono-Logues.” The show is told in the voices and personal stories of students at Palestine’s Ashtar Theatre, and has been performed in venues around the world since its inception. Peñasco Theatre Collective is located at 15046 State Road 75. For performance and class schedules, visit penascotheatercollective.org.
“Working in the arts-in-schools program, working with kids — that was life-changing. I recognized the importance of being a grown person that believed in them. I wanted young people to really see themselves, that they’re valuable and important," says Peñasco Theatre Collective's resident dancer/ instructor Serena Rascon. Courtesy video image
For the past 18 years, the decades-old Peñasco Theatre Collective's adobe structure has been home to a core group of artists with stellar résumés. Courtesy video image
’We’re creating space for people of color, for all kinds of queer communities, for communities in marginal spaces.’ — Nikesha Breeze
Proud to support the following organizations: CAV • Music From Angel Fire • Taos Feeds Taos Taos Fiestas • Habitat for Humanity • Taos Men's Shelter • Amigos Bravos • Lion's Club Taos Milagro Rotary • Angel Fire Rotary • Taos Children's Theatre Taos High School Boosters and Taos Little League.
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“The way to overcome the angry man is with gentleness, the evil man with goodness, the miser with generosity, and the liar with truth.” - Ancient Indian Proverb
From left, War Chief Secretary Dwayne T. Lefthand Sr., War Chief Henry Samora, Sr., and Lt. War Chief Anthony Suazo.
Taos Mountain Casino is proud to honor those who both exemplify the best of the past and who help us weave it into the future. These people are our own links in what continues to be an unbroken circle of tradition at Taos Pueblo. 24
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